PT Money » Make Money

52 Ways to Make Extra Money …Revisited

PT — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:22 +0000

I’ve created a download-able version of my most popular post, 52 Ways to Make Extra Money. This book is available for download right now.

But this isn’t just a rehash of the old post. With the help of some friends I was able to provide much more detail for selected ideas (around 15). The guide also includes 2 bonus ideas, extra money tips, and quotes. Plus, it was beautifully designed by my friend Ryan, of HillThread.com.

Thanks to these friends for their expert contributions to the expanded sections:

J. Money from Budgets are Sexy
Bob from Christian Personal Finance
FFB from Free From Broke
Pete from Bible Money Matters
Baker from Man Vs. Debt
Madison from My Dollar Plan
Jason from One Money Design
Studenomist from Studenomics

Update on the Saving to Give e-book: A week or two ago I mentioned I was writing an e-book focused around the idea of saving more to be able to give more. That e-book is still in the works. I’ve written it. I just need to determine the best way to format it and present it to you. Those that originally signed up with the PT Money Newsletter in hopes for a preview copy will get one soon.

Download my free e-book: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money...Revisited!

Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan: $100 Plus in Bonuses

PT — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:30:18 +0000

As promised yesterday, today’s post will detail how you can get at least $100 in bonus money for future college expenses. Even if you don’t have children yet.

This past weekend I finally got around to opening up a 529 Savings Plan, one of the most effective ways to save for college. We’ve been questioning whether we should open a 529 for some time, but what was ultimately holding me up was deciding on which State’s plan to use.

In the end, we decided on the Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan. Don’t let the name fool you, you’re allowed to use the Ohio plan regardless of which state you live in now or which state you’ll be using the funds in.

Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan

Other features of the Ohio CollegeAdvantage Plan:

The funds can be used for tuition, books, and even room and board.
Open an account with as little as $25.
No enrollment or maintenance fees.
Multiple, low-cost investment options (i.e. Vanguard), including FDIC-insured options.
The plan is also very flexible, allowing you to change beneficiaries at any time. You can even open it if you don’t have kids yet.

And like all 529 plans, the earnings from the investments are tax free, if you use them for college.

But here’s the factor that helped me choose the Ohio plan over some of the other top 529 plans (like the Utah plan I was long considering): more than $100 in bonus money to get started.

Bonus College Savings

Here’s how I got the bonus money:

Initial $25 Bonus – Just by opening an account and using a friend’s referral code I got a $25 bonus.
2nd Child “Refer a Friend” $50 Bonus – After opening my first account, I sent a refer a friend email to Mrs. PT. When she opens and funds a second account, I’ll receive $50 in my first account.
2nd Child Initial $25 Bonus – By using my referral code, Mrs. PT scored a $25 initial bonus of her own.
Systematic Savings $25 Bonus x 2 – The CollegeAdvantage Plan is also offering a $25 bonus for each new recurring monthly electronic funds transfer (EFT) or payroll deduction you set up. Since we have two accounts, we will get two of these bonuses.

In total, we’ll earn at least $150 in bonus money to help us get started with college savings. Here’s the step-by-step guide to opening your account and getting your bonus money for college savings.

How to Get Started and Get Your Bonuses

Step 1: Open a new Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan account by December 15, 2009.

Step 2: Use the referral code 2506962. The picture below shows where you’ll need to place the code.

Step 3: Select a fund and deposit at least $25.

Step 4: You’ll receive your bonus within 7-10 business days after your account is established.

Step 5: Use the “refer a friend” to get unlimited $50 bonuses, plus new $25 bonuses for your new account and others you refer. Open one for another child, or your spouse by selecting “Yes, I am a CollegeAdvantage account owner, and wish to establish another account for a new beneficiary.” Do this for all your children. Be sure to use your referral code (which is your account number).

Step 6: Set up a recurring monthly electronic funds transfer (EFT) or payroll deduction by January 31, 2010. Set up another for even more bonus money.

Step 7: Contribute at least $25 per month for three consecutive months.

Step 8: Get the $25 bonus for each EFT after the EFTs have been active for 90 days.

As you can see, if you have multiple kids and multiple EFT setups you can really maximize the amount of bonus money to help you get started towards college savings. This is a great plan and a great time to start saving.

$25 Referral Code: 2506962

Need more convincing about the Ohio CollegeAdvantage Plan? Check out Bankrate.com’s review, Morningstar rankings, also see this Kiplinger State-by-State Guide. Remember to get all the IRS facts about 529 plans and consult a tax professional to get all the details if you’re unsure.

Download my free e-book: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money...Revisited!

Changing Jobs for More Money – Is it Worth It?

PT — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:00:22 +0000

I recently asked if you “would consider a move for more job opportunity?” As a follow up to that post, I’m sharing a guest post from Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of accredited online universities. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com.

Change Jobs = More Money

With the way the economy is, it’s probably a moot question anyway – Would you change jobs if it meant you are going to be earning more money? But, it is a question that needs to be answered, because if the situation does present itself, you need to know how to act. In my book, it’s not wise to change jobs when it’s a matter of just more money, because money comes and goes – what’s more important is job satisfaction and the extent to which you enjoy your job.

Consider a Job Change If…

Although the economy shows a few signs of picking up, jobs, especially the ones that offer the combination of stability and a good pay packet, are still scarce and few and far between. This means that it is wise to hold on to the job that you do have rather than go looking for something that pays better, unless:

You absolutely hate what you do: The most important aspect of a job is that you love what you do; if you don’t, you’re likely to be miserable and just go about the motions because you need the money. This in turn leads to mistakes and possible termination. So if you don’t love what you do, do what you love or learn to love what you do.
You really need the money: If you must make extra money to take care of debts that must be paid back, it’s ok to take up a new job that pays more if you’re sure about the reputation of the company and if you don’t have to make too many sacrifices in the process.
You don’t have to relocate: or make any other significant changes in your life that affect its quality. When you have to make too many changes in your life, you end up resenting it and take it out on your job.

When you change jobs just for the money, there’s no end to it; you tend to keep job hopping all your life, flitting like a bee from flower to flower without really gathering anything of substance. In short, you’re a rolling stone that gathers no moss. When you’re in a position in life that requires stability, it’s best to act with more responsibility and stick to something that you know and trust rather than tread into the unknown where your salary may not be steady or your job secure.

Have you ever changed jobs for more money? I know I have, but I’d love to hear your story below in the comments…

Carnivals from last week: Money Mistakes, Best of Personal Finance, Money Hacks, Frugality, Debt Reduction, Pecuniary Delights, Twenty Somethings, Personal Finance, Financial Planning

My Blog Post at the Quicken Blog: Time Management Tips: Make the Most of the Lazy Days of Summer

Download my free e-book: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money...Revisited!

Summer Jobs With Little Start-up Funding Required – Part 2

PT — Wed, 13 May 2009 10:00:00 +0000

This is the continuation of the post on summer jobs for a college student that require very little start-up funding. Read Part 1 for items 1 and 2.

3. Work as a Personal Trainer

It may seem like a really prestigious or hard to get position but where I live I was able to obtain my personal trainer license by attending a weekend course and writing a final examination. You can work for a flat hourly fee at a major gym chain or you can pay your fees and work at a gym that allows you to obtain your own private clients.

It makes sense to get started with a major gym chain first because you need to meet some potential clients and gain some experience before you can venture off on your own.

4. Freelancing

Many of you are probably happy because I finally mentioned a job that doesn’t require a lot of physical effort. The other day I ran into an old friend and eventually he started complaining about how he paid some guy $300 to build him a website. How would you like to be that guy?

All of us are good at something (Yes, even Kramer! I just never figured out exactly what it is!?!) that could earn us some money. There’s people out there that would love to play guitar, improve their English, improve their tennis skills or even learn how to pick up girls (surprisingly there are plenty of professional pickup artists out there). The point is that there are people out there that would love to learn/have certain things done for them and if you possess one of those skills then you could use it to your advantage.

I have another friend that earns a decent income on the weekends by selling his services as a photographer. Obviously it’s not as easy as it sounds because it took him a few years of school and experience to gain a credible reputation. If you start in your early 20’s there is no telling how much income you could start earning from your freelance work. You could even turn your freelancing venture into a highly profitable side business or potentially a full time job one day.

This is a guest post from the blogger behind Studenomics a personal finance blog that offers common sense advice for college students and recent graduates. Studenomics is the ultimate resource for young people looking for advice on how to survive this current recession, grow their careers, manage their finances, and still be able to enjoy the weekends.

The Rest of the Summer of George Series…

Summer of George Introduction @ Studenomics.com
Learn a New Language @ TotalCandor.com
Take Up a Sport and Become Good At It @ FreeFromBroke.com
Help Your Local Church @ GatherLittleByLittle.com
Take Some College Courses This Summer @ PoorerThanYou.com
Summer Jobs With Little Startup Funding Required @ MoneyNing.com
Take Control Of Your Financial Situation @ Bargaineering.com
Work Abroad This Summer @ CashMoneyLife.com
Enjoy Cheap Summer Activities @ MoneySmartLife.com

Enjoy your Summer of George!

Download my free e-book: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money...Revisited!

How to Make Extra Money Using CashCrate

PT — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:58:28 +0000

I first stumbled across CashCrate on accident, and boy I am glad I did. I was randomly reading an article on MSN from Prime Time Money about ways to make extra money. One that really stood out for me was for a website that claimed to pay you for simply doing free offers and surveys. But was this too good to be true?

Like many people, I was very skeptical to begin with. How could a company pay you to do free offers and surveys? Because I am a very cautious person, I first did some research. Everything looked legit so I decided to give it a try and it has been paying off (literally) ever since.

How CashCrate Works

The way that CashCrate works is companies need consumers to try and review products, services, and websites and are willing to pay money to have them do so. Most of the time you’re asked to do this without any compensation, and sometimes without even knowing. What CashCrate does is take the money that companies give them for your participation through offers, and give you back up to 75% of it!

I have found that doing offers is the quickest way to get money through CashCrate. There are two different types of offers. 100% free offers make up the majority of the offers available. Most of these offers take only minutes to complete and require no further action on your end.

Completing 100% Free Offers with CashCrate

An example of a free offer that I have recently completed is titled “Free Blackberry Phone.” Next to the name of the survey will be a description stating what you need to do to fulfill the requirements to receive credit. In this example the description states, “Participate in the survey.” You DO NOT have to do anymore than what is in the description. Once in the survey there may be several different offers, only sign up for these if you are interested, otherwise you can keep pressing skip until you get to the end.

This offer took me just over a minute to complete and I was credited $0.50 to my account. This may not seem like much but it adds up extremely fast. Once completed, the offer will move into a ‘Pending Offers’ category until CashCrate receives credit for it.

Completing Trial Offers with CashCrate

Another type of offers are trial offers. Most of these are also initially free. All of the trial offers require credit card information to verify the account and for after the free trial is done. I suggest only signing up for the free trails if you are truly interested in the product or service because if you do not cancel within the trail period you will then be charged for normal member price.

I have good luck with these by putting a reminder in my phone the day before the trial is up to decide whether or not I would like to keep the product or service. An example of this is “Google Home Business.” I had to pay $2.95 for the service but was then credited $15.00 to my CashCrate account.

Earning Referrals with CashCrate

The final way to make money is through referrals. This may take a while to get your referral numbers up there but once you do it is the way to make the most money. CashCrate gives you 20% of whatever people that you refer make, plus 10% of whatever people that they refer make. As you can see, if you have a lot of referrals this money can add up very quickly.

Final Thoughts on CashCrate

I highly recommend CashCrate for anyone that wants an easy way to make some extra money. If you are still skeptical, you can sign up through cashcratey.com and message me with any questions you may have. I would be glad to help out as would the wonderful CashCrate community readily available through the CashCrate.com Forum.

Good Luck.

This post comes from reader Zach who’s had a positive experience using CashCrate to earn a bit of extra money.

Download my free e-book: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money...Revisited!

52 Ways to Make Extra Money

PT — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:30:27 +0000

This book is now in e-book form. Download 52 Ways to Make Extra Money…Revisited.

I’ve written a lot lately about getting rid of debts and reducing expenses. I thought it was time I address the flip side of your finances: ways to make extra money. Thanks to suggestions by my Twitter followers, readers, and other bloggers I’ve been able to put together a solid list of 52 ways to make extra money. Most, if not all, can be done even with a full-time job.

I obviously haven’t tried all of these methods, but when possible I’ve tried to (link) to an example of the opportunity actually making money. You should be able to find something here that fits you and your skills.

Delivering Pizzas (@TheHappyRock) – If you have a car and a decent driving record then you qualify for this easy extra money maker. You’re likely to get some free pizzas too.
Waiting Tables (Serious Eats) – This is the perfect job for nights and weekends. That’s when all the big tips are made anyway. Pick the nicest place in town.
Bar Tending (The Beck Office Blog)- Even better, I think, than waiting tables is tending the bar at nights in a busy bar. Typically at least $1 for every drink you serve.
Teaching Swimming Lessons - If you’re a good swimmer you might be able to pick up a weekend swim teacher gig at your local recreation center. Keep in mind that some places may require a special certification or that you be a lifeguard.
Car Valet – If you hook up with a for-hire car parking service (the type hired out for fancy neighborhood parties) you can make some nice cash tips in just a few hours at night and on the weekend, when parties are held.
Create Websites (@glblguy) – Businesses will pay you to take them online. People that do this well: Empty Cabin Media, Blog Crafted, Side Hustle Blogging, StudioPress, and Hire PT Money.
Blogging (ProBlogger) – This isn’t quick money, but you can make decent money with a little luck and a few months of solid, consistent effort. Believe me, it can be tough and a bit time consuming, but it can be done.
Write an eBook (Daily Blog Tips) – I hesitate to put this one in here because an eBook by itself usually doesn’t make money unless you’re an excellent marketer. What a great eBook can do though is act as a sales lead to one of your other online businesses.
Design Web Logos (Logos For Websites) – If you’re good with Photoshop and can work quick, you might could make some decent cash with this online business.
Re-write Poorly Written Ads - Search the ad listings at Ebay.com and Craigslist.org for big items like cars. Email the seller and offer to re-write their ad for a 1% commission.
Write Reviews (Bible Money Matters) – There are many websites that will pay you a little cash to write product reviews. If you’re knowledgable and can write fast, this may work for you.
CashCrate – There’s some money to be made with CashCrate.com completing the free offers, but the real cash comes from the referral program.
Freebie Trading (ChristianPF) – Freebie trading is a real money maker. But it takes a special person to master the techniques and be consistent with the process.
Freelance Writer – Right now on Elance.com they are looking for more writers. Set up an ad and start offering up your fast writing skills.
Sell Digital Photos – (Digital Photography School) – Take nice pictures. Get them up on the web at a broker, or microstock site. Make some money. It’s not as easy as that, but those are the basics.
Sell Yourself Online (I Wear Your T-Shirt) – Get creative and sell you and your time online in a fresh, new way.
Sell Micro Ad Space Online (The Million Dollar Home Page) – Start a website and sell tiny ads. Can this be duplicated? Or can you take the concept and make it fresh?
Start an Online Store (Gather Little by Little) – Setting up an online store is extremely easy with sites like Amazon, Ebay, and CafePress. Once you learn how to market that site you can begin making some cash.
Focus Group Participant (Paying Off My Future and Bargaineering) – Researchers need people to help them develop their results. Become a member of a focus group in your area and get your share of their research funding. Call your local university, museum, or look in your local paper for opportunities.
Sell Bottled Water (Nevblog.comand @katekashman) – Buy bottled water in bulk and sell it for a dollar where there are a ton of people: parks, festivals, concerts, etc.
Sell Your Body (My Dollar Plan) – Not talking about the oldest profession here. I’m talking about your plasma, hair, eggs, and sperm.
Have a Car Wash – Find a business that’s willing to loan you their parking lot and gather up a few friends to wash some cars. Take donations or ask for very little. People usually do this to raise fund for an organization, but there’s no reason you couldn’t do it for the You Foundation.
Cleaning or Houses – This is a job with flexible hours, but requires a bit of elbow grease. Some homes would provide their own cleaning supplies and tools.
Get a 2010 Census Job (ChristianPF) – Work opportunities begin in the Spring of 2009.
Sell Your Baked Goods – Are you skilled at a few special recipes? Contract your items out for parties, meetings, etc.
Rent Out Your Truck or Van – If I had a truck and needed extra money this is one of the ways I would do it. Nothing seems much easier to me.
Drive People to the Airport - Another good gig for someone with a reliable car and the ability to be on-time all the time. Once you have a few happy clients and word gets out, you’ll find you have to turn business away.
Lawn Care – I grew up doing this job on the side and loved it. But it’s not just a teenager gig. Obviously better for warmer climates.
Be a Mystery Shopper (Wise Bread) – Get paid to shop and share your experience.
Become a Ticket Broker – No special permit required. If you know sports or entertainment enough to pick the right events, and have access to purchase the tickets at face or below, then you can use a service like Stubhub.com or Craigslist.org to re-sell the tickets for a profit. I’ve done this both out of necessity and just to make some extra money.
Paper Route - This job will likely take up only your early morning hours. You can also search for a paper that only comes out once a week.
Walk Dogs – If you love animals and live in an urban area then consider this job.
Pet Sitting – Take dog walking a step further and actually be paid to watch someone’s pet for a few hours or days. This may just entail checking in on the pet a few times a day.
Baby Sitting – If you enjoy kids and are good with them, this can be a fun and easy way to make a little cash.
Tutor (@Green_Panda) – Have a knack for a certain subject and live near a college? Consider offering up your brain power and teaching skills for some quick cash. Grade school kids need help too, and parents pay better than college students.
Play Music in Church or at Weddings - Some churches don’t have volunteers for their music. A talented pianist can make pretty good money doing this on the weekends.
Teach English to Adults - Go through your local schools and colleges to find classes where teachers of English are needed.
Collect Aluminum Cans (The Simple Dollar) - I collected cans in my teens and made a few extra bills for spending money. Some woman saved up $73,000 collecting cans.
Sign in the Yard – In our local neighborhood we’ve seen this service hired out to place signs in people’s yards for announcements or funny pranks. Ha!
Stage Homes – People are having trouble selling their homes these days and could use a second pair of eyes to stage their home for the quick sale. If you’ve got the designing skills, offer up your services.
Sell Stuff on Craigslist.org - Craigslist.org is the first place I go to sell something. It’s best for items you think will appeal to everyone (therefore justifying the smaller audience) and large items that can’t be shipped.
Sell Your Stuff on Ebay - Ebay.com should be used for those items that are unique (you need a larger audience) and that are easily shipped.
Sign Up with UPromise (No Credit Needed) – Upromise puts money in your kids college funds while you do your normal spending.
Ebay Arbitrage (Niche Geek) – Find items that you know are selling below their full value (either online or through a deal website like Slickdeals.net) buy them and sell them on Ebay for more. Once you find your product niche you can set up a system.
Re-sell Computers (Shoe Money) – This is slightly different than Ebay Arbitrage. Find a distributor that will sell to you at their discounted prices. List these items online. Buy and ship to your hearts content. Basically, you become a reseller.
Look for Odd Jobs on Craigslist.org - People in your town need your help and they will pay you for it. Seriously. The jobs are there on Craigslist.org.
Have a Garage Sale – The stuff you can’t sell online, you could sell from your garage on the weekends.
Put Stuff on Consignment (eHow) – This is great for clothes and other items that aren’t easily sold online.
Bank Account Opening Bonuses – Many bank accounts will give you a cash bonus to open an account with them. I’d start with a bank that will pay you higher interest. ING DIRECT $25 Bonus.
Credit Card Bonuses (Cash Money Life) Like the bank accounts, there are many credit cards that will give you bonus cash for opening an account.
Rent Out A Room – (Free Money Finance) If you have an extra room in your house, consider renting it out to a friend, relative, or random person you find using what else, Craigslist.org.
Paint Street Numbers (Nevblog.com and @katekashman) – With just a few paint and stencil supplies you could walk the neighborhoods with curbs and solicit your curb number painting services.

Other Resources: 40+ Alternative Income Ideas, 15 Ways for Teens to Make Extra Money, 26 Ways to Make Extra Money, Finding Snowflakes to Add to Your Snowball.

Do you have any ideas for making extra money? Share them in the comments below. If you’re a blogger, send me your best extra money post and I’ll try and add it in.

Jump Start Your Economy

This article is part of Jump Start Your Economy: Tips For Starting The New Year Right brought to you by members of the Money Life Network.

Dillyeo.Com Free $10 Gift Card

PT — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:00:25 +0000

Free $10 Gift Card from Dillyeo.com

I’m interrupting my normal posting schedule to let you know about a deal that’s only available for today. I just received this from Dillyeo.com:

“[All day Tuesday, January 27th, 2009] we will be launching a promotion in which we will be giving away free $10 Dillyeo.com Gift Cards. These gift cards are limited to one per household and will last for 10 days within reception of the gift card.”

What is Dillyeo.com?

Dillyeo.com is a website that presents a “one-day-only”, ”best-of-the-web” shopping deal every day. The products are somewhat technology focused. You’re likely to see iPods, Wii periferals, media storage cards, earphones, etc. You’re also likely to see the occassional oddity. Like this Monday there was a motorized duster for sale. To each his own.

Like any online shopping deals website, I only try and use it when the product is something that’s currently on my to be purchased list. You can pay with PayPal, Google Checkout, or any credit card.

Sign Up with Dillyeo.com and Recieve Your $10 Gift Card

Again, today only you can sign up with Dillyeo.com and pocket this $10 gift card.

Over the next 10 days you’ll want to check out what Dillyeo.com has to offer. If nothing appeals to you, then nothing gained or lost. However, you might just find a great deal on a product you’ve been wanting and you’ll have $10 towards an already super low price. That’s what I’ll be doing.

Download my free e-book: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money...Revisited!

Ebates.com Review: Save Money When Shopping Online

PT — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:30:52 +0000

Whenever I make a purchase online, I like to spend a few extra minutes looking for coupon or promo codes. I just hate to buy something with that little code box left incomplete. Don’t you?

If I don’t find the code somewhere, I at least make sure and head over to Ebates.com to get some cash back. Here’s my review of Ebates.com: an easy, safe way to save a little money when shopping online.

All About Ebates.com

Ebates.com is pretty much the best online shopping cash back website out there. They’ve been around since 1998. I’ve used them on and off since 2006.

What they are is an affiliate re-seller of just about every online store available. They pass part of their commission on your sale back to you in the form of a cash-back payment.

To get the cash back, all you have to do is click through their site to the preferred online store. Easy, right? Just make sure you have an account…

Sign Up for Ebates.com Using Refer a Friend $5

If you sign up today, you’ll get $5 cash instantly added to your account. Then you can start earning cash-back rewards for every purchase you make online. Also, once you have your account, you can refer other friends of yours and get $5 for each successful referral.

The Secret to Using Ebates.com

In my opinion, the secret to using Ebates.com is to treat it as just another tool in your frugality tool belt. Only take it out and use it when you are already planning on making a purchase.

By all means, if you need something, take the time to swing by Ebates.com and use their cash back discounts. If you don’t you’re simply passing up free money. Otherwise, just leave it alone. Don’t go into Ebates.com without a plan already. Happy shopping.

Download my free e-book: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money...Revisited!

Bartering: What Can You Barter?

PT — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:59:45 +0000

My Bartering Skills

I’ve spent a good deal of time this week creating a DVD of home videos and picture slide shows. Not my own though. We have a friend who needed it done for her family. She knew we had computer skills and could get it done. Our friend didn’t pay us cash for our services though. She was able to do something directly for us as well. She’s building us a crib bumper for our baby girl, who’s arriving in a few months. Pretty cool, right?

My question to you today is, what can you barter? What services can you offer up? You may be missing out on some extra savings by keeping your skills to yourself.

Make a Bartering List

I challenge you to make two lists today, if only in your head. The first list should contain all the services you can offer up in a barter situation. The second should be a list of all the services you know you can get from friends and family. Next time you need something done, consult your barter list and see who might be willing to trade skills/services.

More Thoughts on Bartering

The Benefits of Barter a guest post at Get Rich Slowly
The Power of Barter by Lazy Man and Money at the Prosper Blog

Download my free e-book: 52 Ways to Make Extra Money...Revisited!

FNBO Direct Review: High Interest Online Savings Account

PT — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:45:56 +0000

FBNO Direct Review

Today I’m going to share my review of FNBO Direct’s Online Savings Account. I thought it was only fair that I provide some more detail about the FNBO Direct Savings Account, which I’ll be using to save ~~$5,000~~ $7,500 for the FNBO Direct Pay Yourself First Challenge.

At the time of this review FNBO Direct Online Savings Account is paying 3.50% APY (this is a variable rate that is subject to change). That’s .50% better than their main competitor, ING DIRECT, and likely a ton better than any brick and mortar bank.

In case you didn’t know, FNBO Direct is a family owned bank located in the mid west (Omaha). They just celebrated their 150 year anniversary. They are actually FDIC insured and very well respected in the industry.

Easy Account Opening Process

It took me 10 minutes online to open my FNBO Direct Online Savings Account. If you decide to open an FNBO Direct Online Savings Account here are the steps that are required:

1. Start The Application – Visit FNBO Direct’s web site and click on “Open an Account.” On the next page, select the button for starting a new application (individual or joint account) and then click “Next Step.”

2. Provide Your Personal Information – On the “Tell Us About Yourself” page you’ll find a request for some pretty basic personal information: name, address, social security number, date or birth, etc. Fill that out and click “Next Step.”

3. Confirm Your Identity – On this page you’ll be asked a couple of questions from your credit record. Something like “who services your mortgage and how much is it.” Answer these and you’re on to the next step.

4. Fund Your Account – The next major step is to fund your online savings account. While the account requires no initial deposit, you must connect the account with another bank account – one that you already have.

You can do this one of two ways: by giving them your online credentials or by confirming two small deposits they make into your other bank account. The first method is instant, the second will end up taking 2 to 4 days. After you’ve decided which is right for you, click “Next Step.”

5. Finishing Up – Once you’ve designated a funding account, you should be all set. Enjoy your new Online Savings Account from FNBO Direct. Easy, right? To sign up for the FNBO Direct Online Savings Account please visit FNBO Direct’s web site.

No Large Deposit Required

Just a reminder that I deposited a mere $1 into this account from my Bank of America checking account. That’s all it takes to get started saving today.

No Fees and Easy Internal Transfers

There are never any fees with this bank account. You can even transfer money quickly to an associated bill pay account.

External Transfers Take 2 to 3 Days

One big downside with the account (as with all online savings accounts) is that externally transferred funds do take up to 3 days to post to your FNBO Direct Online Savings Account.

Another thing to note is that “you may make up to 6 transfers from, and unlimited transfers to, your FNBO Direct Online Savings Account during any statement cycle.” Find out why online bank transfers take so long.

Competitive CD Rates

Although I haven’t used the CD products, the terms (5 to choose from) and associated interest rates appear competitive. They are of course FDIC Insured and they can be funding using your savings account.

ExtraEarnings Visa® Card

Lastly, FNBO Direct offers a credit card with the account. You have to apply separately though. Looks like the rate is low and there’s a point system involved. Check it out…

Bottom Line

FNBO Direct’s Online Savings Account is an excellent financial product. It currently has one of the best rates amongst the “big” online banks. It’s got an easy account setup process, no fees, and some decent extras if you need them. The FNBO Direct Online Savings Account is definitely one of the best online savings accounts to consider.

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