Easy Ways to Make Money Without Even Trying

There is no such thing as too much money. Wouldn’t it be nice to earn a few extra dollars without really trying? Sound too good to be true? Of course it does! However, there are actually ways that you can make money, or at least save a few bucks, on your everyday spending, without even trying!

Capitalize on your current spending. Groceries, clothing, gifts… there are actually ways to make money on the things you are already buying. If you have children, or if you are contemplating going back to school yourself, you need to join Upromise at www.upromise.com. Simply register your credit and grocery cards with the company, and any purchases made at participating stores, of which there are hundreds, will benefit your Upromise account. Vendor rebates range from 2% of the purchase up to as much as 11%!! You earn rebates just grocery shopping, or from stores such as Target, Old Navy, Macy’s, and Home Depot. Local restaurants also participate in the rebate program, and you can find dining locations on the Upromise website. Earning is easy because you don’t have to present anything when you purchase, and the savings are tracked for you. Additionally, you can choose to invest the earnings in a 529 college savings plan. Without even thinking about it, you could be making a significant contribution to your or your child’s education.

Another site that is a favorite of mine is sponsored by Lucky magazine. They have a reward program, again based on purchases, that is fantastic. And you don’t even need to be a subscriber to participate. Simply log on to www.luckymagrewards.com and register. You can earn rebates on anything from 4% on purchased iTunes to 8% on cosmetics from drugstore.com. And their participating vendors include some high end companies like Brooks Brothers, Godiva, and even Wyndham hotels. Once you rack up $25 in rebates, you’ll receive a Mastercard gift card in the mail for the amount, good anywhere. The only thing you have to do with this program is remember to use it! Bookmark the site after joining, and always use the links through the site to do your online shopping in order to reap the rewards of the program.

Invest wisely. How much money do you have sitting in your checking account, earning no interest? Well of course, because stocks and CDs aren’t the place for liquid assets. However, HCSB (www.hsbcusa.com) and ING (home.ingdirect.com) are two companies that offer interest rates on savings accounts that are competitive, and can even top, those offered on CDs. You can set up and manage your account completely online. Put all but what you absolutely need in your checking into a savings account with one of these companies. You can make transfers between your checking and savings as often as you like, with no cost to you. And the transfers only take a couple of business days. Without even thinking about it, your money went from earning nothing for you to earning as much as 6%!

Make money off your credit card. Credit card debt is definitely not a good thing, and I am not advocating running up your bill to make a few bucks. However, if you are one of those people who can control your spending and who pays of their card bill each month, then you should be taking advantage of all the credit card companies could be offering you. Capital One, Citibank, and many other companies offer such cards. Check out the rewards programs and see what is right for you. Some offer points toward travel or dining, some offer points toward gift certificates. Pick a card that will offer you incentives that are useful for you. Check out www.creditcards.com/reward.php to make comparing the top cards easier for you. My favorite is the Bank of America Power Rewards card, which allows you to earn points that you can either turn in for gift certificates, or for cash! I have earned, in 3 years, over $1000 back from this company (granted, I charge everything in order to take advantage of this offer… but I always pay it off each month).

Reward yourself. Join any free rewards programs you can. Even if it seems like a pain, if there’s no obligation on your part, go ahead and do it. For example, as a Chicago Tribune subscriber, I can join their subscriber rewards program, so I did. Each month I get emails with coupons and offers to restaurants and events in the city that can be a great savings. Additionally, the Tribune sometimes sponsors free events for subscribers that include food, drinks, and entertainment. For free. Had I not signed up, I would be totally unaware of these opportunities.

Stores sponsor reward programs too, sometimes through their credit cards. While I don’t advocate signing up for every credit card under the sun, if you do a lot of shopping at one store, especially a department store, their card may be worth having. As an example, I have a Banana Republic credit card, good also at Gap and Old Navy. For every $200 spent between these three stores, I get a $10 gift card. I also get rewards at my birthday and the holidays. So I bought a $70 sweater the other day, on sale for $49.99. With my $10 off, and free shipping for card holders, AND the 5% I earned purchasing the sweater through the aforementioned Lucky Magazine rewards site, the $70 sweater ended up costing me $37.50.

Think of every magazine, newspaper, email service, or other service you subscribe to, and they likely have some sort of discounts offered to customers. Investigate these and find what might be useful to you!

Pare down. I have a friend that everyone makes fun of because she refuses to throw anything away, be it clothing, makeup, or housewares. Even if she hasn’t touched it in years. I know it’s difficult to part with things, especially because you won’t get anything in return in doing so (other than less clutter, more space, and a simpler life). So instead of giving items away, which has less appeal now that the government is requiring appraisals of donated items in order for you to claim them as donations, sell the items instead! Ebay and www.craigslist.org are good ways to sell your unneeded items. Even if you make a few dollars on something you never use, it will be worth it. You would be surprised what some people might pay for what you consider junk. This is especially worthwhile with unused technological equipment. It may be outdated, but if you aren’t using it, let someone buy it, even just to use as a science experiment.

Another great place to utilize is clothing companies like Plato’s closet (see www.platoscloset.com for locations). They will buy your gently used items, and resell them in their store. So that shirt you bought and wore once can fetch you $5. While that’s nothing to write home about, its $5 more than you had with the shirt still hanging in your closet.

Of course clipping coupons and looking for the best price are still good ways to save money. However, it is a fantastic concept to capitalize on the money you already spend. These are easy ways to actually earn return on your money, your possessions, and your spending without even thinking about it.