Podcast Episodes
- EPISODE 71~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 72~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND More links from Episode 72 of Easy Money:
LINKS: To search for unclaimed SAG-AFTRA film, television and radio residuals, go here: www.sagaftra.org/unclaimed-residuals
MAKE More links from Episode 72 of Easy Money:
LINK: Websites that help you find the ideal cash back credit card for you.:
www.creditcards.com/cash-back/
EPISODE 72~ TOP TIP: If You Don’t Have Dependents, You Don’t Need Life Insurance.Salespeople will try to sell it to you anyway, but Life insurance benefits are just meant to support family members when one of the breadwinners dies. That’s why if you don’t support anybody else financially, you don’t NEED this coverage. You may want to start a policy for the future, because the premiums are cheaper when you’re younger and healthier, but don’t let anybody tell you you need it. The one exception is if you are getting tested for a dangerous health condition like the BRCA
EPISODE 72 ~ MAKE MORE: Choose a Great Cash Back Credit Card That Makes You Money!First, a caveat: it’s important to carry credit cards that fit your lifestyle. So people who carry a balance should get the lowest interest rate cards they can. But once those cards are paid off, you want to switch to cards with the richest possible rewards.
When I was at Good Morning America I did a savings makeover on a couple named Mike and Kim Strickland. They had had credit card debt in their 30s, but as they prospered in life and career, they had paid all of that off. And yet
EPISODE 72~ SAVE MORE: Save a Bundle on Avoiding Junk Title Fees When Buying a House!When you buy a house, you already feel overwhelmed by how much money you’re parting with. But then, at the settlement table, what’s this? They’re asking you for even MORE money in title fees?
Junk title fees are our featured save more segment of this podcast, because if you dodge them you can save a bundle. My guest is Carolyn Warren, Author of the bestseller Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers and also Homebuyers Beware and a working mortgage broker herself. Welcome back to Easy
EPISODE 72~ FIND YOURS: Have You Appeared on Film, Television, or Radio? You Could Have Unclaimed Money!It is the SAG-AFTRA union’s unclaimed residual database. I actually belong to this union because of my longtime TV career. Residuals are like royalties and are paid to performers or others when a show is syndicated and makes additional money elsewhere. For example, I have been the Dr. Oz Show’s consumer and investigative correspondent for several years now. If stations buy re-runs of Dr. Oz or if foreign countries pay to air the show, I get a residual for any time I appeared. Sometimes
- EPISODE 71~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 71~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND More links from Episode 71 of Easy Money:
LINK: Use RoyaltyClaim.com to search for unpaid music royalties: www.royaltyclaim.com/#pricing
EPISODE 71~ TOP TIP: SCAM ALERT: Be Aware of ‘Sliding’ When Buying Car InsuranceWhen you purchase car insurance, beware of a sleazy tactic called “sliding.” That’s when an insurance agent slides extra coverage into your policy that you didn’t request. Roadside assistance, rental car coverage –things like that. The agent may claim the coverage is free or try to sneak it in. Often the coverage only costs a few bucks a year, but it adds up and the agent pockets more commission. Truly bold agents have been known to tell customers the extra coverage is required by
EPISODE 71 ~ MAKE MORE: Increase Your Income by Understanding Your Boss’s Hidden MotivationsI want to talk about how to make more money by understanding what REALLY motivates your boss. As you know, I try to make sure I include “make more” topics that are relevant to people who aren’t planning to go anywhere and want to make more money at their current jobs. I learned about this idea of understanding your boss’s hidden motivations from Stever Robbins. Stever is a Harvard MBA, a former CEO, an executive coach and host of the “Get it Done Guy” podcast. On Episode 44 I spoke with
EPISODE 71~ SAVE MORE: The Power of 100 points, How Raising Your Credit Score Over The Crucial Threshold Can Save You BIG $$On past podcasts, I have talked about slow, steady ways of improving your credit score like paying down bills and paying them on time. And I’ve talked about fast, flashy ways of improving your credit score, like becoming an authorized user on somebody else’s healthy account or asking creditors to delete single sins that are dragging your score down.
Now I want to talk about why you should go to the trouble to take those steps to raise your credit score if it’s not tip top. By tip
EPISODE 71~ FIND YOURS: How to Find Unclaimed Royalties Using a New Tool Called RoyaltyClaim.comRoyaltyClaim.com was founded by music industry professor and consultant Dae Bogan. He says on his website: “I founded RoyaltyClaim, the world’s first search engine of unclaimed music royalties and licenses” to help “DIY musicians and rights-holders identify thousands of unclaimed entitlements. He says that in just a few months, scores of musicians have been able to find their missing money via the site “with one
- EPISODE 70~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 70~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursSAVE More links from Episode 70 of Easy Money:
LINK: To find grocery auctions: www.Auctioneers.org.
FIND More links from Episode 70 of Easy Money:
LINK: To find unclaimed royalties held by SoundExchange:
EPISODE 70~ TOP TIP: Don’t Skim or Skip the Closing Paperwork on Your New Home!It can be tempting to skim —or skip— the pages and pages of closing paperwork they present you with when you settle on a new home. But that could be an expensive mistake! Here’s one sleazy practice to look out for, especially if yours is a subprime loan: Predatory lenders sometimes add expensive homeowner’s insurance to your mortgage even though you already have insurance of your own. No doubt they are getting some sort of kickback. It’s TRUE that your mortgage lender can force you to
EPISODE 70 ~ MAKE MORE: Put Some Extra Money in Your Pocket Renting Your Real Estate via AirBnBOur houses are usually the most expensive things we buy, and then maintaining them really can feel like a money pit. But could your house, your second home or just a room in your home help you MAKE money instead? I am talking, of course, about renting out real estate via AirBnB. I didn’t have to look far to find today’s guest. He is Paul “Woody” Woodhull, my Easy Money show producer, but also an avid entrepreneur and an AirBnB super-host! Hi, Woody. Thanks for stepping out of the
EPISODE 70~ SAVE MORE: Want to Save Money on Food? Try Grocery Auctions!Yes, I said “grocery auctions.” Weird but real. At a grocery auction, You’ve got the same fast-talking auctioneer, but he’s hawking apples instead of antiques. Amazing! I once attended a grocery auction in New Haven, Indiana for a Good Morning America story. My boss was a former food producer, so we did a LOT of food-related consumer stories at GMA. There were about 500 people at the Indiana auction, a lot considering they were all there through word-of-mouth. Participants told me they
EPISODE 70~ FIND YOURS: Find Lost Royalties Held by SoundExchangeSoundExchange —all one word— is the non-profit group congress designated to collect and distribute royalties for digital recordings. The group has paid more than $5 billion dollars to recording artists since its start. But it has also FAILED to pay others, when it was unable to locate them, through no fault of its own, and that’s where the unclaimed money opportunity lies.
When you get to the SoundExchange page for searching for unpaid, unclaimed royalties, you can see that it is- EPISODE 69~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 69~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursSAVE More links from Episode 69 of Easy Money:
A software for PC that organizes all of the video out there into channels: PlayOn.tv
Download the app version of the software: www.playon.tv/downloadSave money and get ride of your home phone:
EPISODE 69~ TOP TIP: Hiring an Unlicensed Contractor is Dangerous & Not Worth The Risk!Let’s talk about the dangers of hiring unlicensed contractors. First of all, in most states, by working without a license, they are breaking the law. But did you know that in those same states, by hiring an unlicensed contractor YOU are breaking the law too? Yes, you can actually be arrested for hiring an unlicensed contractor. Another legal risk: an unlicensed contractor who gets hurt on your property could sue you –and win. These are the extremes. But even the average experience
EPISODE 69 ~ MAKE MORE: Jobs That Come With The Most Money & The Least StressMany thanks to Woman’s Day and Business Insider where I first saw this intriguing list. The list was created by combining a database of occupations kept by the Bureau of Labor Statistics with job stress ratings of 0 to 100 created by the Occupational Information Network or O*Net.
Here are ten high pay, low stress jobs. I will list them from lowest pay to highest, although it’s tempting to rank them by stress level instead, since I know how important that is to people. But the showEPISODE 69~ SAVE MORE: How to Become a “Killer Consumer”Did you ever notice that some people are what I call “Killer Consumers?” Or, when I’m feeling saucy, I call them “kick-ass consumers.” These are people who make sure they get a fair shake from corporate America and find creative ways to snag deals and save money. Today I want to feature one of these “Killer Consumers,” a guy I’m lucky enough to have as a reader and listener. Please welcome Carl Scheider of Minnesota to Easy Money for today’s Save More segment. Hi Carl!
Carl, you
EPISODE 69~ FIND YOURS: Could You Have Unclaimed Money With Music Royalties From AFM?Today’s resource: the American Federation of Musicians. The AFM is a musician’s union that represents both classical and popular musicians. For reasons I was not able to uncover, the AFM has something called the Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund in cooperation with SAG-AFTRA. SAG-AFTRA is the TV and Movie performers union that I myself belong to.
It gets even more confusing but also more juicy: The AFM and SAG AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund doles- EPISODE 68~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 68~ TOP TIP: Beware of Balanced Billing!If you choose a managed care plan like an HMO or PPO for your healthcare needs, beware of something called “balance billing.” There are a couple different variations. Many managed care plans negotiate discounted prices with their member doctors. Some doctors then turn around and try to bill the patient to make up the difference. They try to bill you for the BALANCE. Balance billing also happens when a managed care health plan goes bankrupt and doesn’t pay at all. In that case, the
EPISODE 68 ~ MAKE MORE: Don’t Resent Your Unused Clutter, Rent It Out!In the sharing economy, it’s possible to tap into your belongings and make money off of them. Nobody knows this better than my next guest. Ryan Cush is one of the founders of Loanables, established in 2006, and he also uses the site regularly to rent out his own stuff. Welcome to Easy Money, Ryan!
First, just in case some folks aren’t familiar, describe what Loanables.com is.
Loanables is a website where people can listEPISODE 68~ SAVE MORE: How To Save On Car Insurance By Dropping Your Comprehensive & Collision Coverage at a Strategic PointFirst, the vocabulary: Collision is the insurance that pays to repair your car if you’re in an accident. Comprehensive is the insurance that pays to repair your car if it’s damaged some other way, like by fire or other natural disasters. Unlike liability insurance, neither of these is required. Of course, you’ll want them while your vehicle is relatively new and valuable. But later, even insurance agents advise that you can save by dropping them. Here’s what the website
EPISODE 68~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money With Music Royalties From ASCAPAccording to Wikipedia, “ASCAP is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization that protects its members’ musical copyrights by monitoring public performances of their music, whether via a broadcast or live performance, and compensating them accordingly.”
It’s easy to see how ASCAP royalties could go- EPISODE 67~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 67~ TOP TIP: What’s Better Than Free? Free Chocolate.I used to host a You Tube show called “Free For All” about cool, quality goods and services you could get for free. My favorite, by far, was the Godiva chocolate freebie, so I’d like to share it with you here. Just join Godiva’s rewards club and you will get a special birthday treat, free shipping, invitations to chocolate tastings, AND a free chocolate truffle every month. Just stop into a Godiva store to pick it up. Wow, I sound like a commercial, but really I’m more of a chocaholic
EPISODE 67 ~ MAKE MORE: The Power of Making More Through Self Efficacy!Don’t worry, I had no clue what that was either. Self efficacy is your own belief in your ability to succeed at certain things or in certain situations. My daughter has a little tchotchke on her shelf that says “Believe in Yourself.” It’s that, but more specific.
Anyway, a new study shows self efficacy regarding your finances is a better indicator of financial health and wealth than just about anything else, includingEPISODE 67~ SAVE MORE: Learn How to Cut The Cost & Lower Your Chances Of Being Ripped Off While MovingIt’s called “Hybrid Moving” and it is our featured “save more” segment of this podcast. In hybrid moving, you rent a moving truck yourself, and hire movers by the hour to load and unload it.
My guest is Ryan Charles of HireAHelper.com, a site where you can find those hourly movers. Welcome to Easy Money, Ryan.
OK, so who are the helpers on HireAHelper?
Most of the service providers who advertise on HireAHelper doEPISODE 67~ FIND YOURS: How to Find Lost Royalties From Music You Wrote and Others Licensed!I was inspired to look into this after interviewing my friend Tamara on last week’s show about her late beau John who left behind more than $5000 in unclaimed money thanks to his successful music career. So for the next few weeks I’ll cover unclaimed royalties for musicians, actors and other performers.
Let’s start with BMI, which stands for Broadcast Music Inc. It is one of the groups that represent composers and songwriters. Some are famous like Patti Labelle and Michael Jackson.EPISODE 67~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursTOP TIP links from Episode 67 of Easy Money:
LINK: Join Godiva’s membership club, for all sorts of freebies here: www.godiva.com/get-chocolate-rewards
SAVE More links from Episode 67 of Easy Money:
LINK:
Find helpers to hire hourly when your moving:
HireAHelper.comMAKE More links from Episode 67 of Easy Money:
Link:
Take a look at Aplus’s- EPISODE 68~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
- EPISODE 66~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 66~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND More links from Episode 66 of Easy Money:
Search for your unclaimed money: missingmoney.com
Find your unclaimed property: www.unclaimed.org
MAKE More links from Episode 66 of Easy Money:
Take a look at freelancer.com‘s top 50 fastest-growing freelance jobs:
EPISODE 66~ TOP TIP: Here’s What You Should Do if You Have Multiple Credit CardsLast week I told you how applying for lots of credit cards at once can hurt your score. This week, what to do if you already HAVE lots of credit card accounts. The answer? Leave them be. ESPECIALLY if you are about to apply for a loan, particularly a mortgage. Reason being, one factor in your credit score is the ratio of credit you have been approved for versus the credit you have used. You want to have as much credit as possible and use as little as possible. It’s especially bad to
EPISODE 66~ SAVE MORE: Whether and When It’s a Good Idea to Sell Your House Yourself!Selling your house yourself is not easy, but it’s not that hard. I helped my husband sell his house without an agent, and I bought and sold my condo without one. FSBOs work best if you have a cool head and a hot housing market.
The real key to selling your house yourself is to price it right. This is where most For Sale By Owners fail. People are attached to their houses and price them too high. There are ac couple of ways to set your price: Pay a real estate agent an hourly feeEPISODE 66~ FIND YOURS: When a Loved One Dies There Can Be a Silver Lining: Unclaimed Money That You Can Use to Sort Out Finances.For many months I’d been urging my friend Tamara to do a search. Finally, when she heard me talking about unclaimed money on Easy Money she decided to take my suggestions to heart. Her long time beau John, was a musician; brilliant, creative and successful— but not so organized with his money. And there were bills to pay after his untimely death. Today Tamara joins me for our featured “Find Yours” segment to share what she found. Welcome Tamara and thanks for doing this.
- EPISODE 65~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 65~ TOP TIP: Want to Maintain a Healthy Credit Score? Don’t Apply for Multiple Credit CardsBankers grow suspicious if you suddenly apply for multiple credit cards. They think, Hmmm, does this guy have a gambling problem? Is this woman trying to finance an independent film? The FICO scoring model takes this into account and dings your score several points if you apply for a slew of cards at once. AND, by the way, applying for lots of credit cards at one time I can almost guarantee you that you won’t be approved for ANY of them. Why? See banker’s fears above. This happened to
EPISODE 65 ~ MAKE MORE: How to Make More Money From Your Existing Business with Minimal Effort!Many thanks to Jared Goetz, who first put these ideas up on the “Influencive” website. By the way, Jared is worth listening to, if you consider that he built up a Shopify E-Commerce website that now brings in more than $10 million in sales per year. So, onto his advice.
The idea is to create passive income streams using the same expertise you already have because of the businessEPISODE 65~ SAVE MORE: It is Possible to Save Money on Your Amazon Purchases!Kyle, I pored over your blog posts about Amazon hacks and I’m going to share some of my favorites and then have you explain them. So, your first tip: DON’T ALWAYS TRUST AMAZON search results. What do you mean?
The brain-trust at Amazon realize they probably have a “sure-fire” buyer if you’re doing such a specific search, and will often steer your search results towards the item that’ll pad their profits the most, i.e., the most expensive.
When doing specific searches, one ofEPISODE 65~ FIND YOURS: How to Find Veteran’s Benefits for Yourself or From an Ancestor.If you are a veteran —or have a family member who is or was— you could be missing out on valuable unclaimed benefits! In episode 65, professional unclaimed money “finder” Nick Anderson of Ironwood Recovery describes this unique type of unclaimed money!
- EPISODE 64~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 64~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND More links from Episode 64 of Easy Money:
HUD web page to search for unclaimed FHA refunds:
entp.hud.gov/dsrs/refunds/EPISODE 64~ TOP TIP: A Way of Saving Money With Hardly Any EffortEvery time you find yourself with a $10 bill in your wallet, don’t spend it! Instead, put it aside in a grown-up cash version of a piggy bank. That pile of $10 bills will grow and pay for something you need or want. Think about it, a lot of $20 bills pass through our hands, since that’s the main currency dispensed by ATMs. So saving those would be too much. But $10 bills? They don’t come around that often, so they’re perfect for saving and starting a nest egg. A friend of mine tried
EPISODE 64 ~ MAKE MORE: Upgrading Your Smartphone? Here’s How to Get the Most Value Out of ItRight this second, you probably have a small, powerful computer in your pocket or purse. I’m talking about smart phones —and not only are they powerful, they’re valuable. So how can you get the most for yours when you’re ready to upgrade? That is our featured “make more” segment of this podcast.
My guest is Brian Morris of Flipsy.com, a website that helps you determine the value of your phone and find a buyer for it. Welcome toEPISODE 64~ SAVE MORE: Wholesale Warehouse Can Save You BIG Bucks on Car Insurance!I’ve got lots of fancy tips for saving on car insurance, like dropping your collision and comprehends coverage or raising your deductible. But those take vocabulary lessons and some thought. So here’s car insurance savings 101: Consider buying your car insurance where you buy your bulk toilet paper: a warehouse club.
If you belong to a wholesale warehouse like Costco, BJs or Sam’s Club, you can get auto insurance there. These clubs partner with some major insurers to offer groupEPISODE 64~ FIND YOURS: If You Had An FHA-Insured Mortgage, You May Be Eligible For a Refund From HUD!First, lets untangle the government-speak. Why do bureaucrats love acronyms? FHA stands for Federal Housing Administration. HUD is the Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHA loans are special mortgages insured by HUD that require lower down payments of just 3 to 5 percent and help people who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to get into a home. If this is you, there are a couple different types of unclaimed funds available.
First is a refund for paying for mortgage insurance.EPISODE 63~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursSAVE More links from Episode 63 of Easy Money:
Cancer patient access to clinical trails: www.lazarex.org
A list of other organizations that provide various kinds of financial support to cancer patients and their families:
www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/financial-considerations/financial-resourcesNIH has a similar web
- EPISODE 63~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 63~ TOP TIP: Pay Attention to the Medications You’re TakingPharmacies make an estimated 15 million medication mistakes every year and that includes filling the wrong strength of medicine and even the wrong medicine altogether. SO know the “3 S’s” of any medication you take: Size, shape and strength and double check those whenever you refill a prescription. Have a new script? Look up a picture online real quick before you swallow the first pill. And if it’s a generic, it can be made by multiple manufacturers, so be sure you’re looking at the
EPISODE 63 ~ MAKE MORE: Keep This Detail OFF Your Resume If You Want the JobStandard resume protocol calls for job seekers to list their education along with graduation dates. However, with a workforce that increasingly prioritizes youth, especially in fields like tech where the average employee is in their 20s, it can be tough for more experienced people looking to make a career shift.
While federalEPISODE 63~ SAVE MORE: When You’re Sick There’s a Way to Pay For Your TreatmentBeing diagnosed with a disease is not only devastating to your health and emotions, it can also wreak havoc on your finances. But there are groups out there that will help patients out in these circumstances, and sometimes even pick up the tab. That is our featured “save more” segment of this podcast and for this one, I have 2 guests. In a moment, we’ll speak with Mike Snyder, a cancer survivor, who found paying for his cancer treatment almost as stressful as the disease itself. But
EPISODE 63~ FIND YOURS: How to Negotiate With a Professional Unclaimed Money Finder and Get Your Money for Less!Now, I’m on the record as saying that for MOST unclaimed money searches, you do not need to hire professional help at all. Just go to MissingMoney.com and unclaimed.org and conduct your own search for free. BUT in the course of doing this show, I’ve met some finders who persuaded me that in certain situations you do want and need their help: namely really tricky searches or searches for long lost ancestors.
And- EPISODE 62~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 62~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND More links from Episode 62 of Easy Money:
Search for your unclaimed money: missingmoney.com
EPISODE 62~ TOP TIP: Don’t Be So Quick to Run to the Mechanic!Next time the “Check engine” light or some other mystery indicator comes on in your car, before you rush to the mechanic in a panic, consider visiting a store like Auto Zone, Advance Auto Parts or Pep Boys. Turns out, these automotive parts stores usually own the computers needed to hook up to your dash and see what the code means AND they’ll often do it for you for free! Other free services at these stores: Battery testing and installation, Fluid and batter recycling, and Wiper blade and
EPISODE 62 ~ MAKE MORE: These Two Habits Can Actually Make Your More Money!Two separate stats I saw that describe the habits of people who consistently make more money than others do.
First up is a study by Freeletics that showed people who exercise regularly are happier than people who don’t —AND make more money too! People who make it a routine to work out make an average of $74,000, whereas those who say they never exercise make an average of just $49,000. And get this: Those who do interval training —you know, the high intensity stuff— they add anEPISODE 62~ SAVE MORE: What’s Better Than Free?Here at Easy Money we love cheap and the only thing we love more than cheap is free! So in today’s save more segment we’ve got some of both. The savvy editors at Consumers Checkbook magazine pored over the fine print of credit card contracts, warehouse club memberships, health insurance plans and more to find amazing freebies and cheapies and today we’re tapping into their knowledge. Please welcome Kevin Brasler, Executive Editor of Consumers Checkbook, back to Easy Money.
Why do
EPISODE 62~ FIND YOURS: Find Unclaimed Money Held in Trust for ChildrenOr, for yourself or another adult, if somebody put money in trust for you, and you haven’t claimed it yet. Many thanks to Mary Pitman, author of the Little Book of Missing Money, where I first saw this information.
Mary says that when a bank serves as a trustee and holds money for somebody, the account has a particular format:
•The first line is the name of the bank.
•The second line says FBO, which stands for “For the Benefit of” or “FAO” which stands for “For the
What’s better than free? Keep extra cash in your pockets with these savvy money saving tips!By Kevin Brasler and Jamie Lettis Checkbook staff sifted through member benefits that come with credit cards, warehouse clubs, health insurance plans, and more, and discovered dozens of mostly unknown perks.You gotta love surprises, especially free-stuff surprises.- EPISODE 61~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 61~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursMAKE More links from Episode 61 of Easy Money:
Take a look at Bankrate’s top list of saving accounts: bit.ly/2N78wKH
Check out Credit Union to avoid checking account fees:
EPISODE 61~ Save Money at the Grocery Store By Using This Trick!When you see a sale at the grocery store that’s buy-one-get-one free, that usually means it’s actually buy one for 50 percent off. Right! You don’t usually have to buy two, or four —or more— to get the discount. If you want and need the items, great. But if you’d rather buy just one be sure
EPISODE 61 ~ MAKE MORE: How to Make More Money Off of Your Bank Account!Many thanks to the Detroit Free Press, where I first saw this topic. The key, as the song says is to “Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.” Let’s start with the positive.
CD’s: The average yield for a CD or certificate of deposit, basically a fancy savings account that earns interest, is just .59 percent.
EPISODE 61~ Better Ways to Save More for Your RetirementI want to talk about Catch Up Contributions for your IRA or 401k. To be clear, this time when I say “save more” I mean “save more for retirement,” rather than saving money on products or services. “Catch Up Contributions” are not just slang, they’re a government program that allows people 50 or older to contribute extra to their IRAs and 401Ks. Catch up contributions also apply
EPISODE 61~ Searching for Your Unclaimed Money Just Got Easier!One of the biggest battles is getting people to actually conduct a search for their money, even though it only takes 5 minutes and 1 in 10 of us has unclaimed money out there. So a smart unclaimed money entrepreneur decided to go where the people are: on their phones! Please welcome Nick Anderson, CEO of Ironwood Recovery back to Easy Money.
EPISODE 61 ~ GUEST BLOG: Introducing a New App That Helps You Find and Claim Your Missing MoneyBy Nick Anderson, Ironwood Recovery Unclaimed property has many different names and likewise has many different meanings. The most common way to understand unclaimed property is to simply think of it as "lost or forgotten money". This can happen a number of different ways.- EPISODE 60~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 60~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND More links from Episode 60 of Easy Money:
Search for your unclaimed money: missingmoney.com
Find your unclaimed property: www.unclaimed.org
EPISODE 60~ The IRS Could Be Writing You a Check!Nobody wants to be audited by the IRS, but if you are and you win your case: you may be able to get the IRS to pay your attorneys’ and accountants’ fees. Yes, the IRS writing YOU a check for a change! You can ask for reimbursement if you won the biggest point in your case or the majority of points in your case. You must also be able to show that you cooperated with the IRS at every stage of the case and did not drag out the proceedings. Your litigation costs must be reasonable, usually
EPISODE 60 ~ MAKE MORE: Ever Dream of Becoming a Chef, Writing a Cookbook, or Opening a Restaurant? Here’s How You Make Your Dreams Come TrueAttention fabulous amateur chefs: Are your knives —and your skills— sharp enough to go pro? Could you make money as a restauranteur? How about as a cookbook author?
That is our featured “make more” segment of this podcast. My guest is Jennifer Brule who —you guessed it— just opened a restaurant and has a new cookbook out. Welcome to Easy Money, Jenny.You are obsessed with food —in a good way. Was that your clue —and would that be a good clue to others— that a culinary
EPISODE 60~ Pay for Your Car in Cash and Save Thousands on Interest Payments!How to pay cash for a car, thus saving interest payments that can add up to thousands of dollars.
OK, I realize not everybody will be able to pay cash for a car – at first. So first let’s talk about how to limit the damage if you must take out a car loan. The problem is that most people make a small downpayment on a long loan. That’s upside down! Instead, you want to make a big downpayment on a short loan.
Make as big a down payment as you can. The national average is lessEPISODE 60~ Insurance Demutualization as a Source of Unclaimed MoneyA mutual insurance company is one that is owned by its policyholders. So when you take out a policy, you are buying a tiny portion of the company and get to share in the profits of the company in the form of dividends or reduced insurance premiums. Insurance demutualization is when a company owned by its customers transforms into a publicly traded stock company. Maybe the most recognizable mutual insurance company is Mutual of Omaha, famous for sponsoring the Wild Kingdom TV show in the
Episode 60 ~ Guest PostChef, Restaurant owner, and cookbook author, Jennifer Brule shares one of her favorite recipes:- EPISODE 59~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 59~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursSAVE More links from Episode 59 of Easy Money:
Buy Michelle Katz’s Newest Book: Healthcare Made Easy:
TOP TIP
EPISODE 59~ These Top Two Airlines Have the Most AvailabilityLast week I talked about the “best” frequent flyer programs. Now let’s talk about the ones with the most availability. Those would be Southwest and Jet Blue, according to an Ideaworks survey. But here’s the surprising one: American Airlines made changes, opened up more seats —mostly to Europe and Hawaii— and now the giant airlines ranks third for available award seats. United is fourth, followed by Delta. Interesting about Delta, since WalletHub considers its frequent flyer program the
EPISODE 59 ~ MAKE MORE: Do You Have a Side Hustle? If Not, Here’s Why You ShouldSide hustles have gone mainstream with 37 percent of Americans saying they have one. That’s more than 44 million people!
Bankrate conducted the study that most young side hustlers —96 percent— say they work at their side gig monthly. Older side hustlers were pretty industrious too, with 83 percent saying this is something they do every month.
The most popular side hustles are home repair services, online sales, crafts and babysitting. A big chunk of those polled say they areEPISODE 59~ Avoid That Hefty Emergency Room Bill, Here Are Ways to Save Big Bucks!I want to talk about how to save big bucks if and when you have to go to the emergency room. It’s probably inevitable —especially if you have kids— but it doesn’t have to be ultra expensive. There are all sorts of strategies for saving, even in the midst of a tense situation. My guest is Michelle Katz, otherwise known as “Nurse Katz.” Michelle is a trained nurse, a healthcare advocate and the author of several books about saving money on healthcare, most recently,
EPISODE 59~ Get Your State to Search By Hand For Your Unclaimed MoneyMany states keep only their more recent records online, so asking for a search of older records could be just the ticket. This tip came from Steve Mondros of New Jersey who has made a hobby out of searching for unclaimed money.
Episode 59 ~ Guest Post
An Emergency Bill Can Get Pretty Hefty, These Tips Can Save You Serious Money on Your Medical Bills
By Michelle- EPISODE 58~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 58~ Which Frequent Flyer Program is the Best?Financial website Wallet Hub crunched the numbers and decided that Delta Sky Miles is the best frequent flyer program, partly because it’s generous and partly because it has customer-friendly policies like points that never expire. Alaska Air and Hawaiian Airlines came in second and third. Even cooler, WalletHub created a calculator where you can plug in your own travel spending patterns and see which frequent flyer program will work best for you personally. I will link you to the report
- EPISODE 58~ Guest Post
A lot of people have asked me how in the world I left a lucrative 6-figure EPISODE 58 ~ MAKE MORE: Turn Your Passion for Music into a Lucrative CareerIs music your talent and your passion? If so, I’m here to tell you that it IS feasible to make money as a musician. From playing weddings on up to recording and selling your own albums, it’s all possible. And it’s our featured “make more” segment of this podcast. My guest is Rebecca De La Torre, a singer, songwriter, pianist and savvy business woman. Welcome to Easy Money, Rebecca.
Since you’re a performer, let’s set the stage. You come from a musical family and yet you wereEPISODE 58 ~ On the Market for a New Home? Check Out Foreclosed Property!Thousands of homes will become available for sale through foreclosure this year —or any year. And while it’s a hardship for the families who lose their homes, it can be an opportunity for others to buy a house at a bargain. It’s sort of the cycle of life.
When a lender forecloses, it’s no reflection on the home. It just means the previous owner couldn’t make the mortgage payments. There are two main junctures at which you can purchase a foreclosed property: on the courthouse stepsEPISODE 58~ Could You Have Unclaimed Money From Utility Deposits?When you go to sign up for gas, electric or water service, the utility company usually checks your credit score to see if you are likely to pay your bills. But if you’re young and haven’t established credit yet or if you simply have bad credit, they are obligated to do business with you anyway, because utilities are considered essential services. So what they do is ask for a deposit up front. Then, if you don’t pay your bills, they can tap into that chunk of money. And it IS a chunk. Utility deposits can be as little as $75 but as much as $300 or occasionally more.- EPISODE 57~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 57~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursSAVE More links from Episode 57 of Easy Money:
Learn more about saving on interest charges: www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/help/micropayments-cut-down-credit-card-debt-6000.php
EPISODE 57~ Think Twice Before You Buy That Fancy CarWhen you’re trying to choose which type of new or used car to buy, you should check to see how much it costs to insure different makes and models. This is especially true for young drivers. I just checked and if a 17-year-old guy bought a brand new convertible sports car, it could cost more than $1,300 a month to insure because it’s new, it’s valuable and insurance companies think these cars attract more reckless drivers. But if that same 17-year old guy were to buy a used Honda Civic,
EPISODE 57 ~ MAKE MORE: Make FIVE figures reselling goods online!We’ve talked before on the Easy Money about how it’s possible to make money by buying used goods cheap and then reselling them online. But you probably never imagined you could make 5 figures doing that? It’s true and it’s our featured “make more” segment of this podcast.
My guest is Glen Zubia, a master reseller and host of Hustler Hacks on You Tube. Welcome to Easy Money, Glen!Glen, explain the financial position you were in when you got out of college and how that
EPISODE 57 ~ An Efficient Way to Reduce Interest Charges AND Lower Credit Card DebtInstead of paying your credit card bill once a month, when it’s due, try making a half payment every two weeks. By doing this, you are cleverly short-circuiting some of the credit card company’s interest charges by making one of your payments earlier in the billing cycle. That’s because when you carry a balance, you are charged interest every day of the cycle. By paying some principal early in the cycle, you are reducing the average daily balance that interest is based on.EPISODE 57~ You Could Have Unclaimed Money Due to Property Taxes and Not Even Know ItAfter all of these years covering unclaimed money, first at Good Morning America, then at the Washington Post and here on Easy Money, I still encounter people —lots of people— who don’t realize unclaimed money is a legitimate thing and don’t understand where it comes from. So I am going to single out different sources of unclaimed money this time and in the coming weeks.
EPISODE 57 ~ GUEST BLOG: Glen Zubia Knows How to Get You Out of DebtDo you have a huge amount of debt that you’re struggling to pay off? Glen has managed to pay off all of his student loan debt…how you say? Watch Hustler Hacks Glen Zubia’s top ten tips for making money online AND also hear his story of how he paid off 50K in debt.- EPISODE 56~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 56~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND More links from Episode 56 of Easy Money:
Search for your unclaimed money: missingmoney.com
Find your unclaimed property: www.unclaimed.org
MAKE More links from Episode 56 of Easy Money:
Wage growth chart for job hopping: www.businessinsider.com/earn-more-money-switching-jobs-2017-7
EPISODE 56~ Be Careful What You Pack in Your Luggage, Airlines May Not Cover Them!Never pack expensive electronics in your checked suitcase because the airlines won’t cover them if they’re lost or damaged. Every airline I know of excludes these from their reimbursements. If you’re carry-on is feeling really heavy, you might be tempted to stuff your laptop or iPad or camera or whatever in the luggage you’re checking so you don’t have to carry it, but resist the temptation. What about travel insurance? Many policies exclude laptops and most limit the reimbursement for
EPISODE 56 ~ MAKE MORE: How Job Hopping Can Increase Your IncomeDid you know that you can make more money just by switching jobs? Many thanks to Business Insider where I first saw this research. The conventional wisdom has always been that it’s a bad idea to move from one firm to another too often because it makes you look flaky. BUT a study showed that people who stay put for too long end up making less money than people who switch fairly frequently.
The researchers delved into the data and found that job switchers make about 1 percent more
EPISODE 56 ~ Improving Your Credit Score Can Save You More You ThinkWhen most people talk about ways to save money, they use phrases like “tightening your belt” and suggest strategies like skipping your daily latte or brown bagging your lunch. That’s all fine, but most people don’t talk about the biggest money-saver of all: improving your credit score. That is our featured save more segment of this podcast. Raising your score lowers the interest rate you are charged for loans, which can easily save you 5 or 6 figures in interest on credit cards, car
EPISODE 56~ FIND YOURS: Does Your Fraternity Have Unclaimed Money?I covered unclaimed money for sororities in episode 54, so now giving equal time to the guys. I had to recall the names of some fraternities so I could search for unclaimed money for them to give you some examples. That made me think of my college boyfriend… and THAT made me google him. …And that, in turn, had me off in the weeds checking out all my other old boyfriends. And THAT made me happy I’m married to my husband. All when I should have been prepping for this show.
But, I
- EPISODE 55~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 55~ TOP TIP: You Get What You Pay For!When I decided to call the podcast Easy Money, I immediately thought of the Billy Joel song by that name. My idea was to have somebody create a song that would remind people of the Billy Joel hit from the 80’s without actually ripping it off. So I went on Fiverr, the freelance marketplace, and paid a Russian guy who was too young to have heard of Billy Joel $5 bucks to create the song. It was sooo bad that I ended up buying some great stock music instead! So today’s top tip is that you
EPISODE 55 ~ MAKE MORE: Get Paid to Test the Newest Video GamesWhat if you could get paid to play video games? This is a fantasy for my 11-year-old daughter and her friends, but a reality for some lucky adults. Many thanks to MoneyPantry.com where I first saw this idea. Yes, it’s true: video game developers “beta test” new games before they release them to the public. They hire gamers to try out their games and look for glitches, bugs and bloopers.EPISODE 55 ~ Go On A Cruise Vacation Without Breaking the BankMany cruise lines spend summer in the Mediterranean and winter in the Caribbean. Well, they have to get from one to the other somehow, right? They typically do that in April and November with what are called “repositioning cruises.EPISODE 55~ FIND YOURS: Does Your Deceased Loved One Have Unclaimed Money?This is my 55th Easy Money Show! It’s the 1-year anniversary because I launched by putting up 4 shows. All this time I’ve been talking about unclaimed money as one of my topics and urging all of YOU to let me know when something I share here helps you find some. Well, finally, somebody let me in on their good news! Her name is Knowles Harper and she’s from Virginia but moving to Tennessee. Welcome to Easy Money, Knowles.- EPISODE 54~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 54~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursSAVE More links from Episode 54 of Easy Money:
Prepare to negotiate and check the rental market where you live:
www.zillow.com/research/local-market-reports/Know what similar apartments cost:
www.rentometer.comFIND Yours links from Episode 54 of Easy Money:
Search for your unclaimed money:
EPISODE 54~ Didn’t Get Your Package On Time? Know Your Rights When Shopping OnlineThe Federal Trade Commission has a rule called the Prompt Delivery Rule. It says that when merchants promise to ship something within a certain time, they must do so. If they cannot, they have to notify the customer of the delay, provide a revised shipment date, and explain your right to cancel and get a full refund. If the merchant did NOT promise a particular delivery date, then they must ship you your purchase within 30 days or notify you of the delay and give you a chance to cancel
EPISODE 54 ~ MAKE MORE: Another Man’s Trash is Your Treasure: How to Make Money Dumpster DivingYou could make six figures a year …as a dumpster diver! It sounds crazy —but it’s not— and it’s our featured “make more” segment of this podcast. The secret is choosing the right dumpsters and we’re going to tell you how to do that.
My guest is Matt Malone who stumbled across the buried treasure in dumpsters by accident and now makes big bucks selling his finds. Welcome to Easy Money, Matt.In “real life” you’re an internet security guru. Explain how that led you to dumpster
EPISODE 54 ~ SAVE MORE: Renter’s Guide to Lowering Your Rent:“Hi, this is Makenna from Phoenix. I’m in college and renting an apartment is my one big expense. Even though I work two jobs, I find the rent painful to pay. I’ve heard you can negotiate for a lower rent, but I have no idea where to start and I feel awkward asking my landlord. Can you give me some advice on this?”
Great question, Makenna! I give a lot of strategies on Easy Money for homeowners to save money and I don’t want to leave out renters, so I’m glad you asked. You’re
EPISODE 54~ FIND YOURS: Could Your Sorority Have Unclaimed Money?Hello, pledges! How “in” with the sisters would you be if you found money that belonged to the house? All you do is go to MissingMoney.com OR unclaimed.org —Note that’s .org— and type the name of the sorority into the last name box or try different combinations in the first AND last name boxes.
I did an experiment myself. I was a member of Tri-Delt, when I was at Berkeley, before I, ahem, deactivated —which
EPISODE 54 ~ GUEST BLOG: The Art of Profitable Dumpster Diving
By Matt Malone
Dumpster diving is easy and anyone can do it, but to be great at it requires work and careful planning. Just like anything else in life, you get out of it what you put in to it. The point of this article is to give the beginner some helpful hints on where to find the stuff, how to process your items and how to turn that trash into money.- EPISODE 53~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 53~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursMAKE More links from Episode 53 of Easy Money:
Good locations for Solar panels: Washington PostNet metering policies in your state:
EPISODE 53~ TOP TIP: Smart Toys Could Be Putting Your Children At RiskThe FBI wants you to know that internet-connected toys, sometimes called “smart toys” are vulnerable to hackers. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center lists a litany of problems in its release, saying strangers can pinpoint your address, get childrens’ names and birth dates, download your son or daughter’s photo and even listen in on your conversations and record your
EPISODE 53~ MAKE MORE: Solar Panels Not Only Save You Money But Can Make You MoneySolar panels can now pay for themselves in as little as five years, depending where you live. I will link you to an article of mine that helps you figure out if you live in a good location for solar panels. If you do, you won’t need much, if any, power from your electric utility.
EPISODE 53~ SAVE MORE: Grocery Shopping on a Budget By Stockpiling Items When They Are Cheapest —Instead of When You Need ThemWhat is the idea behind stockpiling?
The idea is to buy enough groceries when they are at their lowest price to last you until the next time those same items are at their lowest price, usually 3 to 6 months. So you will have 6 months worth of some items in your home. And you’ll “shop your pantry” when you need something.What can you stockpile? Nearly everything, right?
Everything except fresh produce and eggs. You can evenEPISODE 53~ FIND YOURS: Keep an Eye on Your Unclaimed Money Before Your State Snags ItStates first became the custodians of unclaimed money back in the 1960s or so. Their argument was that they were more trustworthy than businesses when it came to safeguarding citizens lost accounts.
Back then, the states would let dormant accounts sit there for a good long time —maybe ten years— before considering them unclaimed money and forcing banks and other financial firms to turn the money over to the state. But soon state legislators realized holding unclaimed money was a
EPISODE 53 ~ GUEST BLOG: Stockpiling: The Easiest Way to Cut Your Grocery BillBy Chrissy Pate, Founder, BeCentsable.net
The idea behind stockpiling is to buy items when they are at their lowest price and to buy enough to last your family until the items are at their lowest price again (usually three to six months). Recently we were able to get Kellogg’s cereal for just $0.08 a box by combining a great sale with coupons. That’s a price you won’t see every week! Since cereal stays fresh for several months we took advantage of the stock-up principle and saved 98% on the cost of cereal for our families.
But, you may say (as we did), I have two dogs, two kids, a husband, and a serious shoe addiction! There’s no space!
Read More: http://www.becentsable.net/2010/01/stockpiling.html/- EPISODE 52~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 52~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursMAKE More links from Episode 52:
The Uber of Garden care app: greenpal.com
SAVE More links from Episode 53 of Easy Money:
Rebates offered by power companies:
EPISODE 52~ TOP TIP: Sheet Manufacturers Could Be Skipping You on Thread Counts!Here is a top tip about something you sleep on: Your sheets! The little-known U.S. International Trade Commission recently found that foreign sheet manufacturers were shorting consumers on thread counts and issued what’s called a general exclusion order banning companies from importing sheets with inflated thread counts.
Thread count is a measure of the number of threads per square inch in a fabric and higher thread counts haveEPISODE 52 ~ MAKE MORE: How Lawn Care Apps Can Make You More Money!How did you get the idea to mow lawns and do other landscaping work through GreenPal?
I did maintenance work for 17 or 18 years. I did lawn care when I was younger and then I started doing it on the side Worked first few years through Craigslist and word of mouth.. I wanted to be outside and honestly I was getting tired of punching a clock. I decided I wanted to do it full time.
Bryan – the founder of GreenPal was with Peachtree lawn care, which I knew of. IEPISODE 52 ~ SAVE MORE: Save Money on Your Electric Bill By Switching Your Home to All LED LightsAt my own house, I kept thinking I would switch over completely once I had used up all of my old incandescent bulbs, but when I did the math, I was amazed to learn I would save more by ditching those old bulbs —or maybe donating them— than by using them up.
The federal government caught on to the high cost and energy consumption of lighting back in 2007 and passed a law decreeing that lightbulbs must be three times more efficient by the year 2020.
The average American house usesEPISODE 52~ FIND YOURS: Does Blue Cross Have Unclaimed Money in New York for You?Excellus, parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New York, has put together a searchable website where you can see if any of the checks it is holding is for you.
I wouldn’t normally focus in on a single state like this, but New York has such a big population and so many people go there for just a year or two to work, that this seems worthwhile. Excellus says it is holding more than $2.1 million dollars for 10,400 individuals and businesses! This is money that was paid for- EPISODE 51~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 51~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND Yours links from Episode 51 of Easy Money:
•Guest Nick Anderson’s company helps people with tricky unclaimed money recoveries: ironwoodrecovery.comMAKE More links from Episode 51 of Easy Money:
Jobs sites for digital nomads:
Working Nomad
Remote.co
OutsourcelyEPISODE 51 ~ TOP TIP: How To Get The Manufacturer To Give You A Brand New CarTo most people, the term “lemon” refers to a crummy used car. However, to the government, a lemon is a crummy new car. YES! Each state’s lemon law is a little different but, generally, you must have purchased or leased the car brand new. Each state sets a time and mileage limit. For example, you may be required to make a lemon law claim within 15 months or 15,000 miles of buying the vehicle.
Each state also defines what counts as a lemon. For example, in one state if theEPISODE 51 ~ MAKE MORE: How To Have A Career As A Digital NomadLet’s talk about living life —and succeeding in a career— as a digital nomad, somebody who travels around and works remotely from wherever they are.
Many thanks to Entrepreneur.com where I first saw this topic. One of my guests on Episode 46 was a digital nomad, Tara Smith, who works from the road as an interior designer with Modsy. So we know it can be done. But how?
FirstEPISODE 51 ~ SAVE MORE: Cut Your Prescription Costs In Half By Cutting Pills In Half —OR “Growing” ThemI want to tell you about all the money you can save through pill splitting —which you may have heard of— but also pill growing, which you probably haven’t because I made up that term!
I don’t know why, but many medications cost the same amount regardless of the number of milligrams in each tablet. It’s weird. The pharmaceutical company is giving you more –sometimes twice as much– of its prized compound, but doesn’t charge you much –if any– extra for
EPISODE 51 ~ FIND YOURS: Why You Might Want To Hire A Pro To Help You Find And Claim Your Unclaimed MoneyShould you hire a professional to help you search for unclaimed money? That is our featured find yours segment of this podcast.
They’re called “finders” and I have often told you, my listeners, that you can find your own money without these pros. But guest Nick Anderson of Ironwood Recover impressed me with the in-depth treasure hunts he conducts for clients. Here are highlights of our interview.Let’s get the contentious question out of the way first: Why should people hire
EPISODE 51 ~ GUEST BLOG: Introducing a New App That Helps You Find and Claim Your Missing MoneyBy Nick Anderson, Ironwood Recovery
Unclaimed property has many different- EPISODE 50~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 50~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursMAKE More links from Episode 50 of Easy Money:
Guest: Alex Elle
Website: AlexElle.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/alex_elle/
Blog: AnotherSunday.me
Podcast: districtproductive.com/hey-girl/SAVE More links from Episode 50 of Easy Money:
529 Tuition Calculator:EPISODE 50 ~ TOP TIP: Multiple Brands of Stab-Lok Electric Breakers Pose A Fire HazardMillions of American homes were built with defective circuit breakers that pose a fire hazard. The problem with Federal Pacific Electric “Stab-Lok” type circuit breakers has been known for decades, but the CPSC never issued a recall.
Now it turns out that Stab-Lok breakers made by other brands could also be defective. Circuit breakers are supposed to trip —or shut off— when electrical wires are overloaded, so those wires don’t heat up and cause a fire. But in tests of the FPEEPISODE 50 ~ MAKE MORE: How To Make it —And Make Money— In A Creative CareerAre you a creative person, full of talent but also full of fear about becoming the stereotypical “starving artist?” I’m here to tell you that It IS possible to make it as a creative. That is our featured “make more” segment this time. My guest has made it as a creative despite some real-life challenges early in her career. In this episode I interviewed author, poet, selfcare and wellness consultant and fellow podcast host Alex Elle. Here are some of the questions I asked her. Alex’s
EPISODE 50 ~ SAVE MORE: 529 Plans For K-12 Might Be A Way to Save 5 Figures!If you send your children to private school, you can now use money saved in a 529 plan to pay their kindergarten through 12th grade tuition.
This new opportunity that came with the tax overhaul of late 2017 only applies to private schools. But yes, starting with the 2018 tax year, you can withdraw $10,000 per student per year to pay for primary or secondary education. Now, you shouldn’t withdraw from a 529 plan if that means you won’t have enough money for college. BUT, if you areEPISODE 50 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: What Happened When One State Decided to KEEP Your Unclaimed MoneyOne state experimented with keeping people’s unclaimed money if they didn’t claim it in time. That state is Idaho, the Gem state, although most people probably think of it as the potato state. Yes, for quite a while, Idaho was the ONLY state in the country that had a law on the books stating that if citizens didn’t claim their lost accounts within a decade, the state got to keep the money.
Idaho receives nearly $20 million dollars a year worth of unclaimed money, and less than a
EPISODE 50 ~ GUEST BLOG: Creative Careers: You Don’t Have to Choose One Thing To SucceedBy Alexandra Elle, Creative/Entrepreneur
I get this question a lot, "how do I make a true living, without struggling, as a creative career entrepreneur." It's never easy to answer, mainly because everyone's journey is vastly different. However, what seems to be the common thread is the craving to "do what you love" for a living. I've written a little bit about my journey to entrepreneurship here. But I wanted to touch on how I prepared to live off of my creative career. - EPISODE 49~ EASY MONEY PODCAST
EPISODE 49~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND Yours links from Episode 49 of Easy Money:
Top Class Actions Website explains Roundup Settlement:
topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/closed-settlements/830927-roundup-concentrate-class-action-settlement/The actual website of the Roundup class action:
EPISODE 49 ~ TOP TIP: Curbstoning: Steer Clear of These Illegal, Unlicensed Used Car DealersHello everybody, I’m Elisabeth Leamy. And instead of rambling, here is my Top Tip. Experts estimate 80-percent of the used cars sold by what look like individual owners are actually being sold by illegal, unlicensed dealers called “Curbstoners” because they sell cars from the curb. Some telltale signs;
Cars for sale by the side of the road or at shopping centers often belong to curbstoners.
If the seller insists on meeting you at a public place, proceed with caution.
IfEPISODE 49 ~ MAKE MORE: Wedding Officiant Could Be Your Next Side Hustle!It’s wedding season as I record this and did you know you can make extra money performing weddings? Thanks to Refinery29 where I originally saw this “make more” idea. Think about it: this is a great option if you are good at public speaking, if you were a drama geek in high school, if you’re a romantic. Or if you look the part of the wise wedding officiant.
AND In many places, you do not have to be a minister or a judge to be a wedding officiant.
One option is to get
EPISODE 49 ~ SAVE MORE: Resale Clothing: A Way To Dress Well Without Ever Spending Money on Clothes Again!What if you could get all of the beautiful clothes you could ever want for low or NO cost? That is our featured “save more” segment of this podcast. My guest says she has not purchased a new piece of clothing in 20 years and yet she’s a well-dressed woman. Please welcome Kate Bryer to Easy Money. Hi Kate!
Kate, tell us about your real job, first, so people can get a feel for what you’re all about.
I am the Associate Artistic Director at Imagination Stage, a children’sEPISODE 49 ~ FIND YOURS: Roundup Class Action Could Be Worth $1,000+ To YouFor our find yours topic for today, let’s talk about a lucrative class action settlement involving a garden product.
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The product is Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Concentrate Plus or Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Super. The lawsuit alleged that Monsanto advertised that these concentrated products could create far more spray than they actually could. Monsanto didn’t admit fault, but did agree to pay consumers a total of 21 and a half million
- EPISODE 48 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 48~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursMAKE More links from Episode 48 of Easy Money:
Websites where you can sell your furniture for more money than Craig’s List:
Apartment Therapy Marketplace
Chairish
EBTH
The Real Real
ViyetSAVE More links from Episode 48 of Easy Money:
•The new website and app that helps you get control of your finances in about 20 minutes: FearlessFinance.com
•Fearless Finance App on iTunes:EPISODE 48 ~ TOP TIP: Candy Kids Scam: Why You Should Not Buy From Themhere is a top tip about the Candy Kids. Summer’s coming, so soon you’ll see them downtown, on the subway, at your own front door. They claim to be selling chocolate bars or other candy for a cause. Sound familiar? The US Labor Department says 50-thousand children nationwide are involved and that they’re being exploited. Crooked adults with criminal records called candy crew leaders run these candy rings. They recruit near schools, in public housing complexes and homeless shelters and
EPISODE 48 ~ MAKE MORE: Craigslist Alternatives: 5 Websites Where You Can Get More For Your FurnitureYes, there’s always Craig’s List or eBay, but you may be able to make more if you post your items on a smaller site where people look for nicer things and expect to pay a bit more. Here are a bunch of options that all had favorable ratings with the Better Business Bureau when I checked them out.
First, there’s Apartment Therapy Marketplace. You may recognize the name of this site that’s been providing decorating inspiration for
EPISODE 48 ~ SAVE MORE: More Over Mint Finance. There’s a New App For Financial ManagementOn Easy Money, we often talk about how to save money in the “how-to-buy-things-for less sense. But I also want to talk about how to save money in the “how-to-make-sure-you-have-enough-to pursue-your-dreams-and-eventually-retire sense! To that end, what if you could spend 10 to 20 minutes inputting a few key financial facts about yourself into a website and when you were done you’d know exactly where you stand and what you need to do? You can! With a new website and app called Fearless
EPISODE 48~ FIND YOURS: Finding Unclaimed Money When Your Bank Was Bought By Another BankWhen I was launching the Easy Money podcast, I searched for unclaimed money for everybody in my contacts list, and I found something for a friend named Lori Atwood who happens to be a certified financial planner. Here’s a summary of our interview about her unclaimed money.
Here you are a financial guru. Were you surprised there was unclaimed money out there for you?
Yes! It had been out there for years and I had no idea until you told me.What was the money from?
EPISODE 48 ~ GUEST BLOG: How The Money App I Built Can Help You Be Fearless About Your FinancesBy Lori Atwood, CFP®, Founder of FearlessFinance.com Hopefully you have some money set aside for unplanned —but required— stuff that happens, like root canals, and car repairs, I call that Rainy Day Savings. You should also have enough savings to cover 3-6 months of expenses in case you experience a total loss of income. I call that Emergency Savings. One of the best reasons to run Fearless Finance, my new software, is to see if you are "Savings Secure” in both of these categories.- EPISODE 47 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 47~ LINKS: Resources To Help You Make More, Save More, Find YoursFIND Yours links from Episode 47:
•Website to search 40 states at once for unclaimed money: MissingMoney.com
•Website to search the other 10 states for missing money: unclaimed.orgMAKE More links from Episode 47:
•Social Security Quick Benefit Calculator: www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/index.htmlEPISODE 47~ TOP TIP: Credit Card Debt: How To Put It On IceIf you carry credit card debt, I want you to pull out your wallet -right now- while you’re listening and get out all of your credit cards. Now, grab a pair of scissors, and cut them up. (Make scissor noise here!) All but one. Are you feeling the withdrawal symptoms yet? Have you broken out in a cold sweat? You’re about to get even colder. Now, take the remaining card, stick it in a one-gallon plastic zipper bag, fill the bag with water, and freeze it. Yes, freeze your credit card in a
EPISODE 47~ MAKE MORE: Social Security: A Strategy To More Than Double Your PaymentsI want to reveal a way to get 30-50 percent more Social Security money from the government? It’s real. And it’s legal!
[MUSIC: Fade music]
All you have to do is delay when you start taking Social Security. That’s it. We told my mother-in-law this when she retired, but she didn’t listen. Will you? Here’s how it works. We’re allowed to start taking Social Security as early as age 62. But if you take the benefit that early you get a seriously reduced benefit. That’s where that 30EPISODE 47 ~ SAVE MORE: Adjustable Rate Mortgages: How ARMs Can Save You Big Money Under Certain CircumstancesHere’s our save more topic for today: When and why an adjustable rate mortgage could save you thousands of dollars. Adjustable rate mortgages or “ARMs” got a bad rap during the real estate bubble years, because so many people signed up for them not realizing that if their interest rate adjusted upward they would no longer be able to afford their monthly payments.
But here’s the key: the initial interest rate on an ARM is lower than that of a fixed rate mortgage, so you can save big
EPISODE 47~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money Heroes: Why Some People Search for Missing Money For OthersFor all the thousands of people who never search for their unclaimed money and don’t even realize it’s legitimate, there is always somebody who’s fascinated by this missing money, searches for others, and tries to let them in on the good news. This “do gooder” trend is our featured “find yours” segment for this episode. My guest is Steve Mondros of New Jersey who has been interested in unclaimed money ever since he was a kid. Welcome, Steve!
How did you first hear about unclaimed
EPISODE 46 ~ LINKS: Modsy Design & Style QuizesGuest Blog
5 Ways To Refresh Your Space For Spring On A Budget
www.instagram.com/modsydesign/
EPISODE 46 ~ TOP TIP: Bothered by Manmade Fragrance? Know the Lingo In Order to Steer ClearIf you, like me, are bothered by the overpowering artificial scents in old products like dryer sheets all the way up to new products like scented garbage bags, there are solutions. First of all, you should know manmade scents have been linked to several health problems, so this is real. To steer clear, you need to know the lingo.
EPISODE 46 ~ MAKE MORE: Be an Interior Designer —As A Main Gig Or Side Hustle— Through This Cutting Edge New AppIf you love home decor and have always wanted to be an interior designer, but never knew how to land clients and get started, today’s Make More segment is for you. Introducing a new online service called Modsy. As a designer for Modsy you create 360-degree drawings of rooms —complete with furniture and decor recommendations— so clients can SEE how their room will look before
EPISODE 46 ~ SAVE MORE: Interior Design: How To Save Thousands on Professional Interior Design ServicesWelcome Alessandra Wood, Director of Style at Modsy, who is joining us to talk about how Modsy can SAVE people money.
We’ve heard how great Modsy is for your designers. Now let’s talk about the client side. How does a client start a project with Modsy?
- They just
EPISODE 46 ~ FIND YOURS: Girl Scouts: Help A Girl Scout Troop Find Its Unclaimed Money With A Simple SearchOn episode 44 I told you about all of the boy scout troops owed unclaimed money. Well, it’s only fair for me to give equal time to girl scout troops! Title 9 and all that.
I once had the pleasure of surprising the Girls Scouts USA office in Pasadena, California with unclaimed money. It
EPISODE 46 ~ GUEST BLOG: Spring Decor: Refresh Your Space This Season With Tips From A Style DirectorMeet Alessandra Wood, the Director of Style at Modsy. With a PhD in Design History and an M.A. in the History of Decorative Arts and Design, she is a bona fide design expert, taught by the best of the best curators and historians. We picked her brain on the best ways to update your home for spring without breaking the bank. Read on for some of her tips!
Looking for some spring decor ideas to refresh your space, but not flush with cash to spend? Not to worry! Here are
- EPISODE 45 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 45 ~ LINKS: Mystery Shopping & Unclaimed MoneyMake More
Legitimate Mystery Shopping Companies in Good Standing With the Mystery Shoppers Coalition:
AboutFace
Ace Mystery Shopping
EPISODE 45 ~ TOP TIP: Candle: Save On Candles By Extending Their Lifetime With This Special TrickCandles are popular AND expensive, so here’s a trick to make them last longer. Just stick your candles in the freezer for about 24 hours before burning them. This slows down the burn rate so that your candles will burn longer… and maybe even more evenly. Cool, huh?
EPISODE 45 ~ MAKE MORE: Mystery Shopper: Check Out This Legitimate List Of Companies Hiring Mystery ShoppersBrandee in Texas listened to episode 8 about making money as a mystery shopper and she wanted more resources for actually getting into the business.
I am eager to please, so here goes, Brandee. I got back in touch with Pamela Olmstead, President of the Mystery Shoppers Coalition and she very generously gave me a long list of legitimate companies that hire mystery shoppers.
EPISODE 45 ~ SAVE MORE: Hospital: Reduce Your Medical Bills By Consulting Your Doctor Before Entering The HospitalLet’s dive into our SAVE MORE topic for today: How to negotiate a better deal when you need to go to the hospital.
If it’s an emergency, you get a free pass. But if you know in advance that you are going to the hospital, you should ask for an itemized estimate of the charges. I know this sounds crazy. And yet, when I re-tiled my
EPISODE 45 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: People Just Like You Are Finding Five Figures Worth Of Unclaimed MoneyImagine getting a letter from your state saying that a relative left behind a big pile of unclaimed money and you need to claim it. That’s exactly what happened to my guest. His father passed away in 2013 and left behind a tangle of financial accounts that were hard to sort out …and one of them went missing. My guest is named
EPISODE 44 ~ LINKS: Missing Money, Free Trip Stopovers & Asking For That RaiseEPISODE 44 ~ TOP TIP: Layover: Extend And Save On Your Vacation By Adding An Extra StopYou may be able to travel to 2 different destinations for the price of one. When I was planning a trip to Asia, I figured I would use miles to fly to Hong Kong and then I’d buy a ticket to go on to Bangkok. But then a savvy travel agent —remember them?— told me that many international airlines allow you to “lay over” for a week in one
EPISODE 44 ~ MAKE MORE: How To Ask For A Raise: Make More By Using These Killer Tips To Literally Increase Your SalaryOur featured topic today is our make more segment and today I mean that very literally! Let’s talk about how to MAKE more money by asking for and getting a raise. So many of my “make more” topics are side hustles or entrepreneurial ideas, but I also want to give you ways to make more money at your existing job. Getting a raise is the main way, but so many of us get nervous
EPISODE 44 ~ SAVE MORE: Savings Account: Use Your Emergency Savings For A Real Emergency – Credit Card DebtTime now for our save more segment of the show: I know lots of smart people who have a good-sized savings account and credit card debt. And that is just dumb.
Oh, did I say that out loud? Refusing to use a savings account to pay off credit card debt is like barricading your front door for security, but then letting thieves
EPISODE 44 ~ FIND YOURS: Boy Scouts: Find Money For Your Favorite Scout TroopHundreds or even thousands of boy scout and cub scout troops across the country are owed unclaimed money. That is our find yours topic for today.
Many thanks to the Bryan on Scouting blog, where I first spotted this information. I have told you before how to search for unclaimed money for religious groups, charities and schools.
EPISODE 44 ~ GUEST BLOG: Understand Your Boss For The Best Chance of Getting A RaiseWhy do you go to work? If you’re one of the lucky few, your work ignites your passion. It challenges you. It lets you accomplish what you find most worthwhile, provides community, and helps you contribute in a meaningful way. You’d keep working even if you won the lottery. Chances are, that’s not you. Even if your job does some of that,
EPISODE 43 ~ LINKS: Facebook Marketplace and Highwood HomeEPISODE 43 ~ TOP TIP: Locksmith: Hop Online To Find Substantially Cheaper Prices For New Locks Compared To A LocksmithNever buy a lock from a locksmith! This tip comes courtesy of my producer, Woody. Woody’s niece recently bought her first condo and wanted to change the locks. The locksmith quoted her $75 for a non-name brand lock. Woody jumped online and found a better, name-brand Schlage lock available at Walmart for $17 bucks. Now, why would I harp on this locksmith example? Because the same principle applies to buying ANY product when you’re a captive audience. Don’t panic. Shop around real quick and
EPISODE 43 ~ MAKE MORE: Make Money Online: Learn Why This New Site Is An Even Better Marketplace Than Craig’s ListWhat if there was a more targeted, refined way to sell stuff you no longer need? And to BUY stuff you want, at a good price, from people you trust? There is! It’s called Facebook Marketplace and it is both my make more AND save more topic for this show. My guests are Deb Liu, VP of
EPISODE 43 ~ SAVE MORE: Online Shopping: Find Better Online Deals For Anything You Could Image With This Great SiteWhat if there was a more targeted, refined way to sell stuff you no longer need? And to BUY stuff you want, at a good price, from people you trust? There is! It’s called Facebook Marketplace and it is both my make more AND save more topic for this show. For the Facebook Marketplace user perspective, let’s turn to Katie Mundo.
EPISODE 43 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: How The Government Might Claim Your Money That Isn’t MissingWhat if the government seized an account of yours as unclaimed money, even though it wasn’t unclaimed? It happens all the time and that’s today’s “find yours topic.”
For Carla Ruff of San Francisco, it was her safe deposit box that was drilled, opened and turned over the the state of California. When I did a story about this for Good
- EPISODE 43 ~ Guest Blog: Facebook Marketplace: What is it and How Can I Get The Most Out of It?
Facebook Marketplace is an easy, convenient way to buy and sell in your area. You can look through listings or search for items near you to find great things to buy. You can find Facebook Marketplace here. (
EPISODE 42 ~ LINKS: Selling Gift Cards, Raise Mobile App, and Missing MoneyEPISODE 42 ~ TOP TIP: Warranty: Don’t Be Fooled By Service Contracts Disguised As Extended WarrantiesIf somebody tries to sell you an “extended warranty,” keep in mind it’s not really a warranty and that it may NOT be extended either. These deals are really service contracts, often offered by outside companies. Here’s the big question: Does this service contract duplicate the protections offered by the regular warranty? The word
EPISODE 42 ~ MAKE MORE: Sell Gift Cards: Profit By Selling The Gift Cards Collecting Dust In Your DrawersIf you receive a gift card from a store that isn’t your thing, you don’t have to stick it in a drawer and forget about it. You can make money off of it! And if you want to SAVE money, you can buy other people’s unwanted gift cards for as much as 30 percent off and die them as gifts or shop with them. My guest is George Bousis, founder
EPISODE 42 ~ SAVE MORE: Gift Card Exchange: Learn How To Buy Other People’s Unwanted Gift Cards For 30% DiscountsI love it when one guest can help me with two topics. George recently taught us how to make money selling gift cards and now he’ll stick with me, because now we’re going to talk about how Raise can help people SAVE money!
First off, How does Raise assure the gift cards people buy are legitimate?
Raise has multiple protocols in place to detect and prevent potential fraudulent
EPISODE 42~ FIND YOURS: Missing Money: Beware of Unclaimed Money Scams That Try To Take Your Money Instead of Giving It To YouLet’s talk about our actual “find yours” topic for today: unclaimed money scams. Fraudsters who try to get in on the unclaimed money goodness. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators or ‘NAUPA” is warning that scammers have been taking the group’s name in vain and trying to take YOUR money.
NAUPA is made up of
Episode 42: Guest Blog: Savings Economy: Learn About The Company Making Your Money Worth MoreHi there!
We’re Raise and we’re on a mission to make your money worth more.
Built on a fundamental belief that prepaid cards are the most valuable currency there is, we are dedicated to establishing a new method of payment where you can always get more for your money.
Read more
- EPISODE 41 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 41 ~ TOP TIP: “No Money Down” Can Mean Big Money LostNo money down, no interest, no payments til next year! This is what’s known as a “No, No, No Deal.” But before you say “yes, yes, yes,” you should know these deals can end up costing you a lot, lot, lot. Here’s the main problem. These offers are strictly structured so that if you don’t pay
EPISODE 41 ~ LINKS: Healthcare, Professional Cuddling, And Finding Your Missing MoneySave More
Michelle Katz’s book Healthcare Made Easy
Make More
Articles about professional snuggling:
EPISODE 41 ~ MAKE MORE: Professional Cuddler: YES, This is A Real Job and a Great Side Hustle!Some people are making money by becoming professional snugglers.
If you just did a double take, trust me, I did too. When I saw an article on Student Loan Hero about this, I was intrigued but skeptical. So I checked my
EPISODE 41 ~ SAVE MORE: IVF: The Natural Fertility Treatment That Costs 75% LessOur featured segment today is our save more topic: a way to get Fertility treatments for about a quarter of the usual cost. It’s called “natural cycle IVF” and it’s cheaper because it relies more on the body’s own natural rhythms rather than paying to do everything artificially. My guest is Michelle Katz, otherwise known as “Nurse Katz.” Michelle is a trained nurse, a
EPISODE 41 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: Why You Should Try A Search By Last Name ONLYLet’s talk about our find yours topic for this week: the strategy of teaching just your last name when you look for unclaimed money.
This is a strategy for people who want to make sure they’ve turned over every single stone in their search for missing money.
I’ve talked about where you should search, namely every single state to be
EPISODE 41: GUEST BLOG: 3 Tips for Succeeding With Fertility TreatmentsBy Michelle Katz
Do you have baby on the brain? Well, “making a baby” can be as stressful as actually as having a baby with all the infertility options out there such as IVF, IUI, ICI, IVI etc. If you are headed down this path, one of the key components to having a successful pregnancy is not to stress, but if you are not prepared financially, this may be almost impossible. One of the less expensive ways to go through this process is through
- Episode 40 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 40 ~ LINKS: Energy Sage, States With Deregulated Power, and Arcadia PowerEPISODE 40 ~ TOP TIP: Credit Score: Raise Your Score Almost Instantly By Becoming an Authorized User on Someone Else’s AccountIf you need to improve your credit score fast, one way is to be added as an authorized user to another person’s credit card account. This is a perfectly legitimate strategy if the other person is a family member or close associate. Many parents do this for their kids. Some business partners have too. Even though the authorized user is not responsible for paying the bill, the account – and
EPISODE 40 ~ MAKE MORE: Solar Panels Can MAKE You Money Even If You Live in an Apartment!Kiran Bhatraju of Arcadia Power is staying on and we’re transitioning from how Arcadia can help you save money to how Arcadia can help you make money. Thanks for sticking around, Kiran!
My husband and I are actually researching installing solar panels on our roof right now. Should we do it? Will it not only save but make us money?
• When you install a solar panel
EPISODE 40 ~ SAVE MORE: Go Green: News flash! Clean Electricity is Now Cheaper Than TraditionalPeople in 30 out of 50 states have the option of switching their gas provider, electric provider or both. That can save you green and be more green because there may be an alternative supplier that costs less and does more for the environment. A startup called Arcadia Power has created software that tracks the power companies in many areas and helps you find a better
EPISODE 40 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: Don’t Pay A “Finder” For Access To Your Own MoneyI’m happy to say that this week’s “Find Yours” blog came from one of you. Let’s check it out.
Hi, this is Patrick in California. I got a letter in the mail saying I am owed unclaimed money and this company can claim it for me. I don’t want to pay them a percentage, but I have no idea where
EPISODE 40 ~ GUEST BLOG: How and Why Clean Energy Can Save You MoneyBy Kiran Bhatraju, CEO, Arcadia Power
- EPISODE 39 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 39 ~ LINKS: Entrepreneurs, Pruvo, & Employee Benefits Security AdministrationMake More
EPISODE 39 ~ TOP TIP: Carpet Cleaning: Go With The Cleaning Service That Prices By Square Foot NOT By RoomCarpet cleaners who advertise “3 rooms for $29.95” or some other low, set price, don’t really mean it. They are hustlers who want into your house. They’ll drag all their equipment into your house to make you feel obligated. And then they’ll upsell you like crazy. Want stains removed?
EPISODE 39 ~ MAKE MORE: Opinions: Get Paid Extra Cash Simply By Sounding OffMany thanks to entrepreneur.com where I first spotted these “make more” ideas. Let me take these in order from least to most involved.
#1: Give your feedback on new
EPISODE 39 ~ SAVE MORE: Hotels: Save On Travel By Booking Your Room, Then Re-Booking the SAME Room for LessHere’s a way to save money on hotel rooms by taking advantage of the fact that room rates are always changing. Just book a room and then a new website called Pruvo tracks price drops for you and helps you re-book the room when the price has gone down. My guest is Doron Nadevi, Chief Marketing Officer for Pruvo. Doron, welcome to Easy Money.
EPISODE 39 ~ FIND YOURS: Stocks: Find Your Unclaimed Stocks Before The Government Sells Them at a LossLet’s talk about our find yours topic for today: the importance of finding any unclaimed stocks or bonds before the government sells them off.
Here’s why this is crucial: one, many of us don’t keep close track of the investments we buy because we’ve been told to hold them for the long haul, so we just sort of let them stew and hope they go up. This is incredibly common.
EPISODE 39 ~ GUEST POST: Travel: Secret Tips That Will Help You Score The Lowest Hotel & Travel RatesIn today’s modern era there are few things that don’t have a set sticker price. Hotel rooms are one of the things where it is still a bargainer’s market. Hotels have an entire elaborate system where they can target the high prices from some individuals and bring in the low prices to fill the rest of the room. An empty room is only wasted money right? Well in this blog posts we are going to go over some of the industry secrets to secure a hotel room for the best price.
- EPISODE 38 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 38 ~ LINKS: Unclaimed Retirement Benefits & Remote JobsFind Yours
www.Excellusbcbs.com/forgottenfunds
EPISODE 38 ~ TOP TIP: AAA: Invest In AAA To Avoid Pricey Tow Truck ServicesInstead of complaining about how my car broke down last week, here is a Top Tip that might help you if yours does. If your car dies on you and you need to get it towed, you may be able to join AAA and get a year’s worth of towing and other services, for less than the cost of hiring a tow truck just for the one trip. This didn’t help my husband and me because our alternator blew
EPISODE 38 ~ MAKE MORE: Remote Jobs: Stay Flexible And Work For A Top Company By Telecommuting To WorkToday, I want to reveal the top companies for remote jobs in 2018, which could well be the top companies for remote jobs well into the future.
This list comes courtesy of FlexJobs.com, which compiled it by analyzing its own jobs database of more than
EPISODE 38 ~ SAVE MORE: Credit Cards: Negotiate To Decrease The Interest Rate On Your Credit Cards And Save ThousandsLet’s talk about negotiating a lower interest rate on your credit card as a way of saving hundreds or thousands of dollars.
This strategy applies to people who carry a credit card balance. Negotiating a lower interest rate, which will also help you pay off your debt more quickly and cheaply. All you do is call up your credit card company and politely ask them to lower your
EPISODE 38 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: Help Your Elder Friends Discover Their Missing Money With LifespanIt’s a good idea to search for unclaimed money for older friends and relatives. After all, they’ve lived longer, so they’ve had more chances for their money to go missing. My guest has been searching for unclaimed money for seniors for years and wait ’til you hear how much he’s found. Gabriel Geiger is Director of Financial Services for Lifespan of Greater Rochester New York. (
EPISODE 38 ~ GUEST BLOG: Three Reasons to Look for Unclaimed Funds for your Older RelativesBy Gabriel Geiger
Three Reasons to Look for Unclaimed Funds for your Older Relatives
1. Who doesn’t
- EPISODE 37 ~ EASY MONEY
Episode 37 ~ LINKS: Wageworks, Dscount, and SPICEPISODE 37 ~ TOP TIP: Budget Planner: Set A Spending-Cap With Your Spouse When Combining FinancesI was talking to a newlywed friend the other night and she was nervous about combining finances with her husband and keeping the peace at home. I shared this marital spending tip: Set a spending cap that neither spouse is allowed to go over without checking in with the other person. Something like a hundred dollars or 2-hundred or 5.
EPISODE 37 ~ MAKE MORE: Earn Money Online: Make Quick And Easy Cash By Reviewing Videos With Your OpinionCompanies are hungry for information about what consumers want. It used to be that they would hire a focus group vendor, gather a group of people, and have a moderator ask them questions —all while spying on the group through a one-way mirror. That still goes on but there’s a new way companies are getting the insights they seek and it’s a money-making opportunity for YOU. Namely video reviews. I touched on this in Episode 29 and got so much positive
EPISODE 37 ~ SAVE MORE: Commute: Pay For Parking At Your Work On A Pretax BasisDid you know that you can pay for parking that’s part of your work commute on a pretax basis?
I used to do this myself when I worked at ABC News in the Washington DC bureau. According to Wageworks, the dominant company that administers this federal program, you can get this benefit if you pay to park at or near work OR if you park somewhere remote, like a metro
EPISODE 37 ~ FIND YOURS: Broker: Recover Your Unclaimed Money From Brokers That Went Out-Of-BusinessLet’s talk about our find yours topic for today: how to recover unclaimed money from a brokerage firm that went out of business.
It turns out there is a little-known agency that handles these cases called the SIPC or Securities Investor Protection Corporation. It’s kind of like the FDIC of brokerage firms, insuring customers’ accounts in the event the firm goes out of
EPISODE 37~GUEST BLOG: Make More~ Modern Focus Groups: How To Apply For DScout Video Review Missions For A Nice Side IncomeTo go on a mission, you’ll need to submit an application and then get selected to participate. Just tap on the apply tab in the dscout app to see if any available opportunities look interesting. If you see an opportunity that sounds like fun, apply for it! If there’s nothing available to apply for at the moment, hang in there–we’ll be serving up some new opportunities in no time.
- EPISODE 36 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 36 ~ LINKS: Forbes, Unclaimed Money, & KloudesEPISODE 36 ~ TOP TIP: You do NOT have 3 Days To Return a Car —Car Sales Are FinalMost car sales —new or used— are FINAL. Many people believe you have three days to return a car if you change your mind. It’s one of the most pervasive consumer myths and drives me absolutely crazy. A few rare and noble dealerships have begun allowing limited returns.
EPISODE 36 ~ MAKE MORE: Side Hustle: How To Make Sure Your Side Hustle Doesn’t Conflict With Your Day JobWhen we talk about “making more,” often we’re talking about a side hustle, an extra gig you do in addition to your day job to bring in additional revenue. Well, it’s important to make sure your day job and your side hustle don’t get in each other’s way.
Many thanks to Jenny Odegard of
EPISODE 36 ~ SAVE MORE: Mattresses: Save Thousands By Buying a Quality Mattress Topper Instead of a MattressAmericans spend 15-billion dollars a year on mattresses. The queen-sized models rated highest by Consumer Reports cost 13-hundred to 23-hundred dollars, but there are even some fancy mattresses that sell for 60-thousand dollars apiece! My guest calls that “shady” and says only the top 3 inches of the mattress really matter. That’s
EPISODE 36 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Funds: Why You Must Search All 50 States To Be Sure You’ve Found Your Missing MoneyLet’s talk about our find yours topic for today: namely the importance of searching ALL 50 states if you want to be sure to find all unclaimed money owed to you.
Yes, the states where you have lived are the top priority for a search, because unclaimed money is most often held in the state where the citizen lives or lived. BUT that is not always the case!
EPISODE 36 ~ GUEST POST: Mattresses: Don’t Fall For Expensive Mattress Gimmicks!This week I talked about how to save money on a mattress. However, there are even easier ways to save, and that’s to not get tricked! My guest Omar Alachaboun started a mattress topper company called Kloudes, and he knows all of the ins-and-outs on not spending extra on a mattress while still having your dream bed.
Read more on saving on a mattress by
- CBS News Radio Listeners: Welcome! Here Are the Details and Links To Help You Save, Find and Make Money This Valentine’s Day
Every week on the Easy Money Podcast, I dig up clever, creative ways to
make more money, save big money and find your unclaimed money. My
CBS Valentine’s Special tips and tricks were just a sampling. I invite you to check out the podcast for so many more. Meanwhile, as promised, here are more details about how to save money on- EPISODE 35 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 35 ~ Links: Checkbook.org, Auto Insurance, & YouTube EarningsEPISODE 35 ~ TOP TIP: Avoiding Financial Failure By Being the “Hunter” Not The “Hunted”Here is a Top Tip that I love. It’s my motto as a consumer, actually. Ready? “Be the hunter, not the hunted.” Sounds kind of weird, but let me explain. All sorts of bad things happen to us financially when we respond to those who come after us with their products and services.
EPISODE 35 ~ MAKE MORE: Unboxing Videos: Earn Extra Cash By Opening Boxes On YouTubeNow it’s time for our “Make more” segment, and who would have thought that people can add thousands more to their income simply by opening boxes?
The global Unboxing trend is sweeping the web. With viewership growing by 57% over the past year, these short and simple videos are exactly what you might think: someone opening a box to reveal what’s inside. Unboxing categories are endless.
EPISODE 35 ~ SAVE MORE: Car Insurance: Shopping Around for It And Save $1000+I like to save money on the boring things, so I have more for the fun things. And perhaps the most boring thing of all that we spend money on is insurance. Fortunately, with car insurance it’s possible to save BIG bucks just by shopping around.
EPISODE 35 ~ FIND YOURS: 401K: How To Find Your Missing 401K From An Old JobAnd now let’s talk about our find yours topic for today: how to find your lost 401k plan from a former job.
If your old employer is still in business, chances are you can find your plan by contacting the company. But if the firm is no longer around, the Employee Benefits Security Administration —part of the Department of Labor— can help you with this.
EPISODE 35 ~ GUEST BLOG: Car Insurance: Save More Than A Thousand Dollars By Spending A Few Extra Minutes Shopping For Auto InsuranceAlthough it’s a bit of a pain to shop for auto insurance, most consumers would agree that spending a few hours to save $500, $1,000, or more every year is worth the effort. Note that you don’t have to wait until your current policy term expires to take advantage of the savings you’d
- EPISODE 34 ~ EASY MONEY
EPISODE 34 ~ LINKS: Egg Donors, FDIC Unclaimed Funds, and American HonorsSave More
Find Yours
Guest Blog
EPISODE 34 ~ TOP TIP: Pay By Phone: Why You Should Only Pay Over The Phone If You Initiated The CallThe other night I picked up the phone and it was my husband’s college calling to ask for money. We are big believers in education, so I had the patience to listen and I was sympathetic to the idea of donating. BUT, as I went to get my credit card, I suddenly realized I was about to break one of my own rules! Never buy anything or
EPISODE 34 ~ MAKE MORE: Egg Donation: Earn Thousands While Helping Others Start A FamilyToday, we’re going to talk about making money by making a life. Way back on Episode 2, we talked about being a surrogate mother. Today, I want to cover becoming an egg donor, which is less involved because you don’t have to carry a child, but more involved because you’re contributing your own DNA. My guest is named Candace, and she has donated her eggs 5 times resulting in the birth of 6 children.
YOU FIRST
EPISODE 34 ~ SAVE MORE: Tuition: Clever Ways to Save Money On a College EducationThis is a follow up to MY last episode, number 33, where I covered unusual ways to MAKE money for college. If you can make more AND save more on college, you might just have it covered. Here goes:
- Fund an out-of-state 529. Many people don’t know that you can start a 529 plan in another state.
- EPISODE 34 ~ FIND YOURS: FDIC Insurance: How To Find Your Lost Money if Your Bank Went Under
Our find yours topic for today is how to locate missing funds held by the FDIC.
FDIC stands for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC is the independent federal agency that insures banks. More specifically, it insures YOUR deposits in banks. The FDIC was established by President
- EPISODE 34 ~ GUEST BLOG: Are You Thinking About Becoming An Egg Donor?
Courtesy of Extraordinary Contraceptions
At Extraordinary Conceptions, we know that egg donations truly make a difference in the lives of others. We work with future parents around the world who are trying to conceive a child but can’t do it without the help of an egg donor like yourself. These parents are looking for potential
- EPISODE 33 ~ EASY MONEY
- EPISODE 33 ~ LINKS: ASCI Travel Reports and Air Travel Secrets
Save More
Find Yours
SFMTA Escheatment Posting October 2017
Guest Blog
EPISODE 33 ~ TOP TIP: Scammers: Don’t Fall For Scams That Will Cause You To Be Bombarded By More Scams!If you buy a cheesy product or fall for even one scam, con artists will circle like vultures and try to get a piece of you. Once a scammer or an opportunist has your contact information, they’ll sell your name to other clever crooks for extra cash. Here are a few things to avoid if you don’t want to be bombarded by scammers: First, over-the-top catchphrases like “one in a million” or “specially selected.” Second, ads in dicey places like the back of a magazine, late night TV informercials,
EPISODE 33 ~ MAKE MORE: Cash For College: 5 Ways To Make Extra Money to Pay TuitionI want to talk about clever, creative ways to make more money for college.
1. My first idea: Cooperative Education
Cooperative education, also called co-op education, involves working full time at a company while also enrolled in college. Students can earn as much as $25 per hour (That’s roughly $50k a year).
EPISODE 33 ~ SAVE MORE: Canceled Flights: App Gets You Compensation When Your Flight Doesn’t Go RightDid you know that when your flight is canceled or delayed, the airline may owe you money? Problem is, you may not know when you’re leaving money on the table and it’s a hassle to do the claims paperwork. Enter an app that will keep track, send in claims and get you your money! It’s called “Service” and what a service it is!
EPISODE 33 ~ FIND YOURS: Parking Tickets: Check Out San Francisco’s Method Of Refunding Overpaid Or Duplicate Parking TicketsThe City of San Francisco has unclaimed money for citizens and visitors who overpaid or paid duplicate parking tickets!
And that means other cities or counties could too! People overpaid San Francisco a total of 600-thousand dollars between 1995 and 2014. Oops! My hometown really blew it this
EPISODE 33: GUEST BLOG ~ 12 SECRETS ABOUT AIR TRAVEL YOU MAY NOT KNOWFrom compensation for delayed flights to the cheapest days to book fares, we’ll cover all the secrets the airline industry doesn’t want you to know about (but we do!).
Be honest: How much do you know about air travel other than booking a flight, showing up with your luggage, and crossing your fingers that everything goes smoothly from there?
From hunting down the cheapest days to
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EPISODE 32 ~ LINKS: Card Pool & Missing MoneyEPISODE 32 ~ TOP TIP: Warranty: Find Out Whether Your Product’s Warranty REALLY Lasts You A LifetimeHere’s a Top Tip about YOUR holiday gifts: If any of them break, you should know that there’s no set legal definition of the term “lifetime warranty.” You probably assumed “lifetime” means your lifetime, right? Not always! Some weasely companies choose to interpret it as the lifetime of the
- EPISODE 32 ~ MAKE MORE: Gift Card Exchange: 5 Ways To Make The Most Out Of Your Unwanted Gift Cards This Holiday Season
If you received gift cards this holiday season to stores that just aren’t your thing, they don’t have to sit unused in a drawer. You can sell them, exchange them, swap them, donate them and more. Let’s take those in turn:
- Sell it. There are two main websites where you
EPISODE 32 ~ SAVE MORE: Buy Gift Cards: Why Pay Cash When You Could Buy A Discounted Gift Card, Instead?Our save more topic for today, which may sound familiar if you’ve read the Make More blog post because now I want to talk about how you can SAVE money by BUYING People’s unwanted gift cards!
Yes! Why pay cash at a store, when you could, instead, buy a discounted gift card to that store?
EPISODE 32 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Funds: Find The Lost Life Insurance Policies Left Behind By Your Loved OnesThis time I want to talk about lost life insurance policies left behind by loved ones who have passed on. People often tell me there’s no way THEY would have unclaimed money waiting for them because they are way too anal and organized to have left money lying around out there somewhere. And I always counter with the fact that if not you, then maybe a relative left money
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EPISODE 31 ~ LINKS: Be Censtable, After Class, and Unclaimed PropertySave More
Make More
18 Brands that Give Fitness Pro Discounts
Find Yours
Lake Forest, CA – Unclaimed Property
Guest
EPISODE 31 ~ TOP TIP: Gym Memberships: Sidestep Ironclad Gym Contracts That Take Big Cash Out Of Your PocketHere is a new year’s Top Tip: Avoid ironclad gym contracts that require big money up front and make it hard to cancel if you want buns of steel. Lots of people join gyms this time of year. And as with all future services contracts in which you make a long-term commitment and pay in advance, there are risks. Make sure you do your homework on the gym before signing a
EPISODE 31 ~ MAKE MORE: Side Hustles: Why Teaching a Fitness Class is the Perfect Extra GigThis week’s idea is to teach an exercise class on the side to make some extra money.
Here are my 12 reasons why teaching an exercise class should be your next side hustle.
- You ought to exercise anyway, so why not get paid to do it?
- You’ll be more likely to STICK WITH
EPISODE 31 ~ SAVE MORE: Cheap Vacations: Check Out These Tips To Take Trips For A Fraction Of The CostWhether you like to take lots of quick 3-day weekends or fewer but longer trips, there are clever, creative strategies for saving on travel. My guest is Chrissy Pate, who runs the savings website BeCentsable.net and co-wrote the book of the same name.
EPISODE 31 ~ FIND YOURS: Local Governments: Check Out This Town That’s Helping Citizens Find Their Missing MoneyLet’s talk about our find yours topic for today: local governments that are doing a good job of letting people know about their unclaimed money.
Because, after all, it’s YOUR money, not their money. Some governments have tried to shorten the amount of time until an account is considered unclaimed to just ONE year, so that banks and brokerages have to turn the money over
EPISODE 31~ GUEST BLOG: Disney World: How To Magically Save MoneyBy Chrissy Pate, Founder, BeCentsable.net
Are you dreaming of a Disney Vacation? Here are some great articles with tons of Disney tips and secrets to help you plan your dream Disney vacation and stay on budget!
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EPISODE 30 ~ LINKS: Birch Finance and Saving Money During The HolidaysMake More
Guest Blog
Holiday Retail Sales Increased 4 Percent in 2016
8 Awesome Apps To Save Money This Holiday Shopping Season
Birch Finance founder Alex Cohen’s Twitter –
EPISODE 30 ~ TOP TIP: Return Policies: Find Out If You Can Return Before You BuyMany people think you have 3 days to return any product you buy. Sorry to say, that’s a myth! Every company has the right to set its OWN return policy. The myth comes from a Federal Trade Commission policy known as the 3-day “Cooling-Off Rule,” but this rule ONLY applies to sales made away from the seller’s place of business. For
EPISODE 30 ~ MAKE MORE: Reward Cards: Use The Birch Finance App For Benefits Of Reward Credit CardsOne way to earn some extra cash or free stuff is by using a rewards credit card. BUT the diabolical problem is knowing which rewards credit card will benefit you the most. There are so many options and variables it’s hard for the human brain to compute the best deal. Enter an ingenious app called “Birch Finance” which does the
EPISODE 30 ~ SAVE MORE: Buying A House: Spend More To Save More LongtermBelieve it or not I’m going to encourage you to spend money to save money by buying a house, if you haven’t already.
Home-buying got a bad rap during the bubble years, but I am still a big believer for a very fundamental reason: it’s the one investment you can make with money you have to spend anyway. After all, you have to pay money to live somewhere.
If you
EPISODE 30 ~ FIND YOURS: Unclaimed Money: Discover Where Missing Money Holds Big AccountsThe average unclaimed money claim is 800-something dollars, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Money Administrators, which is nice. But there are MUCH bigger unclaimed money accounts out there and REAL people DO benefit from them. I want YOU to be next!
Here’s some inspiration:
EPISODE 30 ~ GUEST BLOG: 8 Awesome Apps to Save Money this Holiday Shopping SeasonBy Alex Cohen, Birch Finance co-founder
EPISODE 29 ~ EASY MONEYEPISODE 29 ~ LINKS: Dscount, VoxPopMe, and Your 401(k)Make More
Refinery 29’s “3 Women Share The Side Hustles They Do To Make Ends Meet
Save More
EPISODE 29 ~ TOP TIP: Credit Score: Carry A Balance Less Than Ten Percent To Keep Your Score HighIf you want to keep your credit score high, keep your credit card balances low. Of course, the best thing is to pay your cards off in full each month. But if you must carry a balance, it should be no more than ten percent of your credit limit if you want to keep your score reasonably high. You can go up to 30 percent for a second tier credit score. And really, it’s best not to even SPEND more than 30 percent of your limit, even if you pay it off. Yep, that’s right, the FICO scoring model
EPISODE 29 ~ MAKE MORE: Online Reviews: Review Videos From Anywhere To Make Extra CashMany thanks to Refinery29, where I first spotted this unique money-maker. Here’s how it works: you sign up with a website like DScout.com. DScout stands for
EPISODE 29 ~ SAVE MORE: 401K Plan: Check To See If Your Company Has An Automatic Plan For YouTime to save more and you may not have a choice! Some companies are automatically enrolling their employees in the 401k plan.
Not only that, some are raising the amount of money you save in the plan each year! According to
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EPISODE 28 ~ LINKS: Online Rewards, Holiday Donations, & Earny