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EPISODE 15 ~ SAVE MORE: PMI: Petition To Drop Private Mortgage Insurance and Save BIG

Save more money with The Easy Money Show

Private mortgage insurance isn’t for you.  It protects the lender in case you stop paying your mortgage.  Lenders are required by law to stop charging you for private mortgage insurance when you have 22% equity in your home, but some have been known to conveniently forget.

To complicate things, if you reach 22% equity not through payments, but because real estate prices have gone up, and your house is now more valuable, you’re going to have to prove your case.  The key is to ask your bank what proof it requires.  You may have to gather comparable sales figures for other homes sold recently in your neighborhood or you may need to hire an appraiser to determine the new value of your home.  Whatever it is, Do it! 

Dropping PMI is worth it.  PMI varies, but it often costs about 1 percent of the original loan amount —PER YEAR.   So if your total mortgage was $500,000, you could be paying $5-thousand dollars —a year— in private mortgage insurance.  Ouch.  Of course, dropping PMI in this example saves you 5-thousand dollars a year —And that’s EVERY year— for the rest of the years you have that loan.

But, there’s a way to roll this savings into another strategy that saves you even more money!  When your bank drops the PMI premium, keep paying that amount –but instead of paying it toward PMI, put it toward paying extra toward your mortgage principal. You are used to paying this amount anyway, so it’s a great painless strategy.  Paying extra toward the principal on your loan saves you money, because soon there’s less principal to charge you interest on.  You also end up paying your loan off early.

Let’s say your PMI payment was $100 a month on a $225,000 loan.  If you prepaid that $100 a month —just a hundred dollars— as extra toward your mortgage principal each month, you would save $24-thousand dollars over the rest of the loan.  That is the power of reverse compounding and it is one of my favorite save BIG strategies.

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EPISODE 15 ~ FIND YOURS: Credit Unions: How To Search The National Credit Union Administration For Missing Money

Find unclaimed money with The Easy Money Show

One of our Easy Money listeners recently left me a voicemail concerning her own unclaimed money.

Hi, this is Olivia.  I’ve been listening to your stories about unclaimed money, but I haven’t been able to find my own unclaimed money even though I know it’s out there somewhere.  I used to have an account at a credit union in my home town in Pennsylvania, but the credit union went out of business while I was away for college.  How can I find my money from that account now that the credit union doesn’t exist anymore? 

The reason she haven’t found her unclaimed money by searching the websites I’ve given on the show in the past is that those are for unclaimed money held by the states. 

When credit unions fail, they try to reach their members and return their money, but if they can’t find them, that money eventually goes to the National Credit Union Administration, the federal agency that oversees and insures credit unions.  The NCUA has a website you can check to see if it is holding your money. 

I went to the website and looked at the list and there are pages and pages of names.  Plus the list is updated every few months.  Hopefully you’ll find yourself on the list and find your money.  Here is the link to the National Credit Union Administration’s unclaimed money page.

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EPISODE 15~ GUEST BLOG: How To Get Paid for Blogging

By Alicia Tenise Chew

Friends, this is probably the second most frequently asked question I get as a blogger. So, you’ve been blogging for a few months/years now and are ready to take your blog to the next level. Fantastic! However, how do you make the transition from hobby blogging to taking on sponsored campaigns? I’m going to break it down for you and give you the scoop on how you can start to land campaigns and turn your blog into a business!

Read more about how to get paid for blogging.

Guest Bio: About Alicia Chew

Alicia Tenise is a top D.C. and Philly-based fashion, lifestyle and travel blog written by me, Alicia T. Chew (that’s right — Tenise is my middle name!)

As a millennial who’s a few years out of college, I like to focus on all things attainable: I’ll show you what you should invest in and what to save on to make the most out of your wardrobe, home decor, and vacations.

Alicia is a Washington, D.C. native who relocated to Philadelphia, PA this past spring. She attended Virginia Commonwealth University and graduated in 2013 with a degree in Mass Communications. After graduation, she pursued a career in the marketing industry.

Alicia launched her blog after interning in New York for NYFW as a way to keep connected to the fashion industry. Since its start in 2011, Alicia Tenise has been named one of the top D.C. fashion & beauty Instagram accounts to follow by Washingtonian Magazine, highlighted on Essence Magazine’s website, interviewed by The Washington Post, and was featured by ELLE Magazine in their April 2017 issue.

After a few years of working in the marketing industry for various media and software groups, Alicia decided to take her passion project, Alicia Tenise LLC, full-time. In addition to blogging, Alicia is also a freelance social media manager for a few lifestyle brands.

Guest Name: Alicia Tenise Chew

Guest Title: Style Blogger

Website: www.aliciatenise.com/contact-alicia/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/aliciatenise/?hl=en

Link Tree: linktr.ee/aliciatenise

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EPISODE 14 ~ TOP TIP: Mortgage Calculator: Compare Your Monthly Rent To Get A Mortgage You Can Afford

There is a vague way and a concrete way to figure out what price house you can afford. Mortgage brokers use the vague way and here it is: They say you can afford a house if the monthly payments make up no more than 33-percent of your income. During the housing bubble they used more extreme percentages, like the using payments could be 45 percent of your income! But I don’t like that method because it’s theoretical instead of real- life. Here’s my concrete method: you will KNOW you can afford a house if you buy one with a monthly mortgage payment that is the same as your rent payment! Because you’re already affording that! This sometimes means saving up a larger down payment, which I think is healthy. I created a calculator that tells you what price home you can afford based on your current monthly rent. Here’s an example: If your rent is $2000 a month and you put 20% down, you can buy a home that costs $420,000 and your mortgage payment will also be $2000 a month. Here’s my one-of- a-kind calculator that tells you what price home you can afford based on your current rent payment.

**NOTE: You can access this calculator using Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer, but NOT Safari. It also requires Flash. If you are not able to use it, please email me via the contact page with how much you currently pay in rent and I will run the numbers for you. How’s THAT for personal attention?! 🙂 Elisabeth

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EPISODE 14 ~ MAKE MORE: Side Hustles: Make More Money The Modern Way

According to TheStreet.com, more than a quarter of people age 18 to 26 have a side hustle, another way of making money in addition to their main job.

And many people over age 26 are getting in on the act as well. Plus, as we’ve seen on Easy Money, people are turning their side hustles into their main gigs when they start making more money or having more freedom thanks to their side hustle. SO, the street.com put together a fascinating list of the 5 most lucrative side hustles that I just have to share.

Number 5: Social Media Influencer. Sure enough, I have a friend who makes a nice living based on a list of about a million politically like-minded people he cultivated on Facebook. But the current trend is to be an Instagram Influencer. If you have a few thousand followers, companies will pay you to promote their products. And actually, on Episode 15 of Easy Money, we talk with a top Instagram Influencer about how she does it and what it takes.

Number 4: YouTuber. If you can create YouTube videos that garner millions of views and subscriptions, you can become a millionaire through advertising or sponsorships. And there’s CRAZY stuff that attracts views. For example, my daughter watches some lady who plays with Shopkins toys on camera and she has 8 million subscribers! The Street gives the example of Colleen Ballinger who has a You Tube channel called Miranda Sings. The YouTube site has gotten her a standup comedy tour, a Netflix series, a book deal and $5 million dollars since 2008.

Number 3: Online dating consultant. What??? Yes, people are paying other people to write clever dating profiles for them, take or choose the best photos of them and even write witty chit chat for them to use when interacting with potential dates. I wish I had known! I’ve written profiles for many friends for free! TheStreet says you can make up to $200 dollars an hour as an online dating consultant.

Number 4: Domain Name Prospector. You know how you sometimes come across web pages that are listed for sale? They’re owned by people who dream up great domain names, register them for a few dollars a year and wait for big business to come a calling wanting to buy that domain. I recently tried to buy a couple of domains myself and they wanted $25,000 for them. Domains are like virtual real estate and they can be ultra-valuable. For example, according to The Street, in 2009 the domain insure.com sold for $16 million dollars! And finally Number 5: Search Engine Optimizer. These are pros who help businesses get more web traffic by choosing the keywords people are searching the most often, helping them get links back to their site from other sites, and staying on top of Google’s ever-changing search rules to take advantage of them. Some also specialize in “referral networks” of professionals who support each other. And how much money can you make in SEO? According to one SEO pro, he can make as much as $100,000 for a single job.

There you have it, an overview of 5 modern ways to ‘make more’ money. I will try to do in-depth interviews with people in each of these fields in the coming months on Easy Money.

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EPISODE 14 ~ SAVE MORE: Contests & Giveaways: Use This System To Win Everything You Might Have Otherwise Bought

Save more money with The Easy Money Show

There’s an easy way how to win cash, cars, trips and more instead of paying for them.  I know, it sounds impractical, but here’s the key: volume.  If you enter a lot of sweepstakes and contests, you will win some. Carolyn Wilman, but she’s better known as “The Contest Queen”, actually has a system for entering sweepstakes that makes it easy and fun.  She’s also the author of “How to Win Cash, Cars, Trips and More.” 

Let’s get people’s attention right away.  Carolyn, please list off the 10 most impressive prizes you’ve won.
MY TOP 10 PRIZES ARE:
10) Free pizza for a year. (I taught my daughter “What’s better than pizza? FREE PIZZA!”)
9) A portable blender (Left the first one I won in the divorce. It bugged me, so I won a replacement one when the sponsor hosted the same contest the next year.)
8) The Kindle I won after I took a break from the hobby. It made me feel like I was still the Queen J
7) Theatre and concert tickets allowing me to take my daughter to her first musical and first concert. (They were The Sound of Music and Rihanna.)
6) A huge basket of Elizabeth Arden cosmetics. (I needed new make-up and this win just up’ed my beauty regime.)
5) The $2000 shopping sprees I won. Yes, that is plural. One at Roots and one at SportChek.
4) A 2-week tour of Europe. (If it’s Tuesday it must be Belgium. – what a whirlwind vacation!)
3) Going to the Winter Olympics.
2) Attending Hogwarts. (Yes, the real Hogwarts. Flew to London for the weekend to attend a party on the set.)
1) Meeting Sting.

OK, I think people are listening now.  Carolyn, you are a “sweeper” also called a “contestor.” Tell us what that is.
Americans enter sweepstakes so you are called sweepers. Canadians enter contests so we are called contestors and in the UK they enter competitions so they are called compers. It’s a fun way to describe someone who enters to win as a hobby. I didn’t learn about sweepstakes clubs until I began researching my first book. In Canada we didn’t have clubs. I was kindly invited to be a guest at a few American meetings and I knew I had to bring the experience to Canada. There are only a few here, but dozens in the United States. Plus the clubs get together annually for a massive sweepstakes convention. This year it’s on a cruise out of Miami FL, and next year in Charlotte NC. To me this is the best part of the hobby. All the friends I have made I would never have met otherwise. Some are even lifelong.

Why do companies give away lavish prizes?  I know people worry it’s too good to be true.
That is exactly why most people don’t enter. They think it’s a scam, but last year companies in the United States spent $3-4 billion dollars running legitimate promotions. Companies chose to spend that much on sweepstakes as they deem them to be a viable marketing tool. A way for them to connect with consumers. No one give away prizes out of the goodness of their hearts. If they felt they were not seeing corporate benefit from running giveaways, they would stop, but that’s not the case. It’s only grown exponentially since social media has taken hold.

What’s the difference between sweepstakes and contests?  And which do you prefer?
The difference is a sweepstakes is luck and a contest is skill. I prefer sweepstakes as they are randomly drawn. That said, I did win third place in a Superbowl Chili cook-off for a local paper. Contests are perfect for anyone with a honed skill as they can win big. If you are an avid photographer or prolific writer you could win entering your pictures or essays as those are generally judged, plus get fewer entries due to the skill set required.

Since entering lots of different contests and sweepstakes is the key, how can people find out about them?
Sweepstakes Advantage and Sweepstakes Fanatics are two popular sweepstakes aggregate websites (sites that gather legitimate giveaways in one place and sorted by entry frequency and prize type). SweepSheet and IWINCONTESTS are two popular sweepstakes newsletter aggregates. (similar to the above but in a newsletter format with an online presence) Most are ‘FREEmium’ sites. There is a free level of use, but I believe in investing in your hobby. The price of a subscription is negligible compared to the amount you will win in any given month or year. Prices range from as little as $30, up to $52. Just by becoming a free member, you will get access to hundreds of free sweepstakes right away. The reason you would want to pay for a premium membership is access to better odds giveaways, local sweeps, text sweeps, etc.

Since volume is the key, technology is really helpful.  First tell us about sweeping software.  How much does it cost and what does it do? 
There is only one program left that I use for entering sweepstakes, RoboForm. The ones I wrote about in my first book have all but virtually disappeared as technology moves forward and changed.
The benefit of using a program like RoboForm is 1) it allows you to fill out forms with one click and 2) removes the margin of error

for typos. It also helps those with typing issues such as those with arthritis. Sponsors prefer it if entrants use any tool that there disposal, because errors are frustrating for them also. The key to winning is being organized and saving the pages for daily or weekly sweepstakes allows you to go back and increase your odds of winning.

You’ve gone beyond the basic sweeping software and created your own online winning system.  What’s that all about?
When I first started entering contests and sweepstakes, I would often get confused and enter one that was already over or enter more times than was allowed.  So I created an online winning system to keep things straight.
•First you create one-time, daily, weekly and monthly folders in your browser or within RoboForm.
•Whenever you find out about a new contest, first read the rules and see if you qualify and which of the folders it belongs in.  Then file it in the proper folder with the contest end date.
•You then know when to enter or re-enter that contest based on the folder it is in.
•If you chose to enter for additional people such as family members of friends, add in their initials to the file name.

You mentioned the importance of reading the rules.  You learned that yourself in a very colorful way.  Tell us your story.
I skimmed the rules. I know. I know. I say read the rules and I don’t follow my own advice! Well, I learned my lesson the hard way! I received a call one day from a local paper that I had won Silver Grandstand passes to the Indy race. However, to win the grand prize I had to have a sumo off with the other 3 winners. When I arrived only one other contestant was there. He was bigger than me and had sumo’d before. It was 104 degrees, humid, the suit was sweaty, too big for me and in the end I was smunched! UGH!

How many hours a day do people need to spend entering contests in order to actually win?
I recommend spending 1-2 hours a day entering contests and sweepstakes.  That’s enough to win plenty, but not so much you cut into work, family time, and other obligations.  Sweeping should be a hobby and enhance the quality of your life, not reduce the quality of your life.  Also keep in mind that it will take about 90 days before you begin to win because the sweepstakes you enter today will not be drawn for a few weeks. I do know some people that spend 3 or 4 and others that spend 8+, but I believe 1-2 is the perfect balance.

Besides volume, what are some other ways for people to increase their chances of winning?
•Stagger your entries.  If multiple entries are allowed, enter at various times during the entire contest period.
•Short entry periods: Sweepstakes that are only open to accepting entries for a 2-week period, for example, will garner far fewer entries, increasing your odds.
•Entry limitations.  SImilarly, promotions that are limited by zip code, city, state or even age-range also narrow the field and increase your odds.
•Many prizes: Look for sweepstakes that offer multiple different prizes along with or instead of a grand prize.  Fewer people enter to win the secondary prizes, so once again your odds are better.
•Harder to enter: Sweepstakes that require you to mail in your entry, or require an essay, photo, video, caption, etc, draw fewer entrants.
•Prizes that are worth it.  Focus your efforts on really valuable prizes or things that you really care about.

Entering contests is a hobby, but you’ve also parlayed that knowledge into a career, right?
The reason I was able to come up with my Online Sweeping System is I used my business background to quickly figure out what I was doing wrong and how I could improve it. I took Business Management in college with a Marketing major. I worked in every aspect of sales and marketing in the IT (Information Technology) industry for 15 years before I started sweeping. Around the same time I started entering I became a stay-at- home mom, and when I was ready to go back to work I decided to shift careers. In 2004 I took my knowledge of the hobby and launched my marketing company to help sponsors and agencies run better sweepstakes. I like to say I want to work myself out of my hobby (as those parties affiliated with running a sweepstakes are ineligible to win)

And, finally, to prove, anyone can do this… that it’s not just you who’s lucky… please list off some of the prizes won by people who you have coached.
—Wendy won a house
—Delaney won a Ferrari
—Sandra and Michael won their choice of a trip to outer space or $80,000 in cash.

Carolyn Wilman is the author of “How to Win, Cash, Cars, Trips and More”. She has also written a guest blog post with even more detailed advice on contest winning.

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EPISODE 14 ~ FIND YOURS: Child Support: Search And Collect Your Unclaimed Child Support Money

Find unclaimed money with The Easy Money Show

First, when a court orders a parent to pay child support, often that parent sends the money to the court, which distributes it to the other parent, rather than paying directly. If the court loses track of the parent who’s supposed to receive the money, it sits there and grows each month until the parent and children are found. Sometimes that goes on for years.

Another way that unclaimed child support happens is if the parent without custody stops paying and the government puts a lien against them. That means that when that parent starts making money or sells property that becomes public record, the government can swoop in and claim part of that money for the other parent and kids.

At Good Morning America, we once surprised an Ohio mom named Tami Schwarz with unclaimed child support she was owed. Summit County Ohio is one of the most aggressive counties in the country about going after back child support. Tami’s ex hadn’t paid child support in years, but Summit County somehow got wind that he had come into some money and pounced! For two years Summit County collected child support for Tami while trying to find her.

We were there when they finally did —and they presented her with a check for more than $8-thousand dollars. But that wasn’t all. The checks were going to continue —$332 a month for 6 years, adding up to a total of nearly $32-thousand dollars! And she was to rightfully receive that money even though her two sons were now grown and had children of their own, because she had spent all her own money to raise them.

It was a wonderful moment and a great story that left all of us a little choked up. Could there be unclaimed child support out there for you or a child you love?
• There are statewide sites you can search for Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
• There are also sites to search certain counties in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, because often child support is handled at the county court level. Here they
are:
• Cook County, IL
• Elkhart County, IN
• Franklin County Auditor, OH

For places not listed here, you should search the name of the state and/or county and the terms “unclaimed child support,” “Undeliverable child support” or “Undistributable Child Support” and see what you come up with.

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EPISODE 14 ~ GUEST BLOG: How to Win Sweepstakes in 5 Easy Steps

By Carolyn Wilman, “The Contest Queen”

As someone who always believed winning was possible, when I discovered people enter sweepstakes as a hobby in 2001 I was quickly hooked. At first I made every rookie mistake possible, disqualifying myself from more giveaways than I can possibly fathom. Once I applied both my marketing background and organizational skills to my hobby, not only was my Online Sweepstaking System created, my prizes began to come in steadily. Here are the top 5 steps I recommend to anyone that wants to begin winning:

Create a new email address only for entering. This separates your hobby from your personal or business life making it easier to find winning notifications and keep spam under control. Be sure to also set up email notification rules for the words ‘congratulations’, ‘win’ and ‘winner’ to help you easily spot a winning notification.

2) Use a sweepstakes aggregate to quickly and easy find legitimate giveaways. Aggregates are websites that specialize in sharing legitimate sweepstakes, contests and giveaways. Sweepstakes are listed many different ways making it easy for you to find what or how you want to enter. Such as: travel, cash, vehicles, etc. or single, daily, or weekly entries. They also list short rules, allowing you to quickly determine if you are even eligible to win, how often you can enter, entry method, plus any special clauses. I recommend starting by entering single entry only sweepstakes. This allows you to get familiar with the hobby while giving you even odds of winning.

3) Use tools to help you enter faster. My tool of choice is RoboForm. Not only does it fill contest forms, I use it to organize all my sweepstakes. (PLUS, all my followers get up to 40% OFF!) When I first started ‘sweeping’ I entered every online entry form manually. Once I installed RoboForm I wondered why I waited so long. Not only did it cut my entry time in half, it eliminated most data entry errors.

4) Use all 5 entry methods to increase your odds of winning. They are: in-person, mail-in, phone-in, online, and via mobile phone. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, which is why it’s important to try your luck every winning opportunity you find. Keep your eyes and ears open at all time for the word win, as luck can be found in the most unlikely places.

5) Always read the rules. I usually make this my #1 tip as it’s the one that people do the least and it’s the most important as you do not want to disqualify yourself.
You are reading them to find out:
·       Are you even eligible to win?
·       How often can you enter?
·       When does the contest end?
·       Any specific rules you need to follow?

Rules could be things like submitting a picture or using a specific hashtag.I once had to sumo wrestle someone for the grand prize because I skimmed the rules, versus reading them. (I got smunched and lost!) Now that you have the key steps to begin a successful sweepstakes hobby, what is the first prize you would like to win?

Guest Name: Carolyn Wilman
Guest Title: “The Contest Queen!” Guest Bio: Carolyn Wilman has worked in sales and marketing for over two decades and is the founder of ContestQueen.com, a promotional marketing consulting business. Her efforts as a sweepstakes marketing expert landed her on the cover of Marketing Magazine, was named by MORE Magazine as one of Canada’s Top 40 Women over 40, featured in the documentary Winning for a Living and a pilot for TLC titled High Stakes Sweepers.

As a contestor, Carolyn has won over $250,000 in prizes over the past 15 years, with a trip to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics being the most memorable.

Guest Contact:
WEBSITE: contestqueen.com/
BOOK: contestqueen.com/books/how-to-win-cash-cars-trips-and-more
TWITTER: twitter.com/ContestQueen
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/TheContestQueen
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/TheContestQueen/
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/contestqueen

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