Archive for the ‘Earn More’ Category

When Wall Street executives don’t think twice about the morality of selling their billion-dollar clients securities that are designed to go bust, and even joke about it, there’s little hope for the little guy in our financial system.

Anyone who has held a credit card account in the last few years knows that the banks who issue them are masters of the omission, the bait-and-switch and even the outright damn dirty lie.  Even after the passage of the CARD Act, banks are finding new ways to make reality a lot less attractive than what they pitched you.  The latest trend is pulling the rug out from under cardholders who thought that they had a great rewards program and now find that  it’s increasingly difficult to cash out those benefits.

Even before the days of 10% unemployment it wasn’t hard to find employers offering what seemed like dream jobs, only to deliver fewer hours, more grunt work or deplorable conditions after they got you to accept.  A month in to my first job I learned this firsthand when my business cards arrived with a different title than the one that I was promised.  A mini revolt by my training class corrected things, but taught me a valuable life lesson about how corporations treat people who don’t have leverage.

So in a world where everyone you do business with seems to operate with the shady deal as their default, it makes very little economic sense for you to always play things on the up-and-up.

In our current version of capitalism, winners and losers are often determined by what’s known as asymmetrical information, or both parties not having access to the same data.  While employers and creditors have access to your credit file, education records and other goodies, you can still work the shades of gray to your advantage.

Now I don’t advocate telling whoppers in your dealings with businesses, especially when it can make matters worse than telling the truth.  Don’t lie about where you worked or your dates of employment, because it’s too easy to verify. Don’t lie about your income to get a mortgage you can’t afford because like so many Americans, you’ll end up in foreclosure.

But do hint at other job offers you have if you think it can get you a better salary or benefits and you’re willing to lose the offer at hand.  Do tell the car dealer that you’re interested in another company’s make and model, even if your heart is set on the red Chevy with the headlights that you must have.  You will get negotiating leverage.  Do tell your credit card company that you’re considering moving to a new bank, even if you have no intention of ever doing that.  These are all things that are impossible to verify, and all give you a leg up in negotiations.

There are a million things that we don’t do because our moms told us it was wrong, but it’s time to think about what the other guy may be willing to say or do to get at your hard-earned dollars.  Don’t be a chump.  Leave your ethics at the door of the finance office and work the system.

Like Denzel Washington said in Training Day, “It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove.”

The world wide web has created a boatload of ways for make money on the side by linking buyers and sellers, advertisers and consumers and writers and readers, just as a few examples.

If you need to earn a little extra on the side to pay down your debt you can get into eBay sales, online surveys, blogging (ahem) and now you can even ride the tidal wave that is Twitter to add to your bottom line. A couple of companies have sprung up with the idea that companies will pay big bucks to have ordinary people spread the word about their greatness through their tweets.

If you don’t know what Twitter is, I’ll explain (and make snide remarks about you offline.) Twitter is a free social networking site that allows anyone to publish their thoughts via short messages known as “tweets.” Each message is limited to 140 characters. You search for and subscribe to the tweets of friends, celebrities and companies. You can even subscribe to the Debtbeat tweets.

With Sponsored Tweets, Twitters set a price for their messages and can choose specific categories and keyword that advertisers can search. Offers can be then accepted or rejected. If an offer is accepted and tweeted then the account will be credited within 24 hours and you can cash out after hitting a $50 threshold.

Other companies in the pay-for-tweets game include up for MyLikes.com and Ad,ly.

Some companies offer a simple payment for each Twitter message, others require that your tweet contain an embedded link and you only get paid when someone clicks on the link, similar to a pay-per-click web banner.

Of course the more Twitter followers that you have, the more appealing you wold potentially be to prospective advertisers and the greater the chance that you can get a high volume of clicks. So if you’re not already on Twitter, you may not want to jump on board Twitter advertising programs just yet.

I’ve not used any of these services, but I am intrigued. If you are a social media magnet and can link companies to your network, get paid for it. A lot of folks tweet their recommendations and favorites for free; this makes more sense.

Anyone getting paid to tweet? Holla at me in the comments.

One of the key pillars to paying off debt in Debtbeat fashion is to earn more money which can then be used to pay off debt without having to compromise your current lifestyle. The problem is that this is very tough to do while balancing a full time job and family obligations.

One of the easiest ways that I’ve found to pick up a few extra bucks in just a few quiet minutes at home is by getting paid to take online surveys. We’ve already talked about Surveyhead, which is website that I’ve used and have received several payouts from. The information on the site is clear and they typically are good in crediting me for surveys taken and making payouts.

I recently learned about a new player in this space, BigSpot.com. You may have seen their commercials on TV.

Like Surveyhead, with BigSpot you are asked to provide some basic demographic information about yourself which allows them to match you with market research companies that fit your profile.  However, unlike Surveyhead, after you sign up you’ll be shown links links to companies that are supposed to be rewarding people to take surveys. BigSpot doesn’t actually move you through the survey or enforce payment.

This is of concern to other bloggers who think that BigSpot provides no real value since you’re giving up personal information (e.g. your e-mail address) in return for information that you can get just by using Google to find surveys on the web. Others think it’s an outright scam and you are opening yourself up to spam galore.

I don’t have any personal experience with the site, but I don’t have a great feeling in my gut. Online complaint boards are buzzing with people saying not so nice things about them. As a result, I think I’ll pass.

Do you know anything about this site? Have we gotten the wrong impression? Leave us a comment.

And if you’re looking for ways to make some cheddar on the down low, check out our Earn More section or pick up the book 1001 Ways to Make Money If You Dare.