Part 10 (1/2)

Posting items on Craigslist The final step in selling Stuff is to list it on /MFcraigslist.

Donating to Charity After you've sold your expensive items on eBay, held a yard sale, and sold things on Craigslist, you'll still have Stuff left over. Fortunately, there are better ways to get rid of it than throwing it in the trash.

Try giving your Stuff to charity: Donate it to a local church or school, or take it to a thrift shop. And ask your friends and coworkers if they know of any specialized charities. For example, your town may have an organization like Free Geek (puters and refurbishes them for local schools and charities.

If you can't find a charity that wants your Stuff, check out Freecycle (panies are always looking for people to join their experiments and focus groups. To find studies in your area, check Craigslist.org's ”miscellaneous jobs” section or scope out college newspapers and bulletin boards. Here's a short video from MSN Money that describes one study: tinyurl.com/MSNmoneystudies.

Tutoring Are you good at math? A piano prodigy? A computer whiz? Consider offering your services as a private tutor. For more info, check out tinyurl.com/GRStutoring and and tinyurl.com/st-tutor.

Mystery shopping Market-research companies use mystery shoppers to gather info on products and services. These people get paid a nominal fee to pose as regular customers, and then report on their experiences. Mystery shopping won't replace your day job, but you can have a good time while earning a bit of extra money. Here are sources for more info: - Be sure to read the FTC's consumer alert on mystery shopping: tinyurl.com/FTCmystery-shop. (Summary: Watch out for scams; you don't have to pay to become a mystery shopper.) - For the lowdown on mystery shoppers and how to become one, visit the Mystery Shopping Providers a.s.sociation at /freedmanMS. (The box below has more about the author, Donna Freedman.) - One popular hangout for mystery shoppers is /mystery.html.

Your Money And Your Life: Making Ends Meet with Odd JobsDonna Freedman has a history of odd jobs. She's found creative ways to make money since she was young, and at 52 she still draws income from a variety of sources. Since moving to Seattle in 2004, she's babysat, dogsat, partic.i.p.ated in medical research studies, mystery-shopped, done light housework, run an Internet message board, and been an apartment manager.”Simply put, I needed the money,” Donna says. ”I was at that point a freelance writer and, starting in September 2005, a full-time student. Neither of those gigs guarantees a lot of income, if you know what I mean. Any extra $10 or $20 I could pick up was a tremendous help.”Donna's most memorable gig was earning $35 for watching a short p.o.r.n film in a study on female s.e.xual response. The biggest boost to her budget has been her apartment management job, which for a long time meant she didn't have to pay rent. She now pays some rent to the new owners, but it's less than other tenants pay-plus she gets a monthly salary and an hourly wage for doing ch.o.r.es around the complex.”I've scaled back on the odd-jobbery since getting a regular writing gig at MSN Money, but I haven't given it up entirely,” Donna says. Since resolving to walk every day for exercise, for example, she's thought about doing a stint as a dog-walker. ”I also plan to pick up more mystery-shopping gigs when I graduate.”You can read more about Donna's adventures in her ”Living with Less” column at MSN Money: tinyurl.com/DFreedman.

Renting out a spare room If you have s.p.a.ce in your bas.e.m.e.nt or garage, consider renting it out. If you choose your tenants carefully, this can be a win-win situation: You give them a cheap, safe place to live and you make a bit of extra money. (Plus it may help with your tax bill!) But before you do this, be sure to check your local laws and homeowners insurance policy to make sure it's allowed. Here's a Get Rich Slowly article where readers shared their tips on renting spare rooms: tinyurl.com/GRSrental.

Unclaimed property The National a.s.sociation of Unclaimed Property Administrators is a nonprofit organization that a.s.sists in ”reuniting owners with their property”. The group sponsors the site , which lets you search unclaimed property records from partic.i.p.ating states.

Common types of unclaimed property include bank accounts and safe deposit boxes; stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and dividends; uncashed checks and wages; insurance policies, certificates of deposit, and trust funds; and utility deposits and escrow accounts.

The Missing Money database includes 40 states and one Canadian province (Alberta). For other unclaimed property resources, check out the U.S. government's ”Government May Owe You Money” page (tinyurl.com/GovtOwes) or contact your state's unclaimed property office.

Blogging Let's get one thing straight: Blogging won't make you rich. But if you have something to say that people want to hear, you can put $50 or $500 a month in your pocket. (And some lucky folks are able to make blogging a full-time gig.) Blogs don't have to be intimidating-my mother blogs. Sites likeand and ) or Blogads () and you'll have some extra pocket money.

Other ideas None of those options sound appealing? Let your imagination run wild: Do yard work for the neighbors (just like when you were a kid). Collect cans and bottles for the deposit. Babysit or petsit. Haul stuff. (I once met a man who earned $250 a week using his van to haul stuff for people he met on Craigslist!) Get a paper route.

There are tons of ways to make extra money in your spare time. But in order to make them work, you've got to be willing to put in some effort. So instead of sitting around watching TV or playing World of Warcraft, get out there and make some money!

A Pep Talk After reading this chapter, some people will come up with all kinds of reasons they can't make more money. They'll think, ”That's easy for you to say, but I can't because...” To be successful, you have to overcome this sort of negative thinking.

The truth is, there are no shortcuts. Despite some companies' promises, you won't get rich quickly stuffing envelopes or peddling vitamin pills. If you want to earn more, you have to put in time and effort.

Every aspect of personal finance has its naysayers (see Coping with Mistakes and Setbacks Coping with Mistakes and Setbacks). Some people believe that being frugal is the same as being cheap. Others think that building wealth means you're a greedy capitalist. Of these limiting beliefs, the most common is, ”I can't make more money.” Lots of folks think people with high-paying jobs have something they lack, or that those people are lucky. There's no question that luck and talent play a role, but by far the most important factor in career success is perseverance.

Henry Ford supposedly said, ”Whether you believe you can or can't, you're probably right.” If you don't think you can spend a year working 60-hour weeks to earn enough to pay off your debt, then you'll probably never reach that goal. But if you truly believe that you can make a go of it, you'll likely succeed.

So get out there and do the work-and stick with it when others won't.

Chapter7.Banking for Fun and Profit.

”A penny saved is a penny earned.”-Benjamin Franklin Banking is the cornerstone of our financial lives, yet few people give it much thought. If you're like most folks, you'll shop around for a good deal on toilet paper, but you pick a bank simply because it's close to you, your parents banked there, or they're giving out free coffee mugs. But choosing the right bank and the right accounts can make your life easier and help you save (and possibly earn) some moolah.

In this chapter, you'll learn how to find a bank and accounts that match your lifestyle. You'll also get tips for reducing fees and making the most of your accounts.

Choosing a Bank Finding ways to increase your income can be exciting (see Chapter6 Chapter6). You can even have fun looking for ways to cut your everyday expenses (Chapter5), especially when you see the results in your bank account. But selecting the bank account itself? Boring, boring, boring. At least that's the conventional view. Actually, you can have fun banking.

Consider two things when choosing a financial inst.i.tution: the bank itself and the accounts it offers. Banks are tools for building positive cash flow, and bank accounts can help guide you toward your financial goals (some are better suited for the job than others). This section covers the different types of banks out there, and the next section (Finding Accounts That Meet Your Needs) explains the various kinds of accounts you can choose from.

Types of Banks People use the word ”bank” to mean lots of different things, including commercial banks, retail banks, and investment banks (which are a different kind of bank entirely). When deciding where to open basic accounts like checking and savings, you only need to worry about three broad categories of banks: traditional banks, credit unions, and online banks. Keep reading to learn about each option.

Traditional banks When most people think of a bank, they imagine a huge company with hundreds (or thousands) of branches spread across the country. Because these large banks have locations everywhere, having an account with one is convenient. And big banks generally offer a wider variety of products and services than smaller banks: They're one-stop shopping centers for your financial needs. Big banks have their place, but you have other options.

Lots of small, local banks have only a handful of branches (sometimes only one branch). These inst.i.tutions don't offer the same convenience as the big boys, but they often make up for it in lower costs and better service. Small banks have other benefits, too. Many are active in their communities, and some are built on religious or political philosophies that appeal to certain customers. Community development banks, for example, are designed to serve residents and spur economic development in low- to moderate-income areas.

NoteFor more on community development banks, visit munityinvest.org, which lets you search for organizations that share your values.

If you travel a lot and need access to branches across the country, a big bank may be right for you. On the other hand, if you stick close to home and there's a local bank with great service and values similar to yours, it may be your best bet. But be sure to check out your other options, explained next.

Credit unions Unlike banks, credit unions are not-for-profit inst.i.tutions. Because of that, they usually have better interest rates and lower fees than traditional banks. According to the National Credit Union a.s.sociation (NCUA)-which is probably a bit biased-credit unions offer better rates on nearly every product, from credit cards to car loans to mortgages to savings accounts.

NoteDon't a.s.sume that a small bank or credit union will give you a less-polished experience than a bigger organization. When I switched to a local, four-branch credit union, I found it had better online features than the huge national bank I'd been using for years!

Another difference is that credit unions are member owned. In other words, if you have an account there, you're one of the owners. Members elect the board of directors, which sets interest rates and makes other important decisions.

Also, credit unions are more selective than banks-you can't just join any ol' one. Each credit union limits members.h.i.+p to a specific region, job, or a.s.sociation. For example, some are only for teachers and their families, and others limit members.h.i.+p to people living in specific counties. So make sure you can actually join your local credit union before getting your heart set on opening an account there. Use the Credit Union Locator (tinyurl.com/CU-locator) to find one near you.

TipYour money is safe in a credit union. It's insured by the NCUA in much the same way the FDIC insures bank deposits (see the box on Online banks Online banks).

Credit unions typically have strong ties to the communities they serve. They also tend to cooperate with each other instead of compete. In fact, many provide ”shared branching,” which means that if you bank at a credit union in Delaware, you may be able to make deposits, withdrawals, and loan payments at an unrelated credit union in Montana. It's as if they're all members of one gigantic banking network. (For more on shared branching, check out .) If there's a credit union in your area that you qualify to join, it's definitely worth considering. Just be sure to check out the types of accounts (Finding Accounts That Meet Your Needs) and interest rates it offers.

Frequently Asked Question: How Safe Is My Money?You've probably heard the phrase ”member FDIC” before, but what does that actually mean mean?During the Great Depression, the U.S. government created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in response to all the bank failures that were happening. The FDIC's job is to watch banks to make sure they're treating customers well, and to insure customer deposits so that even if your bank goes belly up, your money is safe.The FDIC insures up to $250,000 per depositor depositor per bank, but you can have more than this insured at a single bank if you have accounts that fall into different categories of legal owners.h.i.+p. For example, you can have an individual account insured for $250,000 and a joint account (with your spouse, say) insured for that amount, too. For more info, talk to your bank or check out the FDIC's website, per bank, but you can have more than this insured at a single bank if you have accounts that fall into different categories of legal owners.h.i.+p. For example, you can have an individual account insured for $250,000 and a joint account (with your spouse, say) insured for that amount, too. For more info, talk to your bank or check out the FDIC's website, /BCstar) or BankRate's Safe & Sound ratings (tinyurl.com/BRsafe).

Online banks Online banks offer the same sorts of products and services as traditional banks. The big difference is that online banks don't have storefronts, so you can't walk in and talk to a teller. That means you have to make all your transactions online, by phone, or via snail mail. But for many people, these drawbacks aren't drawbacks at all-they're advantages.

In its July 2009 issue, the Consumer Reports Money Adviser stated, ”Online banking, despite a rocky start, is becoming the rule rather than the exception.” The newsletter cites research by Forrester a.s.sociates that predicts that 76% of American households with Internet access will bank online by 2011.

If you're considering an online bank, keep two things in mind: First, though many traditional banks (like Bank of America and Wells Fargo) have a growing online presence, they generally offer lower interest rates and have higher fees than online-only banks like ING Direct and HSBC Direct. And second, the biggest thing that holds people back from banking online is security concerns. But Consumer Reports Money Adviser claims that online banking may actually be safer than traditional banking because there's less of a paper trail and your transactions are digitally encrypted.

Here are some online banks to consider: - Ally Bank:or 1-877-247-2559 or 1-877-247-2559 - Capital One:or 1-866-871-7932 or 1-866-871-7932 - Citibank:or 1-800-374-9700 or 1-800-374-9700 - EverBank:or 1-888-882-3837 or 1-888-882-3837 - HSBC Direct:or 1-888-404-4050 or 1-888-404-4050 - ING Direct:or 1-800-ING-DIRECT or 1-800-ING-DIRECT For a more complete list, check out MoneyRates () or BankRate (). At Get Rich Slowly, I've compiled a list of online banks that offer high interest rates and good security: tinyurl.com/GRSbanks.

It's easy to try an online bank-you're not stuck with the first bank you choose. Sign up for an account at one, give it a spin for a few weeks, and if it doesn't meet your needs, then move on to something else. Take the time to find a bank that works for you.

The Right Bank for You I opened my first bank account the day I started college. I had two options: a bank that offered free checking and a bank that was handing out Frisbees. I chose the Frisbee, as did many of my cla.s.smates. The bank knew college kids couldn't resist free toys.