"What is your best money 'making' tip?"

[Alan]

Sadly, the best money making tip for me would be to defer FIRE. The day you quit, you rarely reclaim the human capital you had the day before.

Are you perhaps the grinch who stole ER?

 

[NW-Bound]

If the job does not cause undue stress, it's tough to give it up, then try to make it up on eBay. I am sure I do not make as much per hour as R-i-T, but my part-time work pays more than any other things I know to do. When I am lucky, it is even fun.

 

[flyfishnevada]

We go to Jamaica every year and we use the points from our AMEX card to pay for part of the air fare. Sure you pay $45 a year in fees, but we had $300 worth of points in the last year. We use it for lots of things, no interest and you have to pay it off every month. We just make sure we keep track of what we are spending.

My employer also doesn't collect our Southwest rapid rewards so we are signed up and I get about three free flights a year. To get to Jamaica, we fly on Southwest for free to a city with the cheapest airfare we can get to reasonably and then use the points to pay that down even more.

I also get per diem when I travel, not straight expenses. We double up in rooms to cut that cost and eat meals cheaper than our allowance and pocket the money. Its kind of double too as they are paying for your meals when you travel, so you aren't eating at home saving some more money.

Some of that will stop when I retire, but its all good now. I have tthought about taking advantage of some of the previous ideas, like signing up for credit cards for the miles and accounts for the bonus. I know its a minor hassle, but with a job I'm afraid i will lose track and end up costing myself money. When I an retired, however...

 

[flyfishnevada]

Recently we switched from Ameritrade to Interactive Brokers to save money on trading fees and margin interest. By switching, we were able to save approx $18,000 per year.

I would like to be in that terrible position.

 

[Rustic23]

We didn't do it but the buying dollar coins with your CC for the points seems right up there. Ours however, was to sign up to a points CC and putting everything on it for the points.

 

[gomo]

I think you need a "Your Mileage May Vary" disclaimer there!

I took out the broker's name in case this is an ad for a broker...first post and all. No offense intended if it's not, introduce yourself in a "Hi, I am" post and tell your story.

Not a problem. You are correct, it was my first post and it did sound like an ad. I hate advertising for things. I just wanted to share an experience used to generate a substantial savings that we reinvest to potentially make more of a return. I will do an intro in "Hi, I am" to explain our situation in more detail.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

If you are talking to me, you are talking to the wrong person.

 

[Bimmerbill]

Anyone know where I can find a list of banks paying to open an account? I can do 7 allotments from my paycheck!

 

[TooFrugal]

I just opened one at BofA for $100. All you have to do is deposit $500 for 3 months and open the account online. Use offer code AOU261209.

I found that at a site called ibankbonus.com. They have a list of many other offers, too.

 

[In-control]

1> I purchased a scooter, 250cc so I could travel higways, and the cost per mile has been 9 vs 23 cents for my car. I use it as much as possible. It has had three effects. My SO drives my Subaru(28mpg), instead of a new expensive van(18mpg), Extending the life of the van. I get 70pmg on the scooter, less gas $. It saves time, 10% vs a car. Finally it gives me pleasure.

The ROI is ~25k miles after that I may sell it and purchase an e-bike(Electric Bike Conversion) and my costs will go down to > 5 cents/mile.

2> I started to make my own tofu and soy milk. I find that I feel allot better and it costs me .90/lb for organic tofu v.s $2.99. I also never have to run out and get milk or meals - I shop allot less as I get the soy beans shipped to me from a Farmer in Michigan!

3> Drop the gym membership and discover the parks and walkways in your area, walk and bike as much as you can.

4> Discover RedBox $1/night and get rid of netflix/blockbuster memberships

5> Purchase a pellet stove to replace heating the house with oil, break even point is $2.20/Home heating oil. I also got a tax credit of $1500 for the stove. I purchase my pellets from Americans!

These are only a few of the things that I have done to save $ while supporting our economy.

 

[easysurfer]

Some things Americans are learning to live without:

21 Things We're Learning to Live Without - Rick Newman (usnews.com)


Include me as one of those who gave up cable tv and go with free broadcast tv. No regrets here.