More Free Online Money Sites

There's so many sites out there today that offer you points, rewards, cash back, etc. for joining. It can get a little overwhelming how many there are to choose from. While I can't give you an all-encompassing list, or recommend the perfect one for you, I can give you some examples of ones I know and use, and they are all great (otherwise I wouldn't use them).

1. www.upromise.com - this site rewards you primarily for online shopping. It used to be solely based on proving you cash back to invest in a 529 plan through a brokerage like Vanguard, but they have really expanded since I first joined in 2003. They now allow you to put your earnings in a high yield savings account, a 529, pay off Sallie Mae loans, or just get a check every 3 months. They have a pretty extensive list of online retail partners and they offer even more opportunities to save: through their credit card - which pays 1% cash back on every purchase, filling up on gas at Exxon or Mobil, dining out at specific restaurants, grocery store coupons, travel and the list goes on and on. I have saved over $1300 through this site. Granted that's over about 7 years, but I haven't spent a dime of money I wouldn't otherwise. All I do when I want to buy something online is go through Upromise first and it links me to the site and I save anywhere from 1-25%!
2. www.bondrewards.com - this is a newer site that is similar to others in that you get rewarded for shopping online through their retail partners.  The only difference with Bond Rewards is they pay you US Savings Bonds when you reach certain point levels. They don't have as many partners, but they do have a nice feature in which every email you get from them, if you click on it you earn points to more rewards.
3. www.mypoints.com - this one is very popular and most people have heard of. It combines the shopping aspect, with lots of other ways to earn points, from ad clicking, email clicking, surveys, website registrations, you name it. They also allow you to get gift cards to a lot of their reward partners like Starbucks, Bass Pro Shop, Amazon, etc.

These are just 3 that again, I've had experience with, and of course, www.swagbucks.com from my last post would be one as well. 

I don't ever recommend wasting time online, but hey, if you're going to shop online, you might as well be rewarded with free money for doing so! Or, if my wife and I go out to eat and spend $50 at a restaurant, sometimes I get $4-5 back just for going to one that is partners with some of these sites.

Seems like a Simple-Saving-No-Brainer to me...

Free Amazon Gift Cards

I found this new site, which is amazing! It will help earn you more money, which is even better than saving! The website is http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/hawkster8. Through this site you are able to earn points good for Amazon.com gift cards and many other prizes. They give out free codes everyday for points and you can earn points through normal online tasks like searching, polls, surveys and no obligation special offers. My wife and I in about 3 months were able to earn enough points to buy this Black & Decker Firestorm 18v 6 Tool Cordless Combo Kit The wife is pretty happy because I was able to build a couple things over the weekend, I was stoked because I got 3 free tools, for sitting on my butt while watching TV. She was also able to buy these valences for the kitchen.

This post is probably the most work for saving/earning that I'll ever right about, because again, I want to keep it simple. But it doesn't get much easier than searching for everyday things through Swagbucks, instead of Google, and being rewarded for it.

1st Step: Open a High Yield Savings Account

Ok, ok, I know "high yield" is a relative term these days with most interest rates so low, it's very hard to earn a decent amount of interest on your money. Many of you may have your savings account with your local bank just because it's easy and convenient.  However, do you know what interest rate your getting on your savings account? I bet it's less than .05% - not 5%, but .05%. That means on $1,000 you will earn an insulting $.50 on your money during the course of 1 year. You might as well stuff it under your mattress at that point.

I recommend doing a little bit more work and opening an account at an online bank, such as www.smartypig.com or www.ingdirect.com. Smartypig is currently paying 1.75%, so now you're going to earn $17.50 in interest on that $1000 of savings a year. It may not sound like a lot, but if you have a $5,000 savings account that's almost $100 more than you'd be getting at the local bank. You may be hesitant to put you money with an online bank, but with the ease of electronic transfers, it's very simple to transfer money into one of these accounts and you can easily transfer it back to your checking account if you need to withdraw money.  Smartypig also has a really nice goal saving feature in which you can save for specific goals, set up automatic savings withdrawals from your checking account, and even redeem your savings for gift cards to specific stores in which they pay you an added bonus of up to 12%.

My blogs will always be short and to the point if they can be. The key to saving more is keeping it simple. Too many blogs out there try to make you jump through hoops to earn some extra money or save more, not mine. I welcome discussion and comments on each posting as I start out this blog to generate more discussion on ways to save more money.