QuickCents @ Money Smart Life

We took a co-worker of mine out for a farewell drink yesterday since he’s leaving the company for another opportunity. We pulled it out of him that he’s switching jobs since the new one pays better. They have a new baby and his wife wants to stay at home so he’s looking for any extra money he can find.

In addition to getting a new job, he’s been making some extra money at Survey Scout filling out surveys, trying new products, and participating in focus groups. Basically they pay you for your opinion. He doesn’t always take part in every offer they have but he recommended it as a good way to make some extra money.

Ben :: Oct.30.2007 :: Free Money, Make Money :: 2 Comments »

If you received a message via Feedburner that appeared to come from QuickCents but contained information about True Tiger Recordings please ignore it. It seems as though there has been an issue with the company that delivers the feed, Feedburner, and they sent the wrong content to the wrong subscribers. I’m working to contact them about the issue. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Ben :: Oct.25.2007 :: Other :: 1 Comment »

Intuit is giving away free copies of Quickbooks Simple Start 2008 as part of their promotion to get people to start their own business.

Prior to the promotion, Quickbooks Simple Start used to sell for $99.95, if only I’d have known about this before spending hundreds on QuickBooks Pro Edition on eBay!

Get your free copy of Simple Start 2008!

Ben :: Oct.19.2007 :: Entrepreneur, Free Stuff :: 4 Comments »

Do you know if your employer or any group you’re a member of offer group pricing discounts? If you’re not sure, make sure you check into it tomorrow.

I knock 12% a month off of my cell phone bill with discounts through my employer and insurance company. These type of discounts don’t happen automatically, you have to call your service provider and give them your discount group code. It only took me a few minutes to sign up for the group plans 6 years ago and the discount has saved me hundreds of dollars since then.

Ben :: Oct.11.2007 :: Save Money :: No Comments »

How would you like to win an 8GB iPod or some cold hard cash simply by typing a few lines? Who wouldn’t right?

Darren Rowse, owner of Problogger, is holding a week long birthday bash where he’s giving away $54,000 worth of prizes. The bad news is the contest has been running since Monday so some prizes are long gone. The good news is, this weekend he’ll be giving away stuff every 8 hours!

All that is required to win many of the prizes, like the iPods or cash is to leave a comment on his site. For example, in order to enter to win the cash you simply have to complete the sentence, If I had a million dollars…

I entered with, “If I had a million dollars, I would walk out of my job tomorrow and never go back. Then I’d sit around for a few weeks deciding what to do with the money.” So far there are 644 entries, with 17 different prizes ranging from $25 Amazon gift certificate to $500 in cash. Not bad odds, much better than the lottery, and this is free to enter!

Ben :: Oct.05.2007 :: Free Money :: 2 Comments »

Zecco, the company that offers free stock trades is updating the terms under which they offer free trades. The old rules:

• 40 free trades a month
• 10 free trades a day
• $3.50 each additional trade
• No minimum balance

According to Zecco, “most of our customers (and over 98% of online traders in the US) trade less than 10 times a month”. Based on these statistics, Zecco has updated to the policy below:

• 10 free trades a month
• $4.50 each additional trade
• $4.50 a trade for account balances under $2,500

If you’re a heavy trader make sure to evaluate the $4.50 trades against other low cost brokerages. If you’re an occasional investor, Zecco is still a good spot for you as long as your balance is at least $2,500. Ten free trades a month and $4.50 a trade after that isn’t bad.

Ben :: Oct.02.2007 :: Investing :: No Comments »

The US government is working on legislation that will cap the annual interest rate for payday loans to military members and their families at 36%. Wow, 36% still sounds pretty high to me! If those soldiers would just get onto Prosper.com, they could likely borrow for considerably less than that. There is already a lending group named ActiveDuty on Prosper created to help people in the Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and ROTC borrow money.

According to a 2004 report by the Center for Responsible Lending, “one fourth of military households (26%) have been caught up in payday lending” so there is definitely a need for alternative lending in the military community. Why not help fill that need by lending on Prosper? You can check out historical group rates, active loan stats, and the group rating history to gauge your comfort with lending to members of the group.

Of course, you definitely want to look at the credit grade and debt to income ratio of potential borrowers before committing to lending any money but if you find the right candidate it’s a win/win. You can earn more on your money with Prosper than you would with a money market or CD and help them avoid the high payday loan interest rates.

Ben :: Oct.01.2007 :: Make Money, Win/Win :: No Comments »