What Everyone Should Know About Credit Unions

Credit Union Benefits

There are many benefits to using a credit union instead of a traditional bank. Here are some of the best benefits credit unions offer.

• Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives that exist solely to provide financial services to their members, and anyone can find one that he or she is eligible to join. 
• Unlike banks, it’s the members, not corporate shareholders, who own the credit unions.
• When you use a credit union, the money you deposit stays in the community. Your dollar can become someone’s college degree or a loan for a family’s first home. These local reinvestments are the seeds that keep communities growing.
• Many credit unions offer financial literacy classes to help members make more informed financial decisions.
• All the profit that credit unions bring in goes back to members in the form of dividends, rebates and lowered interest rates

Learn more about credit unions at “Make Your Money Matter” (www.makeyourmoneymatter.org) a grassroots campaign introduced by eight credit unions from across the country and PSCU that aims to educate a new generation of consumers about the wealth of benefits credit unions provide over big banks.

“The impetus for this joint campaign came from the fact that credit unions offer all the products and conveniences you’d expect from a big bank, but unlike those big banks, credit unions are built around strengthening communities by providing low-interest loans and giving all their profit back to members, truly ‘making your money matter,’” said Fredda McDonald, Executive Vice President, PSCU, a leading provider of traditional and online financial services to credit unions. “With membership, the money you deposit stays in the community – your dollar could become somebody’s college degree or a loan for a family’s first home – and it’s these types of reinvestments that draw local-minded consumers intent on consumption that keeps communities growing.”

 

"This post is sponsored by Make Your Money Matter, in association with PSCU, though all views expressed are my own."

6 Ways to Make Money From Home

MyPoints - Earn "points" for taking surveys, reading emails, and buying products.  If you participate in Buzzagent you can connect the accounts and earn more points. Eventually you will get enough points to be able to redeem them for a $10 gift card.

CashCrate - This company has an assortment of tasks you can do that pay various amounts. Surveys, free samples, coupons, and other stuff like that. 

 
Upromise.com is the smart way to save for your child's college education This program is completely free.  I've already saved over 200.00 by registering my grocery cards.


Inbox Dollars - Earn a few cents for reading emails.  You also have the option to do online tasks or take surveys to earn money. So far, I've earned $17.

Resolution Research - Sign up and they will email you when they have surveys available. I made $10 on the last survey I did for them.

Forward Focus - This company tends to have high paying surveys.

Discover Credit Unions - #MakeYourMoneyMatter

Think About It

Have you ever sat down and thought about all the money big banks are raking in? I had not really thought about it. I bank with a very large military bank and it bothers me a lot when I see them running commercials on TV, because it seems like a waste of money to me. When I stop to really think about it I realize that although there seem to be benefits for me, they are still making loads and loads of money and they do not share it with me. Turns out a credit union would share it with you and I never realized it until now after visiting Make Your Money Matter.

Benefits of a Credit Union

• Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives that exist solely to provide financial services to their members, and anyone can find one that he or she is eligible to join. 

• Unlike banks, it’s the members, not corporate shareholders, who own the credit unions. 

• All the profit that credit unions bring in goes back to members in the form of dividends, rebates and lowered interest rates; for every $100 deposited at a credit union, on average $67 is directly redeployed to individual borrowers within the membership. For Example:  In the last year, credit unions distributed more than $5.3 billion in member dividends and refunds on loan interest payments.

• On average, credit unions offer lower interest rates on loans and higher interest returns on investments, as well as lower fees for checking accounts, ATM surcharges, overdrafts and stopped payments.

Is Your Money Safe in a Credit Union

• Yes. Member deposits are insured up to $250,000 per account by the NCUA.
• In fact, in the 100 year history of Credit Unions there has never been a U.S. taxpayer bail out. That’s a lot more than the big banks can say.

"This post is sponsored by Make Your Money Matter, in association with PSCU, though all views expressed are my own."

Book Review - Strike it Rich with Pocket Change

Strike It Rich with Pocket Change

What a great book this was.

Although this is not something I would normally read it has been quite interesting. I had no idea until I read this that you could make money off off coins with errors in them.

My 10 year old devoured this book! My 7 year old has had a lot of fun with it as well. Apparently this topic is fascinating to children. Both kids have gone through every coin we have in the house and sure enough they found two of the ones mentioned in this book. It has fun to read something with the kids and talk with them about it

Make Money with Twitter

I have recently discovered SponsoredTweets and so far I really like it.  I have already made money with them.  It is simple to use.  You can pick and choose which tweets you want to send out.  As long as you included the required elements you can write what you want.

6 Ways to Make Money with your Blog

6 Ways to make money blogging

Although there are hundred of programs out there that promise you will make money using them on your blog; I have found that few are worth your time.  Here are some I have tried and can recommend.

1) Social Spark is one of them I recommend the most.  Register your blog and if companies are interested they will contact you with an offer.  You can turn down any offer.  Each post pays a different amount and it is negotiable.  It is very easy to use and not a scam.  I've have successfully used Social Spark.

2) Blogsvertise  This program is the same as social spark.  Register your blog and an advertiser will contact you if they want to pay you to post about something.  You can accept or reject the ad. 

3)
LinkShare - I have used this in the past, but currently I am not running any ads from them.  I have nothing negative to say about them and there is no particular reason I am no using them at the moment.  The one ad I did run in the past with them was a Lego ad.  Join LinkShare Today!  You can sign up for an account and browse through the companies available through them.


4) Savvy Source - Savvy Source is another website I have used.  They have many cities they offer daily deals in.  You can sign up for an account and get a ad widget for your blog.  If anyone purchases something through it you get a small percentage.  I have run this ad in the past, but not currently.  I know of a few bloggers that have made $100 or more a month using Savvy Source. 


5) JuiceBoxJungle has an ad network that you can participate in.  You place widgets like this one shown and you get a 50% ad split with them.  This is another type of ad that I know some bloggers are making $100 a month or more from. 

6) Commission Junction is another ad network that has lots of different companies you can choose from. I have been trying their ads for a while, but have yet to make any money off of them.  That is where I got the Travelocity and Priceline ads. They charge you fees to work with them, which they take out of any revenue you make.

4 Ways to Make Money Blogging

How to Make Money Blogging

Two of the questions I get ask the most about blogging are, "Can you make money blogging?" and  "How do you make money blogging?.

Yes, you can make money blogging and there are lots of ways to do it. I know because I've tried like a hundred ways. Many of them aren't worth your time, but some are. Here are 4 ways I make money off my blog that are good enough to actually recommend.

Social Spark is a sister company to Sponsered Tweets, but instead of making money from a tweet, it's from a blog post. You create an account for your blog and if companies are interested in you reviewing them or writing something about them they will contact you with an offer.  You can turn down any offer you are not interested it.  Each post pays a different amount and it is negotiable.  It is very easy to use and not a scam.  I've have successfully used Social Spark many times.


 I have not been using  shareasale.com for very long, but I was able to meet with the people behind this website while I was at Blogher and I was very impressed. They like working with bloggers and want you to succeed. They are growing too. With Google ending their affiliate ad network, Shareasale has picked up many of their merchants. Which means there is a high chance they work with a company you might want to work with.











Escalante Network is a good one to work with. They email you several times a week and you literally just have to copy and paste. I find them less time consuming and the most engaged. It's mostly deal type offers like coupons.










The newest way I'm trying to make money blogging is with Goldstar. They have discount tickets for shows and plays in different cities. Chances are they offer 50% off tickets in your city or a city near you.

How to Get Ads on your blog

Recently, I have had several people ask me how I got ads on my blog.  Since, I have used and tried several programs I thought I would just make a list for everyone.  This is five of the ways I have tried.

LinkShare - I have used this in the past, but currently I am not running any ads from them.  I have nothing negative to say about them and there is no particular reason I am no using them at the moment.  The one ad I did run in the past with them was a Lego ad.  Join LinkShare Today!  You can sign up for an account and browse through the companies available through them.


Savvy Source - Savvy Source is another website I have used.  They have many cities they offer daily deals in.  You can sign up for an account and get a ad widget for your blog.  If anyone purchases something
through it you get a small percentage.  I have run this ad in the past, but not currently.  I know of a few bloggers that have made some very good money off this particular ad.



JuiceBoxJungle has an ad network that you can participate in.  You place widgets like this one shown and you get a 50% ad split with them.



Commission Junction is another ad network that has lots of different companies you can choose from. I have been trying their ads for a while, but have yet to make any money off of them.  That is where I got the Travelocity and Priceline ads.

shareasale.com has a lot of merchants to choose from and they like working with bloggers.

Upromise really does work!

I think I have mentioned UPromise a half a dozen times now, but I just have to mention it again.  I just transferred a little over $200 into my sons 529 plan and it felt so good.  I accumulated all the money by registering my credit cards, grocery cards, and using their coupons.  I got some of my family to do the same so the savings are adding up faster than ever!  My dad has been doing it since June and it already added up to over $60!!  Upromise - Start Your Kid's College Savings Today - Join Now

Ebates - make money at home

 Have you heard of Ebates yet?  Ebates is a website that you log on to and then choose a store to shop at.  For example I just ordered contacts.  So, I logged on to Ebates and then choose VisionDirect to buy from.  I got a certain percentage back.  I can't remember the exact percentage, but I spent about $140 on contacts and I got back a little over $15 on my purchase.

 If you are doing any online shopping this is the way to go.  I just started my online Christmas shopping and so far I have gotten free shipping deals and atleast 6% back on everything!

I consider this a way to make money from home.  You would have spent the money any way and now you have gotten some of it back.

InboxDollars - make money from home

I know a lot of moms out there are looking for different ways to make money.  I know this because I am a mom and I like the idea of making a little money from home.  I can't remember any more who told me about InboxDollars, but I signed up at least six months ago.  Since then I have looked at some of the emails.  They pay you a few cents to read the email they send.  I have never tried any of the products, played their games, or taken any of their surveys.  The only thing I have done is read some of the emails and so far I have made $9.70.  So, if you are looking for something you can make some money off of this might be worth it.



Become a SheSpeaks Product Reviewer
Become a BuzzAgent Product Reviewer

I'm a Buzz Agent

As a stay at home mom I am always looking for little ways to contribute. One of my favorite ways is by being a buzz agent.   In other words a product reviewer.  I don't get paid, but I do get a little kit with free stuff to try out.  Right now I'm a buzz agent for Elmer's glue and X-Acto through Buzzagent.com.  I'm trying out several of their fantastic glue and cutting products for scrapbooking.  Here is a picture of the items they sent me.






Once I am done trying them out I "buzz" about them. As in tell other people. If they send me coupons then I pass those out to people.  Then I go to the website and fill out a few things. Simple things to get a few fun freebies!

Review for SheSpeaks

Coverdell - A Great way to save for College

     On my last money Monday I mentioned a good way to save for college that I stumbled across while learning to invest. It is called a Coverdell plan. This year you can max it out at $2000. After this year, unless the government keeps it at two thousand, it will drop back to $500 a year. What I like about this account is that you choose how it is invested. It isn't just another mutual fund or money market account. As long as you use the money made for college the earnings are tax free! I only set up one of these accounts because if my oldest doesn't use it I can transfer it on the next child without penalties.
   
Again, I found myself wondering what to pick to invest the money in. Since I am a little unsure of myself still I decided to only invest half of it on the stock I chose. That way if I was wrong I would not lose too much money! To decide which stock I looked through my watch list and started checking the numbers again. (Rule #1 Investing). Because I am unsure I went with what I thought would be a somewhat safe bet. As in put it in Warren Buffett's brk.b. I figure even if I am still uneasy with this whole process Warren Buffett knows what he is doing. (and the numbers were good). So, in this case it was Phil Town's advice on good management that helped me make the decision.

Rule #1 - Book Review

Now that I'm a work at home mom making a little extra money; I was very excited to figure out how to invest my money. I mentioned to one of my husband's friends my frustration with my mutual fund. My mutual fund was still losing so fast you couldn't even tell I was still contributing. He recommend the book by Phil Town; Rule #1 Investing. I immediately started to read it.

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it. He broke things down so clearly and explained things so well. I had never picked out my own stocks to invest in. It was so nice to have a step by step explanation of how to go about how to pick out stocks. He even went so far as to tell you what info to find out about your potential investment and where to find the info. I like the fact that he shows pages from MSNmoney and showed you exactly what to click. This was all brand new information to me and it was nice to have someone point blank point me in the right direction. I will admit I have had to read some of the sections over and over until I "got" it.

 Phil Town has a website/blog where you can get an idea of what he is about or get additional resources. He also has a members site where you can get access to his calculators. I tried to run formulas with out these for a while and just couldn't. I found the calculators extremely helpful.
I wish I could say I have made obscene amounts of money investing, but I am still trying to figure it all out. Phil in his book encourages you to learn it before you do it. I am still in the learning phase, but I am watching about 30 stocks now and slowly figuring out what is a good or bad company. I have only made one investment using his method (BRK.B in a college account for my kids) and I am eagerly putting aside money waiting for the right company at the right price and then I will invest again.
Start reading this book and next week I will tell you about a great investment tool for my kids college account that I stumbled upon while trying to learn Rule #1.

Rich Dad Poor Dad

To continue on about my quest to make money or atleast do better at making money and investing, I will start back with the first book I read.  In Rich Dad Poor Dad he make a lot of money through rental properties.  We have two rental properties, but I wouldn't say we are making money on either.  But we are slowly paying down the mortgages and hopefully building equity.....if the market quits dropping!  This is not how this guy would suggest making money.  He recommends getting a house for super cheap and renting it.  We on the other hands bought "homes" both times.  Not rental properties.  If we had bought them with the rental concept in mind then we would probably actually be making money because it would have totally changed what the conditions were when we were looking.  With all that said, we are not going to but another house just to have a rental property.  If you are thinking about this though I would take this guy's suggestion and buy somewhere the market is horrible, Vegas or Phoenix. 

Knowing that this main option was a no go I turned to his other suggest and found a business opportunity.  I am a stay at home mom obviously and a military wife that moves all the time.  These two factors limit what I can do.  So, I went with what I knew I could do.  I could work from home and use the internet.  I looked into a lot of options and settled with Amway.  The start up costs were incredibly low and you could really build a business through it.  I already had a basic understanding of how you could make money from using Ebates.  I realized quickly I could do the same thing through Amway.  Buy the products I was going to buy anyway and get 3% or more back.  The more people I recruited to do the same thing the higher my percentage.  Easy!  http://www.amway.com/meaganshamy  I realized that 3% doesn't sound like much, but it really adds up when you are buying food, makeup, cleaning products....and whatever else it is you buy for your family.  Plus, they have other stores they have partnered with like Best Buy, Disney, Barnes and Noble, Petco....that you get money back on as well. 

Now that I had this going for me I just had to figure out what to invest my new income in.  I knew I no longer wanted to put money in my mutual fund, but I still hadn't come across a better option.  Next up....the best investing book I ever read.

Money Mondays

Over the past six months I have began some what of a new hobby.  We were trying to sell our house and knew we were moving, so there was no point in working my garden this year.  Normally I would spend a great deal of time on this, needless to say I found myself with some extra time.   I decided I needed a new hobby.  After having become so frustrated losing money in my mutual fund I decided that my new hobby should be figuring out how to invest better.  If you are like me your mutual fund is literally eating your money.  I could flush that money down the toilet and I would still be at the same point.  Where to start was the problem.  So, I took the advice of a friend and read Rich Dad Poor Dad.

I must say I thought it was a really great book.  It made me realize that I needed my own business and that there is something to having a few rentals.  It gave me a whole new perspective on it.  (I absolutely hate being a landlord.  I do not do well dealing with people on this level.  Of course both the houses we have rented out are because we got stuck with them when they didn't sell.  We did not intentionally get into the rental business!)  Unfortunately this book did not help me solve my mutual fund problems, but more on that later.

Next week I am going to talk about the business I now have after reading this book.  You could too!