Cash The Checks

So I heard about this place called Prosper.com, they call themselves “The online marketplace for people-to-people lending.” It sounds interesting but I was amazed at just how good their service is. I’m not interested in borrowing any money but I sure am interested in lending it, since I want to earn a higher interest rate than what Savings Accounts can offer me.

The great thing about this service is that it minimizes the risk of your borrower defaulting on their loan. If you want to lend out $1,000 for example, you could lend out $100 to 10 different people. The borrower pays Prosper.com a monthly fee, and Prosper pays you what you lent out plus interest every month as well.

Each borrower gets a credit rating (A-F) and describes what their loan is for. If I have some more time in the future, I’m going to take a closer look at it and throw some money in there and see how it goes. If the trial run goes welll, I’ll invest a bit more.

For once, I’m going to have my money work for me, instead of me working for the money.

To my surprise this morning I received a letter from Capital One. I thought it was yet another credit card offer, or changes to their policy, or some credit card checks. To my surprise when I took a look, it turns out my regular Capital one Visa Card is being upgraded to a “Capital One Visa No Hassle Rewards Points Platinum Card”.

The major change is that now I earn 1 point for every dollar I spend. These points can be redeemed for gift certificates or even a payment made by check.

2,000 points gets you a $5 gift card at BlockBuster or at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Another bonus is when you spend $3,000 or more in a year, you’ll get an extra 5,000 points. After doing some calculations, spending $500.00 per month will get you 6,000 points per year, add the 5,000 bonus and that’s 11,000 total points, which is enough for a $50 gift certificate and you’ll still have some points left over.

It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s an extra $50 per year that you would’ve never had to begin with, for doing what you already do, use your credit card. It’s these little things that count, that add up to a substantial amount at the end of the year.

In an effort to get more credit and raise my credit score. I’ll be taking a very small step and begin to use my Capital One Visa credit card more often now. While the difference in my score may be minimal, it’s worth it, any amount is worth it. As time goes by, I’ll become more accustomed to using a credit card, that I’ll open up additional cards too - of course making sure I can make the payments on time.

You never want to live above your means, if you care about your credit score.

Another thing that can help your credit score is opening a new loan, then paying it off. This is one option I will most likely not do. First of all, I have no need to borrow money, second of all, even if the interest rate I borrow at can be very low - it’s not going to be as low as what I’d earn at a savings account. So there’s no profit to be made.

For now, it just looks like I’ll use my credit card more often now.

With all the talk about the need to check your credit, to see if you’ve been the victim of identity theft, the other day I figured I’d take a look at my credit report. Reportedly, if you live in certain states, you’re entitled to a free credit check once a year.

I went to Equifax and put in my personal information securely and just like that I got my credit report, free of charge. I was a bit dissapointed though because I figured I’d see my credit score as well, but alas, only some data showed up. My report showed me who had been checking my credit lately, my open and closed credit cards, and any negative points on it. As it turns out, a lot of credit card companies have been checking my credit, I guess that’s why I receive so many junk credit card offers in the mail.

Overall, my report looked pretty empty, which was dissapointing. Had I paid to see my credit score, I might have been even more dissapointed. It’s not that I don’t have good credit, it’s that I have no credit. I only have one active credit card, and that one shows a balance of $0 every month - since I pay it all off immediately every month.

Most of shoppers prefer to pay through debit cards instead of credit card as it protects them from hassles like credit card debt . It ensures enhanced security with similar ease of use and acceptability of discover card and citi card as for credit card. This habit, however, has caused a rise in use of payday loans to cover the urgent financial needs if you are not using credit card. Such short term funds are easy to get when compared to the long term loans like auto finance and home mortgages.

Having one too many credit cards could have you running for the quickest online loan you can get. A consolidation loan is one of the many debt solutions that could help you with spiralling loans and credit cards. Check out all your options which can help you get out of debt – an IVA or Debt Management might be more suitable for your financial situation.

I was faced with a tough choice for my online banking needs. I wanted a high interest rate, FDIC insured, but I also wanted easy access to my money along with an easy method for depositing my funds. HSBC offered me 4.65% APY for a savings account, while ING offered me 4.25% APY.

When doing my research on HSBC, I came to find out that depositing funds involved writing a check to HSBC, or depositing money at an HSBC ATM, wherever those are.

With ING however, once you have confirmed your external checking account, it is now linked to your ING account, thus adding or withdrawing money is easy and quick. So what I’ve decided to do is put some money in ING and test the waters a bit. If I like the services, I’ll put more money in ING and see that interest roll in…

Not only will Free Auto Loans Guide be a useful resource to those seeking information about auto loans, but it will also be generating revenue for me.

As you’ll see, there are some advertising spots in strategic locations on the site. These ads include: Yahoo Publisher Network (similar to Google Adsense), E-Loan, and MyAutoLoan affiliate links. YPN (Yahoo! Publisher Network) pays on a pay per click basis, E-Loan pays $4-$7 per confirmed auto loan application, and MyAutoLoan also pays on a pay-per-lead basis.

This is a win-win situation for everyone involved..
The end-user gets the free and valuable information they desire.
The webmaster gets paid revenue for providing leads to companies.
The company gets the interest earned if the end-user gets an auto loan.

In an effort to help out those looking for auto loan information, I’ve created a free resource site: Free Auto Loans Guide.

It has a step by step guide to car loans, with basic information on how to get a car loan, what types of car loans are available, and some places to apply for an auto loan. Check it out!

Many people fear using an online bank because they wan’t a nationally known bank, with a long history, with local branches throughout the country - and the world. So it’s understandable that someone with a fear of the internet and technology will have trouble with trusting their money with an “online bank”.

However what people need to realize is that ING is a real bank, and most importantly, is FDIC insured, up to $100,000. You have the same protection as with your current bank.

So, can you trust ING? The answer is YES.

After joining ING by filling out their quick and easy application form, ING sends your current bank 2 small deposits which you have to verify with ING. You can just check online with your current bank and then input the 2 exact deposit amounts into your ING account and your bank account will be verified.

After you do that, the amount you requested to be transferred will be shown in your ING account and will begin accruing interest.

Overall the sign up process with ING was quick and painless. Something to take note of though, don’t forget your account number. After you sign up they only show it to you once, afterwards you’ll have to call their 1-800 number and verify your identity to get that number again, so be sure to write it down.

As with everyone else, I’ve seen the ING Orange Savings Account commercials. I went to check it out and saw the current rate at 4.25% for a Savings Account and 5.25% for a 12 Month CD account. After researching some other online banks for their rates and fees, I decided to open up an account with ING.

Here’s a few reasons why I opted with ING:

1. The sign-up process was real easy, I was just asked for my personal information (name, address, SSN, drivers liscense number).
2. I provided the checking account information from my current bank (name of bank, account number, routing number).
3. Just like that, I was done. I created a pin, I got my customer number, and I was all set.

Last time I checked, here are Washington Mutual’s interest rates in California
0.40% APY for a savings account. (Now isn’t that just pathetic.)

WAMU also has what’s called a Platinum Checking Account. With this account, your checking account earns interest. Depending on how much you have in the account, it earns a higher APY.

Still though, the amount is very low.

If you have $0 - $9,999 in the account, you earn a measily .15%. Not only that, but you’ll be charged a $13 monthly fee, because your balance was under $10k. To get all the way up to 3% you’d have to keep over $25,000 in the checking account.

As with most banks, they lure you in with easy to set up savings accounts, and free checking accounts. Most people seem to like it because it’s easy, comfortable, fast and secure. Most people would be surprised when they realize how much higher of an interest rate they can get by going to another bank, perhaps an online bank.

Choosing from short, medium and long term loans depends upon the needs you require funds for. Short term needs like credit card debt are easy to fund. If you are looking for car loan , home loans or other long term finances you will have to research your options. Like, mortgage is the most commonly used home financing option available for home loan seekers. It’s mainly because of flexibility that it provides in refinancing. So you don’t have to look for other home refinancing options. Mortgages are also tax deductible hence minimizing the amount paid as income tax and other taxes.