10 Quick Tips оn hоw tо bе Frugal

March 23, 2016 by Kirsten Marshall

Money, ассоrdіng tо а classical definition, іѕ whаt money does. And truth, аѕ thеу say, іѕ lіkе а rubber band. Stretch іt аnd іt саn dо wonders. Sо іf wе саn rеаllу mаkе money іn order tо dо whаtеvеr wе want, thеrе іѕ nоthіng lіkе that.

Tо provide 10 quick tips tо save money іѕ аlmоѕt lіkе а first-aid approach tо а vеrу intricate problem реrhарѕ faced bу аlmоѕt еасh оf us. It іѕ important tо knоw hоw tо manage money efficiently tо ensure bulky savings. Whеthеr tо save ѕоmе part оf whаt wе hаvе tо spend оr whеthеr tо spend аt аll оn а service оr commodity ѕhоuld bе thе fіrѕt question tо bе answered.

Firstly іn case оf large investments, thе fіrѕt step fоr а prospective buyer іѕ tо identify аnd correlate thе valuable item оr service wіth nееd оr desire. It іѕ bеttеr tо test іtѕ utility first, fоr example, bу borrowing іt fоr а fixed time period. If уоu аrе satisfied аnd convinced аbоut іtѕ necessity аnd thіnk thаt уоu rеаllу nееd that, уоu mау buy it. But tо save money, уоu аѕ а wise consumer muѕt find thе bеѕt seller іn terms оf comparative pricing, quality & market reputation
Fоr lоwеr priced items, оnе hаѕ tо shop fоr thе lowest prices, аlѕо keeping аn eye оn thе quality aspect. Fоr example, іf уоu tаkе thе instance оf buying clothes, thе bеѕt purchase іѕ off-season discount sale, whеrеіn уоu саn gеt good clothes аt cheap rates. By using coupons and used gift cards you can cut what you pay in half.
Fоr financial investments, lіkе thе stock market, follow thе golden rule оf buying volatile stocks whеn thе price оf аn item іѕ dоwn & sell іt whеn іt іѕ аt а high. Thе profit thuѕ earned саn bе invested іn thе equity market fоr steady items.
Today’s internet hаѕ рrоvіdеd thе bеѕt opportunities tо shop wіth Gift Cards fоr Less. Eѕресіаllу fоr insurance, travel, hotel, clothing аnd groceries, оnе іѕ spoiled fоr choices. Proper analysis оf rates gоеѕ а long wау іn saving hundreds оf dollars іn а year.
Change оf plan іn case оf services lіkе telephone, insurance, etc. саn save уоu costly dollars рrоvіdеd уоu simply hаvе thе knowledge аbоut thе bеѕt existing plan.
Making а monthly budget fоr buying thе essential items аnd regulating thе number оf luxury items саn yield considerable savings. You can then start collecting coupons, cheap gift cards, and plan shopping around sales based on this budget.
Expensive weekends аnd extravagant outings ѕhоuld bе replaced bу reasonable excursion оr wholesale entertainment.
Proper food planning аnd food habits result іn bеttеr living, bоth financially аnd mentally. Stay healthy аnd уоu саn save оn medical bills. Hаvіng а proper food plan аlѕо prevents food frоm bеіng wasted.
Paying thе bills wіthіn due dates рrоvіdеѕ invaluable savings, because, іn thіѕ case, аѕ уоu hаvе tо pay, іt іѕ bеttеr tо pay іn time tо avoid penalty.
If уоu аrе аn employer, уоu ѕhоuld encourage flexible job responsibilities fоr уоur task force, making еасh оnе compatible wіth thе work wіthіn а department. Thіѕ wіll hеlр іn cutting dоwn employees cost аnd hеlр complete а task wіthіn time, еvеn іf ѕоmеоnе іѕ absent.

Thеrе аrе оbvіоuѕlу ѕеvеrаl оthеr ways tо save money аnd lead а frugal life wіthоut tension. It іѕ аlwауѕ told thаt money saved іѕ money earned. Juѕt kеер іt іn mind аnd stay happy.

How to Start a Gift Card Giving Campaign

March 3, 2015 by Kirsten Marshall

A Gift Card Giving Campaign will help your nonprofit raise more money!

If you are a nonprofit organization looking for a perfect way to raise funds through a new nontraditional method, a Gift Card Giving campaign is your solution! Gift Card Giving allows your nonprofit information the ability to significantly increase first quarter donations and continuously throughout the year. Over $44 billion dollars are floating around in unused gift cards since 2008, Gift Card Giving wants to enable nonprofits the ability to tap into that unused money as a way to raise funds.

Below are instructions on how to start a Gift Card Giving Campaign.

1. Create an account- Visit the Gift Card Giving website and click the “Enroll Your Group”. Fill out your nonprofits information and a Gift Card Fundraiser account manager will create an account for your nonprofit.
2. Receive start-up kit- Look for your personalized start-up kit that will be delivered to your nonprofit’s main contact for the Gift Card Giving program.
3. Launch a fundraiser- Launch your Gift Card Giving program by implementing your marketing plan and informing you donors that you are accepting gift cards as a form of donation.
4. Collection- Your nonprofit begin collecting gift card donations that have over a $10 donation.
5. Conversion- Once you have collected your gift card donations Gift Card Giving will collect your gift cards and liquidate the donations using GiftCardRescue.com.
6. Payment- Your nonprofit will set up a personalized payment plan and you will be paid as agreed upon. Gift Card Giving will cover all credit card and shipping costs incurred on the gift cards that are sold.
The best part is that a Gift Card Giving Campaign is free for you to start and run! Gift Card Giving will take a fee after your gift cards have sold to cover processing expenses. Take advantage of this new and innovative program and tap into a new way to raise money for your organization. There is no limit to the income your non-profit can get from this channel considering the volume of unused gift cards that are out there.

For more information contact a Gift Card Giving representative.

Who started Gift Card Giving Day?

January 13, 2015 by Kirsten Marshall

Gift Card Giving started Gift Card Giving Day!

Who started Gift Card Giving Day

The first annual Gift Card Giving Day will be held on January 21st, 2015. Anyone with unwanted gift cards or merchandise credit will be able to visit the Gift Card Giving Day website and donate their cards to a good cause.

Gift Card Giving Day is a day dedicated to making a difference. Individuals are given the opportunity to donate unwanted gift cards and merchandise credits to nonprofit organizations participating in the Gift Card Giving Day program. Gift Card Giving Day was started by GiftCards.org as a way to raise awareness to this new innovative donation method that is available for nonprofit organizations to raise money in the first quarter.

GiftCardGiving.us has a mission to help schools, churches, and nonprofit organizations raise money by providing a liquidation service that converts the over $44 billion in unused gift cards into cash for donation. GiftCards.Org has partnered with the nationally recognized company, GiftCardRescue.com, to offer this new donation stream to nonprofit organizations. GiftCardRescue.com has been featured in the ABC show Shark Tank, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CBS, NPR, Smart Money, The Inc 500, and more.

If you are interested in becoming a founding partner, you will be placed on the Gift Card Giving Day website to accept donations from gift card donors. To get in touch with GiftCards.Org, call the customer support line at 1-888-224-9935 or email an Account Manager and someone will be in contact with you within 2 business days to set up your campaign.

If you are interested in donating your gift card, visit the Gift Card Giving Day website on January 21^st and choose a nonprofit to donate. You will be given the option to donate electronically or mail in your card.

Spread the word about Gift Card Giving Day on Twitter with the #GiftCardGivingDay and tell GiftCards.Org why you are donating your gift card.

What is Gift Card Giving Day?

How to launch a Gift Card Giving Day Campaign

How to sign up for Gift Card Giving Day

Spend Less On Tech Gadgets

July 10, 2014 by Kirsten Marshall

Purchasing the latest tech toys isn’t cheap. With the help of companies such as giftcardrescue, you are able to purchase discounted gift cards to stores such as Target that will help you Here’s how to soften the blow to your wallet.

1. Sell your old device. Before upgrading to a new smartphone, laptop or tablet, consider selling or trading in your old device. Many retailers and wireless carriers offer trade-in programs. “The more current the phone or gadget, the more credit you can expect to receive,” consumer and money-saving expert Andrea Woroch says.

While retailers typically offer a gift card toward future purchases, trade-in websites including Gazelle, BuyMyTronics and Glyde offer cash. “Some sites will buy it from you even if it’s broke, though naturally you’ll get a lower buyback,” says DealNews.com spokesman Mark LoCastro. “That’s money that you can in turn use for your new gadget purchase.” You may get more money reselling the device yourself through eBay (EBAY) or Craigslist, but that option also requires more legwork to complete the transaction and more potential for the buyer to flake out or defraud you.

2. Know your needs. According to Stephanie Humphrey, weekly tech columnist for Ebony.com and founder of the blog A Matter of Life and Tech, it’s a good idea to determine how much storage space and what features you need before a shopping excursion. That way a slick salesperson won’t upsell you to a model that has extra bells and whistles you won’t use. Customers sometimes “go in and say, ‘Gimme that one,’ and it’s more expensive than what [they] need,” she says.

With most non-Apple products, you can usually add more disk space later if needed, although it’s often cheaper to buy the right amount from the start. If you must upgrade your disk space later on, Humphrey says you can save money if you buy the component pieces online and install them yourself.

3. Consider buying the previous generation. iPhone 5s may be popular among the tech cognoscenti, but if you’re price-conscious, consider an iPhone 4 or 5 (not 5s). “Electronics have one of the fastest depreciation values on any consumer good as manufacturers and brands release new updates and models on popular gadgets every few months,” Woroch says. “What’s hot today may be old news in a few months, so it’s not worth paying a premium just to get the latest bells and whistles.”

LoCastro adds that a previous generation device is often still capable of running the latest apps and software. “You might just sacrifice a faster processor or thinner design,” he says.

Timing your purchase to the release of a new model can also save you money. “The best time to buy a current-generation iPad is toward the end of its life cycle,” LoCastro says. “So the minute you hear rumors that a new iPad is in the works, chances are retailers will discount the current iPad. That rule generally applies to all types of gadgets, from smartphones to tablets.”

4. Look for open-box deals or refurbished devices. Many retailers sell open-box items at a steep discount. “Open box may just mean it was the display model, or [an employee] may have opened it to show someone and that person decided not to purchase that item,” Humphrey says.

Refurbished devices have typically been used and returned to the manufacturer, which usually restores it to factory settings and tests it for defects. Humphrey says it’s a good idea to buy refurbished products from a reputable source, and make sure it’s factory certified.

5. Exercise caution on secondary markets. Worldwide sales of smartphones to end users totaled 968 million units, and tablet sales reached 195.4 million units last year, according to Gartner (IT), a technology research and advisory company. Plenty of these functional devices wind up on the secondary market when the owner gets tired of them or decides to upgrade.

Craigslist and eBay are two popular sources for used devices, but they can be riskier than buying directly from a retailer or manufacturer. Humphrey likes that eBay displays reviews from previous buyers. “You want sellers that have a lot of ratings so you can get a feel for how many people have walked away satisfied,” she says. Just be cautious about what you read. “There’s a whole industry now around buying fake reviews,” Humphrey points out. Craigslist connects local buyers and sellers, allowing them to meet in person to test a device. “The only real way to know if a product is going to function is to power it up,” she adds. If you’re conducting a Craigslist transaction in a public place for safety reasons, you can easily test out a smartphone or laptop, but trying out a TV or other large device becomes trickier.

6. Skip the extended warranty (most of the time). Retailers make much of their money from selling extended warranties, not from the products themselves. Your credit card may automatically offer protection beyond a standard manufacturer warranty for some items, so it’s worth checking before you pay for an extended warranty. Also consider the type of gadget you’re buying. “When it comes to televisions, you’re usually safe to skip over this added expense,” Woroch says. “While warranties do offer peace of mind, HDTVs are surprisingly reliable.” Humphrey says you probably don’t need an extended warranty on a TV, but it might be worthwhile for a laptop or tablet. “You’re transporting those, so there’s more of a chance that you’ll drop it or scratch it,” she explains. Still, the manufacturer warranty may not cover accidental damage such as water damage, so read the fine print before you buy.

Original article on U.S. News

How I Cut My Food Budget In Half

July 7, 2014 by Kirsten Marshall

Kali Geldis tells the DailyFinance about how she cut her food budget in half. If she would have known about services such as giftcardrescue.com, she could’ve saved even more!

With discounted gift cards to major grocery stores like Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, and more; saving hundreds of dollars a month is common. Here is her story.

I opened up my budget tracking tool last November, and my jaw dropped — I had spent $1,200 on food that month. That’s when I knew I had to make a change.

Now, a few notes about that total: That includes groceries, restaurants, bars and fast food. Also, I prepared Thanksgiving dinner — $125 for couple of pies and a turkey for six people. However, that $1,200 number stuck with me — I needed to cut my spending on food.

It’s no surprise that food was a big budget-breaker for me — it’s one of the most common expenses on which financial planners see clients spending too much money. I definitely felt like I was throwing money away. There are so many other ways I could use that money — paying for a vacation, investing more money in an individual retirement account, saving for a down payment on a home, paying for a wedding.

It was when my now-fiancé proposed over Christmas that I knew needed to buckle down and cut my food spending by a lot. Weddings are expensive, and the money that was going toward nights out and nice dinners with friends was wrecking my budget. While I wasn’t going into debt, I realized it was just a matter of time. And debt is something I strenuously avoid. (I never carry a balance on my credit cards and am constantly monitoring my credit scores for free on Credit.com to make sure my credit utilization level is low.) If I was going to start cutting my food spending, I needed new rules for myself.

How I Cut My Food Spending in Half

Pack lunch for work. A simple step, yes, but I realized that I don’t need to pack a lunch every day for work, just pack supplies for lunches once a week. I realized I could get a big supply of baby spinach, some dried cranberries and some salad dressing, and have enough to last me for lunches the entire week. It made packing a lunch less of a hassle, and helped me avoid ordering lunch delivered to the office on Seamless on a daily basis. (I still let myself order in every once in a while.)
Make grocery shopping a priority. I’m a New Yorker, so stocking up on groceries for the week is more difficult than hopping in my car, filling up my cart and heading home. I have to carry all my groceries from the store to my apartment, and a week’s worth of food is shockingly heavy. I’ve opted instead to use Fresh Direct to order groceries every week. Even though I know I’m not getting the best deal on every item I buy, I know that by regularly filling my fridge, I’m not ordering a $25 meal from an online food delivery service. The savings adds up.
Just say no. Part of my food spending problem was that I would go out with friends and feel pressured to order another round of drinks, splurge on dessert, or get a bunch of appetizers for the table. I deserved it, right? I had to learn some self-control and think about the bigger expenses I really wanted — owning a home in a few years, saving money for my upcoming wedding (and the awesome honeymoon we want), and planning for a fully funded retirement. (Yes — I’m a millennial who is thinking about retirement — we do exist!)

I looked at my food spending in May — it’s down to about $600, a huge accomplishment, I cut my food budget in half! It took me about six months to really get into a groove with these new habits, but the payoff is big. My fiancé and I are on track to save more than $1,000 a month for our wedding, and we’re hoping to have a little left over to save for the other big costs down the road.

Food To Cut From Your Kids Diet

July 1, 2014 by Kirsten Marshall

Food companies are good at marketing to unknowning consumers that their product is healthy when, in fact, it could be putting artificial and unhealthy ingredients into your kids diet. Below is a list of food to cut from your kids diet, instead find healthy alternatives that are equally as satisfying. With this list of food to cut from your kids diet, you can kick artificial food coloring and sugar to the curb. Try shopping at places such as Whole Foods to have a larger, healthier food selection.

Kool-Aid Burst Cherry

Red-stained mouths are common during the summer, as kids gulp down huge cups of Kool-Aid, made by Kraft Foods Group KRFT +0.25% . But parents looking to cut down on artificial dyes may want to limit kids’ consumption of Kool-Aid Burst Cherry. The 2013 study shows that just eight fluid ounces of Kool Aid has 52.3 mg of artificial food coloring in it. The FDA says that children weighing 30 kilograms (66 pounds) shouldn’t have more than 210 mg per day of the red dye contained in Kool Aid — and just over 32 ounces of Kool-Aid Burst Cherry (that’s roughly the size of three cans of soda) would put your kids over the edge. Some groups don’t think any of this dye is safe: The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit agency that advocates for safer foods, has lobbied the FDA to ban Red No. 40 dye. Kraft did not respond for a request for comment.

Kraft Mac & Cheese

It’s a dinner staple in many households, but the 2014 study shows that just one serving of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese has 17.6 mg of artificial food coloring in it, compared with fewer than 8 mg for a serving of Hamburger Helper, another family favorite. Even Cheese Balls have fewer than 9 mg per serving. The FDA says that children weighing 30 kilograms (66 pounds) shouldn’t have more than 113 mg of Yellow No. 6 or 150 mg of Yellow No. 5 — the dyes that color Kraft Macaroni & Cheese — per day; the CSPI names both of these yellow dyes as two of the three it wants the FDA to ban. Kraft did not respond for a request for comment.

Cap n’ Crunch Oops All Berries

With its cartoon captain on the front of the box and the sweet cereal inside, there’s a reason your kids love Cap n’ Crunch Oops All Berries. But the 2014 study found that just one cup of this cereal has 41.3 mg of artificial food coloring (red, yellow and blue dyes). This was the highest amount of dye per serving of any of the 10 cereals measured. Switching to regular Cap ‘n Crunch as well as Cap ‘n Crunch Crunch Berries are both better (though still not great) bets with 9.5 and 17 mg of artificial dyes per cup, respectively. Stevens says that “better yet, choose a whole grain cereal low in sugar that does not have any dyes.” Children shouldn’t have more than 210 mg of the red dye in Cap n’ Crunch, 150 mg of the yellow dye and 360 mg of the blue dye, according to the FDA. PepsiCo PEP -0.52% referred MarketWatch to the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association for comment, which questioned the analytics of the Purdue study.

Keebler Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers

When parents hear cracker, they often think healthy. But they may want to proceed with caution. One package of these crackers has 10 grams of fat, 190 calories and only 1 gram of fiber. But it’s the dye that may give parents pause: A serving (eight crackers) of Keebler Cheese & Peanut Butter Crackers, made by Kellogg Co. K -0.21% , has 14.4 mg of yellow dye in them; this is one of the dyes that CSPI want to ban. The FDA says children shouldn’t have more than 113 mg of this dye per day. Keebler did not respond to a request for comment.

Trix

“Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids.” There’s nary a child in America who doesn’t know that tagline, or at least know what Trix cereal is. But that sugary (there are 10 grams of sugar per one-cup serving), colorful cereal your kids love is loaded with artificial dyes (36.4 mg of red, yellow and blue dyes per serving, the second highest of the 10 cereals measured), the 2014 study showed. Children shouldn’t have more than 210 mg of the red dye in Trix, 113 mg of the yellow dye and 360 mg of the blue dye, according to the FDA. What’s more, in general, sugared colorful cereals tend to have one of the highest levels of dyes per serving, compared with popsicles and ice creams. A spokesperson for General Mills GIS +0.47% says that the dye “levels in a product like Trix would actually be lower than what is listed by as much as 30%”.

Powerade Orange

Many parents think that Powerade Orange is a healthy drink to give Junior after his soccer or tennis match. Indeed, Powerade’s marketing campaigns say that it will help replenish electrolytes lost in sweat. But the study found that Powerade Orange, a product of Coca-Cola Co. KO -0.73% , has 22.1 mg of artificial dyes in it per eight ounce serving. You’d be better off with PepsiCo’s Gatorade Orange, which only has 3.2 mg per serving or HyDrive Energy Orange, which only has 6.7 mg, though Stevens says that “100% diluted fruit juice over ice” may be even better.” The FDA says that children shouldn’t have more than 113 mg of Yellow No. 6 or 150 mg of Yellow No. 5, or more than 210 mg per day of the red dye. Coca-Cola did not respond for a request for comment.

Fruity Cheerios

Some parents think of Cheerios as a healthy breakfast, but if you’re worried about artificial dyes, you may want to steer clear of Fruity Cheerios. One serving of this cereal, a General Mills product, has 31.8 mg of red, yellow and blue dye. Parents might want to switch to Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries, as their berries are made from strawberries and don’t contain dye, or Berry Berry Kix by General Mills, whose berry balls are sweetened with fruit juice and also don’t contain dyes. Children shouldn’t have more than 210 mg of the red dye in Fruity Cheerios, 113 mg of the yellow dye and 360 mg of the blue dye, according to the FDA. A spokesperson for General Mills says that “the safety of both artificial and natural colors has been affirmed through extensive review by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).”

Sunny D Orange Strawberry

Sure, eight ounces of Sunny D Orange Strawberry has 100% of the government’s recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C in it, but it’s also got a lot of sugar and artificial dyes. Indeed, Sunny D Orange Strawberry drink, made by parent company Orangina Schweppes, contains 41.5 mg per serving of artificial dyes — that’s second only to Kool-Aid Burst Cherry among the 32 beverages measured. A Sunny D spokesperson says “the health and safety of our products is paramount, we use only FDA-approved ingredients and we stand behind the safety of all of our beverages.” The FDA says that children shouldn’t have more than 113 mg of Yellow No. 6 or 150 mg of Yellow No. 5 — the two yellow dyes the study found in Sunny D Orange Strawberry — or more than 210 mg per day of the red dye.

M&M’s

Parents know that candy isn’t healthy for kids, but many don’t realize how much artificial dye goes into it. One quarter cup of M&Ms (48 pieces) has 29.5 mg of dyes (red, blue and yellow) in it — the second highest of the more than 50 candies measured. They also have 27 grams of sugar in them — one of the highest levels of those measured. Mars says that their products comply with both internal quality and safety standards as well as government standards. The FDA says that children shouldn’t have more than 113 mg of Yellow No. 6 or 150 mg of Yellow No. 5, 210 mg per day of Red No. 40, 360 mg of Blue No. 1, 75 mg of Blue No. 2 — all of which the study found M&Ms contained.

Skittles

When your kids “experience the rainbow,” they’re also gulping down a lot of artificial dye. One serving (a packet, which contains 61 pieces) of the candy has 33.3 mg of artificial dyes in it. But perhaps even more disturbing to parents is the 46 g of sugar that go along with that. Wrigley, the maker of Skittles, says that all the colors used “comply with our own strict internal quality and safety requirements as well as all applicable laws, regulations and safety assessments relating to colors added to food.” Skittles contains the same dyes that M&Ms do.

5 Things To Consider When Getting a Credit Card

June 26, 2014 by Kirsten Marshall

There seems to be a million different choices when getting a credit card. Different cards are better for certain people than others. DailyFinance.com explains what to consider when getting a credit card and how to avoid choosing a card that is wrong for you.

1. Use comparison websites. The myriad of credit card options today is matched by a slew of comparison websites that make it easier than ever to customize your search for the right card for you. Google’s credit card search tool lets users narrow down their search by interest rate, rewards and a dozen other factors. IndexCreditCards.com, Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com, CreditKarma.com and NerdWallet.com all offer credit card search tools.

If you always pay your bill in full each month and never carry any debt, then you can take a closer look at the rewards options. Perhaps you prefer cash back to airline miles, or points that let you make purchases at retailers such as Best Buy (BBY) or Home Depot (HD). If you do carry any debt, though, then you’ll want to focus on minimizing the APR, or annual percentage rate. Just don’t sign up for the first offer you get in the mail because it might not be the best one for your situation.

2. Check up on the extra protections that come with your card. Credit cards come with various forms of protection, including from theft, non-delivery of items from a company and even extended warranties. If you travel a lot, then you might want to focus on cards that come with travel perks like insurance; if you buy a lot of large electronics, then the extended warranty protection might be for you. If you’re a big shopper, then price protection, which offers to make up the difference if an item you buy drops in price, could be your best bet. The important thing is to read the fine print, ask questions so you know what perks come with your card and to pick the card that has the benefits that are important to you.

3. Don’t be tempted by freebies. Credit cards sometimes offer tempting short-term benefits, including token gifts like T-shirts or a temporary zero percent APR. For the most part, you don’t want to get sidetracked by these offers because they mask the far more important factors, namely the interest rate and any relevant fees. In fact, you should probably ignore introductory gifts all together because you’ll have your card far longer than you’ll enjoy the added freebies. You can buy your own T-shirt later.

4. Avoid rewards cards unless you carry zero debt. On average, rewards cards carry higher interest rates than non-rewards cards. According to IndexCreditCards.com, the average interest rate on a consumer rewards card is currently 17.64 percent, and the average rate on a non-rewards card is 15.48 percent — that’s a full two-percentage point difference. It might not sound like much, but if you’re carrying debt each month, then you want to make sure you’re paying as little as possible for it. (Along with developing a plan to pay it off in full as soon as possible.) Any rewards are not worth the extra interest payments.

5. Rates and fees can be negotiable, so always ask. Credit card providers are sometimes more flexible than you might think. If you’re a good customer with a strong credit history, then you might have some leeway to ask for a lower interest rate or for an unexpected fee to be removed. You can sometimes negotiate better terms for yourself, especially if you’re a good customer who pays on time. There’s no harm in calling up the customer service representative to ask what they can do for you.

The bottom line: You want to make sure your credit card is working for you, and not vice versa. Pay off your bill each month so you’re not carrying any debt, and take advantage of the free rewards coming your way. If you do have debt, make a plan to pay it off, because the high interest rates on credit cards add up quickly over time.

20 Best iPhone Apps

June 24, 2014 by Kirsten Marshall

Out of the hundreds of iphone apps that are now available on the itunes store, EliteDaily has introduced the 20 best iphone apps to download. If you are looking to purchase an iPhone, first get a discounted apple gift card to save.

1. Secret:

Cheating, stealing, peeing in Pringles cans and money issues are just a few things you’ll find on Secret. The new social network gives you an anonymous look into the lives of other people. It’s definitely entertaining to read, but even more fun to share your own dirty laundry.

Price: Free

2. Evernote:

When you want to be productive, use Evernote. The digital notebook makes it easy for you to jot down quick notes, make lists, record voice memos and even save web articles. What’s great about Evernote is that everything you create is stored in the cloud, so even if you don’t have your iPhone, you can still log in on the web and have everything you need.

Price: Free

3. Checkmark 2:

Checkmark 2 is a gorgeous to-do list app. It’s much better than the one that comes with your iPhone because you can set reminders based on when you arrive or leave a certain location.

You can even set reminders for a specific time or date. To help keep everyone productive, Checkmark 2 also features reminders for groups, too. The price is a little steep, but it’s definitely worth it.

Price: $5.99

4. Acompli:

Does dealing with emails bum you out? Acompli makes managing your digital messages easier. What’s great about Acompli is that it combines your email and calendar, making it easy to schedule meetings and keep on top of things you have to do.

Price: Free

5. Fantastical 2:

Fantastical 2 is the best calendar app around. We love it because it’s so simple to enter an appointment or task. Simply type, “coffee with kevin tomorrow and 8 am” and the app automatically fills in everything else. You’ll never forget an appointment again.

Price: $4.99

6. Spotify

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Spotify is hands down the best music app around. The app’s library is massive, with over 20 million songs, both old and new.

You can create playlists, listen to custom radio stations, discover new music and follow your favorite artists.

If you want to get the full Spotify treatment, consider its premium service. For $9 a month, you get ad-free access and can download playlists directly to your iPhone, this means you can listen even when you don’t have service.

Price: Free ($9 a month for Spotify Premium)

7. SoundFlake

Soundflake is a brand new SoundCloud player. It looks great, and makes managing your SoundCloud account on the go ridiculously easy.

While Spotify has a huge music library, it often doesn’t have music as soon as it’s available. That’s when we turn to SoundCloud and can listen to all the new jams.

Price: $2.99

8. Litely

When the regular Instagram filters don’t cut it, try Litely. The photo-editing app was created by the guy who made some of Instagram’s most popular filters, so he knows what he’s doing.

Price: Free

9. Google Docs

Pretty much everyone has a Gmail account, which means everyone has a Google Docs account, too. The screen on your phone might be small, but with Google Docs for iPhone, you can create new documents or open and edit any that you started on the web or another device.

Best of all, you never have to worry again about losing your work — everything is automatically saved as you type. What are you waiting for, it’s time to ditch Microsoft Word.

Price: Free

10. Snapchat

Snapchat just had a huge update recently. Now you can chat and video chat moments with your friends, making the app much more interactive.

The new chats aren’t permanent so you can be as candid as you want, without fear or shame. Don’t forget that your friends can still take a screenshot though.

Price: Free

11. Fever

So, you want to go out but have no idea what to do… We’ve all been there before. Now there’s a solution: Fever. The event discovery app, gives you a curated feed of hot options with a social component that lets you and influencers share activities on the go.

Price: Free

12. Jobr

Jobr is the Tinder for finding a new job. Specifically, Jobr connects those searching for a new gig with employers and vice versa. You can get matched with recruiters, and even earn rewards for referring friends for positions.

Price: Free

13. 7 Minutes In Hell Workout & Weight Tracker

You want to get in shape, but don’t have a lot of time. We get it, and so does 7 Minutes in Hell. The app makes it incredibly easy to get in a vigorous workout.

You get 30 seconds for each of the 12 punishing exercises, with 10 seconds of rest in between, just in case you need to hydrate, catch your breath or vomit into a bucket.

Price: $2.99

13. Threes

When you have a few minutes of down time, check out Threes. The puzzle game challenges you to add together like numbers to get a high score. The challenge is never ending.

Price: $1.99

14. Piano Tiles

Piano Tiles is like Rock Band or Guitar Hero except on your phone and it’s free. Playing Piano Tiles really gets your heart racing.

The idea is simple, tap the black tiles, don’t tap the white tiles. The game has multiple modes that allow you to race against the clock, it’s perfect for when you need to kill some time.

Price: Free

15. QuizUp

QuizUp is a fun trivia game that lets you challenge your friends or some strangers to see who knows the most.

You can use from over 400 categories with 250k questions. There’s something for everyone to enjoy on QuizUp and who wouldn’t want the bragging rights of knowing more than your friends?

Price: Free

16. HealthyOut

Give Seamless a break and check out HealthyOut. The recently updated app shows you the healthiest options for delivery or take out near you.

HealthyOut promises that its curated selection of dishes offers half the calories and fat compared to other restaurant’s dishes.

Price: Free

17. Art.sy

Step your knowledge of the art game up. Artsy lets you explore, collect and share more than 100,000 high-resolution artworks.

From Monet, to Warhol, to Marina Abramovic, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha and Cindy Sherman, Art.sy spans everything from historical masters, to today’s top artists.

Price: Free

18. Comedy Central

Comedy Central’s new app lets you stream full episodes of nearly all the channel’s shows. It’s great when you want to catch up on new episodes or binge watch a series. Best of all, you don’t need an account or anything to sign in.

Price: Free

19. Circa

You want to keep up with the news, but sometimes it’s too hard to digest, right? We get it. That’s why Circa is perfect for staying on top of breaking news across a ton of different areas.

The news app takes the news and presents it in a way that’s easy to understand and easy to read. You can also follow stories and get alerts once it’s been updated or more information has been released.

Price: Free

20. Make it Rain: The Love of Money

If you can’t make it rain in real life then at least make it rain virtually. The game is simple, you just swipe, swipe and swipe to see how much money you can blow.

Price: Free

Top Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Financially Savvy Gift Ideas

June 18, 2014 by Kirsten Marshall

With graduations, father’s days, summer birthdays in the future, DailyFinance shares some great financially savvy gift ideas that will make your gift the highlight of the party. Staying financially savvy is an important trait to pass on to the people you care about. By using site such as giftcardrescue.com you can save money every day on gas, groceries, and clothes. Check out how to pass on the gift of money smarts to your family and friends.

LOS ANGELES — Americans typically spend nearly $5 billion on gifts for graduates, with a little over half giving cash and a third offering gift cards, according to last year’s National Retail Federation survey.

Those surveyed spent an average of $49, which won’t buy a laptop, a retirement fund or many of the other gifts often touted as “financially savvy.”

If you actually want to do some future good with your gift, here are some money-smart suggestions for grads from personal finance experts, college consultants and recent graduates:

Living Life

Experiences give us more happiness than stuff, according to various researchers. You can put those findings to practical use in a variety of ways.

“I’m a sucker for experiences over products, so I might give a gift certificate or Groupon (GRPN) to a nice restaurant or a Paint Nite with a few friends,” said personal finance columnist Kathy Kristof, Los Angeles-based author of “Taming the Tuition Tiger” and mother of a recent college graduate.

(For her own daughter, Kristof bought the airline tickets for four months spent “kicking around the world.”)

College consultant Shirley Bloomquist of Great Falls, Virginia, sometimes buys gift certificates for lunch, dinner or a theater outing for the graduate and a friend.

Cooking Essentials

Learning to fix meals from scratch at home will save your graduate a fortune. A good basic cookbook, such as Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything,” is one option. Kitchen starter sets are another. Ikea has 7-piece cookware sets for $25 to $50, while Caphalon and Oxo have kitchen gadget sets for $40 to $50.

College consultant Bloomquist recently gave a gift certificate for a cooking class to a law school graduate that she could share with some buddies.

Help Being Grown Up

Transitioning to the work world often isn’t easy. Grads may benefit from the services of a resume doctor, a career counselor, a wardrobe stylist, a fee-only financial planner — or other professionals.

“I know someone who had an interior designer just spend a day rearranging things in their apartment,” said Zac Bisonnette, author of “Debt-Free U” and “Good Advice from Bad People.” Such help, he said, “can turn an ad hoc sort of deal into something more adult.”

Professional help isn’t cheap, however. The cost for any of these services can be $150 an hour, or more. Some may offer discounted initial sessions, but givers on a budget may have to resort to self-help books instead.

For career advice, Lynn O’Shaughnessy, author of “The College Solution,” recommends “Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World,” by Lindsey Pollak and “Graduate to a Great Job: Make Your College Degree Pay Off in Today’s Market,” by David DeLong.

Some other titles to consider:

“Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties,” by Beth Kobliner.
“Style Bible: What to Wear to Work,” by Lauren A. Rothman.
“Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure,” by Maxwell Ryan.

Prepaid Cards

If you’re still leaning toward a cash gift, you might consider a reloadable prepaid card that allows users to track their spending and offers some protection against loss, theft or fraud.

“The main advantage over cash is that cash tends to disappear quickly,” said Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com and BestPrepaidDebitCards.com. “I have a son that graduated a year ago, and I would never give him a cash gift … even though I required him to take a personal finance class during college.”

A prepaid card that charges fat fees is, however, the exact opposite of a financially savvy gift. Arnold recommends two lower-cost options: Serve from American Express (AXP) and Chase Liquid (JPM).

Serve has a $1 monthly maintenance fee, free point-of-sale transactions and none of the typical hidden third-party costs such as ATM and cash load fees, he said. Users can also send money by email, text and Facebook (FB) and set up subaccounts to easily share money among family members, Arnold said.

Chase Liquid offers unlimited free withdrawals at Chase ATMs. Point-of-sale transactions are free and there are no cash load fees. The card can be used for paying bills and its “sophisticated mobile apps” are well worth the $4.95 monthly maintenance fee, Arnold said.

The card you choose could well become the gift that keeps on giving.

“Once they spend your gift, they will hopefully consider reloading the card later rather than using a credit card and running the risk of increasing their debt load,” Arnold said.

10 Money Rules To Live By

June 18, 2014 by Kirsten Marshall

Are you trying to save money and reach your financially goals? With mintlife’s, money rules to never ignore, having that extra cash at the end of each month shouldn’t be a problem. Saving money and being able to purchase the things you want doesn’t have to be a trade off. Using coupons and discounted gift cards allow you to purchase the products you want at a fraction of the price.

There are no shortcuts.

If someone tells you they can double your money in no time with no risk, tell them you already know how. Then fold your money in half and put it back in your pocket. Risk and reward are correlated.

Doubling your money in a short period of time equates to a high return on your investment; that corresponds to taking more risk, not zero risk.

There’s nothing wrong with taking appropriate risk, but buying into an investment with those kinds of unrealistic promises is sure to disappoint.

Beware of the pretty, shiny things.

We are bombarded with new and better gadgets, toys, and opportunities for fun every day, all day. Madison Avenue survives by sowing seeds of discontent with our lives.

Sure, we all know that’s what they’re doing, but they’re really good at it!

We no longer have to look down the street to see what the Joneses are up to, we have Facebook to constantly remind us that our friends have better, newer stuff.

If we’re not careful, those seeds of discontent can take root and before we know it, we’re spending money on things to fill a need we didn’t even know we had.

Listen to your mom — don’t pay attention to what everyone else is doing, just worry about yourself and your goals.

Watch your waste.

Shiny objects aren’t the only source of needless spending. It’s painful to look at my own life sometimes and realize what I’ve frittered away.

Forgotten rebates, fruit that goes bad before we eat it, buying doubles of things because I can’t remember where I put them in the first time.

I suspect I’m not alone in this!

Save money, and do it intentionally.

Saving regularly through your 401K at work and toward your emergency fund are fundamentals of good financial health. But you should also stash money that you would have spent but decided not to.

Were you going to buy a new tablet but thought better of it? Pat yourself on the back for your frugality, and then take that chunk of change and put it in the bank instead.

Did you decide as a family to skip a dinner out this month to tighten your belts? Put that money away; don’t let it sit in your checking account.

That serves two purposes: It keeps the money from evaporating, and it gives you a psychological boost by seeing your savings grow.

Don’t wait until your debt is paid off to save.

It may seem more prudent to skip the savings when you’re paying off credit cards, but it’s important to continue to save anyway.

It takes time to form a habit, and training yourself to save is a great habit to form. So start now.

Aside from that, what will you do when your car breaks down and there is nothing in the bank to pay for the repair? Out comes the credit card, and there goes your progress.

It’s better to have some money put away to pay for those expenses, and change the mindset of funding your living expenses with plastic.

Don’t deprive yourself.

While you’re doing all these great, disciplined things with your money, don’t forget to let loose and have a little fun with it sometimes.

Being too strict with your spending can lead to feelings of deprivation, which in turn can lead to spending binges. Starvation budgets are much like starvation diets.

When you cheat, you tend to cheat big

Automate your finances.

Life is busy and the days fly by. Before you know it the month is almost over, and oops, that bill was due last week.

Schedule at least the minimum payments on your bills, so if you forget, you won’t be penalized with a late fee.

Plan out your monthly bills in advance, and take advantage of free bill pay if your bank offers it.

Automate your savings so you don’t have the opportunity to weigh whether or not you really can save that amount this month.

But don’t go on auto-pilot.

Automate what you can, but don’t go on auto-pilot.

It’s easy to stop paying attention to what is being charged monthly on your credit card or automatically paid from your bank account.

That can make you numb to your spending, and easy for it to get out of control.

Even though you have payments automatically scheduled, be sure to review your accounts regularly.

Purchase life insurance.

Buy enough life insurance to protect your family. It’s an extra bill, to cover something thatprobably won’t happen, but a small price to pay to provide for your loved ones if it does.

Group policies at work are usually the easiest to get, and that’s fine, but you should also have coverage you own personally, outside of work.

You never know when you will develop a health problem that will affect your insurability, and if you don’t already own a policy when that happens, you could be out of luck.

Or rather, your family will be.

Decide how much is enough.

Did you ever dream about a raise, and how that would make things more comfortable for you financially? Then it comes, and things end up just as tight as before, and soon you are dreaming of the next one.

The increases in costs of living play a part no doubt, and our income doesn’t go as far as it used to. But it is also human nature for us to expand our lifestyle to fit our income.

Carefully consider what kind of lifestyle you would like to have, and when you get there, stop.