Making & Saving Money

Maybe you’re tired of hearing this, especially if you spent the last couple days or so watching Netflix non-stop, but if you’re financially comfortable and you find yourself with a bunch of extra time on your hands because of recent events, now might be the time to grow as a person to ensure the version of you that comes out of this pandemic is stronger than ever. That means stronger when it comes to your mind, body, soul, and especially your finances.

Whether you listen at the gym, in your car, or riding the subway, podcasts are a great way to pass the time while also learning something new. One of the fastest-growing parts of the podcast industry is Business & Finance.  Need help with your personal finances?  There are podcasts for that.  Need to earn some extra income with a side gig?  There are podcasts for that, too.  But with so many to choose from, which one is right for you?

As my father always told me, “the best way to learn about money is to lose a lot of money.” While this is not advice I suggest people take literally, the wisdom is that through times of hardship, we become smarter and more resilient with time by learning from our mistakes. Whether you’ve lost a ton of cash or your debt is crushing you and your future financial prosperity, I can without a doubt tell you that you can pull yourself out of it, and you don’t need to buy anything in order to learn and apply this sage money wisdom.”

Now is the time to either freak out or take a sigh of relief when looking at your emergency savings. Reports from over the last couple of years have shown that 2 out of 3 Americans don’t have at least $1,000 dollars in savings. Now those who did not prepare are feeling the pain as we end the eleven-year bull market and face a very unpredictable recession.

The beauty of the internet is that it is the ultimate leveling of the traditional market, meaning people of all skills have the ability to make ridiculous amounts of money online with nothing more than a good work ethic and a decent internet connection. Of all the ways to earn some good side-hustle money, basic reading and writing skills are probably all you need in order to start easily earning money online today!

It’s hard to go anywhere or listen to anything right now and not hear of the terrible wave of financial chaos sweeping across the country. From thousands of hard-working Americans being put out of work due to the threat of the Coronavirus or companies scrambling because of panic selling at the stock market, these Wall Street woes alone are making millions of Americans question as to whether they should put long-term investing towards their retirement aside in order to take care of the uncertain short-term challenges, or continue to be disciplined in their finances.

By the time you read this, almost 6.6 million Americans will have filed for unemployment benefits. This number is larger than that of those on unemployment during the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, and now, after four years of low unemployment and a bull market, even people in relatively secure jobs are uncertain as to what the future holds. For some people reading this, even maybe you, the fears of losing your job has become a reality.

Millions of Americans woke up to a nightmare when they woke up to a global health pandemic and financial crisis. Overnight, hundreds of thousands of American workers were either furloughed or laid off entirely because of the looming threat of the invisible enemy, COVID-19. What's worse is that this crisis has exposed that many Americans were simply living off borrowed time financially, meaning that they had little to no savings or investments to prepare for an emergency like the one we are facing.

Imagine your current budget. Now add an extra hundred dollars per month. It's nice, right?    And while it is easy to imagine how to spend the money, sometimes it can be a challenge to dream up ways to make it happen. So let's take a look at a few ways that you create some extra wiggle room in your monthly budget.

Too good to be true! Right, gamers? A recent article from CBR has exposed a lucrative opportunity for eagle eyed gamers who want to earn money by pointing out bugs and other software related issues in Microsoft products. CBR reports “In recent years, as computer security has become more of a concern for everyone, trying to get ahead of the bugs and vulnerabilities that cause hacks and denial of service attacks is a higher and higher priority. Microsoft has been in on this game for a while, but they just recently launched the Xbox Bounty Program, taking what has become a relatively standard ‘bug bounty’ program and bringing it to another video game console. If you find a major bug in an Xbox Live service and report it to them, you could get paid for it.”

A little extra lunch money never hurt anyone, right? Thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, it is easier now more than ever to make easy money right from your phone. Here are a list of websites ranging from surveys to rating services and cashback programs, and our experience using them to generate some easy cash. Note: None of these websites are paying us to say anything, so expect some hardcore honesty!

Mount Vernon, cherry trees, even false teeth -- they're all associated with the first President of the United States, George Washington. So why are -- of all things -- mattresses one of the items most associated with Presidents' Day? Was Washington an expert on pillow-top technology?  Did he have a passion for memory foam?