Read. Think. Get Paid!

Paididea isn't really in the 'money saver' class, but is more in the 'money earner' category.

Play video games, read email, drive a car, go shopping ... and get paid for it! That's the idea behind paididea. It's a paid survey website company that allows people to receive checks for the things they'd be doing anyway. It's a great way for many of us who would like extra income, but whose schedule won't allow for something with set hours!

Opt Out of Credit Card Offers

Tired of receiving offers for credit cards that you don't need and won't use? There is a way to make that junk mail stop!

Here is a link to a Federal Trade Commission website that explains how to 'opt out' of those direct mail offers.

Why would you want to opt out? From the website:

Some people prefer not to receive these kinds of offers in the mail, especially if they are not in the market for a new credit card or insurance policy. They may prefer to opt out to limit access to their credit report information for credit and insurance solicitations, or to reduce some mailbox “clutter.” However, some companies send offers that are not based on prescreening, and your federal opt-out right will not stop those kinds of solicitations.

The FTC missed one good reason, however. A pre-screened credit offer is an opportunity for someone to steal your mail and take out a credit card in your name.

Think it over. Then go to optoutprescreen.com to turn that junk mail off!

Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

From a USPS and FTC flyer (italics are my own words):

Common Ways ID Theft Happens

1. Dumpster Diving. They rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it. Buy a shredder and make sure you run anything with your name, address or other personal information through it. Make sure you get a 'cross-cut' shredder, which cuts paper into tiny little pieces preventing somebody from reassembling a document. You can get them at Walmart, Target or just about any office supply store and they're not that expensive.
2. Skimming. They steal credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card. These are usually a result of somebody tampering with a electronic credit / debit / EBT swipe station. It can occur at retail outlets, ATMs - anywhere you use a credit card. Your best protection is to review your statement and credit report online regularly and report any suspicious activity to your card provider immediately.
3. Phishing. They pretend to be financial institutions and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information. Simple: don't every click on an email to go to a website. Always stop, open a browser yourself and type in the website address manually.
4. Changing Your Address. They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a 'change of address' form. Sign up for electronic statements. This protects you in several ways: you don't have to worry about somebody stealing your mail, changing your address. As a bonus, dumpster divers won't have anything to find in your garbage except trash!
5. "Old-Fashioned" Stealing. They steal wallets and purses; mail, including bank and credit card statements; pre-approved credit offers; and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records from their employers, or bribe employees who have access. A tough one to prevent. You can opt out of credit offers (more on that in a future post). You can avoid using checks by using a debit card. And you can minimize the number of cards you carry.

One final note: despite all of the media attention on identity theft and hackers stealing sensitive personal information, only two of the five common ID thefts are even remotely technical; the rest have been around for decades.

Remember: you're more likely to have a credit card statement stolen from your trash than you are to have an e-commerce website hacked!

Save Money On Auto Insurance: Esurance

You may have seen the commercials on television: the cartoon figure 'Erin Esurance' running around battling evil and proclaiming the virtues of online auto insurance quotes. Granted, an unlikely combination. But Esurance.com is owned by an honest-to-goodness adult company (White Mountains Insurance Group) and is one of the fastest-growing auto insurance companies out there. Why?

• Quote. Buy. Print. You can do everything yourself online. It's faster than submitting information for a quote, waiting three days to schedule a personal review and meeting with a salesman in person.
  
• Online Policy Management & Claims Reporting: Esurance policyholders can update their policies, access their insurance documents, and print new ID cards online anytime. Policyholders can also report minor claims online.
• Paperless Customer Experience: By making documents available online and communicating with policyholders by email, Esurance saves millions of sheets of paper every year (and the paper costs, and postage).
• Their cartoon spokesperson Erin Esurance: promotes the environment by fighting off villains such as tree-killing robots and Dr. Botanicus, who wants to reverse photosynthesis.

The result? Rock-bottom prices and excellent service.

Manage Your Finances: Wesabe

Welcome to financial social networking. Upload your financial data to Wesabe and their web-based software will help you better understand how your money is being spent. Better yet, you're not alone: the Wesabe community shares tips and advice on personal finance and how to make better financial decisions.

Example:

• Get rid of credit card debt
• Start saving for college for your kids
• Avoid fees from banks and credit cards

Better yet, your privacy is protected and it's completely free!

Trouble Finding the Book You Want At A Price You Can Afford? Try Bookfinder

BookFinder.com is a search engine just for books. Every day they search through over 150 million books for sale, including —new, used, rare, out-of-print, and textbooks. I've done several searches and have been amazed at the quality and variety of returns. Best of all, you buy the book directly from the bookseller and bookfinder.com never charges a markup!

Secret Amazon Discount Finder

Exactly what it says it is. The Discount Finder is a tool, located at Deallocker.com, that allows you to search one of several amazon sites. You choose a keyword, category and discount percentage (if desired). You even have the option of sorting the results by bestselling, prices, reviews or other criteria!

As for me, I'm on the lookout for some Henckel knives...that I can afford. With the discount finder, I might just be able to do it!

Free Credit Reports

You've probably heard this one before, but by law the three main credit reporting agencies are required to provide 1 free credit report per year. Check out the website.

Totally free, totally useful. Don't pay for your credit reports unless you need to check out your credit score (as opposed to verifying the accuracy of the information).

Me, I check each agency every four months or so to get my free reports all year long!

Review: Bankrate.com

What It Is: Bankrate.com is one of the most trusted aggregators of financial data on the web. The site offers articles and contests, but the big draw is the wide array of useful and easy to use calculators and tools. Ready to find out whether to rent or buy? Can you afford that mortgage? Who has the best interest rate in your area? Find answers to all of these questions and more at bankrate.com.

The Good: Bankrate.com is a useful and impartial purveyor of financial information.

The Bad: Depending on which financial institutions report to bankrate, you may or may not find a comprehensive guide to your area.