5 Ways to Earn and Save THIS WEEK

🔍 Deep Dive: 5 Ways to Earn and Save This Week

1️⃣ Find Unclaimed Money 💰

Unclaimed money refers to funds (or property) that you’ve forgotten. Think bank accounts, stocks, insurance policies, and refunds from service companies.

For example, let’s say your insurance company refunded you $500 for a service that was billed improperly. They mail a check to an address you no longer live at. They can’t reach you via email or phone.

They’re required to report this to the state as unclaimed property. The state takes custody of it and holds onto it until you claim it.

There’s no guarantee you’ll have unclaimed property waiting for you in the database, but it’s worth checking. Sometimes it’s a couple bucks, but sometimes people find thousands waiting for them.

What to Do:

• Go to this site.

• Scroll down to the map.

• Click your state.

• Complete the form on your state’s site.

2️⃣ Negotiate Your Phone Bill 📞

Phone companies spend a lot of money trying to get new customers. Why? Because most people stick with one provider once they choose one.

Knowing it’s expensive to acquire a new customer, phone companies are incentivized to do anything they can to keep you as a customer.

That gives you power to negotiate. So much power that people save an average of $285 per year by negotiating their phone plan. 👀

What to Do:

Call your phone company and ask for a better deal on your plan. They often have discounts they don’t advertise.

3️⃣ Swap Your Dinner Plans for This 🍽️

If dining out is killing your budget, swap this week’s sit-down meal with a Surprise Bag from TooGoodToGo.

TooGoodToGo is a free app that allows you to purchase Surprise Bags of food from local restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores at less than 50% of the original price.

The idea is for local restaurants to reduce food waste by selling their leftover food and for consumers like you to enjoy discount meals from local businesses.

What to Do:

• Download the free app.

• Pick which Surprise Bag you want.

• Head to the local shop at the pickup time.

• Enjoy your meal!

4️⃣ Save on Groceries with Flashfood 🍉

Flashfood is like TooGoodToGo, but for produce, meat, and other groceries. All items are sold at up to 50% off their original price.

One reviewer said it’s saved them over $1,300 on groceries in one year. 🤯

What To Do:

• Download the app.

• Find a local grocery deal, select the items you want, and check out in the app.

• Pick up your haul from the store.

5️⃣ Cash in Loyalty Points

Redeeming credit card points for travel is technically the way to get the most value out of your points. However, if you’re in a pinch and need some cash, redeeming them for cash or gift cards isn’t a bad idea.

Here’s what you can typically redeem points for (other than travel):

• Credit Card Points: Cash, gift cards, online purchases

• Airline Miles (e.g., American Airlines, Delta): Online purchases

• Hotel Points (e.g., Marriott, Hilton): Online purchases, gift cards

What to Do:

• Log into any credit card, airline, and hotel accounts you have.

• Locate your reward points balance.

• Explore offers for redemption.

Put It Into Practice

Implement one of the items on this list.

Once you’ve done it, reply to this newsletter letting me know how much you earned or saved.

💵 Budget Breakdown: Upside Down on a Car Loan

This week’s WWYD comes from a recent TikTok video from Lauren.

The situation: Lauren has a 2021 Hyundai Palisade. She doesn’t love the car and how much it costs her ($624/month, around an 8% interest rate).

She also has negative equity in the car. This means the value of the car is less than the amount Lauren owes on the loan.

She’s debating selling the Palisade and purchasing an older, cheaper car, but she’s not sure she’ll come out net positive due to the negative equity.

One commenter recommended rolling the negative equity into a lease. This would require Lauren to trade in her current car, use the value of the trade-in to pay off a portion of her loan, then roll the remaining balance into a lease.

This would increase her monthly payments but help her get out of the Palisade faster.

Here are my thoughts:

• Rolling negative equity into a lease defeats one of the primary purposes of a lease (lower payments).

• It might make more sense to take the extra you’d be paying on a lease and throw it at the current loan.

• Lauren should also look into refinancing her car loan.

🔗 Quick Links

💰 Spending habits of a 30-year-old millionaire.

🤑 New budgeting platform to check out.

🛍️ Costco saving tips that actually work.