Earlier today we talked about finding an extra $50/month to start investing. Here’s one better. Find $1,500 a year. While the article is aimed at young adults moving to urban areas, the advice is good for others as well.
From our friends at MainStreet.com.
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Five Ways To Make An Extra $1,500 A Year Without Even Trying
by Ben Joseph
We get it. Moderation is for the folks back home. You graduated from university, migrated to an urban center, and landed an entry-level job with a corporation. Hell, you deserve to spend $800 on a couch. Still, as you live the dream—complete with its price tag of 45% of your paycheck going to rent—here are five ways that some minor forethought can scare up extra scratch while keeping your devil-may-care lifestyle intact.
5.) STOP USING PRIVATELY OPERATED ATMS
Thanks to debit cards, the money clip is quickly going the way of the rotary telephone, especially for people age 25-34. Why carry cash when there’s a money-spitting robot on every corner? Still, the ultimate convenience is also the ultimate rip-off. A $1.50 fee on a $60 withdrawal? That’s a 2.5% loss! For accessing your own money!
Solution:
Don’t use them. The end. Stick to your bank’s no-fee ATMs, and always have cash on hand when needed. In what will be a recurring theme, planning ahead is always much cheaper than the alternative.
Savings:
The average ATM fee is currently $1.75, and the average young urbanite uses an ATM 8 times a month. Cut your usage down to zero, and you can score an extra $170.
Continuing reading to locate your extra $1,500.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Really Katie? Do you forget what it was like to be that age? Ben offers sage advice but this new freedom these wild and crazy kids are experiencing is exactly that – freedom. Freedom to do what they want and when.
The ATM idea is great but the options are not so appealing. You could carry around a lot of cash (in the city?), try and find an ATM at some odd hour in some unfamiliar part of town, do with out, or simply reach for that other piece of plastic.
Save money by using an online account and as Ben suggests you can save some cash – but what about those tuition bills?
Have a couple of pre-game drinks – alone? That always saves money and impresses the ladies as well. Showing up at your favorite establishment with a good buzz is always impressive and if I remember correctly, simply means you are going to drink even more once you get there!
Sure, you could travel cheap. Better yet, don’t travel. You just graduated and are living in the big city. Explore your new place in the urban jungle on the cheap!
Packing a lunch is always a good idea. But think about that lunch and what you need at the onset: bread, sandwich fillings bought ahead of time and used before the expiration date, mayo, mustard, chips, baggies, tin foil, fruit… Your savings is shot before you even take a bite. Brown bag if the place you live is with your parents – which means you already are saving money and they have all of the fixin’s right there in the fridge!
I prefer, if you can get them to do anything at all is “do 5%”. Five percent of that pre-pay income put in their new employer’s 401(k) plan or swiped directly from the low interest rate checking account and directed to an IRA will not alter that crazy spend-like-there-is-no-tomorrow-lifestyle.
If, of course, they will do it.
Best,
Paul
May 31st, 2008 at 12:17 am
I am so used to going to the local state employees credit unions ATM and not being charged a fee even tho I bank at a different credit union. However, a couple weeks ago, I had to get some cash, so I stopped in, and swiped my other bank accounts card, not thinking about the charges (I had never withdrawn money from that bank from an ATM before) and a few days later, I noticed a nice $2 fee for withdrawing that money. Wow, won’t be making that mistake again!
June 1st, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Great post and it completely makes sense. This is why I bank with a Bank that’s located all over the United States, so that if I’m not close to home, I can still access the ATM without a fee.
If you do find the right credit union, you can find some deals where they will reimburse you the ATM fees a few times a month, this always helps.
July 5th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Try Schwab or an equivalent — their online checking/savings account offers a higher-than-average interest rate, they’ve made an agreement with other ATM banks so you can use your Schwab ATM card at ALL banks (or most) w/o any fee, and you won’t have to worry about Schwab going under because of the subprime and credit-card mess. An added plus, Schwab customer service is consistently the best (women, we don’t have to deal with patronizing answers)– plus you can do online bill pay. (No, I don’t work for Schwab.)