50 money saving tips smartasset doc

Pay with a credit card first: If, and only if, you use credit cards and pay your balance off every month, consider auto paying with a credit card when possible.. Open a high yield saving

Income: The easiest way to increase your savings is to increase your income Here are a few tips to help you maximize your revenue by improving your number one revenue

generator, yourself

1 Increase your income by asking for raise: In the majority of cases your employer will not give you a raise (or the raise you really want) unless you ask for it But before doing so you need to take an objective look at yourself and the marketplace for employees with similar skill in similar roles Before approaching your boss yourself the following:

a Do you realistically deserve a raise? Have you added value to the company in a significant way? Identify the key performance indicators for your job, how are you doing? You should be meeting expectations or exceeding them in all aspects

b Are you underpaid relative to employees with the same responsibilities in your area?

c Have you been asked to take on additional responsibilities? It may be wise to ask for a raise Sites like Glassdoor.com and job boards can help you

understand how much jobs similar to yours are currently paying You can use that to negotiate, or leave for a position with more pay

d Have you kept your skills up to date? The best way to move forward in your career is to keep learning and become smarter Generally the more awesome you are, the more money you can potentially earn

Did you recently finish a master’s program or certificate program? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the skills you learn from grad school can net you

an extra $162 per week over an undergraduate degree on average Of course this is an average because a Master’s degree in Philosophy will probably still earn less than an Accounting degree However unemployment is much lower among those with a graduate degree, and a major contributor to the 30% difference in salary

e If you haven’t, you can update your real world value through a site like

Skillshare Skillshare classes are a great short term substitute for an advanced degree, and can help you improve skills directly related to your current job This can help you produce results at work starting tomorrow and make your boss take notice

Some of these classes are conducted online while others are held at physical locations In either case it’s a great way to make yourself more marketable to your employer, and to network Don’t forget connections are also incredibly valuable.

2 Supplement your income with freelance, consulting or a hobby that pays - If you’re in a particular field you probably like it, so why not do more of it

a Freelance Freelancers have been shown to have higher quality of life relative

to their fully employed peers Why? The pressures of not being in an office and having the freedom to do what you want when you want is liberating However

it comes at the cost of work sometimes being slow, and having to “hustle” to find new work

However if you already have a full-time job freelancing could be a great way to not only increase your pay, but take on more interesting short-term projects Not only can you do this from your home in your pajamas in most cases, but it’s

a great way to build your resume quickly

b Consulting: Sort of like freelancing but for adults, consulting allows you to the advisor to a company or a team within a company looking to meet specific goals You have the benefit of having your opinion be respected as well as the flexibility to work remotely and command a hefty salary for your services Consulting, like freelance work is not for everyone as the added responsibilities can conflict with your current job, however if you can make it work you maybe

be able to double your income

c Get a hobby that pays: If you’re like most people you have something that you care very deeply about that isn’t your job So why not try to make that your job? If you like to bake, repair things, sew or are just good with your hands you can generate extra income through an Etsy store or by selling your goods on eBay

But getting paid for your hobbies goes even further than creating artisanal goods If you’re really good at a sport, enjoy working out, love math or have knack for languages you can make money sharing your passion through

teaching These won’t turn you into a millionaire but they will give you the satisfaction of sharing your expertise, probably allow you to engage your

nerdiness in a new way, and provide you with a decent amount of supplemental

income We’ll show you what to do with that extra income in the following sections.

3 Over prepare for everything you do, the money will follow:

One of the most often over looked aspects of successful people is the time they spend preparing There are a lot of blogs and books that spend time highlighting the methods

of the rich and powerful Really those strategies only worked for that person, it’s also one of the reasons why personal advice is overrated The only thing that can lead to continued success in the work place is patience, and continued preparation

Unless you are a genius rushing to complete projects or tasks is a sure way to create mistakes and more work for yourself Taking the time to analyze the task into small pieces, setting an initial plan, and then refining that plan over and over until you’re satisfied is the path to success One example we love is Remit Seth’s anecdote about

he spent four months writing one sales page Just one He even spent $13,000 on feedback for this one page The page made his business millions of dollars So the time invested was well worth it

http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-i-learned-to-believe-in-myself/

By applying this to your professional life you can increase the chances of making a bigger impact with your projects, command a higher salary or even get a promotion The idea of preparedness throughout many of the tips, by preparing you can save time and money and begin putting those resources towards investments and other activities that improve your well being

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Banking: So you’ve upgraded your revenue stream to align with your personal finance goals The question now is where do you put that extra money, and how do you manage it

5 Setup automatic payments save and make money while you sleep :

Having automatic payments setup it’s convenient, requiring no action on your part to avoid late payment fees There’s nothing to mail and no logins or passwords to remember If you treat auto-pay with caution it can be a great tool

a Pay with a credit card first: If, and only if, you use credit cards and pay your balance off every month, consider auto paying with a credit card when possible It gives you extra time to dispute charges and keeps your cash safe in the meantime

b Set up automatic payments for the non-variable: This works great for bills like Netflix and car payments It’s also pretty low-risk to set up auto-pay for

minimum payments, such as on credit cards that way you will avoid accidental late fees

c Save automatically:

d You can also send money automatically to your investments:

6 Open a high yield savings account online:

Savings account interest rates are at an all-time low, which means if you put your money in a traditional savings account it won’t accrue any interest

Essentially that money is being wasted since you can’t put it to use purchasing things or growing it through investment Your only option in this case may be to open a high yield savings account

You can earn up to 10 times the national average just by looking online

If you bank online, you give up the ability to physically walk into a bank branch and talk to someone But you can easily manage your account online, or speak with a customer service rep by phone or chat

i Barclays Online Savings Account: The British banking giant, Barclays, launched an online bank for U.S customers in May 2012 Their savings account rate is currently one of the best in the nation There’s no minimum balance requirement or monthly fee, although they reserve the right to close your account if you have less than a $1 after 180 days

ii Ally Online Savings Account: Besides being a pretty shade of purple, Ally’s online banking system has some of the best perks in the business

In addition to sending checks by mail, you can scan and upload them yourself with Ally eCheck Deposit, or just take a picture with your smartphone and deposit the check via Ally’s mobile app Ally also lets you link to an unlimited number of external bank accounts, just in case you happen to have, like, ten

iii American Express High-Yield Savings Account: American Express Bank has a nice, clean website that’s easy to navigate Your account doesn’t come with anything special, but signup is a breeze if you already have

an American Express card You’ll also have the added benefit of managing your savings account and credit card from the same site

iv Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account: The Sallie Mae savings account already has one of the top rates in the nation, but it gives you an even better value if you’re saving for college If you have a Sallie Mae Upromiseaccount, which is a cash back education rewards program, you

can link it to your savings account to be eligible for a 10% match on your earnings Sweet!

v CIT Bank High Yield Savings Account: CIT’s savings account offers a tiered interest rate structure, so while their regular yield is already competitive, you can boost your interest earnings even more if you can maintain $25,000 in the account At that level you’ll earn a whopping 1.00% interest

vi FNBO Direct Online Savings Account: An FNBO Direct savings account is

as simple as they come It doesn’t have a minimum balance or monthly fee If you $1 to your name that’s more than enough to open an new account Plus, you can use Popmoney to send payments to friends or family members

vii Bank of Internet USA High Yield Savings: If you hate don’t trust the U.S Postal Service then Bank of Internet is a great option Like Ally, Bank of Internet allows customers to deposit checks to their savings account via mobile phone or home office

viii Discover Bank Online Savings Account: Like American Express, Discover makes it easy to manage your savings account and Discover card online You can access both from the same mobile app, too It’s also super easy

to set up automatic transfers from non-Discover accounts

ix Everbank Yield Pledge Account : The Everbank savings account may have the most restrictions, but they’re also the only bank on our list that guarantees interest rates within the nation’s top 5% Interest rates fluctuate all the time, and chasing the top rate is a major nuisance With Everbank, you’re guaranteed to always earn highly competitive interest, even if it’s not the absolute best All you have to do is meet their minimum monthly requirements

x Capital One 360 Savings : ING Direct was recently acquired by Capital One Which is great because ING’s high yield accounts are now combined with Capital One’s credit cards and other financial products You can expect the same level of service and low fees that ING Direct proudly featured Although they no longer have the highest rate, the savings account still has nifty perks They have all sorts of ways to organize your accounts, perfect for the super organized saver

7 Track your spending:

Watching where and how you spend your money will help you save more

The most important thing is to log every time you receive money No matter if it’s from a paycheck, garage sale or picking up change from the ground Every time you spend money, whether it’s paying bills, buying coffee etc, write it down Keep track of every penny that enters or leaves your life.

In doing so you will demystify money, and begin to see it for what it is A tool

By tracking your spending your money habits will be sharpened, allowing you to make changes to further improve your situation This is an essential money skill, and it’s easy Try this for two weeks and you’ll find that it becomes second nature

When you track your spending, it’s important not to make judgments This activity is meant to describe your money habits, not to change them

xi Be careful with transactions that are easy to forget Some transactions

— cash transactions, online transactions, transactions without a receipt

— are quickly forgotten Take special steps to remember these

xii Get a receipt for everything It’s easy to forget what you spent your money on just 24 hours later Make a habit of putting all your receipts

in one place so that you know where to find them

xiii It’s best to process your transactions daily I find this hard to do I process my transactions weekly If I go longer than this, something invariably gums up the works: I can’t remember a transaction, can’t find a receipt, etc

xiv Make it a routine If you get in the habit of tracking your spending, it becomes second nature

8 Open an account at credit union instead of a bank:

An excellent alternative to holding a traditional bank account is to open one with a credit union A credit union is similar to a bank except for one major difference; the owners of the credit union are all the depositors themselves Power to the people

Can anyone become a member of a credit union? You can, provided you fulfill certain conditions Every credit union has their own conditions as part of their charter Unlike

banks, which are open to the public at large, credit unions have a limited

membership That does not mean they’re exclusive

A credit union aims to provide financial services to a group of people who share a common characteristic This could be based on residence in a specified area, where the union is located or undertakes its operations It could be based on a common trade, such as all members are teachers, or construction workers and so on

First, look for a credit union where the membership conditions match your profile You can browse through the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) listing for a credit union where you qualify for membership You can also see more credit unions here: http://www.creditunion.coop/

Credit Cards: You’ve set up your bank accounts now use that well-oiled savings

machine to help you make more money

9 Make the most of your credit card’s benefits Credit cards can be a mixed bag In the wrong hands it can lead to crippling debt, hence why many are opposed to them But with some management skills and some shopping they can be a huge benefits

Credit cards can help you keep track of your spending much more easily than cash, and they let you download your transaction history for free Even the most basic cards can deliver huge benefits in the form of reimbursement, warrantees, and insurance

Most credit cards offer benefits like this:

i Reimbursement for plane tickets- If you get sick and have to cancel your flight, your credit company will cover the cancellation fees

ii Electronics warranties- When you buy electronics your credit card company will automatically double the manufacturer’s warranty

iii Car Rental Insurance: Do you ever wonder if you should get the insurance offered to you at the rental checkout counter? Don’t fall for

it, your credit card company will cover you for up to $50,000 worth of damage

How do you get these to kick in for you? Just call up your credit card company and ask them to send you a list of your credit card benefits so that you have it

on hand Anytime something goes wrong, breaks, or gets stolen just call up

your credit card company they’ll be happy to help you out so you can keep spending more with them.

10.Pay down your debt using a zero interest credit card

The worst part about carrying a large balance on your credit card is the

interest But if you have good credit you can secure a 0% interest credit card and use that to pay down your debt by leaps and bounds In doing so you will reduce the interest and any late fees from your other debt

How to do it: The worst part of carrying a large balance on your card is the interest that accrues every month By transferring the balance of one card to another with 0% interest you keep your debt from growing larger, effectively putting more money towards paying down the balance This method only works with cards 0% interest cards and not low interest (that defeats the purpose) Thankfully there are many credit cards that offer a promotional 0% interest for

up to 18 months upon opening the card If you're carrying a large debt burden that you intend to pay off within the 0% period, you can do a balance transfer Basically you’re paying off your old card which has an interest rate of some form with a new card to pay down your debt interest free

Like anything else, there is a catch You will be charged a balance transfer usually around 3% So the larger the balance being transferred the more

beneficial this system is The idea is that your would-have-been interest

payments cost more than the balance transfer fees You can determine the numbers according to your own situation using a credit card balance

It’s also worth noting that your credit score will get dinged when you open a new card But this is more of long term strategy anyway and pales in

comparison to carrying a massive balance on a credit card

11 Pick the right credit card for your lifestyle : The best rates are offered to consumers

with good credit The first step is to figure out the state of your credit and then find credit cards that match your lifestyle and the benefits you’re after

Best Travel Rewards: Do you like to travel a lot or want to travel more? A mileage card could be the best way to

Capital One Venture Rewards: You don’t need to travel to earn miles with this card And you won’t be tied down to one airline or run into blackout dates when using those miles

American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card- You’ll get the

equivalent of a domestic ticket for roughly every $20,000 you spend or about 1.25 miles per dollar

e Best No-fee, Cash Back Rewards Card:

i Capital One Cash Rewards: $100 Cash Back Bonus, which offers a great rewards rate as well as no annual fee It earns a full 1.5% cash back on all your purchases 1% regularly and a 50% anniversary bonus You also receive $100 just for signing up More than that the card has no foreign transaction fee, so you aren’t getting gouged 3% of every purchase you make abroad

ii Citi ThankYou Preferred Rewards Card offers up to 15,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 during the first 3 months Earn one point for every dollar you spend on your card You can earn unlimited points that never expire You receive an annual bonus equivalent to a percentage

of the points earned throughout the year

f Best Low Interest Rate Card:

i Slate from Chase (Balance Transfer): The free balance genre was

resurrected with the Slate Card Chase offers 0% for 15 months, with no annual fees or balance transfers, making it perfect for paying down large debts The savings on interest and fees would save the average American household save up to $1,000

ii BankAmericard for Students: College is one of the leading causes of debt in America For students who need a few extra months to pay down the expenses of higher education, this BankAmericard offers 15 months of 0% interest rate and no annual fees However, there is a significant bump in rates after the initial period so be prepared to pay this card off quickly

g Best Cards for Rebuilding Your Credit:

i Capital One Secured (Partially Secured): Generally, the more credit you have available the faster you can improve your credit It’s technically a partially-secured card, so you might be able to get a credit line in excess of your security deposit The other nice thing about this card is that Capital One does not charge annual fees

Housing: The number expense for Americans is housing Here are some great ways to save

money in and around your house

12 Reduce your utilities - Reducing the utilities in your home is one of the easiest and most consistent ways to save money

a Cut off your cable: Use Hulu, Netflix, and ITunes to cut down on your massive cable bill Also not having a thousands of channels to stare endlessly into will help cut down your electricity bill

b Reduce heating and air conditioning with programmable thermostats Chances are if you have job, you have a pretty set schedule You’re at work for large chunks of the day leaving your apartment or home empty Why not turn down the air conditioning or heat while you’re away and set it to turn back on again around the time you normally come home? You can do the same at night and save while you sleep and make a major dent in your gas and electric bill

c Use a space heater or fan to cut down on heating or cooling your entire home This may seem redundant but chances are you can only be in one place at one time Why are you paying to keep your entire home climate controlled?

d Reduce electric by using LED bulbs, using energy saving bulb, buying more energy efficient appliances, and unplugging electronics that aren’t in use

13 Get Renters Insurance - Renter’s insurance is something every renter should have It is inexpensive, depending on the amount you take out and your area you will likely pay between ten to twenty dollars a month for the coverage

Renters insurance protects you if you are robbed, or if your apartment burns down Additionally, renter’s insurance includes liability protection This protection will cover medical expenses if someone is hurt inside your apartment This insurance will help you to replace items that are damaged or stolen Renters insurance does not cover floods, you will have to purchase flood insurance

How Much Coverage Should You Purchase? Ideally you should purchase the most possible as theft coverage won’t help in the event of a fire Also if you have many electronics and your insurance policy only covers you for $500 you may want to shop around

Take Advantage of Discounts for Your Policy: When you purchase your renter’s insurance, it is important to shop around You can receive a discount when you get it through the same company as your car insurance You should check for discounts through your job, professional associations, and alumni associations,

as well

14 Rent your place on Air Bnb: Going out of town or just want to make some extra cash with your extra space?

Air Bnb began as slick way for some broke 20 something’s Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia to make ends meet on their rent when a conference came to town It is now a multi-billion dollar business You can easily become a mini bed and breakfast mogul Here are some examples:

• Frederic Larson is an underemployed photographer Twelve days per month he rents out his home on Air Bnb for $100 He nets $97

• Tracy needed to raise money for her business idea so she started renting out her bedroom on Airbnb She did the math and realized that she could bring in more money through Airbnb than she could

by having a roommate She not only rented out her room but also rented the couch On occasion she even slept on the couch in order

to make more money In one year of Airbnb Tracy netted more than

$28,000

Be careful some cities are cracking down on these short term rentals labeling them as violations to safety and building codes Be sure to check your local laws to make sure you won’t be in violation and run the risk of a hefty fine Some quick tips :

•Charge less than market rate at first, then raise your rates

•Airbnb Will Offer To Send A Free Professional Photographer Use It

•Start out taking as many one and two-night rentals as you can

•Leave a review as quickly as you can

•Respond to every single message

•Couples=more cash

•Get a hair dryer, even if you're a guy who never uses one

15 Pay your rent/mortgage with a credit card

The great rewards, or 0% interest cards outlined in the credit section can be put to use in many great ways One great way is to use them to pay your rent

or mortgage This can be somewhat risky strategy, but if you treat it with caution it can really provide some great benefits

Pay your rent: This method will allow you to rack up massive rewards every month, and since you’ve already budgeted your rent you won’t carry a balance But your landlord probably doesn’t accept credit cards directly Not to worry, there are many services that process credit card payments and pass the cash on

to property owners These are the most popular:

i PayDivy- No monthly fees but charges 3.5% on credit and debit transactions

ii WilliamPaid- Charges 2.45% of the rent payment on top of monthly fee

of $1.75

Pay your mortgage: There are two ways to do this You could continue to make your monthly mortgage payments with your credit card and rack up the points and build your credit This is the safer route However if you have manageable balance on your mortgage you could transfer that remaining balance to a 0% interest credit card and effectively pay off your mortgage You won’t be paying

a principle and you’ll have the satisfaction of paying off your mortgage

The downside to this is that many credit card companies only give cash back and rewards to new purchases and not transferred balances There are also big fees associated with this, and your credit score will take a hit If you suddenly become unemployed and miss a credit card payment, your 0% interest card could quickly become 20% That’s not a pretty situation to be in These little factoids make this an advanced use of a great credit card That said this trick could be incredibly useful for someone who is in a bind, or trying to quickly pay off their home in the smartest way possible

16 Contest your property taxes: With property taxes continuing to rise nationwide, many homeowners are starting to challenge what they see as exorbitantly high demands made on them by their local assessor's office Follow their lead, and you have a 50% chance of succeeding

The amount of property tax you pay is determined by multiplying your city's tax rate by the assessed value of your property and all of the structures on it The value of those structures can change dramatically through improvements Most homeowners pay property taxes once or twice a year; they can also be

amortized into monthly mortgage payments

To determine the value of your house, assessors inspect your home during the town's reassessment period You can also check your real estate documents to see how much you paid for the property In some cases, they'll just look at the median price paid for homes in your area and base their calculations on that

Contrary to popular belief you don't typically need a lawyer to contest the property taxes Most municipalities are more than willing to walk you through the process So where do you start?

Most municipalities include dispute forms for you to send back if you question the assessment If your argument is strong enough, you might be able to

resolve the problem right then and there

If not, you may be asked to attend a second, formal hearing, during which you'll have to convince a review board made up of local assessors that their findings are inaccurate Be prepared: If, for example, you think the assessment

of your home is not in line with other similar properties in your area—with comparable square footage and other features like swimming pools, additions, etc.—get detailed descriptions of those properties from a local real estate agent to bolster your case You should also bring along tax records, which you can usually find by researching property rolls at the assessor's office Photos are a good idea, too

If you do succeed at getting the tax reduced, great If not, all it will have cost you is a few hours of your time and possibly a $5 to $30 filing fee

17 Bundle Your Insurance:

Any of the big insurance companies price their insurance rates to attract a particular segment of the market They usually price their insurance to attract homeowners who need to insure not only their cars, but also their homes and their lives (and other things) Many other companies can beat them on price if it's left to a head-to-head price check on a single line of insurance (such as auto or home), but these big companies want customers who will stay with them for years instead of shopping around for a better deal every six months

To accomplish this, companies give the best deal to clients who will use their company to insure all three main lines of insurance, as people who buy one type of insurance usually have additional items that need insuring and end up paying much more in total annual premiums than the single-line customer who only insure a car or a house

Companies offer "multiline discounts" to attract customers who will need more than one type of insurance These companies offer a cheaper rate to insure both your house and car than if you insured each one separately at different

companies The same goes if you add a second car or a life insurance policy – the discounts keep adding up.

For just one line of insurance, most large multiple-line companies aren't extremely price-competitive After all, those thousands of people on staff can really add up By combining your policies under one roof, the companies benefit from economies of scale and can justify more discounts by getting additional total premiums In other words, they have more of your money to work with and therefore can justify charging you less

18 Move to a cheaper part of the country (tie to moving page)

Housing is the largest portion of spending Why live in an expensive part of the U.S if it’s draining your bank account?

Property values: Property values impact everything from the price of real estate (rent) to fuel costs, and the price of goods (because of rent and transportation costs) Living in a big city usually means that everything will be more expensive as the overhead costs for all services provided are much higher However living in a big city outside from major hubs like New York and Los Angeles may provide you economies of scale on many items including qualitative things like culture

Taxes: Since states set their own tax rates, moving across state lines will most likely impact your income and sales taxes

ii Income Tax: Income tax is based of population information collected by the Census Bureau The last census that was conducted showed that some states had bigger changes in population than others States that saw the biggest population increases have lower state income tax rates than the states that saw the smallest population increases Unless you plan on moving from a high population state like Massachusetts to Idaho, you will see a decrease in your personal income tax rates

iii Sales Tax: When it comes to sales tax rates, however, the differences between low and high population growth states isn’t that significant Sales tax rates in most states ranged from 4% to 7% in 2011 Only Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no sales tax However, the impact of income tax on your finances is much more significant than the impact of sales taxes on your income

Assets

19 Set Up Investment Auto-Drafts

b When you make a securities trade (like a mutual fund investment), you pay a fee, called a commission But most companies will waive that fee if you set up

an auto-draft—you sign on to contribute a certain amount automatically every month—because it guarantees that you'll continue paying, instead of just paying

to make a trade every once in a while You can ask your broker upfront if they'll waive the fee

c Of course, this only applies to people who have the money to contribute to their investments each month without coming up short when it comes to other financial obligations One more important note: Before making any investment moves of your own, be sure to speak with an investment advisor or financial planner

20 Open a 529 and use it to save for college

d On you FAFSA it may ask you to account for the assets belonging to your

parents However, it makes no mention of grandparents, friends, and

extended family members You can ask your parents to open a 529 plan with your child as the beneficiary You can then contribute to the account using an automatic payment system from your bank Just make sure the account holder

is someone whom you trust, so they don't abscond with the money!

e This works the other way around as well: If you're closely involved in the

welfare of a child you can open an account for them The only thing you have

to be wary of are the taxes when given to the beneficiary This will be counted

as untaxed income for the year You should consider sitting down with a

financial planner and sort out a strategy for making the most of the 529

21.Setup a lazy portfolio : Setting up a lazy portfolio is pretty simple especially if you already contribute to your employer’s 401(k) or 403(b) plan The only thing that’s required of you is to set your contributions according to the asset allocation

percentages you chose

1 Setup an account with a brokerage firm or index fund

A smart way to build your lazy portfolio is to use Exchange Traded Funds that track market indexes However, be sure to buy them through a discount brokerage so the brokerage commissions don’t eat up your regular contributions

Vanguard offers some excellent low-cost index mutual funds with index fund expense ratios of about 0.2% The catch is that they have an initial purchase price which can be

$1,000 to $3,000 or more You don’t pay commissions on purchases however

2 Set up automatic deposit for your first asset class.

Since you already have automated payments and automatic deposit setup (using the banking tips), you can easily contribute a predetermined amount toward your goal each month and multiply it by the percentage allocation for your first asset class After that, set up an automatic deposit for that amount for the index fund that

represents the asset class, such as the Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX) fund for large company stocks

3 Repeat step 2 for each additional asset class

That’s it! Easy, huh?

22.Open a Certified Deposit account - "CD" is short for "certificate of deposit." You receive

a CD if you agree to loan the bank a specific amount of money for a specific amount of time In return, the bank provides you with interest on your loan The length of a loan can vary greatly Most loans range from 3 months to 10 years Generally speaking, the longer you agree to keep your money in a CD account, the higher rate of interest you will receive on your investment The same is true for larger CD amounts Be aware that, in some banks, the reverse is true The benefit to a CD is that you will receive a higher interest rate on your investment The biggest drawback to a CD is that you cannot withdraw your money before it matures If you do, you will have to pay the bank a penalty

According to Bankrate most CDs have an interest rate over 1% which does not sound like much but the interest is compounded daily Which means over the course of two years for a variable interest CD a $1,000 deposit with a monthly deposit of $100 will turn into almost $4,000 for doing nothing

of online resources

One site that does a great job of compiling these is Fastweb There high school students, and even current college students can create a profile explaining