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CareOne Credit,
www.careonecredit.com
If you want
to get out of debt and quit living paycheck to paycheck, you have several
solutions: spend less money, make more money or better manage the money you
already have. One way to put these solutions into action is by going online.
We’re going to look at some basic ways you can use the Internet to improve
your financial situation.
Spending
Less Money
There are
many online resources available to help you research what product best
suits your needs, and to help you spend less money when you’re ready to make
your purchase. The Internet is a good place to start when you want to gather
quotes for purchasing expensive, but necessary things like insurance, a new
or used auto, or obtaining or refinancing a mortgage. Here are some types of
sites that can be helpful.
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Retailer Web sites
– In addition to the cost savings, a big advantage to the Internet is the
ability to check the sale prices on goods by visiting a retailer’s
Web site, even if you intend to make the purchase at their brick and mortar
store.
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Price-comparison search
engines like bizrate.com or mysimon.com are good
tools to find who has the best deal on a given item. While these sites are
a good place to start, they don't include all retailers and often don't
include available coupons, frequent shopper discounts and other freebies
like gifts with purchase.
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Coupon codes
– If you are shopping online and don’t have any coupon codes, do a quick
search for some before checking out. You can just type the “name of the
retailer” plus “coupon codes” into any search engine like Google or Yahoo,
and you are likely to find coupon codes for either a percentage off your
purchase, or free shipping.
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User forums
- Bargain sites like fatwallet.com and slickdeals.net have user forums
where you can ask for coupon codes, or ask for advice on getting the best
deal on the items for which you are searching.
Making
More Money
If you’ve
had an email address for any amount of time, you probably receive all kinds
of “make big money at home” or other get rich quick junk mail. While all of
these can be dismissed as too good to be true, there are legitimate ways to
earn money using the Internet. Unfortunately the legitimate ones require two
things: time and effort. Here are just a few ways to increase your income on
the web:
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Take online courses
- If you aren’t happy with your current income, make yourself more
valuable to a current employer or position yourself for a better
opportunity by taking on-line courses. You can either become more
proficient at your current job, or learn a new skill or trade altogether.
Many legitimate brick and mortar colleges offer online courses that you
can take at the pace that your schedule and budget allows. Check with your
employer to see if they offer any sort of tuition assistance that could
make this more affordable.
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Search for a better job
- There are several large job search sites like www.monster.com, or
www.careerbuilder.com, and many small ones that allow you to search for
jobs from the comfort of your own home. Some of the smaller ones
specialize in specific niches like accounting, engineering, healthcare,
etc. If you find a position you are interested in, you can research the
company and submit your resume online. You can usually do much of the
initial screening over the phone and/or via e-mail and only commit to and
in-person meeting if the position seems like a mutually good fit.
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Look for part-time work
– If you are happy with you current employment situation, but just aren’t
making enough money, you can use the Internet to search for part-time
work. There are online sites like www.elance.com that allow you to search
for freelance work via the web, or you can look for part time hourly work
in your local area on the Web sites of your local newspaper, or sites like
www.snagajob.com.
Managing
Your Money
The basics
of being a better manager of your current income start with budgeting and
organization. There are many tools available to help you become better at
both.
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Use budgeting tools
–Check with your bank’s Web site. Many offer free calculators and other
budgeting tools to help you get an idea of where your money goes. You can
also utilize CareOne’s budget calculators and money management tools at www.careonecredit.com/Tools/Home.aspx.
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On-line banking
-Utilizing online banking and bill pay services can help you better track
your income and bills, which could save you money by eliminating late
payment, over-the-limit fees as well as postage, which can add up
depending on how many bills you pay each month. You can skip the
time-consuming, paper-based aspects of traditional banking in order to
manage your finances more quickly and efficiently.
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Refinance higher interest rate
loans – The Internet provides a quick efficient
means of investigating the advantage of refinancing higher interest rate
loans whether they are for home, auto or education. Lowering your
interest rates by just a percentage point or two can yield you hundreds of
dollars in monthly savings and thousands in interest.
If you have
access to the Internet, you have access to some powerful tools to help you
improve your bottom-line. If you’re not sure where to start, try
www.careonecredit.com. You can join in discussions with others in similar
situations and find out what they are doing to get back on track
financially. You can also use all the other online resources available to
you such as calculators, money management tools, blogs, articles and tips
that can help you achieve your financial goals. |
