- Free Checking Account With Benefits -My Bank does not charge any fees as long as I have a monthly direct deposit. On top of free checking this account also pays me interest. Don't get me wrong, it not a lot of interest, but it's a benefit just to have the extra money put in there every month instead of being charged a fee. Another benefit is free online bill pay. This saves me the cost of check (I'm ordering a lot less these days) and the cost of a stamp (the price of which goes up every May).
- Online Savings Account – Moving your savings account online is a big step for most people. I know it was for me. Now I realize it's one of the best things I've ever done. I make more interest in one month than I did in an entire year with my local bank. My money pays me the best rate available.
- Credit Cards With Points – Most saving money websites advise against using Credit Cards at all. I'm a little new school and I believe that as long as you use them wisely and pay them off entirely month a credit card can be a great benefit. The key this is to use a card with no annual fee and it must give you points with every purchase.
- Use MyPoints – I love MyPoints.com. It gives you points for special offers and purchases made through partner websites. You can then redeem these points for gift cards from you favorite merchants. This Christmas I order Band Hero from Overstock.com using MyPoints. I got 12 Points per dollar and the regular points from my credit card as well. Talk about my money working for me.
- Using Rewards Programs – A couple of the rewards programs that I use are the Kroger Fuel Rewards and Speedy Rewards from Speedway. Again I'm just accumulating points doing something I was going to do anyway, shop.
These are just a few way to put your money to work for you. What do you do to squeeze the most value from your dollars?
