Cash Cards

Needless to say it has been a rough couple of years for most of the nation and in fact for much of the world. Economies have fallen, markets have crashed and oil is slowly on the rise again. It is enough to make the average person crazy! People who have always maintained their finances are now finding themselves unable to get a bank account! That is why the use of cash cards is one of the fastest rising industries in the financial world.

A few years ago people either had a banking account with a debit card and maybe a credit card or two or they had no plastic whatsoever. My how times have changed, now you can get a cash card at the gas station and be shopping online the minute you get home. The best part is unlike banking accounts you cannot overdraft a cash card, and you do not have to have a lick of credit to get one!

Speaking of credit cards, they have been the bane of human existence since their inception. Mail your payment in one day late and you are looking at huge late fees and possibly increases to your percentage rate. Before you know it you are drowning in credit card debt, and yet to rent a car or make a reservation you simply must have one.

This is another reason that cash cards have become so popular. People discovered that they could have the ability to do all of the things listed above and yet not have to worry about over the limit fees and fine print.

The only real downside to some of these cards is their fees to get started. Some of the cash card companies are charging as much as $9.95 for the card and then $4.95 per reload. Then you must read the terms over very well on the monthly fees. Unlimited withdrawals and transactions can cost up to ten dollars per month, which is much higher than a local bank. However companies like NetSpend have programs with no monthly fees and free direct deposit.

For the millions of people who can no longer get a bank account or those looking for a safe way to shop online, these cash cards may be just the answer.

Money Management Online

As we have already discussed the first step in making money is to manage what you currently have. You can do this in several ways but a popular trend is money management online.

There are several companies now offering money management online. Some of these are free and others charge a nominal fee. Doing a quick search for money management online will bring up a familiar name or two, like Quicken Online.

Quicken Online

This is a scaled down version of the desk top software that so many are familiar with. It will track your income and expenses to help you get a grip on your finances. This money management online program has not yet instituted tracking investments but if you are an average person looking to get your finances back on track this may not be a feature you need. The best thing about this money management online service is the price, nothing is better than FREE!

Others

There are more than a few money management online companies:

• Mint
• Mvelopes
• Thrive
• Neobudget

All of these have great programs and have gotten good customer reviews. I personally have not used any of these money management online programs and can not vouch for their worth.

Bottom Line

In order to get control of spending it is sometimes necessary to use tools others have developed. You may think that making lists and calculations in a notebook is easier, but the question is has it worked? Notebooks and lists are easy to set aside and forget about, however using a money management online program may hold your feet to the fire a bit better. Seeing your financial picture painted for you in charts and graphs will encourage you to take steps to improve the situation. Of course this is not a magic bullet that will cure all your woes, you must commit to using the program in order for it to help you at all.

If you need more inspiration for getting out of debt or managing your money I highly suggest a book called You're Broke Because You Want to Be: How to Stop Getting By and Start Getting Ahead

Money Ideas

First Steps To Making More Money

Money ideas, everyone needs them and no one it seems can find them. When you look at the internet today a lot of the money ideas you will find are either outright scams or more of the same old thing, and when you are in desperate need of money this can be very frustrating. The truth of the matter is there are a few things you will have to do before even considering money making ideas, skip these steps and you will quickly find yourself failing with even the best ideas.

Know Where You Are

It is impossible to begin a journey without knowing where the trip will start. This is equally true in the financial realm. Whether you or I like it or not you will never make money without having some in the first place, and if you are broke to death and do not know where your next meal is coming from it is going to be nearly impossible to take the best money ideas and use them to your benefit.

Calculate your monthly incoming and compare it to your outgoing. If you are like a lot of people you are going to find descrepancies in the two numbers. Your first job is to even these numbers up, make a budget and stick to it! Free up as much money as you can by doing without a few things like, cable, cigarettes, eating out or whatever the extra money in your budget is going for. Trim it until you can breath a little easier, now you are ready to begin looking for the money ideas that will bring you financial freedom.

Discover Passion

No, we are not talking adult natured activities here. Find what you love to do, what is one thing you will do even if you are not being paid for it? Do you like to write, read, talk on the phone or something else entirely? Whatever your "It" is you can bet that in order to be a true success it will need to be a part of your money ideas.

For example I love to write, it has been a passion of mine since childhood. Right now I am earning at least $200 per week doing it, I had always fancied writing fiction but alas my money ideas had to be adapted to make a pay check! I tried all kinds of other things that people were claiming to make millions doing, stuff like selling on eBay, merchandising, paid surveys ect... The problem was my heart was not in it and my success was very limited. Finally I began to pursue what I truly loved to do and it is paying off, slowly but surely and the best part is I never dread going to work!


This is the first set of steps to take toward finding your money ideas that will launch you into financial freedom. Check back as we look into many ways to make money online and off.

* On a side note if you are not spending any extra money you will have to employ drastic means to get ahead. For more tips on that Click Here