Your financial wingman.noemail@noemail.org (Chip)Wed, 15 Oct 2025 17:42:38 GMTWordPress https://wordpress.org/https://www.chipsmoneytips.comen-usnomoney,tips,credit,cards,frequent,flyer,miles,personal,finance,banking,freeChip became a Personal Finance blogger at www.ChipsMoneyTips.com to help educate and inform the great unwashed masses about how to live large and frugally at the same time. Basic personal financial advice, offered in humorous if not entertaining videos. Because most people are clueless about money. Not you - them. Other people. Chip Chinery is a skin-flint from way back. As a stand-up comic and actor for 23 years and counting, Chip learned early on how to live comfortably in his paycheck-to-paycheck profession. He has performed over 3,000 stand-up shows and appeared in over 140 TV shows, movies, and commercials including The Tonight Show, Seinfeld, and Coyote Ugly. You can see his work at www.ChipChinery.com.Your Financial WingmanChip Chinerychip@chipsmoneytips.comChip Chineryhttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/10/put-your-lazy-cash-to-work/MISC TipsWed, 15 Oct 2025 17:24:42 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16941Yesterday, I had a LIVE Chip’s Money Tips session (lunch) with a buddy. He had the same question that a couple readers, nay, FANS of Chip’s Money Tips emailed this past week. After answering him, and emailing them, I thought, “If only there were a way to get this information out to the world in […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/10/how-i-got-free-mobile-service-for-a-year/MISC TipsWed, 8 Oct 2025 17:01:12 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16934Is free cell service a Thirst Trap? It is if you are a personal finance aficionado like Chip’s Money Tips! In 2023, Spectrum Mobile lured me in with a free year of unlimited talk and text mobile service if I had Spectrum Internet. I’m already on the Spectrum. Er, uh… I already had Spectrum Internet. […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/should-you-have-a-storage-unit/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:25:16 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16925If you are like me – on a Spring Cleaning jag – don’t forget your storage shed! Do you really need it? You may be better off dumping what is in there, saving the monthly fee, and then buying the items new if you ever need them again. When I dabble in a little Storage […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/is-this-missing-money-yours-2/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:24:56 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16921Wanna have fun? Go on a Missing Money Treasure Hunt Bender! Every year, I search the Unclaimed Funds sites for cash that never got to me. It’s quick and easy. I struck out in 2019. In 2018, I only found one check for me – for a penny!  I found four checks for my family. This […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/hear-my-jibber-jabber-on-the-call-me-curious-podcast-link-below/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:24:37 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16917Listen to my chat with Nikki Boyer and Mr. Malone on their Wondery “Call Me Curious” podcast. We had fun discussing how I collect free money, and other stuff. I come in at 7:18.0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/how-to-get-a-0-balance-transfer-card-2/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:24:03 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16913Have you loaded your credit card to its limit? Has your card been swiped so much the stripe on the back is hot to the touch? You’d like to pay off the card to avoid paying interest, but you’re out of cash. Don’t dig yourself a hole paying 10, 15, 25% interest on your purchases! […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/should-you-take-early-retirement-2/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:23:47 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16909One of my favorite commercials was on a few years ago. It was a Geico ad in which Kenny Rogers was playing poker while singing “You Gotta Know When To Hold ‘em”?  Mi amigo Wayne was the guy who tells The Gambler “I get the gist, yeah.” See the funny ad below. Wayne and I […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/11-ways-to-meet-a-spending-requirement-2/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:23:30 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16905You’re not a maroon.  You see a sweet sign-up bonus for a credit card.  The bonus is yours if you get the new card and spend a thousand dollars or so in the next few months.  AWESOME!  But, $1,000?!!  You realize it doesn’t make sense to waste $1,000 on stuff you don’t need, just to […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/put-in-your-ira-but-dont-buy-anything-what-the-2/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:23:12 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16901Someone once said, “The stock market is like a crying baby that wants to be soothed.” If there is unusual upheaval in the world, the stock market gets upset. Keep in mind that if you fund your IRA, you don’t have to immediately buy stocks/funds/etc. That money can just sit there as cash until you […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/grab-a-cab-instead-of-uber-lyft-2/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:22:53 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16897I needed a ride to the airport for a flight back east for Christmas. My next-door neighbor offered to take me there at 5:45 a.m. It pays to help someone put up Christmas lights! Even so, I’m not sure I could have that pre-dawn shuttle in my favor bank for him to withdraw in the […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/why-you-should-make-your-child-an-authorized-user-2/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:22:39 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16893I don’t know if I read this somewhere or if I got a hot tip from a drunk on a barstool. A while back I was informed that if you add someone to your credit card account as an authorized user, they can only benefit from it. If you made late payments or did not […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/07/autoslash-for-best-rental-car-rates/MISC TipsThu, 3 Jul 2025 18:19:40 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16889I have been a huge fan of AutoSlash for over a decade. If you need a rental car during the Holidays, listen to this! Why walk from the airport, over the river and through the woods for MeeMaw’s roast beast? If you need some wheels, check out the free AutoSlash rental car search engine.  What makes them different from […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/02/southwest-companion-pass-for-one-year-30000-points-very-easy/MISC TipsMon, 17 Feb 2025 09:23:45 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16805This offer expires March 31, 2025. So, APPLY before then! For the fourth February in a row, Southwest has rolled out a VERY EASY way to get their Companion Pass. When you have earned the Companion Pass, whenever you fly Southwest, whether you paid for your flight with cash or points, your companion flies with […]2chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2025/02/tastytrade-paying-up-to-5000-to-park-your-stocks/MISC TipsFri, 14 Feb 2025 04:22:00 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16875If you have stocks, they exist somewhere. TastyTrade is offering you up to $5,000 to move your stocks there. Are your stocks squatting in a brokerage house (like TastyTrade, Merrill Lynch, Fidelity, Schwab, eTrade, etc.)? Are your stocks being held at the company whose stock you own (Procter & Gamble, Apple, Starbucks, Roku, etc.)? Or […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2024/12/2023-year-end-to-do-list/MISC TipsSat, 28 Dec 2024 04:17:29 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16865It’s crunch time. We’ve got a few days to take care of things before 2024 turns into a pumpkin. Refill Prescriptions & Exhaust Health Savings Accounts If you have already met your deductible for prescriptions, you might wanna reload your meds. If you have a Health Savings Account that needs to be used or losed […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2024/12/its-giving-tuesday-3/MISC TipsTue, 3 Dec 2024 05:26:30 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16860We have Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Lazy Sunday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. Being charitable is a good thing – especially if it will get the guy next to the red kettle to stop testing your eardrums with his bell. Some people “tithe” – which is giving 10% of one’s income. It’s like God is their […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2023/11/where-to-find-the-savings-best-rates/MISC TipsThu, 16 Nov 2023 19:00:33 GMThttp://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16069Two people gave me hives this week! They told me how miniscule, dare I say puny their interest was on their savings. I broke out in a rash. I couldn’t fix this fast enough for them. So I’ll spread the news to you. Savings interest rates are high these days – at or above 5% […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2023/11/75000-southwest-bonus-points/MISC TipsThu, 2 Nov 2023 18:16:43 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16846This is the time of year when credit card bonuses balloon. That’s because the card companies know people spend a lot during the holidays. Southwest just rolled out a huge 75,000 bonus which you will receive if you spend $3,000 on the card in the first three months that it is open. I got it myself! […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2023/09/how-to-get-nfl-sunday-ticket/MISC TipsFri, 15 Sep 2023 04:16:05 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16838You can’t get NFL Sunday Ticket free anymore, but there is one severe discount that might work for you: The Student Discount Plan. If you do not have any eligible students to hook you up, you can still get $50 off the current prices until September 19th. Go here and click “Get NFL Sunday Ticket”. […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2023/09/two-deals-for-spectrum-cable-or-internet-subscribers/MISC TipsThu, 7 Sep 2023 02:29:31 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16832Deal #1: Last week, 19 Disney-owned channels and seven ABC stations were yanked off Spectrum Cable. The Mouse couldn’t come to terms with Spectrum. Therefore, you currently can’t see stations you paid for, like ESPN, FX, Disney Channel, and National Geographic. Peacock to the rescue! Spectrum has arrange for Spectrum Cable subscribers to get one […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2023/08/last-day-to-file-facebook-claim/MISC TipsFri, 25 Aug 2023 18:59:41 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16825If you got your Facebook on in the USA between 2007 and 2022, today’s the last day to claim money from the settlement. You know the drill with these things. There are lawsuits claiming that Facebook improperly shared data to third parties, but no one is admitting anything. In the interest of moving on, Facebook’s […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2023/03/my-interview-with-u-s-news-world-report/MISC TipsFri, 3 Mar 2023 20:30:40 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16812When I was five years old, sitting in the lobby of my doctor’s office, I was introduced to U.S. News & World Report. My kindergartener self said, “Someday I hope to be quoted in this fine publication. If that happens, I hope that I will have learned how to read by then.” I’m happy to […]4chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2023/01/southwest-made-it-rain/MISC TipsWed, 1 Feb 2023 07:54:51 GMThttps://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16798I was one of the thousands of folks who had their Southwest Airlines flights cancelled while I was over the river and through the woods at grandmother’s house for Christmas. The earliest we could get on a flight back to Los Angeles was two days after our cancelled Southwest flight was supposed to get us […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2022/12/16375/MISC TipsTue, 6 Dec 2022 23:21:42 GMThttp://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16375I have been a huge fan of AutoSlash for over a decade. If you need a rental car during the Holidays, listen to this! Why walk from the airport, over the river and through the woods for MeeMaw’s roast beast? If you need some wheels, check out the free AutoSlash rental car search engine.  What makes them different from […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2022/06/hear-my-jibber-jabber-on-the-call-me-curious-podcast/MISC TipsWed, 29 Jun 2022 17:07:50 GMThttp://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16795Listen to my chat with Nikki Boyer and Mr. Malone on their Wondery “Call Me Curious” podcast. We had fun discussing how I collect free money, and other stuff. I come in at 7:18.4chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2022/06/how-to-get-a-0-balance-transfer-card/MISC TipsWed, 8 Jun 2022 21:05:38 GMThttp://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16425Have you loaded your credit card to its limit? Has your card been swiped so much the stripe on the back is hot to the touch? You’d like to pay off the card to avoid paying interest, but you’re out of cash. Don’t dig yourself a hole paying 10, 15, 25% interest on your purchases! […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2022/06/should-you-get-a-storage-unit/EducationMon, 6 Jun 2022 21:52:09 GMThttp://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=15766If you are like me – on a Spring Cleaning jag – don’t forget your storage shed! Do you really need it? You may be better off dumping what is in there, saving the monthly fee, and then buying the items new if you ever need them again. When I dabble in a little Storage […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2022/06/is-this-missing-money-yours/MISC TipsSun, 5 Jun 2022 01:21:27 GMThttp://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16436Wanna have fun? Go on a Missing Money Treasure Hunt Bender! Every year, I search the Unclaimed Funds sites for cash that never got to me. It’s quick and easy. I struck out in 2019. In 2018, I only found one check for me – for a penny!  I found four checks for my family. This […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2022/03/put-in-your-ira-but-dont-buy-anything-what-the/MISC TipsTue, 8 Mar 2022 15:48:07 GMThttp://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16785Someone once said, “The stock market is like a crying baby that wants to be soothed.” If there is unusual upheaval in the world, the stock market gets upset. Keep in mind that if you fund your IRA, you don’t have to immediately buy stocks/funds/etc. That money can just sit there as cash until you […]0chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)https://www.chipsmoneytips.com/2022/02/why-it-is-time-to-cancel-nfl-sunday-ticket-2/MISC TipsThu, 24 Feb 2022 02:19:40 GMThttp://www.chipsmoneytips.com/?p=16439Here’s a little “Cancel Culture” that I can get behind. Now the curtain has dropped on my Bengals’ season, it’s time to cancel NFL Sunday Ticket. Doing so will give you a chance to get it free next season. If you had NFL Sunday ticket last season, even if you got it free, DirecTV will automatically […]2chip@chipsmoneytips.com (Chip Chinery)