Need some extra cash?

There is usually a reason to want or need extra income. Times may be tough and you don’t like living paycheck to paycheck.

Maybe you really want to pay off that last credit card. Or do you need to save up for your next big purchase or your emergency fund?

Regardless of the reason, we share a lot of ways you can earn extra money in our post, 52 Ways to Make Extra Money. Some may wonder, though, how much money you can actually make doing some of the less obvious jobs. That’s where today’s articles come in. Several of them highlight people’s experiences or offer insider tips for making extra money doing jobs that are less obvious than waiting tables.

Best Quick Money Tips

Can You Really Make Money Taking Online Surveys? - Online surveys may be one way for you to make money. Here is everything you need to know about it and the top companies to check out to get you started.

Side Hustle Series: I’m a Human Guinea Pig - There is always a need for volunteers for clinical trials and medical research. Read about Emily’s experience and how much money she made being a human guinea pig.

Part Time Jobs for Stay-at-Home Parents - If you’re a stay-at-home parent looking to make some money, here are some good ideas. There are other reasons (than just the money) for part time work while you’re home raising the kids, too.

12 Work-from-Home Plans That Actually Work – Make sure you avoid those work from home scams and find a legitimate job that will earn real cash. One of these 12 options may be just what you’re looking for.

How to Convert Your Home into a Rental – If you are thinking of becoming a landlord by renting out your current home, this article has good news. Read how to use tax deductions to shelter your rental income.

More Quick Money Tips

Home Sweet Home: What is the True Cost of Having Your Own Home? - Are you in the market to buy a home? Make sure you know about all the hidden costs that are associated with home ownership. Then you can make an informed decision.

The Joneses are Probably Broke - It’s easy to get caught up comparing what you have with friends, family and neighbors. Reading this article is a good reminder of how to keep it all in perspective.

Saving Money When Eating Out is a Cinch - Here you can find 4 secrets to enjoying some of your favorite menu items for a fraction of the price!

How to Improve Your Financial Situation: Starting Today! - Anyone can take these 3 easy steps to improve their financial situation. Start with just one or all three.

5 Budget Travel Tips You Haven’t Heard Before – Summer is almost here and vacation time is right around the corner. Save as much money as possible on your family vacation with 5 travel tips.

Carnivals: Carnival of Personal Finance #410

The post Quick Money Tips: Making Extra Money appeared first on PT Money.

Extreme Cheapskates, one of TLC’s questionable “reality” shows, features penny pinchers who will amaze (and even disgust) you with how far they’ll go to save a few bucks.

Here are 10 money saving ideas from Extreme Cheapskates that I bet (and hope) you don’t try.

1. Drying and reusing paper towels

With great spills come great opportunity – to reuse paper towels, that is. Who said they were meant to be used just once?

Trash to most. Money wasted to cheapskates.

The extremely cheap can use their paper towels, wash them, then hang them to before using them again, just like Roy Haynes does on the show!

Image by: overheadfluorescence

2. Living without toilet paper

Forget about separating two-ply — just stop using toilet paper altogether!

Kay Hashimoto, who was featured on the show and interviewed by The Daily Mail, has sworn off buying toilet paper. Instead, she’s substituted soap, water and, errr, her hands. If that makes you queasy, her actual quote from the show is too gross to publish here.

And her savings for all of this trouble/grossness? Drumroll… $6 per month!

Image by TLC.com

3. Collecting your own drinking water

We’ve all heard about the high cost of bottled water, but tap water costs too much now? For those that don’t want to pay $0.001 per gallon from the tap, there’s another option: Collect your own drinking water.

Free water tastes even better when you know how many pennies you’re actually saving

Ben Livingston of Extreme Cheapskates drives out and fills up on water in a local creek.

Image by: copleys

4. Covering yourself in cornstarch to beat the heat

I’m not sure how or if this absurd idea even works. But for Ben (mentioned above), who lives in Austin, Texas without air conditioning, anything as crazy as putting cornstarch on your skin is worth a try to beat the sweltering 100+ degree heat.

No word on if he cooks with it after wearing it

Sure, A/C is expensive, but can’t he get by with an electric fan?

Image by: fstorr

5. Eating left-behind food at restaurants

I rarely waste food, but I’d never touch diner’s plate. For Cheapskate Roy (from above), it’s an opportunity to save a few bucks. He’s not shy about dining off abandoned food from a nearby restaurant table.

Keep an eye on your food if you’re seated near a cheapskate.

Image by: geishabot

6. Serving roadkill to dinner guests

If you won’t touch food left behind by nearby diners, how about snacking on a fresh kill by a fellow driver?

Extreme Cheapskates Vickie and John go out with their kids in search of a deliciously-free meal that doesn’t even require a trip to the store. After passing on a little-too-rotted corpse of a fox, they settled on a rabbit they found down the street.

This roadkill pineapple would’ve gone nicely with the rabbit

But don’t think they’d be so greedy to keep it all to themselves. They invited over a few friends to feast on their road kill rabbit meal.

Image by: brownpau

7. Asking for a dozen free samples, then not buying anything

We’ve all tried an ice cream sample or two before picking the best flavor to indulge in an entire cone’s worth. But if you don’t care about enjoying a whole scoop (and drawing the ire of a local business owner), just go for a dozen or so samples and then buy nothing like Roy does on the show.

Free samples = free dinner

For extra effect, tell your wife it’s a date and let her suffer the embarrassment (yup, he did that, too).

Image by: elwillo

8. Driving a “car” (or what remains of one)

I’m on board with keeping things frugal by driving used car that’s seen more than it’s fair share of miles and may have lost a bit of it’s glimmer along the way. But you’ve got to draw the line somewhere. That is, unless you’re Ben, who takes “clunker” to a whole new level with his ride.

You couldn’t pay me to get inside this car

Image by: mindfrieze

9. Unplugging everything when you leave the house

Phantom energy wasters like TVs, stereos, and cell phone charges suck up power when you’re not using them. While I’ll even admit to unplugging some of my devices when I leave the house, I can’t imagine unplugging everything in your house every time I leave.

That’s what Extreme Cheapskate Victoria does on the show, leaving literally no appliance untouched.

A cheapskate’s nightmare

Image by: crazytales562

10. Flushing only once a week

Not to be outdone by the toilet paper saver mentioned above, another cheapskate (Greg) start puts the “It’s it’s yellow, let it mellow” rule to shame. No matter what it is, Greg lets it go a full week before flushing.

Oh, and when he does finally flush, it’s using shower water collected in a bucket.

What’s your favorite moment from Extreme Cheapskates?

The post 10 Shockingly Stupid “Money-Saving” Moments From TLC’s Extreme Cheapskates appeared first on PT Money.

Who’s been looking at your credit score?

There are people in your life who have a bias against you and your poor credit. The mistakes that you have made with debt not only put blemishes on your credit report and lowers your credit score, but they let people in your life hold your bad credit over your head in some way.

A bad credit score or report can have a much further reach than simply costing you a higher interest rate on a new loan. It can cost you the apartment you live in or even your job. But, it does not have to be that way. You can recover.

While it may take you a while to raise your credit score and improve your report, you can begin to quickly ease the damage you have done with a few simple ideas. Below are the five people who can access your credit score or report (and potentially use that against you), and what you can do right now to help set the record straight and mend some bridges.

Car Insurance Companies Use Your Credit Score Against You

Many people may not be aware that your car insurance company uses your credit score in their formulas when they determine your auto insurance premium. There are a host of factors that go into the car insurance company’s proprietary calculations, and your credit score is one of them. Car insurance actuaries have found a correlation between the amount of costly claims that drivers file and more of those being filed by folks with a lower credit score. A poor credit score will cost you in a higher car insurance premium.

Potential Fix: Shop around for your next car insurance quote. Far too many people simply continue using the same car insurance company they have used for years without discovering if a better rate is out there.

Your Future Landlord Will Ping Your Credit Score

One of the first pieces of information on rental applications for an apartment or a house is your Social Security number. I recently filled out an rental application for a new apartment and it was immediately followed by another form that I had to sign allowing the landlord access to my credit report and credit score.

Potential Fix: One thing that you can do to help alleviate your future landlord’s concern about your low credit score may be to offer to pay a higher security deposit. While we all hate the idea of volunteering to pay more, this may be the icing on the cake you need to sway the landlord to rent to you.

Some Employers Look At Your Credit Report

It can be difficult to find a job in a tough economy. There are many employers who request your permission to look at your credit report before they hire you. This can especially be true for government employees. For example, members of the military have their credit report examined before they are granted any type of security clearance.

Potential Fix: As in all cases, you should be honest and upfront with your employer, or future employer, about your troubles with debt or issues that you have had in the past. If you bring it up first, before your employer pulls your credit report, you can ease some of the tension.

Are You Being Truthful With Your Spouse Or Significant Other?

I found out the hard way when I was dating my wife just how dangerous hiding debt and financial problems can be to your relationship with your spouse or significant other. I was ashamed about the amount of credit card debt I had accumulated during college. I didn’t want to share the information with her, and it hurt our relationship in the beginning. It actually took her years before she stopped worrying about creditors calling the house, bouncing checks, and the like because of the poor initial interaction we had together about my credit.

Potential Fixes: Be upfront with your significant other about your spending and finances. Show how signs of how you are fixing it. Bad news never gets better with age. Don’t wait too long before you spill the beans about your financial past and mistakes.

Show your loved one that you have a plan to stop racking up debt or to fix issues in your credit report. You will one day want to buy a house and you will want to be able to title it jointly or not have to worry about depending solely on your spouse’s credit score to help you earn a lower interest rate.

Even Utility And Cell Phone Companies Use Customers’ Credit Scores

Like your landlord, most utility companies, cable companies, cell phone providers, and even oil delivery companies will pull your credit report and your FICO Score before they let you sign a contract with them. As with most purchases, having a lower credit score will cost you either in higher fees and/or interest rates.

Potential Fix: Utility and cell phone companies are another great example of companies where you may be able to ask for a larger than normal security deposit to ease their concerns. You may also be able to ask for a probationary period of time that you can use to not only build your credibility with the vendor but also help to rebuild your credit score.

No one is perfect of course. In fact, a recent Citi survey found that over half of all Americans have admitted that they have paid a bill late at some point in their lifetime. And, over 80% of that survey’s respondents made a late payment recently within the last 12 months. So you are not alone in making mistakes with your debt and other items that are reported to the credit bureaus.

While there are many people who will hold your bad credit against you, you can make a few quick wins with each of these groups of people in order to increase your standing with them. While you can not always make a dramatic improvement in your credit score over a relatively short period of time, you can ease people’s fears and bias against a poor credit score with dedication, honesty, and a little perseverance.

Has having a low credit score ever held up something that you wanted to do? Has someone ever held your credit score against you? Have you found a unique way to overcome it?

The post The Five People Who Hold Your Bad Credit Against You appeared first on PT Money.

As someone who recently quit my day job to freelance full-time, I understand how to get started freelancing for extra money.

This type of work — creating a lifestyle business through freelancing — is becoming increasingly popular because of the massive freedom and flexibility it offers.

In fact, in a recent study by Intuit, it’s predicted that by 2020 over 40 percent of the U.S. workforce will be freelancers and contracted workers. Guess you’d better start building your business now!

In this quick start guide, I share five steps that will help you know how to get started freelancing and help you create a business that will prepare you for the future of work.

Step 1: Determine What Type of Freelancer

Before you can be successful at freelancing, the first thing to do is decide who your ideal client is. Are you building a service based business (virtual assistant, writer, marketer, etc.), a product-based business or a combination of both? Will they be physical products or digital downloads?

Getting people to buy what you’re selling is all about connections, and the best way to make solid connections is to understand your ideal client inside and out.

If you’re not sure of what you can offer as a freelancer, start reading business books or following career blogs. Reading other people’s stories and learning from their mistakes will give you a jump start down your own path towards success.

A few of my favorite business resources are:

• Dream Save Do: Stop Dreaming and Start Living by Betsy & Warren Talbot
• Live Off Your Passion: An Unconventional Guide to Finding Passion and Building a Career Around Work You Love by Scott Dinsmore
• $100 Startup: Reinvent The Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau

More resources are listed here: the top 10 must-read books to uncover your passion.

Step 2: Establish a Solid Reputation

One of the toughest things to establish as a freelancer is to build a solid reputation and portfolio.

Similarly to when you graduate college and you’re looking for a new job, people want to hire you if you have experience, but you can’t get experience without a job. It’s a vicious cycle, but there is a simple solution to break it.

To really display and prove your skills while building up your reputation, you need to start a website. Even if you aren’t a writer, a website is still an excellent platform to share your knowledge, expertise, testimonials and show your past experience.

It’s basically a home-base where you can show off everything you’re hoping clients will hire you for, whether it’s writing, editing, design or video.

Instead of trying to convince potential clients you have what it takes to do the job well, you can easily convince them from the work you have displayed on your site. It’s like a living, breathing portfolio.

Step 3: Land Recurring Clients

If you’re serious about being a successful freelancer, you’ve got to land some recurring client work to help pay the bills.

What’s the best way to do this? Networking!

Yep, I know it’s something everyone suggests, but connecting with people one-on-one — both online and off — is the perfect way to build a consistent client base. Connections build trust and trust leads to recommendations. Recommendations lead to more clients and more work.

Especially if you live by the rule of “under promising and over delivering,” it will be all too easy to find clients.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up turning work away — giving you a chance to be a little more picky about who you work with and what kind of work you do.

Step 4: Exploit Your Strengths

Do you specialize in one area? Are you an expert in a certain niche?

Lean into that area of expertise and start establishing yourself as the go-to expert. Contrary to popular thinking, honing in on your strengths is the secret to choosing a profitable niche.

Even if your niche is crowded and there are lots of other freelancers who specialize in the same area, you can still offer a different perspective and unique point of view.

The online world is a very big place and there’s plenty of room for your skills and strengths. Don’t be afraid to jump in headfirst and prove you’re the expert.

People want to work with an expert, and even if you don’t view yourself as an expert (yet!), you still need to emit confidence in your brand and your business. This applies to anyone from a solopreneur to a large corporation.

Step 5: Get Paid What You’re Worth

Most freelancers undervalue themselves and their work, which is why people don’t think writers or editors can make a lot of money in this line of work.

But that isn’t always the case. In reality you don’t have to become a millionaire, you just need to find clients who will pay you enough to help you make a decent living.

One of the most liberating ideas I came across when I started freelancing was that no one will judge you for wanting to make a living. You have to charge enough to pay your bills and give yourself time to create, to hone your craft and to express your skills.

So how much can freelancers really make? Well, veteran freelance expert Carol Tice strongly argues that freelancer writers should make $100 an hour or more.

If you aren’t getting paid what you’re worth, you won’t be a successful freelancer — that’s all part of the gig.

You’ll come across clients who think you should charge more and those who think you should charge less. So stick to your guns and charge what you’re worth.

Now you’re ready to make money freelancing!

Are you a freelancer? What other tips would you offer someone?

The post How to Get Started Freelancing appeared first on PT Money.

Use Airbnb.com to rent out your couch, room, or entire home.

This week, a local judge ruled that a resident who used the service Airbnb to rent out his home was in violation of a local hotel law that says that a resident cannot rent out part or all of their property for less than 30 days if the resident isn’t present. Airbnb says that the law was created to prevent people from turning slum apartments into hotels and that the ruling is a mistake.

As a result of the ruling, the resident (actually a tenant of a condo) will have to pay a $2,400 fine for violating the law. Apparently, if the resident had been home at the time of the rental, then he would have qualified for an exception to the law.

Airbnb.com is a peer-to-peer room/house/couch renting service that connects homeowners (or tenants) with short-term renters. Airbnb provides an alternative to hotels for travelers interested in a different experience. Airbnb also provides homeowners (or tenants) with a great way to make extra money with their extra room, couch, or their entire place when they are out of town. According to the Airbnb website, there are currently over 22,700 places/rooms/couches to rent in New York City through their service.

I’ve used Airbnb on a trip to New York City and I wasn’t sure if the owner was simply a tenant or if he owned it himself. But I do know that the owner was home the entire time, so he would not have been in violation of this law.

If booking through Airbnb, or renting out your space there, be aware of this new law and make sure you are comfortable with the risks. Something tells me users of Airbnb won’t let this faze them. Letting a stranger sleep on your couch is risky enough!

The post NYC Fines Airbnb.com Host $2400 for Renting Out His Home appeared first on PT Money.

Before you apply, ask yourself these questions.

That lasted about a week.

I quickly realized that, while there were untold numbers of potential positions available out there, very few of them fit with my education and qualifications and my own career goals. In desperation, I started applying for a job with pretty much every opening I spotted.

With that strategy, I heard back from a grand total of zero employers.

That desperation and frustration is familiar to anyone who has been out of work and looking for a job. In fact, there’s a name for the complete lack of response from employers: the Black Hole.

But a recent study by the job-search firm TheLadders used eye-tracking technology to better understand why job-seekers’ resumes get lost in the black hole. According to Lauren Weber of the Wall Street Journal,

“When…job-seekers were tracked using technology that records where and for how long their eyes landed on a page, they spent an average of 49.7 seconds before dismissing a position as a poor fit, and 76.7 seconds with job ads that appeared to match their interests and skills…Even when subjects determined that an opening was appropriate for them, reviewing the actual requirements for the job appeared to be a low priority—results showed they spent only 14.6 seconds, on average, in that section.”

This helps to explain why every job opening seems to attract dozens or hundreds of applications from unqualified candidates.

Knowing this, however, means that job seekers have the ability to make themselves truly stand out by carefully reading and targeting the jobs for which they are uniquely suited, instead of using the shotgun approach to send out resumes for every opening.

If you are currently looking for a job, here are the five questions you need to ask yourself as you prepare to apply for a position. They will help you to target your job search in a way that will provide you with better responses and potentially a new job:

1. Do I want this job?

This may seem like a stupid question, particularly if you are concerned about money. You may have reached the point where any job seems better than no job at all.

But that’s simply not true. If the job you are applying for requires extensive travel, a long commute, duties that you’re not suited to (like customer service, for example, or cold-call sales), applying for and getting that job will just be trading the misery of unemployment for the misery of a hated job.

If money is your primary reason for applying to everything, it might be time to take a temp position or a part-time job to keep the lights on, and focus on only applying for a job that will advance your career. Continuing to apply for jobs willy-nilly, whether you really want them or not, will likely just prolong your unemployment.

Making sure you only apply to jobs you would truly be excited to take means that your enthusiasm for the work will shine through in your application and interview.

2. Do I have the necessary qualifications for this job?

This is something we all seem to gloss over. In fact, psychologists have coined the term the overconfidence effect to describe our tendency to confidently believe in our own abilities. What this means for job seekers is that many of us merely glance at the requirements section of a job posting, feeling absolutely certain that we can do what is asked even if we don’t have the necessary background.

Basically, if you do not have or meet the majority of the qualifications listed by the company, then it’s not a good idea for you to apply to the job. You may be correct that you can learn computer programming on the fly, but in this job market, the HR department will have its pick of programmers who have already proven their abilities. They’re certainly not going to choose you.

3. Am I overqualified for this job?

Being overqualified for a position can land your resume in the Black Hole almost as quickly as being underqualified. Hiring managers will often assume that you are applying for a job that doesn’t match your qualifications and abilities just for the paycheck—and that you’ll leave that job just as soon as you find something better.

4. Do I want to work for this particular employer?

One of the most frustrating career issues is when you’re doing a job you love for an employer you hate. Before you even apply, find out what it’s like to work for particular employers in your field, so that you don’t find yourself stuck in an untenable position. Glassdoor is an excellent resource for reading reviews on employers from their employees. It can help you to narrow down which companies you most want to work for.

5. Do I know anyone who works for this employer?

Networking makes the employment world go ‘round. You can greatly increase your chances of getting your resume into the right hands if you know someone who can refer you. When you find a job listing that interests you, check with your friends and family, both online and off, to see if you know anyone who works for or has a relationship with the company. Taking the time to do this can mean the difference between your resume getting lost in the pile, and it being on top of the heap.

The Bottom Line on Applying for a Job

When you search through job listings, it can be tempting to simply send out your resume to interesting listings and be done with it. But taking the time to think through these questions will help you to find the best match for your abilities and career goals, while increasing your likelihood of landing a job.

Your future employer will certainly appreciate your attention to detail and your commitment to finding the right fit.

Know any other questions to ask yourself when applying for a job?

The post 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Applying for Yet Another Job appeared first on PT Money.

Keep the kids entertained and fed (and we threw in a deal or two for the parents also).

It’s almost summer! If the kids aren’t out of school yet, they will be soon. There are some great deals right now that will help kick off your summer right.

$10,000 Amazon Sweepstakes - If you have some textbooks from last year that you’re looking to sell, try Amazon. If you sell them by July 1st you will be entered to win $10,000.

MID Funtab Children’s Tablet – While the kids are out of school and with family vacations coming up, you may be in the market for a children’s tablet. This 4GB Android tablet is marked down from $200 to $49.99.

Kids Bowl Free - Register your child to bowl 2 free games everyday all summer! Bowling centers, schools and community organizations work together to make this fun, free, summer activity available to kids all over the country. Find a participating bowling center near you.

Half Price Sonic Shakes - All summer long after 8 p.m. shakes are half price at Sonic. With 25 flavors to choose from, everyone in your family will love one!

Maytag Rebates - Now is a great time to replace those old appliances. All month long at Sears you can get a 15% rebate on Maytag laundry appliances and a $250 rebate on Maytag kitchen appliances.

The post Kids Bowl Free and Other Deals of the Week appeared first on PT Money.

Max launched Morninghead on Kickstarter.com, the online crowd-funding platform and achieved his goal times six. In this episode, Max shares how he came up with the idea, how he got the product made, and how to use Kickstarter to launch a business.

Listen to the Podcast

Highlights from the interview:

Morninghead’s Kickstarter.com page

Mentioned in the Interview:

• Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• Kickstarter.com
• IndieGoGo.com
• Reddit.com

Thank you so much for listening!

Non-iTunes feed for you to subscribe to the podcast. For iTunes users, you can subscribe there using the unique iTunes feed.

Full transcript coming soon.

The post PTM 032 – How to Use Kickstarter to Launch a Business with Max Valverde of Morninghead appeared first on PT Money.

Here are 10 Vine* videos (each 6 seconds or less) with ways you can make some extra cash.

*Vine is the new wildly popular video app from the folks at Twitter.

1. Clean out the garage and invite the neighborhood to your yard sale.

YARD SALE : SATURDAY vine.co/v/bEqDgmb5g7w

— E-Wing @Aliciousness (@EmmaRawlings23) May 15, 2013

2. Become a dog walker. More dogs = more money!

11 dogs on a Monday afternoon. #Dogs #dogwalker #working #imgoodatmyjob vine.co/v/b0QrK56OHwh — Kyle Problem (@kyleisaproblem) May 13, 2013

3. Easy one for the kids – open a lemonade stand.

Lemonade stand for some books. Atta boy! vine.co/v/b2Um50WE1Vw — Carmina (@Carminitaa) May 8, 2013

4. Make and sell your own jewelry.

#howto make that money w/ @figsandginger #handmademarket vine.co/v/bQPw5jQP621 — Elijah Wyman (@ElijahWyman) May 4, 2013

5. Deliver pizza and get those tips!

#delivering #pizza 💵 vine.co/v/bIamgPMJDEQ — PeTeR PeSaNo (@PeterPesano13) March 30, 2013

6. Enjoy the outdoors and make money mowing lawns.

I think I found my dream yob #mowinglawns #wheresmymoney vine.co/v/bUuqVeKPIOl — AlexisSan✞iago (@AlexisSantiago0) April 17, 2013

7. Start your own Storage Wars business.

I feel like I’m on storage wars. vine.co/v/b0ZhF1KeVKA — Rachelle Lenard (@rachellelenard) May 10, 2013

8. Make cash from passerby as a street performer.

Crazy street performers in #nola! This guy turned himself into a car! #qtravels vine.co/v/bDrWF7T6bnD — Quyen Le (@Quinlyn56) March 23, 2013

9. Rent out a room in your house.

#howto rent a room for cheap. #funny #sketch #favthings @kenrazzle vine.co/v/bXPg7naM6H7 — Blood Master (@LawsonBennett) March 2, 2013

10. Search for change in your couch (but be careful this doesn’t happen!)

Couch change @chrisyyim vine.co/v/bxHUZAipEWQ — James (Richie) Gowin (@jrgowin) April 29, 2013

Have your own Vine video for earning extra money? Share it with us in the comments below!

The post 10 People Using Vine That Are Making That Money appeared first on PT Money.

NFL Player, Evan Mathis, taking his frustrations out on an IRS sign.

Over the past week it was revealed that they targeted conservative “tea party” groups that were filing for tax-exempt status by applying heavier scrutiny to applicants with conservative, pro-American, and pro-Constitution sounding names.

During that increased scrutiny of conservative groups, the IRS asked these groups to provide the names of donors and strangely, Facebook posts.

The issue has left many wondering whether the IRS, who’s employees gave a significantly higher percentage to President Obama in the past two elections, has been targeting individual filers because of their political leanings.

The House Committee on Ways and Means has released questions they plan to ask the IRS in the Friday, May 17th hearing. One of those is, “What steps, if any, has the IRS taken to ensure that the targeting of individuals and organizations does not occur in the future?”

Individuals have come forward claiming that they believe they were targeted because of their conservative beliefs. One of those is Frank VanderSloot, one of Romney’s biggest supporters. VanderSloot was listed on President Obama’s infamous “enemies list” and says he was audited shortly after making the list.

Ironically, the IRS’s mission states that they are to “enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.” The U.S. tax system is built on trust (in both directions) and Americans depend on the IRS to act responsibly. This issue naturally will lead to more distrust in one of the Government’s most powerful organizations, not just for how they treat non-profits, but how they treat individuals.

Since the scandal broke, the President, who unfortunately joked about auditing his enemies in the past, has fired the already resigned head of the IRS and distanced from the IRS stating, “I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency, but especially in the IRS, given the power that it has and the reach that it has into all of our lives.”

However, the Administration has participated in a culture that mocked these tea party groups. The President made his statement about “folks waving tea bags around” back in 2009. Vice President Biden called the Tea Party “terrorists” during the 2011 debt ceiling debates. The President also recently warned graduates to ignore those “voices” warning of tyranny during a 2013 recent commencement speech.

The House Committee on Ways and Means will begin a full investigation into this issue on Friday, May 17th. The Senate Finance Committee is also planning a hearing.

The post IRS Targeted “Folks Waving Tea Bags Around” appeared first on PT Money.