Credit card concierge service has been around for some time. The first company to incorporate this service was American Express. Visa and Mastercard slowly followed after.

How far will they go?

You might be thinking, “How much will a credit card company do in order to help me?”. Well, from what people have said and seen, credit card companies will do all they can to help you with whatever you need. Here are just a few examples of what certain credit card concierge services have done for their users (Note: These are more of the outrageous uses. We will talk about the more practical uses later.):

• Ever need some craft ideas to do with kids? Well, check out this guy’s list! Looks like credit card concierge services will even help you entertain your young family members with a really cool craft project (#6).
• Need to make a reservation in another country? What about if you want to go somewhere remote? Well check out how this person was able to find a hotel in a less-than-popular area with their credit card concierge service (Really cool – they take the time to compare the concierge services of Visa and Mastercard). But wait…what happens when you do not know the language? Don’t worry…your credit card concierge service has a “Language Department“!
• This is probably the craziest of all! I have seen plenty of people who love nacho cheese! It seems like there is always that group of people (I wish I was in this group, but I can never talk myself into spending $8 for nacho cheese and 10 chips) at every sports game or movie who can’t stop feasting on their nachos. However, I don’t think I have ever seen anyone like nacho cheese so much to fill a bathtub with it. A while back, someone took the chance to test Visa’s concierge service to its limits. The verdict? Visa will do pretty much anything!

What cannot be accomplished by a credit card concierge service?

Ok, so I realize not everyone is going to want to try any of the wacky ideas above. But just in case, the following things are what Visa credit card concierge service (posted in the comments of the above “nacho cheese” example) said they could NOT do:

1. We cannot get you an interview to work for a sports team.
2. We do not have special access to confidential government reports.
3. We do not have discounts for venues, restaurants, or services not included on the website http://www.visa.com/signature.
4. If a hotel is completely sold out and booked, we cannot reserve a room there; however we’d be glad to check other hotels nearby.
5. We cannot research your school paper, or do your job for you.
6. We can’t run personal errands or call your friends for you.
7. We can’t plan your wedding, but we can help you find a wedding planner.
8. As far as what’s considered unethical behavior, consider this an example: If child prostitution is legal somewhere, we won’t help you find one; however if you’re in Nevada and want to make an appointment for a rendezvous at the Bunny Ranch, we’d be glad to help you check rates and availability.
9. We don’t have access to your credit card account information or rewards program.
10. Please keep these not-so-unreasonable limitations in mind when you give us a call. We’ll hear from you soon.

Those of you who were thinking of turning your job over to your credit card concierge service… think again!

The Credit Cards

You have seen how far they will go to help. You have seen what they are not able to do. So what cards actually offer this service? Well, there are a few options available. First, there are credit cards that offer credit card concierge service as a part of their annual fees. Some of these include:

• MasterCard World Elite (Up to $150/year)
• AMEX Platinum Card Concierge Service ($450/year)

Second, there are certain cards that offer FREE credit card concierge service. The following are just a couple:

• Chase FREEDOM Visa
• Saks Fifth World Elite Mastercard

The word “free” always sounds better to the ears. If you are always on-the-go, AMEX does offer some complimentary Airport features you might enjoy. So whether you want your credit card company to find you credit card car insurance, or a bathtub full of nacho cheese, make sure you check over your credit card concierge service!

Author Bio: Jeff Crews is the VP of CreditCardChaser.com. He has been seen on various financial websites including Credit.com, Savings.com, CreditKarma.com, The Huffington Post, and many others. When he isn’t talking finance, you can find Jeff helping out local soccer teams!

I live in a small town with a handful of clothing stores.  That’s why I was thrilled when a local business owner announced she was hosting a clothing swap at her hip store Willow.  I gathered up a bag full of unwanted items from my closet, entered the date and time on my calendar, and sat back and waited only to learn that the event was rescheduled.

Although I wasn’t able to attend the clothing swap the following week, I continue to keep my eyes open for Facebook events and additional opportunities to trade clothes and accessories with my friends.  As a lover of all things thrift and bargain-priced, there’s nothing more enticing than a clothing swap.

For one thing, swapping saves you money.  It also gives you an excuse to finally clean out your closet and get rid of the things that you never wear.  Last but not least, clothing swaps are good for the environment.

So many useable items are discarded long before they’re worn out.  You can take the things that no longer fit or flatter and give them to someone that can use them.  With upcycling being so popular, even the dullest attire can be repurposed into other useable goods.

Here are some websites online that let you swap clothing, accessories, and other items:

• Rehashclothes.com – Although the name implies otherwise, this site allows you to swap books, housewares, and pet clothes along with gently used garments from your own closet.  Bid on the item of your choice by offering an item of your own in exchange.  You can also post a description of an item you’re looking for and see if anyone responds to it.  
• Dignswap.com – This easy-to-use website has two search options.  You can browse by category or by specific product names.  Although the site is free to join, each swap costs $1 plus shipping.
• Swapstyle.com – The global site allows its users to take pictures of the things they no longer want or need.  When they find something on the site that interests them, they offer a trade and see what transpires.  The other party has the option to choose anything you have listed in exchange for the item you want.  If you want access to clothing and accessories from other countries, this is a great place to look.
• Zwaggle.com – This site is the place to go for kids’ clothes and gear.  You earn Zoints every time you refer a friend or send items.  You can even donate your unused Zoints to charity.  How awesome is that?

You can also check out MeetUp.com to see if there is a local group in your area.  With 90,000 members on the site, there’s a good chance you can start your own clothing swap group and get a good turnout each time you meet.

Don’t let those clothes from last season stay in your closet any longer!  Take advantage of all the different swaps online and get some new clothing to wear this summer.  You never know how easy it is until you try it out yourself.

Market Orders

Market orders are the most common and easy to understand of the order types. A market order is simply an instruction to buy or sell the securities at the current market price. Unless you give different instructions, this is the type of order that will be placed. Market orders are almost always guaranteed to be executed as long as there are active buyers and sellers in the market.

One of the drawbacks of market orders is that the investor is at the mercy of the bid and ask spread. Buy orders are filled at the ask price, and sell orders are filled at the bid price. Depending on the individual stock and market activity, the bid and ask spread could be fairly significant. Another drawback is that in fast moving markets, you may receive a different price from what the current quote is.

Limit Orders

Limit orders do just as they say, and allow investors to set a limit on the buy or sell price. While market orders will be executed at whatever the market price is, a limit order won’t execute unless your limit is reached. Limit orders can be either buy or sell orders.

Buy limit orders are executed only when the price of the stock you want to buy is at, or lower than your limit price. For example, if you wish to purchase 10 shares of  XYZ stock at $20.15 and the ask price of the stock is currently at $20.20, your order will remain open. If the ask price never drops to $20.15 or lower throughout the trading session, your order will never be fulfilled. If the stock does move lower, and the ask jumps to $20.10, your order would be filled.

Sell limit orders work the same way, only in reverse. If you currently own 10 shares of XYZ stock and you want to sell the shares for $20.25, yet the stock’s bid price is $20.15, the order will not be filled and remain open. If at some point the bid price reaches $20.25 or higher, the order would be fulfilled.

The risk with limit orders is that the order may never be executed. If you wanted to buy a stock at a set price and it is on a run and rapidly increasing in price, your order wouldn’t be filled and by the time you could place another order, you may have missed out on substantial gains. The same goes for sell limit orders never being filled. If you wanted to unload a stock at a set price and it continues to fall, you can realize additional losses as the stock declines and your order goes unfilled.

Stop Orders

The stop order is generally used to protect profits or minimize further losses. A buy stop order is always placed at a price above the current market price, and a stop sell order is always placed below the current market price. When that stop price is reached, the order turns into a market order and will be executed at the current market price. For example, if you have a stock that you purchased at $20 that is now trading for $30, you can protect some of that profit by setting a stop sell order. You could place the stop at $25 so that if the price does fall to $25 or below, your order will be converted to a market order and executed.

The advantage of stop orders is that it makes it so an investor doesn’t need to monitor the stock market every second of the day. Investors can place various stop orders to protect gains and minimize losses without being around the computer.

The main disadvantage of stop orders is that you can get “stopped out” by a quick price movement that may not be warranted. A rumor or press release may send traders into a frenzy and briefly send the stock into your stop territory only to reverse course moments later when things settle down. Since stop orders turn into market orders when the trigger price is reached, you also have the possibility of executing the trade for a price that is different from the stop price.

Stop-Limit Orders

Like a regular stop order, investors use these orders to protect profits or minimize losses. The difference is that this order turns into a limit order when the stop price is reached, not a market order. This type of order gives you more control of when and at what price the order will be executed at. With this added control comes the possibility that the order may never be filled.

The reason this can happen is because if a stock is moving rapidly and hits your stop point, it may continue to move rapidly past your limit order, leaving the order unfilled. This could result in even further losses or losing some profit as the market moves past you. On the other hand, the stop-limit order can help you from getting stopped out early from a quick price movement that doesn’t hold.

Day Orders

All of the orders discussed so far are typically placed as day orders. This means that when you place an order, they are only good for the trading session that they are placed. So if you place an order at 10 a.m. and it doesn’t get filled before the market closes at 4 p.m., you’ll have to place another order the next day if you still want to make the trade.

Good ‘Til Canceled Orders

If you don’t want to worry about placing orders each day in the event they don’t get filled, you can place a good ’til canceled, or GTC order. These orders are good until executed or you decide to cancel it. This can mean an order could stay open for days or weeks. Even so, many brokerage companies have limits on how long GTC orders can be left open.

Other Order Types

There are a number of other order types, but the ones referenced above are the most common, and should be available to all brokerage platforms. The other order types are usually contingent on other factors, and may or may not be provided by your brokerage, so you will want to check before placing any trades.

1. Pandora: Since 2000, Pandora has let listeners access their favorite songs, artists, and genres for free.  Users can register on the site, add the tunes they want to listen to and access their stations through the net, their phones, and tablets.
2. Yahoo Music: Similar in format to Pandora, Yahoo Music allows listeners to choose their own content.  They can access videos, create radio stations based on their favorite songs, artists, and type of music and read blogs about their favorite musicians and bands.
3. Spotify: Windows, Mac, and mobile users can register for a free account on Spotify and start listening to their favorite musicians.  They can also share what they’re listening to on different social networking sites making the experience fun and interactive.  Artist biographies and user playlists are some of the reasons why so many people enjoy listening to Spotify.
4. Playlist.com: Playlist.com is one of my personal favorites.  Like Spotify, it lets you share the music you’re listening to with your friends and family members through social networking.  You can create and name playlists much like you would if you were creating a mix tape or mix CD.  After logging onto the site, you can choose to listen to a playlist of your own or to another member’s.  I’ve created playlists for people’s birthdays and shared them with my friends on Facebook.
5. NoiseTrade: Access thousands of albums legally for free with Noise Trade.  Artists upload their music.  Fans download their favorite tunes and all is well in the world.  If you like what you hear, you can donate money to your favorite musicians.  This is a great site for people wanting to build a music library without spending a ton of money to do so.

Enhance the quality of your days by listening to great music from your favorite artists and bands.  With the websites listed above, you can sing along to familiar songs and even hear a few that you’ve never heard before. Clearly, this is just a short list of some of the popular options out there, but there are literally dozens of sites to find free music. Got a favorite that isn’t listed? Let me know in the comments below.

That might be a glass half-full way to think about it, but what if your match is taken away? Should you still contribute? Should you switch to an IRA? Or is it time to give up on retirement saving completely? There’s no easy answer that works for everyone. In some cases it may make sense to keep contributing while in others it might make sense to stop. So, let’s look at what you need to consider before making that decision.

Eligibility for IRAs

When it comes to saving for retirement, most people will utilize one of the two most common individual retirement accounts — the traditional and Roth IRA. Without getting into a lesson on the differences between a traditional IRA and Roth IRA, we’re going to work with the most notable difference in that a traditional IRA is funded with pre-tax dollars and qualified withdrawals are taxed, and the Roth IRA is funded with after-tax dollars and qualified withdrawals are tax-free.

Before you give up on your 401k you need to make sure you’re eligible for contributing to an IRA. After all, if you’re ineligible to receive the tax benefits that IRAs provide, even without a match it would make sense to keep contributing to your 401k.

Lean More: How to roll over your 401k into an IRA

Roth IRA

Eligibility for a Roth IRA depends on your income. As a married couple you would qualify for a Roth IRA if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is below $173,000. If MAGI is between $173,000 and $183,000, then you can contribute some, but not the full amount. If income exceeds $183,000, you do not qualify for any current year Roth IRA contributions. Single filers begin phasing out of a Roth IRA at $107,000 and is gone completely at $125,000.

As you can see, depending on your income, giving up your 401k in favor of a Roth IRA may not even be an option. It’s a good idea to have a Roth IRA if you qualify, but just keep the income limits in mind before stopping your contributions with your current plan.

Traditional IRA

Here’s where things get a little more tricky. Unlike a Roth, a traditional IRA is funded with pre-tax dollars, so this type of retirement account closely matches your 401(k). If you were looking to mirror what you’re currently doing from a tax perspective, this is your likely candidate. That being said, the IRS doesn’t make it easy for us. There are also income limits and other considerations that need to be addressed before qualifying for tax-deductible contributions.

The deductibility phase out for a traditional IRA for a single filer begins at $56,000 and ends at $66,000 if you’re currently covered under an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Joint filers phase out between $90,000 and $110,000. If married and your spouse is not covered by an employer plan, then there is no limit for you.

I emphasized a piece of information above because there is often a lot of confusion as to what this means. Being covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan has nothing to do with whether or not you’re contributing to a 401(k). Just because you elect not to doesn’t mean you’re not covered. As long as you have a plan and could contribute to it, as far as the IRS is concerned you’re still bound to the income limits. Furthermore, other pension and profit-sharing plans would also count. So even if your employer eliminated the 401(k) completely but still provided some sort of pension benefit, that’s considered being covered under an employer plan and subject to income limitations.

Other IRA Considerations

Finding out if you’re eligible for an IRA is the first step, so what’s the next step if you are? First, decide which type of IRA would be most beneficial for you. Are you single, no kids, and no major tax deductions? You may enjoy the continued benefits of deducting current contributions from your taxes with a traditional IRA. If you’re looking ahead to the future and expect your income to increase and tax rates to be higher, then a Roth IRA that gives you tax-free withdrawals in retirement may be your best bet. As long as you qualify, you could opt for an IRA of each type.

To get started with your IRA, you have a few different options. First, you can open up an IRA with one of the big no-load fund companies such as Vanguard or Fidelity directly. Keep in mind that there may be a minimum investment requirement to get started. But this is a good way to invest directly in the low-cost funds you want.

The other option is to open your IRA with a discount brokerage company such as TradeKing or Zecco. With a brokerage IRA you will have more flexibility in terms of investment options. Here you can buy individual stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and even CDs all within the same account. If you’re looking to move beyond index funds with just one company, this can provide some flexibility as long as you keep transaction costs down, which either Zecco or TradeKing will do.

Finally, don’t overlook the reduced IRA annual contribution limits. In 2009 you’re only allowed $5,000 ($6,000 if age 50+) per year in IRA contributions. If are currently putting more than this amount into your 401(k) you’d want to make sure you’re still contributing as much as you can. For example, if you have been contributing $10,000 to your 401(k) and want to switch to an IRA, you should max out your IRA with $5,000 and reduce your 401(k) contribution to $5,000. This way you’re still adding your $10,000 to your retirement accounts each year, but it’s simply divided across two accounts.

Some Final Considerations

A 401(k) without a match is still a viable retirement account, although the deal is obviously not as sweet without the free match money. If you’re considering the switch, be sure you take into account all aspects of the plan. While 401(k) plans get discussed in the news about high fees, remember that not all plans are created equal. Obviously, if you’re in a plan with high fees and you do qualify for an IRA, the decision is pretty simple. But there are a number of plans that may also have even better fees than you can get no your own. For example, my 401(k) plan has institutional variants of funds, including some Vanguard and Fidelity. That means after all said and done, my net expenses are the same or even lower on these funds than I could get in my own IRA.

So, if your company drops the company match and you’re trying to decide what to do:

• Examine your current plan, check expenses and fund offerings, and see if the match has been temporarily suspended or eliminated indefinitely.
• Check to see what type of IRA you qualify for, and if eligible, decide whether a traditional or Roth is better for your situation.
• Open the necessary IRA through a no-load fund company or discount brokerage such as Zecco or TradeKing.
• Make sure you’re still contributing the same amount or more to your retirement accounts even if this means contributing to both an IRA and your 401(k). Just because your company stopped matching doesn’t mean you should contribute less overall.
• Prepare for changes to your tax situation. Going from a 401(k) to a Roth IRA could have an impact on your taxes, so plan accordingly.

I hope that helps clear things up when faced with this question. As you can see, there are many reasons to switch to an IRA if your company drops the match, some of which I didn’t even touch on here. But there are also a number of limitations that need to be taken into account before making that decision as well. There may not be a right or wrong answer to this question, but if you’re armed with all the facts, you can make sure you’re making the most reasonable decision for your situation.

You smile some more and exhale a big “thank you!”

You feel like you’re on top of the world and now all the hard work has finally paid off.  It’s time to celebrate!  Not too fast, my friend.  With a pay raise comes greater responsibility.

More money means that certain things in your life are about to change.  More specifically, it may mean where you work might change.  These are things most people don’t even think about.  However, it’s critically important to go over these potential downsides of a pay raise.  Say hello to more responsibility.

More money means greater responsibility at work

This can be a good thing and a bad thing.  Depending on where you work, this could mean you will be pressured to work longer work hours and take on more tasks.  Instead of giving into that way of thinking, start working smarter.  Studies have shown that if you prove yourself as an efficient worker, you will move up the ladder faster.  Just because you’re putting in longer work hours doesn’t mean anything these days unless you work for an “old-school” employer who places importance on that.

Changes to your wallet

More money means a bigger wallet, right?  Yes, it may mean that you have additional income now, but you should not assume that you need to spend more money or act differently.  Treat money as something that comes and goes.  It’s temporary and will eventually disappear when you die.  Focus on investing and using the additional income responsibly.  Avoid the temptation to change your lifestyle.  Instead, change nothing, or if you’re sacked with a lot of debt, put that money toward reducing it.

Co-worker dynamics change

Typically, when one gets a pay raise, more than likely you’ll be jumping up a rung on the corporate ladder.  When you once hung out with co-workers and things were care-free due to a level playing field, you may find yourself becoming friends with new people.  With a career bump, it can he hard to still enjoy the same talk with your good friends at work.  There is always the fact that you are “higher” up on the ladder than them now.  Another thing that I’ve seen happen is the bitterness can grow if someone gets a pay raise in a group and the others don’t.  These are things that you need to be aware of.  Also, it’s not a dead end.  You can work hard at keeping this relationships and nurturing them in humility.

Be aware of the changes and evolve

Being aware of the changes greater income brings into your life can help you evolve in the work place and make you an even greater asset to your employer.  Stop thinking in negative terms.  Yes, this article comes off as negative, but you can take these three changes and use them to your advantage.  Simply being “aware” is powerful.  Now go show your boss you want another pay raise next week!

Start by Researching Cars Online

Before you even step foot into a dealership, you’ll need to do your homework. If you walk onto a car lot and don’t have much of an idea as to what you want, the salespeople will smell the blood in the water. This doesn’t mean they will automatically try to put you into the most expensive vehicle, but you’ve given them a blank canvas to where they can make a bunch of different vehicles and features look like great options, and the better everything sounds to you when you haven’t done your research may lead you to buying something you don’t necessarily need.

So, start by narrowing down your choices. If you have a particular brand in mind, go to their website and explore the models. Compare features with what you need and keep a list of the most probable choices. If you don’t have any allegiance to a specific brand you’ll want to explore the style of car you’re interested in across various manufactures.

While narrowing down your choices to a handful of vehicles is a good start, that doesn’t mean anything until you dig into the reviews. Search for reviews online, check Consumer Reports, Edmunds, or any number of sites to get the real dirt on your options. Every vehicle looks great on a manufacturer’s website, but after they have been put through objective tests you may realize that some have very poor safety ratings, poor reliability, complaints about features or performance, and so on. After reviewing your choices you’ll likely come away with just a couple of suitable options, which is good.

When you’ve decided on your short list you’ll be better equipped to go to the dealer and ask specifically to see a certain model or two and you aren’t left with the salesman to waste your time trying to show you anything and everything on the lot.

Don’t Compromise

If you’re buying new, do not compromise. If you know exactly what you want in your vehicle, don’t let the dealership convince you to settle on something else just because they have it on the lot and can get you out the door today. Believe it or not, dealers don’t stock everything on the lot. They might only have a handful of the model you’re interested in, and the features and trim levels will vary greatly. The dealer wants to reduce inventory, so they will do anything they can to convince you the one on the lot is just about as good as the one you really had in mind. Maybe the one on the lot has a sunroof even though you didn’t want it, or it came with leather interior instead of cloth, they will make it sound like you’re going to get a deal by taking that one off their hands. Chances are the deal is not as great as it sounds, and second of all, you’re settling for something you went into the purchase knowing you didn’t really want. So ultimately you’re getting something you didn’t really want, or spending more than you wanted to on features you didn’t really need. If you’re buying a new vehicle, any dealership who wants your money will find an exact match, even if it’s hundreds of miles away and has to be delivered. When I bought my car the closest one they could find with the features I requested was two states away, but they got it just fine.

Here’s a quick personal story. I just bought a new vehicle a couple of months ago. Our family needed to get something a little bigger now with the two kids, and with the ability to get an employee discount it made sense to buy new. So, I did exactly what I’ve described above. Over the course of many weeks I researched our options, read the reviews, and finally settled on a specific make and model. Then I went to their website and used the “build your own” feature that most sites have and built it exactly how we wanted it. Then I printed it off and took it to the dealership.

You’d think this would mean I’d be in and out in a matter of an hour or so, but boy, you’d be wrong. Even though I walked in with a printout stating exactly what I wanted, the salespeople were relentless. First, they insisted that I should opt for a low miles used model from last year. They pulled out all the stops about why it was a better idea, but it took 20 minutes just to convince them I didn’t care and wanted what I wanted. Then, they of course take me out on the lot to show me the few new models they had, but guess what? None of them were what I said I wanted. Wrong color, wrong trim level, completely missing features I specifically asked for, and the list goes on.

Already fed up, I told the salesperson I wanted to speak to somebody else since he wasn’t listening to anything I had to say and just wanted to sell whatever they had available. It was already getting late and they said the guy I wanted to work with would be in tomorrow. So, after wasting all the time I just had to come back the next day. I go back in and this salesperson does actually listen, but it’s still an incredibly painful process. I sit at his desk for over an hour while he searches for vehicles in their online database to find a match. Even through this grueling process, he continues to try to sell me something I don’t want. Telling me I don’t need feature X or for only $1,000 more I can just get it all by upgrading to the premium trim level, and all sorts of garbage. He finally found one, but I was ready to jump across the desk and beat the guy by the time it was all said and done.

In hindsight, it probably would have been a good idea to just leave and try another dealership, but having already invested so much time with this one and not knowing if the next one would be the same way, I stuck it out. The bottom line is you shouldn’t compromise just because it’s easier for them or it will speed up the process. You’re making an important decision and spending a lot of money, so get exactly what you ask for.

Read more: Your Car is Making You Poor

Know the Purchase Price

Newsflash! The price the salesman gives you isn’t the best price. They aren’t going to come out and right off the bat and offer you the lowest possible price they can go with. That’s not how anyone does business, so it shouldn’t be a surprise car dealers don’t operate this way either. It’s true there isn’t a lot of margin to work with in new vehicle sales, but that still doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate.

The worst thing that can happen is you try to negotiate lower and they simply won’t budge. There’s no harm in that. If you want, you can try your best poker face and say you’re not interested at that price and proceed to leave. If they beg you to sit back down, you’ll know there’s room to work on price. If they don’t seem to care and let you go, they are either a poor salesperson, or they literally were at rock bottom.

Again, it never hurts to ask, and if you don’t even bother to throw another number out there you could be leaving easy money on the table. To get a rough idea of what a fair purchase price is, go ahead and head on over to Kelley Blue Book and plug in the specifics for the vehicle you’re interested in. It will tell you how much you can expect to pay, what the average price is, and so on so that it gives you a frame of reference. You may only be talking about a few hundred dollars on something you’re spending $30,000 on, but hey, money is money, so go in prepared.

Know Your Trade-In Value

If you’re trading in a vehicle for a new one, you absolutely, positively, must do your homework on the trade-in value first. It’s common knowledge that you get screwed when you trade in. That’s just the way it works because the dealer has to buy it cheap enough so that after they clean, prep, and make any minor repairs, they can then put it on their lot, where it might sit for months, and make some money. And that’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with that because selling a car yourself may get you a better sale price, but you have to do all of the work yourself and who knows how long it will take to sell it. So the tradeoff is that you give up the premium on sale price for the convenience of unloading it immediately.

Even so, with most vehicles you’ll have hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in bargaining when it comes to the trade-in price. When they give you a trade-in value, they aren’t going to come out with their best offer right out of the gate, so unless you know what a fair value for your car is, you could accept what they have to say and leave a lot of money on the table.

So again, start by going to Kelley Blue Book. There you can enter the details about your vehicle and get a fair trade-in value. This doesn’t mean that will be the price you get, but it at least gives you a ballpark of what you should be expecting. For example, say you pull up your vehicle and KBB says a fair trade-in value would be around $5,000. Now, say you’re at the car dealer and after they take your vehicle around back and look it over, come back and say they will give you $3,000. That should be a red flag right there and tell you there’s room to negotiate. Had you not done your homework you may have accepted that offer even though you may have been able to negotiate them up to $4,300.

Back to my recent purchasing experience, this is exactly what happened. I looked up my trade-in vehicle and found a fair value for trade would be about $4,200. When we discussed the trade, they told me they would only give me $3,000. Armed with my knowledge I told them we’d have to get closer to $4,000 since that’s a fair price. After throwing a few numbers around and a manager’s approval, they settled on $3,900. That’s $900 that could have easily gone out the window had I not spent five minutes online educating myself before just taking what they had to say for granted.

Secure Financing Before Shopping

Dealers love to handle the financing for you. While the salesperson may not get a direct cut if you finance with them, the dealerships do have relationships with local lenders and they receive incentives if they can push financing through their lenders. This doesn’t mean that all financing deals provided by the dealers will be a terrible deal, but there’s a very good chance you can do even better on your own if you don’t mind doing a little legwork.

Start by getting quotes from banks and lenders where you already have a relationship. It’s usually as simple as a quick phone call, stopping into a branch, or even going online to get the information you need and possibly even get pre-approved. The key to starting with lenders you already do business with is they usually give existing customers better rates.

If the rates aren’t all that stellar, then start shopping around to other financial institutions. Credit unions are a great place to look because they often have some of the lowest loan rates out there. If you can become a member, it may be worth is just for the auto loan rate alone. But at the very least after shopping around a bit you’ll know what the going rates are so you’ll know whether or not what the dealer is offering is a decent rate or not.

Better yet, once you find a good rate, go ahead and do the pre-approval. This will lock in a specific rate, give you a credit limit, and provide you with enough so that you can walk into the dealer basically saying you’ve already got the money and can cut a check today. No more haggling or trying to be pressured into something else. Even if you decide to go with another lender or decide to not buy the car entirely, you aren’t out anything.

Don’t Miss: 5 Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make When Buying a Car

Back to my car-buying experience again… Before even step one way back at the beginning of this piece, I had already shopped around for rates and found Chase to offer the best rate. Even better than my credit union. How? Because of all of my banking relationships through them. Knowing I was locked in at 2.4% if I wanted it, when I was at the dealership I told them to go ahead and run the numbers to see what they could get me. Obviously, if they could do better, I’d probably go that route. But I had the ace in the hole knowing I could just call my bank and get a check for the car that day if need be. Sure enough, they couldn’t beat it. In fact, the best they could offer me was 3.5%, which oddly enough was through Chase. Of course the dealer is probably getting a few basis points as a kickback and that drives up the rate a bit, but bottom line is you’re not out anything by letting the dealer shop for rates for you, but you’re probably better off doing that on your own even before it gets to the time of trying to finance your purchase.

Putting It All Together

We’ve covered a lot here and it’s obvious the car purchasing process has many opportunities for snags. But if you stick to a plan and do your research ahead of time, you’ll be in the best possible position to come away with a great deal.

1. Figure out what vehicle you want before you go to a dealership. There’s enough information online to keep you busy for weeks, so spend a little time from the comfort of your home gathering what you need and narrowing down your choices. You’ll still want to test drive before you buy, but if you eliminate all the duds before you go in, you’ll skip all the time wasted with salespeople trying to steer you in a certain direction and possibly get sold something you don’t really want or need.
2. Don’t Compromise. When you’re buying new, you’re literally in the driver’s seat. You can get a vehicle exactly how you want it, no matter how much the dealer wants to push you toward a similar model on the lot. If you’re investing this much money into a long-term purchase, you are in no condition to let someone else tell you what you can or can’t have.
3. Know your purchase price. Go into the process knowing what the vehicle you want should cost. This will at least alert you to any issues if the price they want to sell it for is way off the mark. Then, go ahead and negotiate. The worst that can happen is they don’t budge, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know if you can get a better price.
4. Know your trade-in value. The worst thing you can do when trading in a vehicle is to have no idea what a fair price for your trade is worth and then accepting whatever they offer. Used car sales are where dealerships make their money, so they are in the business of buying low and selling high. That means you won’t get the best offer right out of the gate, so knowing what a fair price is will help you negotiate something better.
5. Secure financing first if possible. Don’t let the dealer dictate the financing. At the very least shop around so you know what the going rates are. And if you can find an attractive rate, likely at a place you already do business, get pre-approved and ready to go so you can speed up the financing process once you’ve found a vehicle. It never hurts to let the dealer try to find financing, but they can’t come up with a good deal and you’ve already got financing lined up with another lender, you won’t be pressured into something costly at the last minute.

There you have it. While every vehicle purchase is different, if you follow this general outline you’ll be putting yourself in a position where you’re far more likely to get the best deal and avoid getting run over by a salesperson because you didn’t do your homework ahead of time. Buying a car is certainly a big decision and often a stressful situation, but if you take the right steps from the beginning it will be quick and painless.

I’m always on the lookout for non-traditional ways of making money.  The one thing that I know is that plenty of opportunities exist as long as you keep an open mind.  Here are five absolutely insane ways to make money.

1. Sell your hair.  If you have long hair that hasn’t been chemically treated, there are a number of places online where you can sell your tresses.  Human hair can go for thousands of dollars so before your hairdresser sweeps that floor, ask them if they’ll carefully set your hair aside so you can take it home with you.
2. Sell your blood plasma.  Blood plasma is a necessity.  Clinics are willing to pay premium prices for your donations.  If you’re looking to make a quick buck, it’s worth seeing if any of these types of centers exist in your city.
3. Buy beer and cigarettes.  Age compliance shops are prevalent.  The point is to get a business to card you before selling you alcohol and tobacco.  Companies pay big money for this type of research.  They want to make sure that their employees are asking for ID each and every time someone comes in to buy beer or cigarettes.
4. Be a test subject.  Clinical research studies can provide you with extra income.  If you qualify for a study, you are often compensated for your time and participation.  Keep in mind that clinical research studies do have their negatives.  Do your research before volunteering to test an experimental drug or procedure.
5. Wrap your car in advertisements.  Drive around town promoting your favorite products and services.  Car wrapping is a legitimate source of income.  If you qualify, you’ll receive a monthly stipend and all you have to do is gas your car or truck up and go.  Now, how cool is that?

For more weird and wacky ways to make money, pick up a copy of 101 Weird Ways to Make Money: Cricket Farming, Repossessing Cars, and Other Jobs With Big Upside and Not Much Competition by Steve Gillman.  You’re sure to find inspiration in the pages of that book.  I know I have!

Considering that the average American watches 4 hours of TV per day, there has to be more benefits of doing so aside from comfort and relaxation. By doing the math you can see that 4 hours/day x 7 days/week = 28 hours of TV each week. That’s as much as some people work at a part-time job! Here are some ways to turn your TV-watching habit into your own part-time job.

1.   Download an App. If you have a smart phone or tablet, did you know that there are Apps that will “pay” you to watch TV?? Services such as Viggle and RewardTV let you earn points by watching your favorite shows. These points can then be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise, and services.

2.   Join the Nielsen network. While you can’t officially sign yourself up without an invitation, if you ever find yourself to be the recipient of a large envelope mailed from Nielsen, you may want to join their network. Members of the Nielsen network get paid to record data about the shows they watch, which is how they come up with those famous “Nielsen Ratings” that TV conglomerates care so much about.

3.   Bolster your financial education. If you’re watching TV, how about tuning in to the various shows and specials that can help you receive a free financial education? There are plenty of financial experts who now have their own shows and they’ll teach you about everything from saving money and budgeting to how to reduce debt and invest in your future.

4.   Coupon. This goes hand-in-hand with sorting mail and shredding unnecessary documents: Turn your TV time into working time. Mindless activities such as clipping coupons and sorting your mail can be much more enjoyable if you’re doing them while watching your favorite shows!

5.   Hone your writing skills. Become a TV critic, write a new blog about your favorite show, or seek out staff writing/ghost writer positions with your favorite blogs. Type as you watch (being careful to proof-read as you go!) and subsequently boost your bottom line.

6.   Take advantage of freebies & enter contests. There are thousands of contests running each day—online, on TV, in the mail, etc. There are also thousands of freebies floating around. Use your TV time to seek out and sign up for these things. You never know when you may become the new big winner, so make sure to enter today! At the least, you’ll receive some great samples of your favorite products, which puts money right back into your pocket.

Kyle Taylor is the editor of The Penny Hoarder, a daily blog with weird & wacky tips on how to make extra money. Connect with him on Facebook/Twitter or subscribe to his newsletter to get his 5 wackiest ways to make money via email!

I don’t know many people who enjoy moving. It usually involves a lot of heavy lifting, cleaning, costly transportation or moving services, and small things to take care of which can lead to a lot of stress. It doesn’t have to be this way and if you spend a little time planning ahead you can save money and take a lot of the stress out of your move.

Fortunately, most of us have a some time to plan for a move since we don’t usually have to pick up and move at the drop of a hat. At the same time, if you’re busy trying to buy or sell a house the thought of moving is probably not the first thing on your mind. But don’t let that stop you from planning. You should really start preparing for your move at least a month or so in advance. Here’s a checklist that can help you start preparing.

One or Two Months Before the Move

Gather important documents. Start rounding up your important documents a month or two before the move. This includes tax returns, insurance documents, financial records, and any other documents you think are important. This will help you accomplish two things. First, you’ll have a list of important companies that you need to submit a change of address to. Not only that, but things can and do get lost in a move and you don’t want your important documents to be one of them. If you gather them ahead of time and keep them somewhere safe they are less likely to get lost in the shuffle on moving day.

Notify the IRS. If you file a change of address form at the post office they will automatically update your records with the IRS. Even so, it’s a good idea to make sure you get things updated properly in case there is a delay or something happens and your address doesn’t get updated. All you have to do is fill out IRS Form 8822 and that will take care of it.

Contact your doctors. If you’re moving out of the area and will be using different medical providers it’s a good idea to let your current doctors know. It’s even better if you already know who your new doctor will be so that they can assist in transferring your records. In any case, you’ll want to make sure they know that you will be leaving and where you will be going. This can make things easier upon going to your new doctor for the first time.

Gather moving supplies. Use this time to start stocking up on moving supplies. Buying boxes can be expensive, so consider checking with friends and family for used boxes or even stop by your local supermarket or other retail store to see if they have any boxes to give you. There’s no need to pay for boxes if you can get them for free.

Start packing. It may seem like a month or two before the move is too early to begin packing things up, but start with items that you know you won’t need. You know what these things are, so if you won’t be using them before the move, get them packed up and ready to go now. The less you have to pack right up to moving day, the easier your job is going to be.

Throw stuff away. As you begin to start packing things up you’re going to encounter a lot of stuff that you just don’t need anymore. This is a good time to start throwing out what you don’t need or create a pile of stuff to donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. If you’ve been meaning to declutter your life, a move is your best opportunity. Start fresh in your new house by getting rid of all the excess. Not only is it less stuff to move, but you’ll have less clutter in your new house.

Two Weeks Before Moving Day

Notify utilities. If you’re leaving your old place for good it’s a good idea to give your utility companies a few weeks notice so that you can have your services shut off or taken out of your name at the right time so that you aren’t charged for what you aren’t using. Make sure you check to see who services your new location because it could be as simple as having them transfer service to your new address.

Notify cable and/or internet provider. If you’re like me, being without internet access is not much of an option. So, make sure you plan ahead a few weeks to get service transferred to or set up at your new location. Sometimes they may not have any available appointments for a week or two as it is so it’s best to call early and make sure you can schedule a hookup as soon as possible once you’re into your new house.

File change of address forms. Now that you’re just a few weeks away you should begin filing a change of address with the rest of the places you do business. Make sure to change it with your employer, bank, investment companies, insurance policies, cell phone company, credit cards, and any other place that might send you statements or otherwise need to contact you. While you can set up mail forwarding at the post office, eventually you’ll need to update your address with these companies anyway, so get it out of the way early.

Keep track of moving costs. Did you know that you might be able to deduct some or all of your moving expenses on your taxes? If you qualify you’ll want to keep track of everything. All the boxes, bubble wrap, and tape could be a deduction. Not only that, but so could truck rentals or moving company expenses or even mileage if you use your own vehicles. So, keep track of everything.

Five Days Before Moving

Change address with the post office. With just a few days left before the move it’s time to file your change of address form with the U.S. Postal Service. The easiest way is by stopping at any post office and doing it in person. You can also do it online, but I believe there is a $1.00 processing fee so just keep that in mind.

Finish packing. Don’t wait until moving day to try and box everything up. Start packing the rest of the stuff you won’t need before the move in the days leading up to the move. By now you should have everything but your essentials packed so that come moving day you’re more or less just loading up boxes on to a truck or in a car. When you pack in a rush that is when things get broken or misplaced, so plan ahead and pack at your leisure in the days leading up to the move.

Parting with the neighbors. You’ve probably made friends and met some great neighbors at your old place, but it’s time to say goodbye. Again, you don’t want to surprise the neighborhood on moving day when the moving trucks show up because you’ll spend most of the day talking with neighbors. If your neighbors already know you’re moving, you won’t be spending so much time on moving day catching up with everyone and can focus on getting the job done. Oh, and don’t forget to get the spare keys you may have given out. The new owners may not appreciate half the neighborhood having spare keys to their new house.

Moving Day

Pack smart. Use some common sense when packing and you will save yourself a lot of aggravation and possibly avoid breaking anything. Don’t stuff boxes until they can’t hold any more. You’re sure to break something or have the box come apart during the move. Also pack items by room for easy unloading when you arrive in your new place. You can eliminate extra moving if you have just what you need for that room in the same box. And finally, label your boxes. You just need a marker or ink pen but labeling the box with some of the contents will come in handy.

Get help. If you can, round up some friends or family to help with the move. The more help you have, the less work you ultimately have to do, and the faster you can get everything done. Having help can also eliminate injuries from trying to lift heavy objects yourself. Make sure you show your thanks by taking your help out to dinner or something once the work is done.

Take one last look. As you load everything up on the truck and your old place is empty, be sure to give it one last good look. Check all of the cabinets and make sure nothing has been left behind. Also, it’s a good idea to check for damage that may have occurred during the move. If you’re renting, that could come back to bite you if you have a security deposit. If you’re selling your house, that could cause trouble for the new buyers.

After the Move

Check contents for damage. If you moved yourself and you find damaged items, well, you don’t have anyone to blame but yourself. But if you used a professional moving company, you need to spot the damage and file a claim as soon as possible. So, this might mean unpacking everything in a day or two after the move, but if wait too long you may not be able to file a claim if you do later find something.

Confirm utility hookups. Just because you arrive at your new house and the power is on doesn’t mean you’re all set. There could have been a mixup where the old owners are still on the account at that address and you could be in for a rude awakening in a few weeks when they come and cut the power off unexpectedly. So, take a few minutes to call your electric, gas, trash, cable, or any other utility you use and make sure that they correctly have the new service for that address under your name.

Become familiar with the area. Even if you only moved across town it’s a good idea to scope out the neighborhood and find out where everything is. Where is the closest emergency after hours clinic? Pharmacy? Police station? Grocery store? As you become familiar with your surroundings you’ll be able to save time as you adjust to your new location. And don’t forget to introduce yourself to the neighbors if you haven’t already. They are the ones who will keep a watchful eye out for suspicious activity and may even become good friends.