Cash for Curbside Recyclables: Tip-of-the-Day #137

EAST COAST STARTING A GREAT (MONEY-MAKING) TREND

If you live on the East Coast, or have friends or family that do, you may want to check out this nifty nugget of information. RecycleBank, a fairly new and innovative recycling company, will give you money in the form of coupons and gift certificates for grocery and pharmacy items – just for recycling your bottles, cans, and paper at home.

The program has been up and running in communities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Nebraska, Maine, and New Jersey and will expand to Minneapolis and Dallas next (hold tight California...it's just a matter of time!).

Each household in a RecycleBank area receives a bin with a computer chip in it. The household then fills the bin with paper, glass, plastic and metal — no sorting needed — and sets the bin on the curb. When the recycling is collected, an arm on the truck weighs the bin and uses the computer chip to record the weight. The data is added to an online account, and customers can log in to redeem their points each month for coupons and gift certificates.

Um, that takes ALL the guesswork out of recycling and rewards you for your laziness! I'm keeping my eyes open for this program. Hurry RecycleBank! Hurry!

Rentals-Made-Easy: Tip-of-the-Day #136

RENTALS BECOMING MORE AND MORE MAINSTREAM

iRent2u.com is a new(ish) website created to rent or lend anything to anyone. Users can lend their assets to make money, or borrow from others to save money.

We all know that renting can save money, time, and storage headaches - but it's also a great way to try a product before you buy! For instance, my bf and I weren't sure we would like a Wii system and were looking for a way to try it first. This is a perfect way to dip your toe and save some dough!

You can rent anything on iRent2u - from small items like a drill or a bicycle, to larger items like a leer jet or yacht! If someone rents it, you'll find it. In fact, you will probably find things that you had never thought to rent before, such as textbooks and jewelry. And if you don't see it yet, request it! Someone else likely has what you need, and just might be happy to help (in exchange for cash or a like trade).

Instead of taking a chance on buying a new video game or dishing out loads of money for a D-SLR that you only need for the weekend, why not rent them? Great for birthday parties, friends in for the weekend, or just spicing up an otherwise ordinary weeknight! You can search the database, browse by category, or browse by location. Then filter, sort, and compare the items you're looking for. The cost to rent an item is determined by the seller.

Renting may just be the wave of the future...catch it now! ;)

Restaurant Reservations: Tip-of-the-Day #135

SELL HARD-TO-OBTAIN RESTAURANT RESERVATIONS

This may sound nuts, but I came across this little money maker completely organically. Several years ago, I had made a Mother’s Day reservation at The French Laundry that, as it turned out, I was unable to use. Needless to say, that reservation was incredibly difficult to obtain; I had to phone the reservation “hotline” three months to the day beforehand, get past all the other people calling in for that same reservation (feels a lot like calling into a radio station to win a contest), then secure the reservation with a credit card because that place means business.

All by way of saying, when it came time to give up this reservation it felt a little like I was giving away something of value. Was there in fact value there? Yes! My very savvy bf came up with the idea of selling the reservation on Craigslist. I was truly dubious at first – thinking, who on earth is going to pay for a reservation at a restaurant that is going to cost a small fortune in and of itself? Well, the people who are dining there are EXACTLY the people that will pay to get in. What’s another couple hundred dollars when you’re going to spend at least a grand on dinner???

And so, that is precisely what we did. We posted a “Reservation at The French Laundry - $200” on Craigslist. We were inundated with interest and sure enough, one fella put his money where his mouth is (no pun intended) and ponied up the cash for it.

This got us to thinking…if there’s clearly a market for these types of reservations, why not make it a practice to book the most popular tables at the most popular restaurants for all the major holidays and then parcel them off bit by bit, ultimately paying for your holidays and then some! It will take some legwork and a little patience on your part…but it can really pay off!

Note: if you don’t end up getting a buyer for your table you’d better cancel within the restaurant’s cancellation period or you’ll be stuck paying a “no show” fee which is no bueno.

Personalize Your Savings: Tip-of-the-Day #134

SAVE TIME & MONEY WITH A PERSONALIZED ANALYSIS

BillShrink is a free, personalized savings service for everyday things like wireless and credit cards. It helps you figure out where you might be able to save some dough.

Not only will Billshrink find the best wireless plans and credit cards for your needs NOW, but they’ll automatically repeat the analysis on a regular basis to keep you optimized as your usage changes, better product offers come to market, etc.

You're presented with unbiased, comprehensive information so you can see for yourself which options are best for you and why. They even give multiple options for where you can sign up for your service of choice.

To get started, you just select the service category of interest. From there, you will be prompted to enter some details about your usage patterns, which will be used to compute your personalized recommendations.

It’s certainly worth your while to look into it. I’m going to right now!

Old Coins Can Bring Big Coin: Tip-of-the-Day #133

COIN COLLECTING IS MORE THAN A HOBBY – IT’S AN INVESTMENT

Coin collecting is becoming more than just a hobby, as more and more people realize the potential of coins as an investment. Old coins, especially the ones made from precious metals, such as gold, silver and platinum, increase in value as the price of the commodity and demand increase.

You can buy these types of coins online at My Coin Dealer, though it would be far more lucrative for you to come across them “accidentally," which means keeping your eyes peeled every time you get change at the grocery store, toll booth, etc., or actively searching them out at flea markets, garage sales, and antique shops.

The value of old coins depends mostly on condition (grade) of the coin, scarcity or rarity and demand (how many collectors want it). Old coins are different from modern coins because they also have historical value, and some collectors seek specific time periods and are willing to pay high premiums for rare old coins.

It’s not too late to start a new collection that will bring a nice return in the years to come!