Making Your Money Work for You

If you are in this points and miles game, you probably love saving money. You might even do some couponing or enjoy finding new ways to make money.

With interest rates so low, our money sitting in the bank is not doing anything useful. I’m sure its just depreciating in value as we speak due to inflation. So what is one way that you can make your excess cash work for you? You could invest it in the stock market but this comes with risks and its definitely not for everyone.

Well, one way I make my money useful is to open more back accounts. This sounds pretty silly but many banks will give you cash to open a bank account with them. You might have to jump through a few hoops such as minimum deposits, direct deposit, bill pay, or debit card transaction but its “free money” for some effort. The reason for the quotes is because banks will send you 1099s at the end of the year for your earnings and you will be subject to taxes on the money you receive.

One great resource to find banks that will offer these bonuses is Doctor of Credit’s bank account promo page. He keeps them pretty up to date and they are separated by personal and business accounts and national vs state specific banks.

Another nifty thing is that some banks will let you fund the initial deposit with a credit card. This means that you could earn cash back or points for depositing money in your own account. As a word of warning, some credit cards treat these fundings as a cash advance and it will be subject to a cash advance fee. Luckily there is also a useful page which lists which card and bank combinations count as a purchase.

Two offers which I have already taken advantage of is the Capital One business checking which I earned $250 on and a state specific one with Pinnacle Bank in TX which will earn me $100 plus cash back for funding the account with a credit card.

Many of these offers have expiration dates so make sure you pay attention to these. Also read the terms and conditions and the details of what you need to do to take advantage of each offer. You wouldn’t want to miss receiving your cash bonus because you missed one thing.

To some this might not be worth the effort and its not for everyone but if it interests you, then make your money work for you!