10 things credit card issuers don’t say [MSN Money] “Some of the card companies’ little-known rules are costing you money — and putting your credit, your identity and your family at risk.”
Even Now, You Can Score a Raise [Wall Street Journal] “While economic circumstances have stacked the deck against you, there is room for raises for those workers with outstanding value and a fair amount of finesse when it comes to negotiating, experts say.”
20 Ways to Make More Money [Free Money Finance] “Here are 20 ways we all can at least consider making more money.”
Bargaining Down the Medical Bills [NY Times] “When money is tight, everything is negotiable – including your health care bills.”
What to do if you lose your 401(k) match [Bankrate] “With a little financial planning a loss of employer contributions to your 401(k) need not derail your retirement plan.”
— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: frankieleon)
One thing the NY Times article didn’t mention regarding lowering your medical bills. If you need non emergency diagnostic work done check around to see if you can get it done cheaper somewhere else.
Some hospitals or health systems jack the rate for lab tests or scans up to 3x the normal rate. Some do it by charging you as a hospital outpatient for something as simple as a blood test that is normally done at a clinic.
Check to see if you have a walk in diagnostics lab in town, get the names of the tests you need done and call around. You could end up saving a ton of money by taking the paperwork to the independent lab rather than letting them send you over to a hospital or health system run internal lab. The same goes for MRIs, xrays or CAT scans.
Independent MRI facilities can sometimes do scans for 1/3 the cost. Some will bill the scan differently (but legally) so your only paying the copay rather than being stuck for a huge coinsurance for the scan. The difference could be as large as $3500 vs $35.00
@bohemian: I was charged like $2K just for a few simple wrist x-rays (not even a CAT scan or MRI) when I broke my arm. That certainly seems like a jacked up rate to me. Is there any way to find out whether it’s inflated?
@cynical_bastard: Ponzi schemes are illegal, whereas MLMs are not (usually).
Mary Kay, Avon, Amway, ABC Distributing, etc. are all MLMs.
My wife has started selling Mary Kay again, and our co-workers seem to love the stuff. She’ll cut them deals like: Bring in an order of your own and I’ll sell you your order at cost. Brings in a little extra money
@johnva:
Depends on the state. Here in california, uninsured patients don’t have to pay higher than the medicare rate for services. The hospitals will NOT tell you about this law, you have to find that out for yourself.
Check your local state law on this issue to find what sort of protections are offered to non-insured patients.
From the article: Start a Multi-Level Marketing Business
really?
@cynical_bastard: And a MLM scheme is good for the economy… how?? (I seriously hope this article was written with a cynical tone!)
Collect coins – you will probably end up losing more than you will make, and probably get ripped off in the process a few times.
Mystery shopping can be a giant scam as well if you don’t persue it correctly.
I swear I saw the third entry from the top as “Become a mystery stripper”.
That would work too, I bet.
“20 ways to make more money” – Horrible horrible ideas
The three that seem close to reasonable.
“Grow Things”
“Make Things”
“Provide a Service”
Come on..
“Write a Blog”
“Work from home”
Short of monetizing other pastimes, blogging is generally a net negative activity. Working from home and making money is hard work.
I very briefly considered the part-time job. But I like my marriage, and if I was working 40 hours a week and then left to spend another 10+ hours a week in retail…no thanks.