Jonathan Ong's Blog

Here’s my list of ways to get “free” money, and by free I mean getting money/goods without changing your way of life much and without risk. I’m not in dire need of money, so these are simple ways.

Checking Accounts (you have to report these on your income tax statement. Also, they check your credit every time you apply, which would lower your credit score. I don’t care since I’m still young.):

• Chase has some promotions for their personal (around $50-100) and business ($150-200) checking accounts. The ones I’ve seen are ads when I log into my Chase account, but I’ve gotten them mailed to my apartment and house before.
• Bank of the West – Get an iPod Touch for free!
• CitiBank
• Other promotions

Online shopping:

• Ebates – get cashback for shopping online through Ebates and for referrals. I think you get $10 for free after signing up once and using it within 30 days
• Bing Shopping Cashback – get cashback for shopping online through Bing (can be combined with Ebates)
• Other online cashback websites – these two are the best from what I can tell, especially for Tiger Direct

Do work online (if you have free time):

• Amazon’s Mechanical Turk

If you’re in dire need of cash, you can also do the normal route like doing surveys online, or blogging and setting up advertisements and affiliates! But these typically take a lot of time and you don’t get much money.

If you know any more ways, let me know.

For most of us, money is a necessity for survival and free will. For others, money is not a requirement for happiness and could, in fact, have a negative impact. For some devoutly religious, money should be avoided as it pertains to sin and evil. What most people don’t realize is that money has more significance than just merely a means to attain goods and services. Economics is the study of unlimited wants and scarce resources and money allows these resources to be allocated efficiently within society. Thus, having a higher income is synonymous with contributing to society.

Money symbolizes one’s impact on society, positive or negative. Doctors make a significant amount of income because they save lives. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are wealthy because they found a need in society and were capable of creating products that satisfied these needs. Bankers manage assets for wealthy institutions, but their contribution is debatable since they tend to widen the disparity between the rich and poor. Successful drug dealers are wealthy due to, but not limited to, their “positive” impact on drug users. Sure, you may not aspire to make a lot of money, but by doing so, you’re limiting your contribution to society and, both explicitly and implicitly, yourself.

Money allows you to contribute back to society. When you earn money, you’ve contributed something of value to society, but you also have the power to allocate a large portion of the economy as you see fit. When you buy products, you supply others with jobs. When you invest, you help companies grow. You also vote with your dollar, choosing which companies and businesses you want to survive. Your contribution is two-fold; by making twice as much as someone else, you basically contribute four times as much towards society.

Money reveals one’s true identity. We’ve all heard the phrase, “money is the root of all evil.” A poor man does not have the ability to express himself due to his monetary limitations, but a wealthy man can express himself in almost any way possible. The only reason “money is the root of all evil” is people themselves are evil, and when they are given the opportunity to express themselves, they prefer to express their evil thoughts and desires. Money is not the root of all evil, money allows us to become who we really are: evil. A good way to analyze a person’s character is to give him money and see how he uses it.

Money is only worth how much you want it to be worth. Think about stocks with no dividends such as Apple. The only reason Apple’s stock is an investment is due to other people’s value placed in Apple since there are no dividends. By buying Apple’s stock, you hope to earn a return which could only happen if demand for Apple’s stock increases. Basically, you’re betting that people will have more hope in Apple in the future than right now. A large factor in the stock market and consequently the economy is human psychology.

Many religions and people aren’t interested in earning as much money as they can. Sometimes it’s because there is not a sufficient market for their type of services such as not enough government funding for educators or not enough donations for charity and church workers. Sometimes it’s because they spend their time volunteering elsewhere. But most of the time it’s because people don’t care to contribute to society and only live for themselves. Hiding your talents from the rest of society is as selfish as you can get. Sure, Bill Gates may have been a little greedy when running Microsoft, but how he allocates his wealth to charity is comparable to a small country’s GDP.

People ask me why I’m so ridiculously cheap sometimes. Why waste money when you don’t have to? Here’s my tips on saving money here and there. You may not save that much money, but it adds up in the long run. Use your own judgement when following these tips. These tips obviously do not work for every type of product, but I’m too lazy to explain in detail.

Disclaimer: You should only be cheap on yourself, not on other people.

General tips on buying and keeping products:

1. Do not impulse buy. I used to impulse buy a lot, but I stopped doing that after I realized my house was full of trash which took a ridiculous amount of time to clean. You really don’t need that many things in life to still be efficient or happy.
2. Research products. Never buy a product from a salesman when they know more information about the product than you do because then you’ll probably get ripped off.
3. Avoid accessories. Most products do not need accessories. Accessories are usually unnecessary, overpriced and only work for the product you buy it for. What if the product is updated and the accessory no longer works? What if you no longer have your product?
4. Do not repair or overmaintain. Before buying a product, take into consideration the long term cost. Will you have to spend a good amount of money maintaining, playing taxes, or some other sort of fees? Sometimes it’s better to spend a little more money and buy a new product than maintain your old one.
5. Avoid retailers. You can save a good amount of money simply buying the product online.
6. Avoid sales tax. Buy your products online from companies based out of your state. That’s an easy 10% you save.
7. Avoid buying when you need the product immediately. When you’re desperate, you pay more, so never be desperate for a product.
8. Avoid buying cheap products. Products are cheap for a reason. Look for quality in your product to minimize long term costs and minimize the probability of replacement.
9. Buy brand name. Yes, brand name products are more expensive, but they also depreciate slower than generic brands, allowing you to upgrade cheaper.
10. Do not lease or rent. No company will lease a product if they don’t make a profit and leasing decreases your bargaining power. Unless you’re time is worth a lot of money, it’s more financial smart to buy and sell than rent.
11. Avoid buying used. If you do buy used, make sure you research why the seller is selling the product.
12. Keep your products up to date. As your products grow old, they also become less reliable and less efficient. Sell it before the cost of having the aged product becomes a burden on your finance and your efficiency.
13. Do not pay for service. Embrace the inconveniences of free services.
14. Avoid small fees and costs. Avoid late fees. Avoid paying ATM fees. Sure, they may be around a few dollars, but continuously paying these fees accumulate.
15. Sell or giveaway all the things you don’t need. Trash and storage cost money too.
16. Student discounts. Apple has them. AT&T Wireless has them. Always find them.
17. Prioritize. Some aren’t worth your time or money, so be frugal with them.

Financial tips:

1. Use credit cards. Avoid debit cards assuming you are financially wise. Using credit cards will build your credit, which allows you to secure loans at lower interest rates. Credit cards have no overdraft fee unless you have a spending problem. Certain credit cards also give you cash back and bonuses. My credit cards give a maximum of 5% cash back, which is a lot considering I never use cash. However, you have to pay your bill each month on time and in full otherwise interest rates will bankrupt you. Not paying your credit card in time does not build your credit faster.
2. Avoid cash. You lose cash. You can’t keep track of your cash, especially your change. But most of all, friends want to borrow your cash and you’re too nice to ask for it back. Cash is just a bad idea unless you don’t want anyone to track you or you want to give tip.
3. Do not finance unless you have to. Do not open a large number of credit cards, two is enough, because too many credit cards ruin your credit. Sure, the interest rate might be low, but if you borrow over a couple of years that interest rate compounds. Never borrow money if you don’t have to.

Specific products and retailers I recommend:

1. Costco. Buy in bulk, split it among your friends, and save lots of money. You actually don’t have to buy a membership, you can just go to the front desk every time, say you want to purchase alcohol, and they’ll give you a membership for a day so you can buy anything.
2. AMEX. American Express has the best credit cards because they have the best benefits and they have a concierge service which can help you with almost anything. The only bad side is that they expect you to pay your bill in full every month, but you shouldn’t be spending more than you can afford anyways.
3. TigerDirect & Amazon. I buy most of my electronics at these two online retailers because shipping is very cheap and there is no sales tax. Granted, the prices are a little higher, but you still save money in the end.
4. Dell. Yes, I used to be an Apple fanboy, but Dell has been releasing very good products lately. Dell has their cheap products, who almost everyone buys due to lack of knowledge, and their good products. The key products of interest are the Dell Studio XPS 16 w/ the RGB LED screen and the Vostro V13.
5. Apple. The only reason I would ever buy an Apple product again is for the resale value. Apple products depreciate slowly, so if you buy Apple products, I suggest you buy Applecare and replace your product right before the warranty expires.
6. Craigslist. For me Craigslist is a free trash can. If I find anything I don’t need anymore, I post it on Craigslist and usually someone picks it up for a reasonable price. I don’t really care if I don’t sell it for the optimal price, it’s just an easy way to get rid of stuff. I would never buy anything from Craigslist though.
7. Froogle. Use Froogle to compare prices online. Don’t ever buy something at Best Buy without first checking Froogle for the price online.

Products and retailers to avoid:

1. Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray is overrated unless you someone find the movies at a discount. I would never spend over $10 on a Blu-Ray movies anymore. Most people can’t tell the difference, though I can, but I simply download all my movies at Blu-Ray quality now.
2. Sony. The only decent Sony product is the PS3, but still that lacks any games. Every Sony product I’ve had failed within about a year. Buy Sony products at your own risk.
3. American Apparel. Their clothes may be trendy, but they are also overpriced and poor quality.
4. Best Buy. They are overpriced, they are Nazis, and their products suck.
5. Geek Squad. Don’t ever listen to anything they say, they only want to steal cash from you.
6. Ebay. Don’t trust products on Ebay. Make sure you’re buying stuff from someone respectable.
7. Cable. TV is dead. Download your TV shows, don’t pay a cent, watch it before it airs on the west coast, and never watch a commercial again.
8. Cigarettes. Bum them. You’ll smoke less and save lots of money. One pack a week at $5 a pack is already $260 you’re saving a year.
9. Soda. Soda is bad for you! Drink free tap water!
10. Bottled water. Bottle water is a scam, unless it’s Fiji.
11. Ink. Ink is the most expensive liquid. Shop online to find the cheapest price.
12. Parking. It’s always worth the time to find free parking.

Other:

1. Build your own desktop. Yes, it requires some expertise, but it really isn’t hard and isn’t hard to find someone who knows how. Computer manufacturers typically give you only a very short warranty, but if you buy the parts separately, some have lifetime warranty. Also, electronics become better and cheaper, so upgrading is typically better than fixing your computer. Instead of spending money on service and repair, spend it on upgrades.
2. Ebates. Get cash back when you buy from most online retailers.