Who Else Wants Free Money?

Who said money doesn’t grow on trees? You just have to know how to plant one!

Have you noticed how credit card companies and banks make lots of money off of us by charging interest on the debt we owe them? Well I have a solution to outsmart the credit card companies and banks to start making money off of them. It does not require that you have a lot of money already, nor does it require you to be a rocket scientist. Almost anyone can do it. And I say almost because you still have to be careful; we are talking about money here, free money to be precise. This isn’t some scam. It is perfectly legal and there are plenty of people doing it as you read this.

The Concept
You’ve probably heard of leaving money in a high interest savings account or certificate of deposit (CD) to gain interest or invest your money in stocks etc. This is the general concept, but the problem with these methods of obtaining free money is that you have to have money to start with. So what do you do if you don’t have money to start with?

Getting Other People’s Money to Grow Your Free Money
I’m not talking about getting money from work or where every else you get your regular money. I’m talking about free money. It’s almost like money that you borrow at no cost to you and then give it back when you’re done playing with it. Here is where the credit cards come in. If you don’t already know, many credit cards have a thing called balance transfers. Balance transfers allow you to get a huge lump of cash, no greater than your credit limit, which you can use on whatever. Balance transfers are initially intended for credit card issuers to attract people to their credit cards by using balance transfers to pay off previous debt by moving it to a new credit card with lower interest. But you don’t have to worry about that because we aren’t going to use it that way.

The point is balance transfers give you cash to use. To get this money all you need is a credit card that has balance transfers, preferably one with 0% APR on balance transfers and no additional fees or finance charges. 0% APR is always just an introductory rate on a credit card that is only 0% for 6 -15 months. Try to find a card that has the longest duration for 0% APR. The more time we have the more money we can make. To get your balance transfer money you need to request a balance transfer check by either contacting your customer service rep or simply go online to your credit card’s website. The balance transfer check should be made payable to yourself.

Time to Grow Your Money
Now that we established how to get money if you don’ have any to use, we now have to put that money into good use. The idea is to let that money sit in some account somewhere and let the interest grow. There are lots of choices where you can put your money, depending on how adventurous you are. We advise putting your money in a high interest free savings account such as the 3.75% APY WaMu free savings account . This is one of the highest interest rates out there for savings accounts. Savings accounts work the best because they are the most flexible compared to other options.

You can also look into other bank accounts such as different types of CDs. The idea is to find one with the highest interest possible in order to make the most out of your money. You can also invest your money in stock or bonds, but if you don’t know much about that I wouldn’t tread those deep waters just yet.

For simplicity’s sake, use a high interest savings account and once you become a money growing pro you can get fancy with all the other options.

Let Your Money Grow
Let the interest on your savings account grow over the time allocated. During this time, make sure you are paying your minimum payments on your credit card for the balance transfer if your credit card requires a payment. Note that by making these payments you ensure that you keep your 0% APR. These payments do not make you lose money, because you will make more money from the interest in your savings account compared to the amount you will pay. If you miss a payment the issuer has the right to increase your APR meaning that instead of making money, you will be losing money. So don’t miss a payment if it is required for your credit card.

Also remember to not go beyond your 0% APR period. If your 0% APR on your balance transfer lasts for 12 months, make sure you take the money out of your savings account and pay the credit card balance transfer off before the end of the 12 months. If you go beyond the allotted time period, then you risk having a higher APR and having to pay deferred finance charges.

Free Money!
Your profit will then be the interest you made! See, you can make money from nothing.

Remember by doing this you have to be very careful. Make sure you read your credit cardholder agreement to understand all of the fees before using it, which is something you should always do before using any credit card.

If you have a great way to make money, share it with us!