The Chase rep I talked to says she believes the changes in terms are only for new card holders.  Existing card holders would not be affected.  As an existing card holder, I haven’t received any notices from Chase about any changes in terms, but I will keep you posted should I get something in the mail.

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Blog Spotlight: Prosper.com: Over an 8% Return? Learn how to create passive income through peer-to-peer lending.

What I love about that definition is the part on the multiplication of force.  What a lever allows someone to do is to multiply their power beyond what they could normally produce solely by themselves.  Above all else that multi-millionaires good at, they excel at knowing how to multiply their power.  When it comes to creating wealth, power multiplication (i.e., leverage) comes in three basic flavors: (more…)

Blog Spotlight: Blue Cash: Big Cash for Big Spenders Monthly expenses over $1,200/month? If so, this card will pay you handsomely.

“Deadbeat” is the credit card industry’s code word for people who pay their balances in full every month.

As readers of my tutorial on free money know, I am a staunch supporter of paying off balances in full every month.  So as the saying goes, “if the shoe fits…”

In all seriousness though, Liz’s article is a great overview of the various rewards cards out there.  In the cash back credit card category, she recommends the Amex Blue Cash and the Chase Freedom credit cards. I agree completely.  In fact, I would go so far as to say these two cards are the best ones to use period.

What do you think?  What’s the rewards credit card you use and why?

Blog Spotlight: Earn Money for Shopping Online? This nifty little free site pays you extra cash back on your purchases.

The above statements may sound a bit insane, but don’t call the asylum truck on me just yet.  Now that I have your attention, I’d like to elaborate more on why I would say such craziness.

To illustrate the rationale here, allow me to start with a simple example.  As I elaborate in my tutorial on free money, you can make money by putting all your purchases on a cash back credit card.  By paying off your credit card off in full, the bank is effectively giving you a renewable 0% loan each month.  So while you’re using the credit card bank’s money for 30 days, your money is busy earning you 3.50% APY interest in an online savings account.   So each month, you’re borrowing money at 0% to make a 3.50% APY return.  This strategy is a form of leverage and is the model upon which banks are based — using money at one rate to earn a higher return on that money somewhere else.  The difference is profit.

In my case, I borrowed $24,000 a couple years ago to purchase an income-producing asset.  That investment now produces monthly revenue of $670 and is still growing.  The debt costs me $85 a month.  After debt service is paid, this asset cash flows $585 per month.  This is a passive income stream I would not have otherwise had without borrowing the money, because at the time I didn’t have $24K in uncommitted cash just laying around looking for something to do.

On a future post I’ll talk about the particulars of this investment, however to keep things on topic, there are a couple points I want to highlight here: (more…)

Blog Spotlight: Have Your Bills Pay You For a Change Your bills could be paying you $100’s in free money. Free tutorial shows how.

• Passive Income Idea and Affiliate Marketing Idea - The Passive Dad talks about a site he’s been using called BigCrumbs.  He’s having some success in starting a little passive income stream with it.  He reports that some members are earning $100 - $200 a month in passive income from the service.  Not too shabby.  Hmmm… I wonder if BigCrumbs would be better than Spree?  Especially if you do any buying or selling on eBay, this appears to be something worth a second look.  I signed up for an account today, and I’ll do some more digging into it.  I’ll report back after I’ve kicked the tires a bit more with it.
• Creating a New Income Stream - General Electric - Passive Family Income talks about buying GE, which is a dividend-paying stock, and hedging his bets using a covered calls strategy.  Interesting… I hadn’t heard of this strategy before.  I’m curious to learn more about it and his success with it.
• (more…)

  Blog Spotlight: What’s Your Best Cash Back Credit Card? This free online calculator will show you which card pays you the most.

  ]]> http://cashbackideas.com/my-favorite-passive-income-blog-posts-this-week-84.htm/feed http://cashbackideas.com/time-for-some-remodeling-introducing-a-new-look-to-cashbackideascom-83.htm http://cashbackideas.com/time-for-some-remodeling-introducing-a-new-look-to-cashbackideascom-83.htm#comments Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:26:42 +0000 Jim http://cashbackideas.com/time-for-some-remodeling-introducing-a-new-look-to-cashbackideascom-83.htm When I started this site back in early 2006, it was just a place to offer rebates on the products I believe in and promote in my affiliate marketing campaigns. Since then, this site has morphed and grown a few times: from an online tutorial on cash back credit cards, to a blog where all things related to passive income can be discussed.

  Even when this site became a blog, it was still effectively just a hobby for me when I wasn’t busy with other things.  I love blogs as creative outlets for people’s passions, but I have been reluctant to regard them as ways to create significant passive income, as they take a decent amount of personal involvement to keep them going.

  I continue however to have an open mind about blogging for generating passive income.  I’ve learned a few approaches from Yaro Starak and other pro bloggers which have me encouraged that blogs may yet be catalysts for creating and growing passive income streams.  Armed with this information, it’s time to put these approaches to the test.  This blog will now also serve as a living experiment on ways passive income can be created from blogging.  As I validate strategies that work in creating passive income, I’ll of course share them with you.

  The first step of this new experiment was to introduce a new theme.  The result of which you see here.  The layout of my old blog theme did not lend itself well to some common blog monetization approaches, so that had to change to allow the other parts of this experiment to take shape.

  So what do you think of the new theme?  Likes?  Dislikes?  Sound off below.

  Blog Spotlight: Chase Freedom: The Best Card for Many One of the top 2 cards out there. Discover if this card is the best one for you.

  ]]> http://cashbackideas.com/time-for-some-remodeling-introducing-a-new-look-to-cashbackideascom-83.htm/feed http://cashbackideas.com/carnival-of-dividends-passive-income-3-is-out-80.htm http://cashbackideas.com/carnival-of-dividends-passive-income-3-is-out-80.htm#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:46:22 +0000 Jim http://cashbackideas.com/carnival-of-dividends-passive-income-3-is-out-80.htm This carnival is relatively new, but sorely needed.  I was going to start a carnival similar to this myself, so I was glad to see when Living Off Dividends got it going.

  My favorite post was “How Passive Is Your Passive Income” from the carnival’s host. In this post, he makes a good point that the passivity of his online income is not exactly passive:

  I’ve been lumping in my online income with my passive income, but it isn’t really passive. It may not be very strenuous and it gives me geographic flexibility and I don’t have to show up for work every day, but there is some effort involved.

  The same is true for me, with some limited exceptions, where I have some affiliate programs that offer residual commissions.  I also like the fact that my online income gives me a lot of flexibility over my working schedule, and I can even take a few days off if I so chose without much impact.  If I gave it some thought, I could probably outsource and systematize some of what I’m doing to make things a little more passive.  That reminds me, if you haven’t read Tim Ferriss’ book, The Four Hour Work Week, I highly recommend it.

  My entry into this carnival was “5 Reasons You Should Be Creating a Passive Income“, which describes why I believe building passive income streams are so important.

  Check out the entire Carnival of Dividends & Passive Income here.

  Blog Spotlight: Earn Money for Shopping Online? This nifty little free site pays you extra cash back on your purchases.

  ]]> http://cashbackideas.com/carnival-of-dividends-passive-income-3-is-out-80.htm/feed http://cashbackideas.com/my-experience-with-fnbo-direct-part-2-79.htm http://cashbackideas.com/my-experience-with-fnbo-direct-part-2-79.htm#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:04:04 +0000 Jim http://cashbackideas.com/my-experience-with-fnbo-direct-part-2-79.htm Well, it’s been about a year since I opened my FNBO Direct account. Although I was initially apprehensive about FNBO Direct, I am happy to say that I have now come to trust FNBO and can recommend their online savings account to others.

  My initial concern stemmed from an e-mail I received soon after I opened my account. That e-mail stated I needed to verify some personal information or risk my account being closed. That e-mail was followed-up with second one stating the first was in error, however the ding to my confidence in their operations had already been done.

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  Blog Spotlight: What’s Your Best Cash Back Credit Card? This free online calculator will show you which card pays you the most.

  ]]> http://cashbackideas.com/my-experience-with-fnbo-direct-part-2-79.htm/feed http://cashbackideas.com/14-ways-to-earn-passive-income-78.htm http://cashbackideas.com/14-ways-to-earn-passive-income-78.htm#comments Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:51:24 +0000 Jim http://cashbackideas.com/14-ways-to-earn-passive-income-78.htm In the previous post, I talked about why creating passive income streams are so important. Now that we’ve covered the benefits of this form of income, let’s start the conversation on ways it can be created.

  What’s below is a list of different kinds of passive income streams. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it will work for starters. As you read the list, make a note of which ones catch your interest. Here they are in no particular order: (more…)

  Blog Spotlight: Chase Freedom: The Best Card for Many One of the top 2 cards out there. Discover if this card is the best one for you.

  ]]> http://cashbackideas.com/14-ways-to-earn-passive-income-78.htm/feed http://cashbackideas.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-be-creating-a-passive-income-77.htm http://cashbackideas.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-be-creating-a-passive-income-77.htm#comments Mon, 05 May 2008 10:03:29 +0000 Jim http://cashbackideas.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-be-creating-a-passive-income-77.htm It wasn’t so long ago that managing my personal finances was just another boring fact-of-life that had to be done. Once I discovered the benefits of passive income though, finding and creating passive income streams became one of my primary passions in life.

  The more I acquire and build passive income money machines, the more convinced I become that creating them is something that everyone needs to be doing. I believe that passive income can truly transform people’s lives. In this post, I hope to share why I feel so strongly about that and return the favor for what my mentors have taught me.

  What’s below are my top 5 reasons why I believe it is critical to develop multiple sources of passive income for yourself:

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  Blog Spotlight: Chase Freedom: The Best Card for Many One of the top 2 cards out there. Discover if this card is the best one for you.

  ]]> http://cashbackideas.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-be-creating-a-passive-income-77.htm/feed