Curated Links
Curated Content from around the World specifically for the Curious and the Questioning
Save & Make that Money
Over the years we have had plenty of time to play around with various ways to save and make money. Below you can find some of the more interesting paths we've taken along with the approximate returns/gains to date:
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1 - Robinhood
Approximate Gains to Date: ~$5,000
Fees Paid: $0
Potential Returns Over Time: High
Potential Risk Over Time: High
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Robinhood provides one of the best beginner investment platforms out there. You can easily trade stocks, options, crypto, and more. In our opinion in 2021, you really should be investing some money somewhere as there are very few alternative options to get reasonable returns on your money. Sign up below and get 1 free stock.
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2 - Rakuten
Approximate Gains to Date: ~$323.19
Fees Paid: $0
Potential Returns Over Time: Low
Potential Risk Over Time: Very Low
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Rakuten offers cashback on a variety of online and in-store purchases. This one is great to use for purchases you would be making anyway. You accumulate cashback from your purchases and then get sent a check or Paypal deposit periodically with your savings. We recommend using the Rakuten Chrome browser extension to get alerts when you are about to buy something that has savings on Rakuten. Sign up below and spend $20 to get a $20 check/deposit.
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3 - Fundrise Investing
Approximate Gains to Date: ~$1,096.88
Fees Paid: $14.55
Potential Returns Over Time: Moderate
Potential Risk Over Time: Moderate
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Fundrise offers a unique investing platform in real estate. Specifically, the platform provides its own Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) based on properties the platform invests in. There are lots of opportunities for some solid gains while engaging in risk that may be less than trying to invest in other platforms such as Robinhood. Sign up below to have your first 90 days of advisory fees waived.
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4 - High Yield Savings
Approximate Gains to Date: ~$550
Fees Paid: $0
Potential Returns Over Time: Very Low
Potential Risk Over Time: Very Low
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The words "High Yield" are a bit misleading in our current economic climate but one of the best savings account returns you'll find exists with the American Express High Yield Savings Account. With a current monthly payment of 0.5%, don't expect to get rich off of this one BUT if you currently have spare change sitting in another checking our savings account that returns anything less than 0.5%, consider this a viable option to obtain some free income.
Sign up for a FREE for High Yield Savings Account​Acc
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5 - Credit Card Cash Back
Approximate Gains to Date: Over $1,500
Fees Paid: $95/year
Potential Returns Over Time: Moderate
Potential Risk Over Time: Low (If paying off the balance each month), Very High (If carrying a balance).
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There are lots of credit cards out there. There are also plenty that have zero fees if that is a major concern for you. That said, this specific card offers the best returns I've seen as compared to any other. The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express offers the following benefits:
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6% cashback on groceries up to $6,000/year, then 1% back on everything over $6k. This means if you spend at least $500/month on groceries you will see a return of $360. Subtract out the $95 yearly fee and you have still netted a minimum of $265 for spending money you would have anyway.
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6% cashback on streaming services. The average American subscribes to 3.4 subscription services. For each one, they pay an average $8.53 per month. Average expected returns from this perk for the average person are 3.4 x $8.53 x 12 months ~$350 x 0.06 ~$20
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3% cashback on gas. In the US, the average cost of gas is around $250/month. This estimates yearly returns at $250 x 0.03 x 12 months ~ $90.
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1% cashback on ALL other purchases. The average American spends around $5,000/month or $60,000/year. If only half of these expenses are paid with your card, you are looking at a yearly return of ~$30,000 * 0.01 = $300.
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So average total returns from using this card for the above purchases for 1 year = $360 + $20 + $90 + $300 - $95 = $675/year including the yearly fee.
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In addition to the above returns, you also receive some unique planning tools and monthly discount offers from Amex. Additionally, when you sign up below, receive an additional $250 statement credit after spending $1,000.
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Sign Up for Blue Cash Preferred and Save.
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What do you think? Have these links helped you save money? Do you know of some other money saving options out there that we should feature? Let us know!
There are lots of credit cards out there. What
Adventure Awaits
It's a big beautiful world out there. Both on and off-line. Check out some of these adventurous finds and get out there exploring:
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1 - The Strenuous Life
We first stumbled on The Strenuous Life after reading articles and listening to podcasts from the creators on their website Art of Manliness. The Strenuous Life offers members a chance "to expand their autonomy, agency, and connection with the tangible world by acquiring new skills - both the hard and the soft. Earn 50+ badges that represent 50+ different skills". The platform itself provides an "adult boy-scout" type structure offering merit badges, a field manual, workout gear, and an ever-growing community of members providing to camaraderie and meetup groups.
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Find out more about The Strenuous Life Here.
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Learning Tools
With the absolute explosion of online learning we've seen over the past few years a common question people find themselves stuck with is where the hell do I go to not only learn, but learn efficiently and without paying an arm and a leg. Well look no further, we've done that work for you:
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1 - Coursera (Adult)
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2 - Khan Academy (Adult)
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3 - MITx (Adult)
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Local Features
Locally owned and operated businesses that deserve some love.
Featured Promotions
Featured content from around the web. Products, ideas, and content that we like and think you might to:
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Thought Provoking
Below you'll find the head-scratchers. The ones that may or may not keep you up at night. The unanswerable, the unbelievable, the questions that only bring more questions. Think long and think deeply:
1 - Are we alone?
2 - The meaning of life.
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3 - Paradoxes
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4 - Are you being watched?
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