Recession got you down?  Money tight?  Here are 10 quick ways to make some extra coin:

1. Take part in a healthcare study (check Craigslist or your local paper): most of these should not require that much time on your part.
2. Sell your extra stuff on e-bay or Craigslist:  one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
3. Hit the rummage sales:  if you have a good eye for it, you should be able to pick up some items to re-sale on e-bay or Craigslist.
4. Start a pet sitting service:  some people can be really nutty about their pets.
5. Offer to do yard work for a fee:  I hate raking leaves, and will gladly pay someone to do it for me.
6. Start a pressure washing service: you can pick up a pressure washer from Home Depot at a reasonable price and offer to clean driveways and siding for a fee.
7. Clean houses:  I know of several individuals that make a very nice side income cleaning houses; or commercial buildings after hours.
8. Sell crafts:  if you are crafty, you can sell your work on Etsy.
9. Babysit:  even in a recession, people need to get away from their kids sometimes.
10. Handyman: if you are handy, you can advertise your services for free on Craigslist.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: 10 Ways to Make Money in a Recession

Many financial experts, including Dave Ramsey recommend that you set aside money in an easily accessible account of, at least, three to six months of expenses.  You should probably increase this amount if your income may be irregular (i.e.  You earn a large percentage of your income from commissions, or you, or your spouse, is self-employed).

That’s very sound advice, that I think everyone should follow.  But, if you have steady employment and believe you can set aside your emergency funds at a slow, but steady pace, there’s something else you need to consider:  Does your employer have an emergency fund?

The items I am going to list below will vary greatly by the size and industry of your employer, but I think they are all very important in making sure you have a strong personal finance plan. 

Here are some questions to consider:

1. Is your employer highly leveraged?  By leveraged, we mean is the company dependent on borrowed funds to operate.  In an economic slowdown, like we are currently experiencing, banks tend to tighten their lending standards.  If you business is dependent on that source of cash to operate, it may have to drastically scale back, or cease, operations should the bank refuse to continue lending.
2. Is your company in a "consumer discretionary" business?  For instance, during hard economic times, consumers will cut back on non-essential purchases such as dining out, or purchasing jewelry.
3. Is your company facing up to International competition?  Virtually all manufacturing businesses in the US are facing tough competition from other parts of the world with lower labor costs and less regulation.  If you are in one of these industries, has your employer made the necessary adjustments needed to compete?  If not, they will eventually need to, or go out of business.
4. Does a large percentage of your company’s profits come from a single customer?  If so, your company could find itself in dire financial straights should their number one customer cut back on its spending.

If you answered yes to any one of these questions, you need to find out – in a non-pushy way – whether management has set aside an "emergency fund" for the company.  You can consider a company to be similar to a person in that cash comes in, and goes out, every month.  You know that when times are good, it’s easy to spend the windfalls, but being prudent you set aside a portion of your income for the times aren’t so good.  Similarly, a prudent management would realize that good economic climates should be used to stockpile some capital in order to survive, or even thrive, in economic downturns.

If your company’s management is spending like business will never have bad periods, you should consider cutting back on non-essential spending in order to aggressively build your emergency fund.   As Warren Buffett says: "The time to build Arks is before it starts raining."

In summary, building an emergency fund is an essential piece of any smart personal finance plan.  If you are employed by a company, it is essential for to understand where it stands financially, in order for you to have confidence that you are prepared regardless of which way the economic winds are blowing.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Does Your Employer Have An Emergency Fund?

Times up!  Well, almost.  If you haven’t even started work on your 2007 tax return, it may be time to consider filing an extension.  The good news is that it is fairly simple and will buy you some additional time to get your act together.

The first thing you should know is that by filing an extension, you will get an additional six months to file your return.  This means that your filing deadline is moved forward from April 15, 2008 to October 15, 2008. 

Very important:  Filing an extension gives you extra time to get your tax return to the IRS, it does not give you more time to pay any amounts owed.  If you think you owe, send a check for the estimated amount with the extension.

With that little warning out of the way, lets take a quick look at the penalties you could face for not paying on-time.  You can be charged 5% per month on any amounts owed, up to a maximum of 25%.  If you do not pay taxes you owe when you file an extension, the penalty is 0.5% per month, plus interest.  As you can see, even if you don’t have the funds available to pay the taxes you owe, it is still in your best interest to file an extension.

You will file your extension using IRS Form 4868.  Here is a link to the IRS publication: Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Income Tax Return. 

Most tax preparation software can help you complete the form, or you can fill it out by hand and mail it in (it’s short).

Disclaimer:  The author of this post is not a tax professional, and the information provided, while believed to be accurate, is for educational purposes only.  Everyone’s tax situation is different, please consult a tax professional before acting on any advice on this site.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: How To File An Extension

I had the student ID in a second wallet where I put cards, memberships, etc. that I use infrequently, so I don’t clog up my ultra-slim wallet. This back-up wallet is stored in my backpack.

As I look at my own wallet, I have a number of cards that I use very infrequently that just take up space. I could have a second, “backup wallet”, that I could leave in my car, or a bag when I travel. Not only would this free up space in my primary wallet, I could keep an alternate form of photo id in the second wallet to use in case my primary was stolen.

Tim: Great Tip!

Here is a link to Tim’s blog: The Four Hour Work Week. I really enjoyed The Four Hour Work Week, and recommend it. A lot if his ideas are a little “out there”, but the book will change your mindset about how you work. You will find yourself cutting things out of your workday that do not add benefit in proportion to the time they take.

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Keep a Backup Wallet

Besides the health benefits you can reach when you stop smoking – you can greatly reduce your risk of cancer and heart attack – there are important monetary benefits as well.

Let’s say you are a pack a day smoker, and the cost of a pack of cigarettes is $3.50.  That equals $24.50 per week or $1,274 per year!  Think about what you could do with that extra money.  You could set it aside for your children’s education in a 529 savings plan.  You could fund a portion of your Roth IRA (you’ll be living longer now, so you need to plan for it!).  Basically, you need to think about lighting up as burning money, because that, in essence, is what you are doing. Stopping smoking today can help you secure better physical and monetary health.

In researching this post, I found all sorts of methods touted to help people give up the smoking habit (or methods of smoking cessation, as many web sites put it).  I found sites advocating hypnosis, acupuncture, and even ear magnets.

My recommendation would be to find trusted sources and avoid fad methods.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a quit smoking site that has a number of resources.

Good luck!

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: Save Big Money When You Quit Smoking

The rule of 72 allows one to quickly determine how long it will take, at a given interest rate, to double your money on and investment.

For instance, if you have $1000 that is earning interest at the rate of 10% per year, how long will it take for the investment to grow to $2000, assuming all interest payments are reinvested at the same rate?

Your first instinct may be to say that the it will take 10 years, since 10% of $1,000 is $100, and it will take 10 years to add an additional $1,000 in earnings.

The actual time is approximately 7.2 years, which we get by dividing 72 by our interest rate 10. The reason this works is due to the magic of compound interest.

Interest compounds as you begin to earn interest on previous interest. Returning to our example, at the end of year one, you will have $100 in interest earning adding back to the principal balance giving you $1,100. At the end of year 2, you will have $110 in interest income. The additional $10 of income was produced from you adding the $100 earnings of year one back to the principal balance. As your earnings on your “retained” interest grows, you will quickly see an escalation in yearly interest income, culminating in your initial investment doubling in about 7.2 years.

To summarize, to determine how long it will take for an investment to double given a fixed interest rate, divide 72, by the expected rate of return (the interest rate).

Originally posted on pfhacks.com: The Rule of 72 and Compound Interest