Top Apps To Save and Earn Money

Saving and Making Money is Right At Your Finger Tips!! By: Steve Cecchetto | Real Estate Sales Representative Now, more than ever, people are paying attention to their finances.  Not only how we spend our money, but how we earn it.  I took a dive into researching the best money-saving apps and websites on the market to determine the easiest way for you to save and earn money as you spend.  Below, in no particular order, are the apps I found as offering the best programs and likely ones that you can use on a regular basis. Rakuten Rakuten, formerly Ebates, is one of the most popular cashback apps. It’s an app that pays you for purchases you make at over 750 retailers.  Rakuten gets a commission when you purchase at selected retailers through the app, that commission is shared with you. You get paid via Cheque, Paypal transfer or Amazon gift card 4x a year.  You are paid on amounts over five dollars. If you haven’t accrued at least five dollars in the period, no problem, it carries over to the next period. Head over to the app and see how much money you get back from participating stores.  Some offer 10% or even 20% on purchases and you’ll often find that Rakuten even includes a sign-up bonus such as a gift card to use at one of the retailers. Flipp Flipp is to today’s generation as coupon clipping was to our parents’ (or grandparents’) generation.  All-in-one deals and specials in one easy to use app.  Flipp works with retailers to reduce the requirement for those annoying paper flyers, and puts them all in one convenient spot! Open the app and browse through thousands of weekly ads or search a specific store item or brand.  Work through your shopping list and Flipp will find deals for you. Flipp has a lot of built-in flexibility and will load coupons directly to your loyalty card and allow you to access the hottest money-saving deals near you. Simply download the app for iPhone or Android, or visit their website, type in your postal code and check out the savings near you. GasBuddy GasBuddy is quick and easy, simply download the app, register with your postal code and email and now you’ll see gas prices within three, five and ten kilometers (or more). Opening the app as I write this, I found an eleven cent difference within five kilometres of my home. Let’s just say on average you could save 5c a litre and you’re filling a sixty-litre tank, that’s a $3.00 savings with each visit to the pump. If you are filling once a week that’s over $150 a year and, if you have two vehicles, well…. you can do the math. Gasbuddy.com has a great blog talking all things oil and gas, there’s some interesting stuff!! Honey Honey is an extension on your internet browser. While doing your online shopping, Honey will be comparing what’s in your shopping cart with coupon codes in its database. Before you check out, Honey will prompt you if it finds relevant coupon codes and then enters them automatically, trying each one to see if they work.  Honey takes all of the hard work out of searching for coupon codes and could provide you with heaps of savings that you had no idea were available to you. To test it out, I went to four sites, loaded up my cart and Honey found coupon codes for three of the four, saving me anywhere from 5%-15%!!!  I would not have known about these if I didn’t have a little Honey with me! More information can be found at joinhoney.com Interested in saving money in other ways? Download our guide: 37 Money Saving Tips for Home Owners and Tenants Checkout 51 This neat little app that gets you cashback on gas and groceries, with very little effort. Checkout51 has partnered with a long list of companies and these companies provide incentives for you to purchase their product.  Every Thursday, you’ll find an updated list of promotions, if you happen to see a promotion for a particular grocery item that you need, add it to your shopping list and then scan your receipt with the app to get your credit.  You’ll start to build a nice little account of cash immediately and once you’ve earned $20, you can have a cheque mailed out to you. You can sign up on their website or download the app for iPhone/Android to get started. Mylo Mylo is an app that helps you save and invest as you spend. Remember when we use to pay cash for everything? You’d have a collection of change for your piggy bank each day, or accumulating on your dresser (guilty).  Mylo automatically rounds up every purchase you make and invests the spare change. There’s no investment knowledge required, and you don’t have to change your lifestyle. With Mylo, you turn your spending habits into saving habits. For example, If you spend $3.25 on a coffee using a linked credit or debit card, Mylo automatically rounds up your purchase to the nearest dollar ($4.00) and puts 75 cents into your Mylo account.  Every Monday, your roundups from the previous week withdraw the total from your payment source and invest the money in your investment account. Learn more at mylo.ai or download the app directly! Caddle Caddle gives you cashback for your engagement with Ads and Surveys, as well as everyday purchases. Simiply browse Caddle’s offers, engage in the Ads & Surveys, and then buy the promoted products at any store in Canada, unless otherwise stipulated. Take a photo of your receipt to get Cash Back Credits into your account. Once you earn $20 in Cash Back Credits, you can “Cash Out” and they mail you a cheque! Check it out in the app store of go to getcaddle.com Paymi Paymi is a rewards program that focuses on putting cash back into the consumer’s pocket.  It does this

Spring Cleaning During Quarantine Using eBay

By: Ariel Kormendy | Co-Founder In our last few podcasts, and for several months, I’ve been talking a lot about saving money and earning more income. I’m sure you’ve sat back and had this conversation with yourself, or with your spouse. “We spend too much on…”. One thing we can learn from being in self-isolation during the COVID-19 days is that you don’t need as much as you think you do. Whether it’s food, entertainment, clothing, or services, it’s easy to see how the general population spends too much on things we don’t need. So, while this is a great time to self-assess, it’s also a great time to make some extra money on things you don’t need, but already have! If you’re like me, you’ve likely been ordering a bunch of stuff from Amazon or other online retailers that offer touch-free delivery. If you’ve noticed, your curbside recycling every week is getting piled with cardboard on a more regular basis, or you’re likely starting to collect a few extra boxes in the garage or basement. Let’s put these to use! Set a day this week to start that thorough spring cleaning around the house with the first step of purging and decluttering. First, gather empty boxes you’ve been collecting from deliveries and make two separate areas. The first area will be for things to donate/give away and; the other for items of value that might be easy to sell. If you’re not planning on moving any time soon, doing this task is just going to make you feel better about not having unnecessary clutter around the house and being better organized. If you are planning on moving, this will ensure you’re not taking anything to your new home that doesn’t need to go. It’s super easy to set up delivery pickups at your doorstep with FedEx, Purolator and Canada Post. You package it, label it, place the parcel pickup on the website and leave it at your door. Remember, you’re using boxes received from deliveries. The reality is, eBay has been on fire in the last few weeks, with people browsing for things they need or want, or for those that get the late-night urge to shop. There’s a worldwide market of buyers at your fingertips, and that’s my suggestion of where to sell anything that isn’t big, bulky or heavy. Being in Canada likely means your shipping rates are going to be too high to be competitive in other markets. Selling items that are cheaper to ship are the best options for eBay from my personal experience. Things like CDs and videogames, clothing, sports cards and collectables and smaller niche items are perfect. I could go more in-depth and talk about Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, Twitter, and so many other ways to sell stuff, but this blog would go on forever. So, for now, let’s keep it simple and start selling the things you can ship quickly. Get your feet wet, start the purge and make a few extra bucks right now while you can. Have fun with it – it can become addictive, especially after selling something for way more than you thought. I’ve been flipping stuff and selling crap around my house on eBay for over 20 years –  it’s crazy to think about it. But it’s been a passion of mine, and I can confidently call it my official “side-hustle.” I’ve sold things from used clothes to framed artwork, sports cards and comic books, right down to boat parts and household furniture. You name it; I’ve sold it. One of the oddest sales was when I sold a pair of Gucci shoes that were a gift to me many years ago. They were “driving” shoes, and I loved them. They looked great, and I wore them all the time, but I didn’t care for them as well as I should have. Long story short, after 4 or 5 years of wear, they were done. They had many scuffs and holes, started to look rough. As much as I didn’t want to part with them, they had to go. Instead of throwing them in the garbage, which is what I had planned on doing, I decided to take a couple of clean and well-lit photos of each shoe, then a few more as a pair, and try to sell them on eBay. A week went by, and I thought to myself, “WTF am I thinking, just throw them away.” Surely, the next day they sold. Yep, someone bought the shoes. After shipping costs, I profited about $40 on them. Not bad for what otherwise would have been in a black bag on garbage day. So, there’s my challenge to you. Start your Spring purge and find a few things to sell online for a few extra bucks. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at what your junk around the house might be worth to someone else. Trust me, Your bank account and storage areas will thank you. Get into good habits now and get the experience of selling things on eBay and, who knows, maybe it could become your side-hustle too! I’d love to hear your stories and share ideas so leave me a comment 🙂 ***************************** Ariel Kormendy is co-founder of the KT group of companies.  As a Milton Real Estate Agent and entrepreneur at heart, both he and his partner, Adrian Trott, have shaken up the real estate industry by implementing their genuine passion for providing exceptional customer experiences, fun and value-driven service.  If you’re considering a career in real estate or are looking for assistance moving, whether buying, selling or investing in real estate, contact the team today. SHARE this post to social below

What to Expect as a New Real Estate Agent

Reflections of a “Newbie” My First Days as a Realtor. By: Steve Cecchetto | Real Estate Agent When I told my friends and family that I was transitioning my career into real estate most thought I was crazy, and why shouldn’t they?  I had a great job and I was doing very well in my industry, but something was missing, and I now know what it is was.  After a few months and my first successful transactions in real estate, I realized I was missing that feeling of knowing you have really helped someone.  Seeing and feeling that excitement of finding someone the perfect house to call home or selling their home and exceeding expectations brings me back to the excitement I felt when I first started in sales almost 25 years ago. In my early days, real estate agents offered lots of advice. Most said that the key to success as a real estate agent is to provide value.  And, of course, everyone feels they do this better than anyone –but, do they?  I have trained upwards of one hundred sales reps in the past and although in a different industry, the goal and the fundamental principle is always to provide value. What is “value”?  Something simple like answering calls promptly and arriving at appointments on time? Making sure you look presentable? Knowing the “right thing” to say?  Below are some thoughts and first impressions on how I feel my team and I have truly separated ourselves and added value to the services we provide. LISTEN I often think of an acronym I heard once, W.A.I.T, which stands for Why Am I Talking?  I see this so much watching real estate agents and salespeople talk to clients and customers. They think they are impressing them with their profound knowledge when they basically show up and throw up –often talking themselves OUT of a sale.  Blurting out whatever they have memorized or been trained to say, or read in the paper the weekend before.  What people need to remember is that everyone is different. Are you giving the person you are hoping to represent a chance to speak?  What is important to them?  Why are you not tailoring what you are saying to address their needs, wants and concerns?  Are you truly understanding them and speaking of something meaningful to them?   You need to listen and adjust what you say and let them understand what you know – make it meaningful to them.   KNOWING (AND USING) YOUR RESOURCES As expected, I’ve had to learn a lot of new things; from paperwork to systems and software.  I’m very fortunate to have the KT team and the brokerage at my disposal. I have been able to bounce ideas off the team and use my resources, a group consensus of sorts.  I have felt strongly, throughout my career, that the more people you get involved, the more value you are able to provide.  I have found that with the KT team.  Whether it is someone to review my paperwork if I haven’t filled out a form before or just challenging an assumption I have made, it adds value to my clients and how I am representing them. A couple of areas I have seen some major misses from other real estate agents is in paperwork and presentation.  We are talking about million-dollar transactions in some cases –get your paperwork right. If you don’t know, ask.   YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR More than I initially suspected, the range of services is staggering.  When it comes to the value of service provided, why people don’t research and get references for real estate agents, teams and companies is beyond me.  Understanding what you are paying for (or not) is so important. I have already seen thousands of dollars left on the table from properties sold for below what they should because of the lack of marketing dollars put behind them.  The amount that my team puts back into marketing properties for our clients, I really do believe separates us.  We treat clients like family and our representation of them speaks to that. Let’s say, based on the terms of your agreement, you are paying your agent a percentage of the sale price and perhaps that works out to $20,000.  For that money, I would expect more than a printout of the MLS listing and a half-assed open house.  Believe it or not, that’s what you get in many cases.  What about security during a showing? Tracking interested visitors? Online presence? Printed marketing materials? Engaged Salespeople and an emotionally charged open house?  We do that, and that doesn’t include follow-ups, and generating interest when the time for negotiation comes.  What are you really paying for and what value is really being added?  People need to educate themselves and agents need to do a better job explaining where the money is spent, otherwise, everyone loses, whether they realize it or not.   In summary, I have really enjoyed how my new path has started, and I’m really happy to have a team of mentors and support there with me every step of the way.  Early experiences and learning have not only matched with my personal philosophies on business but also allowed me to find what was missing in my professional career, that feeling of knowing you have truly helped someone.   My advice to people looking for a real estate agent is, do your homework. Not all teams and real estate agents are created equal.  Where is your money going?  Into your agent’s pocket? Or, adding value to the sale or purchase of your next property.  Is your agent looking to get paid on this one transaction you have presented to them, or are they looking to build a mutually beneficial relationship and friendship, which will be win-win for years to come. ******************************************* Steve Cecchetto is a licensed Real Estate Agent in Milton. He services Halton, Peel, Wellington and surrounding areas.  The Kormendy Trott Team