Would you let a stranger drive your car to make some extra cash? Rudolf Gumba / Flickr

This post is brought to you by hearing aids.

This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

While listening to NPR yesterday, I learned more and more people are making extra money by letting complete strangers (Yikes!) drive their cars for a fee. The people who are renting out their cars are doing so through car-sharing start-ups.

A college age woman told NPR she makes an extra $150 a month. That’s $1,800 a year. Nice! Before you start making money off your ride, here are some things you need to know to protect yourself and your wheels.

• Before handing over your keys, check with the company to see if it provides commercial auto coverage. This type of policy provides coverage to repair or replace a vehicle damaged in an accident and it will pay the claims of any third-party injured in the accident.
• Ask the company how they evaluate who can rent your car. Do they make sure drivers have a valid license? Do they check their driving record?
• Make note of all dents before and after the car is rented out and bring them to the attention of the start-up company.
• If the company doesn’t offer insurance, make sure you know what your insurance policy covers. Many drivers just have liability insurance and it will only cover the damages made to the other car.
• Check that your policy is valid when someone else drives your car. Note, that many personal policies will not cover your car if you’re not the driver.

I don’t have a car. If I did and it was just parked, I’d sell it. By renting out your car, you end up taking on too many risks. I mean, what if you end up losing money instead of making extra cash? I’d be too paranoid. Would you let strangers drive your car so you could make extra cash? If renting your ride for cash is not for you, then check out my post about other ways to make more money.

Survey says...get paid for your opinion! Credit: dno1967b/Flickr

I’ve been getting a bunch of offers to make money and earn rewards by taking online surveys, being a mystery shopper, and reviewing products. I know readers have asked for more ideas about making money online, so here you go!

Note, I have not used any of these companies so make sure you know what you are signing up for. Do NOT register if it requires sharing your credit card info or paying for anything. Legit survey and mystery shopping companies are free to join. Get the low down on mystery shopping from my expert Nicole of Nicole’s Nickels.

Ipsos I-Say Survey is looking for three different demographics to take surveys. Sign up here if you are a young adult, here if you are African American, and here if you are Hispanic.

Valued Opinions offers rewards for giving your opinions. You’ll have a chance to win a $500 Amazon gift card just for registering to share your opinions.

InboxDollars pays members to read e-mail, take surveys, play games, shop online, and more. Join Inbox Dollars now.

Shadow Shoppers is just what it sounds like – a mystery shopping company that is looking for secret shoppers.

Vindale might not be a company you’ve heard of, but they will pay you for your opinion.

A post from March 2011 has even more survey opportunities and lots of reader comments about which companies are the best.

Clicking on these links supports BargainBabe.com!

Jeremy Brooks/Flickr

There are a few new credits you can use on your income tax returns, according to Wells Fargo. Check out these credits, which I’ve summarized from a Wells Fargo press release, before you take the standard deduction of $11,400 if you are married filing jointly, or $5,700 if you are single or married filing separately. 

The cool thing about tax credits is that if you end up with a negative tax liability, you will get a check from the government!

Disclosure: I am not a tax professional. Consult with a tax professional or research these credits further if you believe you are eligible.

• Got a student in college or putting yourself through school? Check out the American Opportunity Credit, designed to replace and improve the Hope and Lifetime Learning Credit. Your can make as much as $160,000 for married couples filing jointly or $80,000 for single filers and still claim this credit. You can claim the first $2,000 you spend on college expenses and 25 percent of the next $2,000 to get a total credit of no more than $2,500.  
• If you lost your job recently, you don’t have to pay taxes on the first $2,400 in unemployment benefits. The same goes for your spouse. Double unhappiness turns into double deductions!
• Buy a new car or sell one? You can deduct the sales tax you paid on your new car, truck or motor home as long as you purchased it after February 16th, 2009. You can deduct the taxes up to a purchase price of $49,500, but if you make a lot of money ($250,000 for married filing jointly), the credit slides downward.
• You do not need to report your financial gains from the Cash for Clunkers program as income.
• If you bought a fuel-efficient vehicle in 2009 you may be eligible for green tax credits.
• Are you a first time home buyer? You may be able to get 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000 back in credits. To qualify you must have bought your home between Jan 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010. You have to live in your home as your principle residence for at least three years or else pay back the credit. The government considers you a first time homebuyer if you have not owned a home as your principal residence in the past three years. There’s also a $6,500 credit if you traded up to a new principle residence. The credit applies to mobile and manufactured homes but not vacation properties. Some income restrictions apply.

If you have questions Wells Fargo’s  tax center has more info.

Related posts on BargainBabe.com:

Tax calculator, forms, and tips

Where do your tax dollars go? (image)

Five questions to ask before hiring a tax pro

This post is brought to you by CouponCactus.com, a great source of online coupon codes for taxes, groceries, and more.

BargainBabe.com readers are above average – way above! A whopping 75 percent of readers pay off their balance every statement, according to a recent poll in which 161 readers voted. Wow! The national average is 59 percent.

Just a smidge – 22 percent – of BargainBabe.com readers carry a balance. That is half the national average of 41.37 percent of Americans who carry a credit card balance. Another 3 percent of readers chose the ambiguous “other” option, including Danielle, who said “I can’t get a credit card, because I don’t have a credit card.” Hmm, really?

These impressive stats got me thinking…are BargainBabe.com readers above average savers?

Vote first then I’ll tell you how you compare to the national average on the next page!

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Do you save four percent of your income or more? Then you are above average. The personal savings rate decreased from 4.2 percent in December 2009 to 3.3 percent in January 2010, according to today’s press release from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“Personal saving — DPI less personal outlays — was $367.2 billion in January, compared with $467.9 billion in December. Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 3.3 percent in January, compared with 4.2 percent in December,” the release says.

How long have you been a mystery shopper?

Since April 2008.

How much money to you make mystery shopping?

Easily $300 a month. That is for about 6 hours of work.

If I want to be a mystery shopper how do I get started?

All at one time sign up for 10 mystery shopping agencies because you never know which ones will have shops in your area. The more you sign up, the more shops are going to come your way. Start small, do a $10 or $15 assignment to start off with. If you don’t follow their directions they’re not going to pay you. So if you’re not a detail-oriented person or follow directions well, mystery shopping may not be for you.

Should I ever pay to become a mystery shopper?

Never pay to join a company. The ones that you pay for are a scam. The Mystery Shopping Providers Association of America lists legitimate companies.

Can you give me an example of a typical assignment?

At a grocery store I had to find where there was an empty thing on the shelf and ask for that product to see how the employee would deal with it. Another time I had to buy a pet toy and see if the employee gave me their pitch for dog food. It is often companies testing their employees. Sometimes competitors test each other. Some places have in-house mystery shoppers.

How long does it take to fill out a mystery shopping survey after visiting a store?

For a  pet store, I might get paid $7 for the report and get $5 a reimbursement for buying a product. If I am going to pet store anyway, I ask a few extra questions. The report for the pet store may only take 10 minutes. So I  earn $12 for 10 minutes.

What types of shops have you mystery shopped at?

Theme parks, zoos, delis, bakeries, grocery stores, pet stores and restaurants.

What is the payment structure?

There are two ways you get paid. Fees and reimbursements. Some companies just reimburse you. Others pay you a fee for the survey and reimburse you up to a certain amount to buy something. For restaurants I may get reimbursed for up to $150 worth of food. Sometimes they specify what you have to order, like at least one appetizer, two different entrees, and one alcoholic drink. For fast food, they tell you exactly what to order with no substitutions. You are better off tax-wise with just a reimbursement. Payment is income, which is taxed.

How quickly will I get paid if I become a mystery shopper?

Some take 90 days to pay, others send you a check within weeks.

Why do companies ask you for your social security number to join?

It’s for tax purposes. If you earn over $600 in a year, they have to send you a 1099. Some let you give your social security number when you get closer to earning $600.

How do you get the better paying assignments?

They give you one and if you do okay, they give you another. If not, they kick you off the system. A lot of companies want you to earn your way up to higher-paying assignments. Do three really well written reports to establish yourself. They keep an internal ranking of you. They rank you for reliability, precision, and detail.

Why do you like mystery shopping?

I think it’s a great way to earn money. For people who are detail-oriented, when you see something in a store that bothers you, here is your chance to report it to someone who cares. Also, we eat out a lot so if I’m going to eat out I may as well spend an hour on the back end doing a survey and eat free. My frugal mindset is if I’m going to do it I might as well get paid for it.

What are some pitfalls of mystery shopping?

You have to submit a very detailed report about what you did and scan in your receipts and submit it within 12-24 hours after you visit a shop. You want it to be really soon or you will forget.

Do you end up buying more stuff because you are out in the stores more often?

I don’t do a lot of stores. I do a lot of restaurants. That’s my own preference. I pick stores I shop at.

What is your day job?

I am a lawyer.

Thanks, Nicole!

Now that I am making next to nothing as a blogger and freelancer (I totaled $6 in my first week), I feel uncomfortable about spending as much as Hubby does.

When I asked Hubby how he felt, he insisted I still had equal rights to our reduced income. But I am not so sure.

After all, I am the one who decided to quit my job and embrace entrepreneurial journalism. Why should I force my career decision, and its fiscal implications, on Hubby? Tell me what you think by voting and leaving a comment.

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I re-did our monthly budget to see how everything would work relying solely on Hubby’s salary. But instead of tracking down every single penny, I stripped down our expenses and savings to the bare minimum. What is left is our discretionary income.

Here is what my monthly formula looks like:

Income minus savings minus necessities minus irregular expenses = discretionary spending.

Income: $XXXX

Savings: $833

Necessities: rent, gas, electricity, Internet service, cell phone service, gasoline (Hubby and I each get one full tank a month seeing how I work from home and he commutes on his bike), doctor visits, medicine, gifts and my newspaper subscription to the Sunday NY Times (which is on the chopping block)

Irregular expenses: car insurance, car registration, car repairs, dental visits, Christmas presents, magazine subscriptions, charitable donations……vacations, yoga classes, and oil changes. I totaled what we spent on these categories last year and divided by 12.  I automatically deduct this amount from our checking account into a special ING savings account each month.

Discretionary spending: food, clothing, bus fare, entertainment, vitamins, toiletries, meals out, hair cuts, travel, and home maintenance. To see why I put food on the discretionary list, go here.

The good news is that when I did our budget this way we have $1,593 dollars left for discretionary spending. The bad news is that our monthly savings is only enough to max out our IRAs (the 2009 limit is $5,000 per person). Though Hubby also contributes to his 401 (k) at work.

During our first month living on one salary, I would rather reduce our savings than bounce a check. If we can make it through the month on this significantly reduced spending plan, we will increase our savings.

To help Hubby and I not over spend, I divided our discretionary dollars by two (what each of us is allowed to spend per month) and wrote the number on the top of two index cards, above. Each time one of us spends, we will subtract the expense from the total. This way it will be easy to keep track of how much we have left. I hope we can make it through the month!