Groupon is a service that provides daily deals that save customers money. Every day they feature a new deal at deeply discounted prices.  However, you will only get the deal if enough people take the offer.  See the video below for a detailed description of how the service works.

Citibank is currently offering a $50 credit with their “back-to-school” promotion (ends 9/30/10) for College Students.  Customers receive the $50 credit in addition to standard card features for the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card, the Citi Forward Card, and the Citi mtvU Platinum Select Card.

The Citi mtvU and Citi Forward cards offers 5x rewards on bookstores (includes Amazon.com), movies, music, and restaurants, which amounts to 3.45% cash back or 5% gift card credit from certain retailers.

The mtvU appears better if you get good grades and are willing to send/fax in a transcript every semester, while the Forward card has a better sign-up bonus and ongoing rewards for simply paying your balances on time.

Card features include:

• $50 statement credit when you make $50 in purchases within 90 days.
• No annual fee.
• No cosigner required.
• 0% intro APR on purchases for 7 months.
• $0 liability on fraudulent charges (as with other credit cards).

With the recent reports of Toyota’s suddenly accelerating, Consumers Report released a video of how to stop your car if it suddenly accelerates.  Very good advice given in the video.

Lexington Law is offering a free eBook titled, “Credit Revolution- Path of the Smart Consumer“.  The eBook offers numerous tips for dealing with creditors with real life stories and free consultation.

The eBook is written by three heavy-hitters in the Credit Repair field with over 40 years of combined experience. The eBook pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of the credit reporting world and outlines what you can do to make it work for you.

This eBook is an exclusive offer and is available for a limited time only.

Some of what’s inside of the 151 page book includes:

• Page 10 – The truth behind statements like “Only time can cure bad credit”
• Page 41 – Six real-life stories prove credit reporting is not black-and-white
• Page 73 – Four tips for dealing with creditors while you repair your credit
• Page 94 – The real reason why bad credit can stay on your reports 7 years
• Page 104 – Three things you think would raise your credit score but do not
• Page 111 – Five life events that can unfairly destroy your credit rating

Download your free ebook.

Credit cards are easy to abuse, but if used correctly, you can use them to your advantage.  I try to use my credit card for everything possible for cashback and rewards.  Over the years I’ve received thousands of dollars in cashback and free airline tickets.  I never worry about the interest rate, because I always pay off the balance.  So far this year I’ve gotten back almost $1,600 in cashback from American Express thanks to personal and business spending.

However, credit cards are not only a convenient way of paying for things, they can also protect you.  Depending on your credit card, services may include fraud and identity theft protection, purchase protection, travel assistance, rental car insurance and credit protection.  Some of these services maybe free with your credit card or cost a small fee.  Check with your credit card company to determine what type of protection you can receive, especially the free ones.

Credit Card Security
U.S. law limits your liability for unauthorized purchases on your credit card to only $50; however, many credit card companies will waive this amount.

Purchase Protection
According to The federal Fair Credit Billing Act, you are allowed to withhold payment for damaged or low quality goods or services purchased with your credit card, as long as you first try to resolve the problem with the merchant. This is subject to certain limitations; however, many credit card issuers have gone far beyond the legal requirements.

Many credit cards offer extended protection against theft or damage, or may reimburse you the difference if you find the same item for a lower price.  Again, you will have to check with your credit card company to determine if this is offered.

Travel Assistance
Many credit cards also offer many different services for travelers that may include roadside assistance, flight insurance and baggage protection. The major credit card companies may also offer emergency assistance to travelers, via a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week hotline.

Rental Car Insurance
Most credit cards companies offer rental car loss and damage insurance if the rental car is paid for with their card. Even if you have car insurance, your credit card company may cover the deductible.

Credit Protection
If you are concerned about your ability to make card payments when times get hard, most credit card companies offer optional plans that will cancel or suspend your monthly minimum credit card payment during certain protected events. Credit Protection products come with a fee, but can be helpful in case of an emergency.

Get paid completing online surveys.  One of the better online survey companies is Pinecone Research which pays $3 (by check or PayPal) for each 15 minutes survey.  Getting accepted into Pinecone maybe difficult because at times they stop taking new members.  However, you are in luck, Pinecone is currently taking new members.

Five other survey companies that are good are SurveySawy, MySurvey, Opinion Outpost, BzzAgent, and GlobalTestMarket.  These companies will consistently send you paid opportunities.

Remember to never pay to do online surveys.  There are many companies charging one time fees or membership fees to give access to online surveys.  They may also promise that you can make a lot of money completing online surveys.  This simply isn’t true.  These companies are scams.  

Completing online surveys can’t replace your income and you will never get rich doing them.  However, if you want an extra $30 to $50 per month, then you may want to complete online surveys.  Of course the more online survey companies you apply to, the more opportunities you will have.  So if you have time and don’t mind completing surveys apply to as many as possible.

Debit cards have taken over credit cards.  So when should you use your credit card vs. your debit card.  Like most things in life, it depends.

When to Use a Credit Card
You want to use a credit card when making big ticket purchases such as a HD TV or computer, especially if you are making the purchase online.  If there is a problem with your purchase, you can contact your credit card company to withhold payment. With a debit card, the money is deducted from your checking account immediately and it may take days or weeks to resolve the issue with the merchant.

Credit card companies such as American Express add up to 1 year to the manufacturer’s warranty on products you buy using their credit card.  You may also get additional protection from theft, damage and identity protection.  Many credit card companies also offer 24 hours roadside emergency assistance, travel insurance, car rental loss and damage insurance.

When using a debit card for some hotels, restaurants, car rental companies and gas stations, a hold maybe placed on money in your checking account until the debit transaction is processed.  This may take up to several days for signature-based payments.  The amount that’s held may be much more than the amount of your purchase.  The money held can prevent you from accessing the money in your account and could result in bounced checks, declined transactions or overdraft charges.

Earning Rewards
Very few debit cards offer reward programs and if they do, the reward programs are not as good as credit cards.  Using debit cards will not maximize your cash back or points you can earn.  However, credit card rewards tend to have the highest interest rates, so if you don’t payoff your balance in full each month, don’t use a reward credit card.

Your Liability
Per federal law, liability for fraudulent charges on debit cards can be greater than it is for credit cards.  You are responsible for up to $50 for fraudulent purchases on your credit card, however, for your debit card, you can lose up to $500 if you don’t report the loss or theft of your card or PIN with 2 business days of finding the problem.  Additionally, if you do not report the fraudulent charge within 60 days of the date of the statement that lists them, you maybe held liable for any unauthorized withdrawals after that date.

MasterCard and Visa offer “zero liability” policies that is beyond federal law by exempting debit cardholders from liability in most cases when a bank investigation confirms a transaction is fraudulent.  However, there are loopholes in those policies that may allow people who create fake ATM or debit cards by stealing your PIN and other account data to simply pull cash from your bank account. By using a scheme called “skimming”, they use equipment to capture the magnetic-stripe and keypad information when you enter your PIN at ATMs, gas pumps, restaurants, and retailers.