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Cash Back shopping sites such as Ebates, Big Crumbs, and Mr. Rebates get paid for sending customers to online merchants. They then share some of that cash with the customers who went through their shopping site to make the purchase. It is a simple process. You log in to the cash back site of your choice and then click through to the online merchant where you want to make a purchase. After you check out you will get a percentage of the purchase price back in your cash back account. These percentages are usually 1% – 7% but they can be even higher. Some of them also offer bonuses for signing up. Such as:

Ebates – They currently offer a $5 sign up bonus and have one of the largest selection of merchants to choose from.

Mr. Rebates - They also offer a $5 sign up bonus. The

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Each post that we wrote this week highlights a different problem that is holding back this country’s housing market: low rates aren’t enough, today’s mortgage market is mostly made up of the haves and the have nots, lowering home prices won’t create a more stable market and yesterday’s post discussed how the American dream of homeownership doesn’t have to turn into a nightmare. Each one of those posts identified something different that’s going wrong with housing.

As a matter of fact, almost each post this week mentioned what needs to change and what needs to be fixed in order for housing to recover: consumer confidence. Consumers will attain confidence through an improving economy, mainly an improving job market.

While this morning’s jobs report did reveal an minor increase in private market hiring — an increase of 67,000 last month — it failed to deliver any real sense of confidence. “There’s still no di

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Just recently, BBVA Compass and SmartyPig formed a partnership, and BBVA Compass seems to be taking full advantage of it. They just posted a new promo on SmatyPig’s main website, and this promo has to do with a $150 bonus for every checking account opened at BBVA Compass. This isn’t a bad deal at all of you’re looking for some immediate freebies just to enroll an account.

Just in case you want the word from the horse’s mouth, you can also check the promotion page. We’ve found out, though, that you don’t get your $150 right away. As in other checking account bonuses, you get the $150 bonus in parts when you:

• Enroll a Buy to Order Checking Account through the net
• Apply for a Direct Deposit account from your payroll, which earns you $75
• Enroll your account to the checking accounts Online Bill Pay, which earns you $25 a month, for three months. According t

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General Motors released its sales report for August and it showed some of the worst numbers since 1983. According to the recently-troubled auto manufacturer, sales toppled 25 percent from a year ago, partially due to the Cash for Clunkers program of last summer.

GM Struggles to Sell

Despite the fact that General Motors has fought back from bankruptcy to see a $1.3 million profit in the second quarter, it is still struggling to sell cars. According to the manufacturer, August sales dropped 7 percent from just a month prior as tracked by Edmunds.com and TrueCar.

There are a few reasons that car sales have struggled for the auto maker:

• Cash for Clunkers: The Cash for Clunkers program, which was very successful in moving cars with every dealer, left many with grim comparisons to make later.

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Personal finance tips are just like personal fitness tips. There are many great tips out there. Unfortunately, many DUMB money management and personal fitness tips get carried out and treated as fact over the years. Writing about personal finance has put me in a position where my ears are always open for money-related topics. The last few weeks I’ve heard some horrible money “saving” (not even sure what word to use) strategies. I wanted to point out a few dumb money saving tips and explain why they don’t work:

Buying a home just for tax breaks.

If you’re in the market for a new home, then the various available tax breaks should be just an added bonus. Even perhaps an incentive to make up your mind when being indecisive about the timing when the timing involved is only a few months orso. However,

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In the past most people that were buying a home either did so alone or with a partner/husband, which was the traditional way of getting a first home. However, things have really changed over recent years, and these days many people cannot afford to buy a home on their own.

This means that many have had to look at alternatives when it comes to moving out from their parents or from rented accommodation and trying to get their foot onto the property ladder, and things aren’t always easy, particularly given the difficulties that many face when it comes to raising a deposit and getting a mortgage in the current financial climate.

One of the solutions that some people have considered is to get a mortgage out with a friend, whereby both friends – or a group – are all in on the mortgage and they buy the property between them. This

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Here are the latest rates for some of the top online savings accounts. These rates do change frequently and may no longer be accurate at the time of your reading. Check the individual websites for the latest rate information.

Sallie Mae 1.40% APY, Discover Bank 1.35% APY, WTDirect 1.21% APY, FNBO Direct 1.10% APY, ING Direct 1.10% APY, HSBC Advance 1.10% APY.

These rates do change frequently and may no longer be accurate at the time of your reading. Check the individual websites for the latest rate information. Also consult them for the latest information on minimum deposits and fees. This post does contain affiliate links.