4 Dangerous Habits That Are Making Us Miss Out on a Whole Bunch of Money

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We all have bad habits.

We leave our laundry on the bathroom floor. We bite our nails. We swear a little too often. We hit the snooze button four times in a row.

But perhaps the most dangerous? Bad money habits.

Money habits can be difficult to break. Heck, sometimes they can be difficult to recognize just because they’re so ingrained in our day-to-day lives.

But now’s the time to pinpoint these dangerous financial habits — and break them — so you can stop missing out on a whole bunch of money.

1. Earn up to $83 Every Time You Win This Viral Game

Lots of us already play Solitaire on our phones for fun. Want to see if you can win money at it?

A free app called Solitaire Cash lets you play for real money — up to $83 per win.

For each game of Solitaire, you’ll compete against at least five other players. Everyone gets the same deck, so it’s all about skill. The top three players can win real money.

You can play free practice games or enter tournaments for as little as $1. Right now, Solitaire Cash will give you a $5 bonus to use toward tournaments when you add $10 to your account. 

And no, this isn’t one of those spammy apps. There aren’t even any annoying ads. Over on the App Store, it has over a million downloads and more than 15,000 ratings, averaging 4.7 stars (out of 5).

Want to see how much you could win? You can start playing right now to find out. Download the free app and get your $5 bonus when you add $10.

2. You Haven’t Stopped Paying Your Credit Card Company

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If you have credit card debt, you know. The anxiety, the interest rates, the fear you’re never going to escape…

And the truth is, your credit card company doesn’t really care. It’s just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates — some up to 36%. But a website called AmOne wants to help.

If you owe your credit card companies $100,000 or less, AmOne will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every single one of your balances.

The benefit? You’ll be left with one bill to pay each month. And because personal loans have lower interest rates (AmOne rates start at 6.40% APR), you’ll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.

You don’t need a perfect credit score to get a loan — and comparing your options won’t affect your score at all.  Plus, AmOne keeps your information confidential and secure, which is probably why after 20 years in business, it still has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

It takes less than a minute and just 10 questions to see what loans you qualify for — you don’t even need to enter your Social Security number. You do need to give AmOne a real phone number in order to qualify, but don’t worry — they won’t spam you with phone calls.

3. You Haven’t Canceled Your Car Insurance

People love to tell you to shop around. “You should be getting three different quotes to get the best price on car insurance,” they say.

Sure, this sounds like good advice. Here’s why it’s wrong: Comparing only three companies isn’t nearly enough. We suggest comparing dozens. But who has time for that?

Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.

EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.

Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.

4. Get Paid $225/Month While Watching Movie Previews

If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.

It’s too good to be true, right?

But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.

No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.

Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.

Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.

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Carson Kohler ([email protected]) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.