At Least 25 States Are Slashing Unemployment Payments — Here’s What To Do
Split the United States in half.
In one half — 25 states — people who are out of work will keep on receiving a $300-a-week federal unemployment extension through at least September.
In the other half of the country — the other 25 states — that extra money is about to disappear a lot quicker. Most of these states have decided to end the payments in June, with a few to follow in July. (Hey, no judgment here — the Penny Hoarder is based in one of those states.)
Governors in those latter 25 states are planning an early end to the extra $300 weekly benefit provided by the federal American Relief Plan. Unemployed workers can still qualify for state benefits, but many will face stricter requirements, such as mandated documented job searches.
Even in states that are keeping these federal benefits going, those payments are still slated to end by Sept. 6.
If you’ve been counting on that money to help make ends meet, we’ve got tips for how you can make up the difference.
What’s Your State Doing?
First, let’s see what your state is up to. Let’s sort the states by when they’re ending the $300 weekly federal benefit.
June 12: Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri
June 19: Alabama, Idaho, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming
June 26: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah
June 27: Montana
June 30: South Carolina
July 3: Maryland and Tennessee
July 10: Arizona
July 19: Indiana
How are you going to make up the difference? We’ve got some ideas for you to consider:
1. Clean Out Your Closet
Take a hard look at your closet. Over the years, you’ve probably collected all kinds of things you don’t really need anymore. Comb through your items and, if you haven’t used them in a while, sell them and make some money.
You don’t need to go through the hassle of having a garage sale, either. Try selling your items online. Market clothes and other random knick knacks to folks in your area through an app like Letgo.
Or if you have old CDs or DVDs — or even smartphones — try selling them to a platform like Decluttr. You scan your items’ barcodes with the app and then print out a label for free shipping. Toss ‘em in a box and be done with them.
You might be surprised by how much money you can make just from cleaning!
2. Cancel Your Car Insurance
Here’s the thing: your current car insurance company is probably overcharging you. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.
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.
3. 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.
4. Get Paid Every Time You Buy Toilet Paper
Everybody’s got to stock up at the grocery store. You may as well earn a little money back while your purchases are being bagged up.
A free app called Fetch Rewards will reward you with gift cards just for buying toilet paper and more than 250 other items at the grocery store.
Here’s how it works: After you’ve downloaded the app, just take a picture of your receipt showing you purchased an item from one of the brands listed in Fetch. For your efforts, you’ll earn gift cards to places like Amazon or Walmart.
You can download the free Fetch Rewards app here to start getting free gift cards.
Over a million people already have, so they must be onto something.
5. Save on Your Online Purchases
A free browser extension and website called Rakuten has connections with more than 2,500 stores, which means it can give you a cash kickback when you shop at one. When we checked, we found deals at Amazon, Safeway, Sam’s Club, Boxed and Walmart.
It takes less than 60 seconds to download the free browser extension and create a Rakuten account. All you need is an email address. Plus, if you use Rakuten to earn money back within the first 90 days of signing up, it’ll give you an extra $10.
Now you don’t have to worry about fitting that 36-pack of toilet paper in your trunk or hauling a box of cat litter across the store. Just have someone deliver it to your door and earn cash back along the way!
6. Stop Overpaying Online
Wouldn’t it be nice if you got an alert any time you’re shopping on Amazon or Walmart.com and you’re about to get ripped off?
That’s exactly what this free service does.
Just add it to your browser for free, and before you check out, it’ll check other websites, including Walmart, eBay and others to see if your item is available for cheaper. Plus, you can get coupon codes, set up price-drop alerts and even see the item’s price history.
Let’s say you’re shopping for a new pair of shoes, and you assume you’ve found the best price. Here’s when you’ll get a pop up letting you know if that exact pair of shoes is available elsewhere for cheaper. If there are any available coupon codes, they’ll also automatically be applied to your order.*
In the last year, this has saved people $160 million.
You can get started in just a few clicks to see if you’re overpaying online.
7. Ask For Help — Even If You Normally Wouldn’t
If you find yourself in a particularly dire situation, do something you normally wouldn’t: Raise your hand and ask for help.
Sure, many of us would rather do anything but ask for help, but these are unprecedented times, and life’s a little bit out of our control right now.
For example, if you’re struggling to make your mortgage payments, reach out to your lender. You might have to provide proof that you’ve been laid off or need financial assistance, but it never hurts to ask about your relief options.
This same idea can be applied to any of your other bills — rent, utilities, cell phone and car payments.
You won’t know the answer unless you ask.
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
