It may seem to be too good to be true but you can actually make money while helping your friends save money through a very simple method. Back in March we told you how to save money while dining out with friends. There is another way to do this, although you won’t save as much money.
Many restaurants now offer discount cards. You may only be able to purchase these cards at certain times of the year; or you may have to buy the cards through wholesale clubs like BJ’s, Cost Co, or Sam’s Club. Some discount retailers like Fred Meyer, Target, Wal-mart may also occasionally sell these cards.
You may be able to save 20% to 40% by purchasing the discount cards for restaurants and other forms of entertainment. Just sharing these costs with your friends helps them save money. But if you want to get a little bit more back then ask your friends to reimburse you for half the discount. In other words, if you can buy a $100 gift card for $80 and you sell it to your friend for $90, you make $10 on the deal.
Although you’re not likely to earn much money this way you can offer discount savings to friends and co-workers. This is, of course, a possible violation of card issuer rules so you should study them carefully. Another way to receive value for the discount is to trade the cards for something else that retails for about the same amount of money.
Another way to pick up a little extra money is to use the discount gift cards to buy takeout for your friends and then ask them to reimburse you full price (or near full price) for the food. That is your “tip” for service — buying and bringing the food.
Just don’t get greedy. You may not get in trouble over $10 or $50 but if you make a habit of scalping discounts someone may eventually notice and put a stop to it. Too much of a good thing ruins it.
Still, if you have a credit card and your friends do not, you can also help them save money buy purchasing discounted services and products online and asking them to reimburse you in cash. Again, be careful to read the terms and conditions. For example, you may not be able to buy hotel room nights, airline tickets, or rent cars on your credit card for someone else.
Don’t run out and start a scalping business. Instead, think of creative ways you can help your friends while pocketing an occasional extra $10. It’s not a career option (unless you want to go to jail). It’s just a way of leveraging your access to discount items that your friends may not have.
You can also buy merchandise at outlet malls during their clearance sales and ask your friends to reimburse you a little extra for your time and effort. They’ll still get high quality merchandise at a great price.