Invest Now and Make 4.7% Tax Free

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Do you wish you could find an easy way to make better than 4.7 percent return on your investment this year? Here is a tip for an investment you can make any time before May 11, 2009 that involves no brokerage fees, no paper work, almost no risk, and is one hundred percent tax free: buy “forever” stamps at your post office before the price goes up. The first class letter rate will increase on May 11 from forty two cents to forty four cents (a 4.76 percent rate hike), but you can buy “forever” stamps that you can use as first class postage no matter how high future rates may go. If you buy enough now to cover all of your postage needs for the next year, you will make a return on your investment of over 4.7%.

Of course, no investment is entirely without risk. The investment outlined above carries certain risks, however small, that you must be aware of. Obvious risks include losing the stamps before you use them (theft, fire, flood, absent-mindedness) and the possible danger (yeah, right!) that postage rates might DECREASE before you can use your stamps.

You may think this investment idea is pretty dumb. I mean, how many stamps can one person use in a life-time? But, however small your investment, a low-risk tax-free return of almost five percent is not a bad deal. The idea here is that small gains really add up over time.

Look around for other easy ways to make tax free money. Every dollar you don’t spend this year that you would normally have spent without thinking is equivalent to making that much additional income absolutely tax free. For example, scrutinize all of the costs associated with your banking.

You can save about fifty percent over retail by buying bank checks online instead of reordering them through your bank. Besides the money saved, you can take your time and look over a huge variety of designs. My wife’s favorite is cat bank checks, but we usually end up giving in to our kids and ordering Disney checks online instead.

While you are thinking of your banking activities, that may be an easy area to find significant savings, and therefore tax-free income, in. Think ahead so you never have to use an ATM machine that is outside your bank’s network. The out-of-network ATM fees can really add up. Pay attention to your credit card statement and always pay your bill several days early. Some banks and credit card companies are shameless in their tactics to trigger penalties and late fees, like varying the due date each month to catch you off guard.

So, keep your eyes open and be aware of small ways to save money. You don’t have to sacrifice any of your comfortable lifestyle to make inordinate returns on your money by not spending money that you have thoughtlessly thrown away in the past.

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