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Keep an eye on your mail this week. You may receive a plain white envelope from Wilmington, DE with some money you thought you had lost. PerkStreet is issuing checks to ex-customers of their closed Perks program.

Flashback: August 12, 2013

PerkStreet, a subsidiary of Bankcorp Bank, left many customers wondering what happened when they announced that they would be closing their doors in September 2013.

The announcement came in an email to PerkStreet customers on August 12, 2013. There was no warning, not even to those who worked closely with them like Dave Ramsey’s Lampo Group, and all Perks their customers were collecting were cancelled.

Listen to an interview with PerkStreet CEO, Dan O’Malley, about what happened to PerkStreet.

Many customers were upset as they had allowed their Perks to accumulate with the idea of redeeming them for gift cards or cash to be used to buy Christmas presents.

Cutting off the program and keeping the Perks was all legal and consistent with the terms of PerkStreet’s Rewards Program Agreement, but nobody likes to have the icing removed from their piece of cake.

Fast-forward to Jun 21, 2014

I had just finished mowing the front yard when USPS pulled up to our curb. She handed me the mail with a smile and I shuffled through the variety of junk mail and solicitations.

However, one envelope caught my eye. It was from Wilmington, DE. Slicing the envelope open with my index finger I was surprised to find a check for $41.25. It was the exact amount as the Perks I had to leave behind.

The check was accompanied with a letter:

“Here’s some good news for you as an eligible participant in the former PerkStreet Perks Program! The cash value of your unredeemed Perks balance is being paid to you through the enclosed check.”

Cool. I like unexpected checks in the mail.

Who gets a check?

You can expect a check if you had a Perks balance greater than $15 prior to August 12, 2013.

PerkStreet eliminated the redemption fee (2 perks or $2 per $20 cash redemption) and sent the checks via U.S. mail on June 13, 2014. They ask that you allow 12 to 15 business days for your check to arrive.

If you have any problems receiving your Perks redemption check they ask you email Customer Care at support@myperkstreet.com or call toll-free 866-792-2834.

What to do with your PerkStreet Perks check

Treat this unexpected bonus as income. Then, apply it to wherever you are in your Baby Steps:

1) Save $1,000 in the bank for emergencies
2) Pay off all non-mortgage debt
3) Increase emergency savings to 3 to 6 months worth of expenses
4) Save 15% of your gross income in retirement plans
5) Save for kid’s college (if you choose to)
6) Pay off the house early
7) Well, just give it away. We’ve all gotten past this PerkStreet debacle so you really weren’t expecting it anyway.

Another alternative:

I deposited my PerkStreet Perks check into our checking account, allocated it into our budget using YNAB, and the money is making its way towards our next big savings goal: Replacing the windows in our drafty house!

What is your plan for your PerkStreet Perks check?

I’m rather embarrassed to admit this but if you read this blog or listen to my podcast then you need to know: I’m horrible at paying attention.

Does that change your view of me? I hope it doesn’t. The reason I teach (and preach) so much about paying attention to your finances is because I know first-hand what happens when I don’t pay attention to my own!

• I’ve taken $40 too much out of my Blow Money category
• I forgot to send in a bill before the due date
• I went into overdraft

Only one of these have happened in the past few years, so I thought I was getting better.

That was until I found the Luminosity app (click for link to the free app in iTunes).

Training my brain

This app is really cool. It consists of games designed to test your memory, reaction speed, and attention. It trains your brain with math problems and some very interesting puzzles.

Memory Matrix

One game shows you a grid with some squares filled in. Then it gives you the same grid but you are to tap on the squares that used to contain the filled in ones. It’s kind of like the old ’80s game “Simon”, but without the need to follow a sequence.

My favorite Luminosity game

My favorite game asks you to swipe your finger in the direct that the center bird is heading – not the other birds around it.

The game is simple but important to measuring our desire to answer quickly rather than make sure we get it right.

Raindrops

Raindrops has simple math equations that fall from the sky. Use the keypad to solve each problem before the drop hits the water. Talk about a fun math challenge!

Even though I score fairly well in this game, it’s the combination of responses to all the games that gives me an overall attention score. There are other measurements like speed, flexibility, etc.

Why I need to focus on paying attention

Last Saturday I was replacing a couple fenceposts. It had been set in 18″ of concrete so pulling it out of the ground was not an easy task.

I wanted to give up. I wanted to cut the post at the ground level and move on. My impatience made me want to quit and move on to something more interesting.

My daughter was helping and 30 minutes later I was about to give up. She said “We can do this dad. Don’t quit”. We focused all our attention on the problem and finally hoisted the stupid thing out of the ground.

Nothing great happens when you stop paying attention

When you think about it, nothing good happens by accident:

• Grass may grow but dandelions will overtake the yard if you don’t pay attention to the weeds
• You could get a raise but promotions go to those who focus on their work
• My daughter will grow up but she won’t be a strong, confident woman without her daddy’s attention

One of the “10 Steps To Improve Attention and CashFlow” is to deal with the distractions and track them. Have you started making note of each and every distraction that happens to you during the day? I’ve only begun to track it and I’m amazed at how often my phone takes me away from my task. A load of laundry seems innocent enough until you realize it costs you about 10 extra minutes of your life just going up-and-down the stairs between the wash-and-dry cycle and taking the hangers upstairs.

How I pay attention to our money

Here are some tricks I use to keep me focused on our money:

• Limit the amount of spending money (cash in my pocket) so I don’t blow it all too quickly
• Enter transactions into my smartphone using the YNAB app so I don’t forget
• Balance our checkbook monthly so to make sure we’re on budget and our account hasn’t been compromised

I’m also going to keep playing Luminosity until my Attention rating is in the 900’s. I just have to promise myself not to let it distract me from more important things.

What are some tricks you use to keep from being distracted in life? Share it on FaceBook or in the comments below. Thanks!

How do successful people spend money? I interviewed Pat Flynn, a successful blogger and awesome podcaster at SmartPassiveIncome.com, during the Financial Blogger Conference. He shares with us his first financial experience as an adult, his 5 year goals, and if he would enter a Blogger-themed edition of Wipeout.

What was the first financial experience that made you feel like an adult?

“I remember in college I started working as a waiter, then a bartender. It was the first time that I used my own money to pay for rent instead of my parents money.

That was my first financial experience that made me feel like an adult, meaning it was money that I earned to pay for something like shelter. It felt really good to write that large check.”

How did you handle your first financial emergency?

“In 2008 I was working a good job as an architect and learned I was going to be laid off. That was 2 months after I proposed to my wife. My wife is Philippine, weddings with Philippines are huge so I was thinking ‘Wow, we have a lot of things think about as far as paying for the wedding and what are we going to do for a living’ among other things.

We both decided to move back in with our parents. That was an interesting time in my life; Being a 23 year old moving back in with their parents. It was cool because of the free meals and laundry, you know.

A lot of people think moving back in with your parents is failure. For me it was an opportunity to reset and figure out what to do next. That was when I got into internet business, which definitely was a life changing thing for me.”

When did money from savings come in handy?

“My family and I had been saving for a Disney cruise. Money is doing OK for us but we always know that we don’t want to just spend money without a reason.

We had been planning this vacation for a long time, putting a few hundred bucks into savings every month for about a year and a half knowing that it would pay off. We finally went on this vacation with our 2 kids, a 1 year old daughter and a 4 year old son, and we all had a great time.

It was so nice to know that the money was there waiting for us. Going on this trip was like the reward for saving all that money.”

Do you have a 5 year goal?

“I do. I have a 1 year goal, a 5 year goal and a 10 year goal. It’s important to have these goals and 5 years is a long way away. That’s why it’s important to break them down and have a 1 year goal to help you progress to a larger, 5 year goal.

My 5 year goal is to have my kids in a school that is teaching them an education that will help them improve who they are as a person. That’s very important to us as a family.

Personally and business-wise I want to have a traditional book on the market. I have ebooks, and a lot of people are going the route of publishing an ebook, but there’s something about having that traditional book. I want to go to a Barnes and Noble with my kids, find my book on the shelf and say ‘This is daddy’s work. He worked hard for this and you can be here too.‘”

Have you ever spent more than $1,000 for a suit?

(pause, audience giggles)

“Only recently, and I’m not trying to make an excuse for this but I’ve been doing a lot of public speaking lately. I’m trying to give myself as much of an edge as possible while on stage.

Recently I purchased a jacket, just a jacket, that was $2,500. It’s the most I’ve ever spent on clothes but it’s one that’s going to last a really long time. I don’t think I’m growing anymore, so I don’t have to think about that.

Psychologically, when I put on that coat I’m in ‘Presenting Mode’. It helps me as a speaker and it helps everyone the audience as I deliver information. But it was definitely weird paying that much, I mean I shop at Target, but I figured it was an investment for my business.”

Is podcasting alive, dead, or is it just treading water?

“It’s just starting out. Podcasting has been around for a while and it was just the ‘techie’ people who could figure it out but it’s getting easier now to produce a show. You will see more and more shows coming out.

There are 350,000,000 blogs out there and only 300,000 podcasts – there’s still a lot of opportunity in the podcasting world and it’s going to grow.”

Would you compete in a Blogger-themed edition of WipeOut?

“WHERE DO I SIGN UP?”

Thank you Pat Flynn for granting me the interview. I had a blast and I pray for continued success in your business.

A simple and obvious way to make money online is dedicating space on a website for selling ads. Google makes is super-easy to do and thousands of websites make passive income from Google AdSense. However, I have seen it time and time again where the ads contradict the theme of the website. In many cases Google AdSense hurts your brand.

Your brand is everything

A niche website such as mine has a centralized theme. MoneyPlan SOS is known for helping people to get out of debt and living on a moneyplan.

This includes getting away from debt products of any kind – including credit cards. This online personality must remain consistent for its readers and podcast listeners – wavering in any direction would break their trust.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this in a guest post I wrote for another get-out-of-debt website:

One of these things just doesn’t belong!

What the? I was quite angry when I saw that.

I wrote a brilliant post about the problems these cards cause and how consumers have been brainwashed to believe credit cards are good for their finances.

At the end of the article, just before the comments, the Google AdSense shines brightly for all to see – and it hurts my brand.

It’s like a Ford assembly line worker arriving to work in a Toyota Camry, a shop teacher with missing fingers, or a Priest convicted for molestation. To sell an add for credit cards within a post railing against their use is just wrong.

This single ad makes me look like a fool. Google AdSense could hurt your brand too.

Bloggers: Respect your readers and get rid of the ads

I know of many personal finance blogs who fall victim to this mismatch. They write about living on a budget or pinching pennies – then a big, fat Payday loan ad gets stuck right in the middle! It’s sending mixed signals and is hurting their brand.

My promise: You will never see a random advertisement on my website.

I don’t need the money that bad.

Affiliates for integrity, AdSense for everyone else

You will find some items on this website that are for sale. These are affiliations to services or products that I use myself or would recommend to my mom. I care about my visitors too much to let them stumble across a product or service that I don’t personally believe in.

Yes, Google AdSense can help bring in some extra dough but my integrity isn’t for sale!

Bloggers: If you are trying to make money with online sales without creating your own products then consider listing affiliate sales for items that fit your brand.

If you don’t care about your readers or your brand then feel free to put AdSense all over your blog.

There is an interesting new gadget coming in the next few months that could replace up to 8 pieces of plastic in your wallet/purse. This invention is called Coin and I’m really excited to be on the list of early adopters to get one.

Of course, I prefer using one debit card to make life simple. However, I carry one debit card for my personal use and one for my small business. I also carry around a number of membership cards in my car for gas stations, restaurants, and even grocery stores. Top the list off with a few gift cards and I quickly reach a stack of at least a dozen little rectangles with magnetic stripes to keep track of.

Not Cash but Coin

Introducing Coin. Coin is an electronic payment card that stores up to 8 credit, debit, gift, or membership cards on one. It’s easy to use, allowing you to quickly jump from one stored number to another before swiping. This is sure to get a lot of attention when it launches this summer.

In those situations where paying with a debit card makes sense, such as filling my wife’s SUV with gas or when buying office supplies for my small business, I’d love a one-stop solution to carrying all those cards with me. Coin allows me to press a button until I see which card I want it to behave like and whaa-la – I’m ready to go.

What’s Coin’s Catch?

There are a couple less-than-desirable features with Coin. For instance, the battery is slated to last only 2 years under heavy use. The other is its $100 price tag (only $55 if you pre-order now).

What about security? I won’t bore you with the details, simply watch this short video to find out more about the cool security functions to prevent losing your card.

Want a Coin of your own? Order here

The biggest concern anyone should be concerned about is no different when using Coin over a debit card: Make sure you have enough money in your account to cover your purchase – this includes pre-authorizations. This isn’t a concern for someone living on a budget – they are prepared for these events and have earmarked money in their account for the purchase.

How I’m using Coin to Bust Myths

For years I have been busting the “you need to have a credit card” myth. I haven’t had a credit card in over 6 years – and we’ve doubled our net worth in the process!

There is one myth that Coin is going to help me prove wrong without the chance for objection: “You need a credit card to travel”.

Since 2008 I have made hotel reservations, car reservations, and even paid for two all-inclusive trips to Wyoming for my family without credit cards. There are a couple car rental companies that say they will not rent to you without using a credit card. Coin is going to help me get around their staunch rules!

I’m going to pay with my Coin, which nobody but me and my bank will know is only a debit card. When making reservations online I’ll simply enter my debit card’s 16 digit number. When checking in at the rental counter I’ll hand them my coin, which shows no differentiation between a credit or debit card. They won’t know the difference and I’ll enjoy all the benefits every other red-blooded American does without being forced to go into debt.

Yep, they can bite me for being unfair to responsible consumers!

Get 50% off Coin

Coin is available for pre-order at a 50% discount and will ship in just a couple of months. They are offering some other limited-time bonuses like added guarantees and affiliate sales but I’m most excited about using a piece of plastic that nobody can identify as a debit or credit card.

Visit http://MoneyPlanSOS.com/COIN to be an early adopter like me. It won’t change your life, but it can make your life easier.

I’ll let you know how uneventful my car reservation was when we get back from our summer vacation.