Driving for a ridesharing app like Uber or Lyft or a food delivery app like DoorDash or Instacart. Working as a writer or graphic designer for hire. Teaching English online in your spare time. These are among the most popular side gigs and freelance opportunities for people looking to earn extra income.
These solopreneurs count as self-employed individuals — small-business owners, technically — and are typically eligible for many small-business credit cards. This is true even for those with no plans to turn their side business into a full-time enterprise.
What follows is a list of the best credit cards for freelancers and side hustlers hoping to earn rewards for business-related purchases and raise their business credit score in the process.
Best Credit Cards for Freelancers & Side Hustles
The best small-business credit cards for freelancers, sole proprietors, and side hustlers pair modest annual fees — if they have annual fees at all — with generous rewards programs whose bonus categories favor general spending or a broad range of everyday business expenses.
Many also have attractive sign-up bonuses — also known as welcome offers, welcome bonuses, or early spend bonuses, depending on the issuer. And all accept personal guarantees from applicants, which means you can apply using your personal credit score. This is very useful if you don’t have any business credit history (or you haven’t formally incorporated your freelance business at all).
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Our Rating
Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases and enjoy an unusually long 0% APR introductory promotion (for a business credit card).
Rewards Rate
Unlimited 1.5% on every business purchases
Annual Fee
0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases, then variable regular APR
Regular APR
17.99% to 23.99% (variable)
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Chase Ink Business Unlimited® is a popular small-business cash-back credit card with no annual fee. All purchases earn unlimited 1.5% cash back, with no spending categories or tiers to keep straight.
Ink Business Unlimited also has an amazing sign-up bonus for cardholders able to spend enough in eligible purchases during the first three months. The introductory 0% APR promotion on purchases is rare to find on a business credit card too, easily justifying its inclusion on our list of the best business credit cards.
Pros
No annual fee
Well-above-average sign-up bonus
Unusually long 0% intro APR promotion
Cons
No way to earn more than 1.5% cash back
Relatively few business benefits
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Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Our Rating
Earn up to 5% cash back on everyday business purchases. Plus, take advantage of an above-average 0% intro APR offer and sign-up bonus opportunity.
Rewards Rate
Up to 5% cash back
Annual Fee
0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases, then variable regular APR
Ongoing APR
17.99% to 23.99% (variable)
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The Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is another Chase-issued business card with no annual fee.
Its sign-up bonus is identical to Ink Business Unlimited’s, and it has the same great lineup of value-added perks and benefits. The rewards program is more generous for freelancers and side hustlers who frequent office supply stores, gas stations, and restaurants.
Pros
No annual fee
Up to 5% cash back on eligible purchases
Unusually long 0% intro APR promotion
Cons
Few value-added business benefits
Low baseline cash-back rate
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American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
Our Rating
Earn 2% cash back on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases, then 1% cash back on all eligible business purchases. Plus, enjoy 0% intro APR for the first 12 months on purchases.
Rewards Rate
Up to 2% cash back
Annual Fee
0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases, then variable regular APR
Ongoing APR
18.24% to 26.24% (variable)
Terms Apply
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The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card has an excellent rewards program that favors everyday business spending, no annual fee, and a 12-month 0% APR introductory promotion for purchases (terms apply).
For rewards-hungry side hustlers, the highlight of Blue Business Cash is its rewards program, which pays 2% cash back on the first $50,000 per year in combined eligible purchases. Purchases over this annual spending cap earn 1% cash back.
Pros
No annual fee
Above-average welcome offer
Long 0% intro APR on purchases
Cons
Few value-added business benefits
Earn rate capped at 2% back
For rates and fees of the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, please visit this rates and fees page.
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The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Our Rating
Earn 2 points per $1 spent on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases, then 1 point per $1 spent. An above-average welcome offer and 0% intro APR on purchases add yet more value.
Rewards Rate
Up to 2x points
Annual Fee
0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, then variable regular APR
Ongoing APR
18.24% to 26.24% (variable)
Terms Apply
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The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is another no-annual-fee business credit card that’s ideal for freelancers.
Like Blue Business Cash, its rewards program favors everyday business purchases and pays double (2 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent) on eligible purchases up to the first $50,000 in combined annual spending, after which eligible purchases earn 1 Membership Rewards point per $1 spent. Terms apply.
Also like Blue Business Cash, it has a solid 0% APR introductory promotion.
Pros
No annual fee
Above-average earnings on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases each year
Above-average 0% intro APR on purchases
Cons
Low baseline rewards rate
Few value-added business benefits
For rates and fees of the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please visit this rates and fees page.
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Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Our Rating
Earn unlimited 2% cash back on most eligible purchases. Plus, get one of the category’s best welcome bonuses with qualifying early spending, and earn another bonus with qualifying annual spending.
Rewards Rate
Up to 5% cash back
Annual Fee
Ongoing APR
Pay in full each month
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Capital One Spark Cash Plus is a premium business cash-back card that’s ideal for prosperous freelancers and side hustlers. It boasts a category-leading early spend bonus (worth up to $1,000 bonus cash) and a super-generous rewards program that earns a flat, unlimited 2% back on most eligible purchases.
The $150 annual fee is the biggest downside. A $200 bonus cash offer for big spenders — after spending at least $200,000 in a year — more than offsets it, though most freelancers probably won’t get there.
Pros
Unlimited 2% cash back on most purchases
Multiple bonus opportunities for heavier spenders
Cons
$150 annual fee
New cardmember bonus and ongoing spend bonus require heavy spending
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The Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business card is similar to Spark Cash for Business.
The main difference: It has a mileage-based rewards program that’s great for travelers who’d prefer to redeem for credit against eligible travel purchases rather than general statement credits. It’s a travel rewards credit card, in other words.
The rewards program is basically the same though. You earn unlimited 2x miles on most eligible purchases, with no spending caps or categories. The only exception: travel bookings made through Capital One Travel, which earn 5x miles.
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Capital One Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit has a very attractive early spend bonus — one of the best around for a no-annual-fee business credit card.
There’s also the ongoing rewards program, which promises 1.5% cash back on most eligible purchases without caps or restrictions. That’s almost on par with the Spark Cash Plus card, just without the annual fee. And eligible travel purchases (including hotel and rental car bookings) still earn 5% cash back when made through Capital One Travel.
Pros
No annual fee
No caps on earning potential
Above-average early spend bonus
Cons
Cash back capped at 1.5% for most purchases
Relatively few value-added benefits
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Spark Cash Select for Good Credit has the same great ongoing rewards program as Spark Cash Select for Excellent Credit.
The biggest difference: Instead of an early spend bonus for cardholders who clear $4,500 in eligible purchases in the first three months, it has a 0% introductory APR promotion that applies to purchases and stretches for 12 months from account opening. If you’re planning a big purchase (or several) in the near future, this could save you hundreds of dollars in interest charges.
Pros
No annual fee
Above-average 0% intro APR promotion
No caps on cash-back earnings
Cons
No spending-based bonus for new cardholders
Cash back tops out at 1.5% for most purchases
Relatively few value-added benefits
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Methodology: How We Choose the Best Credit Cards for Freelancers & Side Hustlers
If you’re a freelancer or sole proprietor in the market for a credit card to cover professional expenses, you need to consider many of the same factors owners of (slightly) larger enterprises do when shopping for small-business credit cards. These are the most important criteria that we use to separate the best freelancer-friendly credit cards from the rest.
Personal Guarantee Requirement
Many freelancers and side hustlers aren’t formally incorporated and have no desire to be. Because they have no “business” in the technical sense, they have no business credit. They can’t get approved for business credit cards that don’t accept personal guarantees.
For this reason, a missing personal guarantee requirement is a deal-breaker. All the cards on this list accept personal guarantees or offer ways around them, like guarantees based entirely on business revenue rather than credit.
Credit & Income Qualification Requirements
Most credit card issuers require applicants to back up their personal guarantee (or business guarantee) by meeting certain credit and income standards. For premium business credit cards, these standards can be high — effectively out of reach of the typical freelancer or side hustler.
So we look for freelancer-friendly credit cards with more relaxed qualification standards. Most of the credit cards on this list set minimum FICO scores near 700, but they’re not as picky as top-shelf business cards and don’t ask applicants to prove they’re pulling in tens of thousands of dollars a month on top of that.
Rewards Program
Every card on this list has an above-average rewards program. When evaluating these programs, we look for cards that do one of two things:
Earn higher returns on common business purchases, such as office supplies and telecommunications
Earn an above-average flat rate of return (1.5% or above) on most or all eligible purchases
We rule out cards that only earn rewards on certain purchases or ask you to jump through too many hoops (like activating your cash back before each purchase).
Welcome Offers for New Cardholders
Most of the cards on this list have spending-based welcome offers (aka sign-up bonuses) that increase their rewards programs’ appeal. We intentionally exclude cards with uncomfortably high spending requirements — a $3,000-per-month pace or above. The remaining offers’ spending requirements are realistic for many if not most freelancers.
Other Business Benefits
Freelancers have less use for common business credit card benefits like Amazon Web Services credits and Salesforce integrations, but all else being equal, we prefer cards that offer the option. And some business credit card benefits are legitimately freelancer-friendly, like discounts on popular bookkeeping software.
Interest Rate & Introductory APR Promotions
We don’t advise anyone to carry a credit card balance if they can avoid it, but business owners — including sole proprietors — sometimes have no other option. With that in mind, we look for freelancer-friendly cards with low ongoing interest rates and long 0% APR introductory promotions.
Annual Fee
All else being equal, we prefer professional credit cards without annual fees. However, committed freelancers can offset more modest annual fees (under $100) without too much trouble, so this list isn’t entirely annual-fee-free.
Credit Card FAQs for Freelancers & Side Hustlers
Finding and applying for a freelancer-friendly credit card isn’t too much different from the process for consumer cards. Once in your hands, these cards work more or less the same as consumer cards too. But if it’s your first time, you might still have questions as you work through the process.
Do You Need to Incorporate to Get a Professional Credit Card?
Not necessarily. Freelancer-friendly credit cards generally don’t ask applicants to prove they’ve formally incorporated their business. This is a good thing for part-time freelancers who don’t want the headache (and added cost) of managing a legal business entity.
By contrast, some small-business credit cards do require formal incorporation. Those cards don’t make this list.
How Much Can You Spend on a Professional Credit Card?
It depends on two factors: whether the card has a preset spending limit, and if so, the limit’s dollar value.
Some business credit cards have no preset spending limits, including some we consider freelancer-friendly. To prevent runaway spending, these cards usually have a pay-in-full requirement, so you can’t charge more than you can afford to repay (for long, anyway). If your freelance business is thriving, these no-limit, pay-in-full cards usually offer better spending power.
Other business credit cards base spending limits on revenue. This is more common for cards that underwrite based on business credit, but if you’ve been freelancing for a while and can show consistent income, you might qualify for a generous credit limit without a business credit score.
Do Freelancer-Friendly Credit Cards Allow Personal Guarantees?
They should if they want to be on this list. Some freelancers have incorporated business entities of their own, but many don’t. This means they can’t get a business credit card that doesn’t accept personal guarantees.
Does Your Professional Credit Card Affect Your Personal Credit Score?
If you qualified using your personal credit and income, yes.
This effect can be positive, negative, or both at different times. If you use your professional credit card responsibly, your personal credit score could increase over time. If you bump up against your credit limit or miss payments on your professional credit card, your personal credit score could suffer.
What’s a Good Annual Fee for a Professional Credit Card?
The most freelancer-friendly credit cards waive annual fees altogether. However, cards with unusually generous rewards programs or perks generally charge annual fees. If you spend enough to offset these fees by earning rewards and net more than you would have with a no-annual-fee alternative, it’s worth the cost.
Final Word
Because freelancers and side hustlers are eligible for many credit cards traditionally marketed to small-business owners with employees or contractors on the payroll, this list overlaps considerably with our overall list of the best credit cards for small-business owners.
The lists aren’t identical, however.
Some of the top cards for small businesses, such as the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card and the Amex Business Platinum Card, aren’t ideal for part-time entrepreneurship or freelance work due to some combination of high annual fees, strict credit underwriting requirements, and welcome offers that require heavier spending than most side hustlers can manage.
That’s not to say those cards don’t appeal to unusually prolific side hustlers.
If you’re fortunate enough to be able to scale your side business into a full-time enterprise with a balance sheet to match, you might find yourself in search of a credit card with a credit limit to meet your spending needs. When that day comes, you’ll be only too happy to trade up.
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Brian Martucci writes about credit cards, banking, insurance, travel, and more. When he’s not investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, you can find him exploring his favorite trails or sampling a new cuisine. Reach him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.
A pending transaction on your bank account means that a transaction is underway but hasn’t been fully processed yet. Perhaps a vendor has accepted your debit card as payment and is working with your bank to receive payment. Or maybe you are expecting an electronic payment but the funds are awaiting release.
Usually, your bank takes a few business days to resolve the pending transaction and post it to your account. However, it’s vital to remember that pending transactions subtract your purchase amount from your bank account as soon as they appear. Likewise, an incoming credit will turn up as an addition to your balance, usually with an anticipated release date.
Bank pending transactions, even if they come from vendors you recognize, may require a closer look. For instance, why is there an extra charge from the gas station you visited this morning? And why would a charge still be pending from the sandwich shop you stopped at last week? These items are examples of pending transactions, which can create holds on your account until your bank resolves them.
Here are the details on how pending transactions affect your finances and what to do about them, including:
• What does pending mean on my bank account?
• What is a pending transaction on my bank account?
• How long does a bank pending transaction on my bank account last?
• What does a pending transaction do to my bank account balance?
What Is a Pending Transaction?
A pending transaction on your bank account means your bank is processing a purchase you made, a bill you paid, or a deposit that’s heading your way, but it hasn’t been completed yet. Either the payment hasn’t been sent to the vendor yet or the incoming funds haven’t cleared, although they are in process.
For instance, when you purchase a good or service by using your debit card, your account will show a pending transaction shortly after. This acknowledges that you used your card, shows the amount, but the transaction isn’t in the rearview mirror just yet. Here’s why:
• Pending purchases happen when you swipe, insert, or tap your card, the business you’re transacting with confirms the card is valid through a quick online process.
• Then, the business accepts the purchase and puts a hold on your account, signifying that your bank needs to pay them for the purchase. This hold creates a pending transaction on your checking account.
• The business resolves the pending transaction on your account by settling your purchase with your bank or financial institution. When your financial institution receives communication from the business, it will perform a bank transaction deposit to the business’s financial account.
• Once the business receives payment, the transaction goes from pending to posted.
Likewise, pending deposits happen when the funds from another account haven’t been released to your bank account yet. However, they appear pending to let you know funds are processing and should be deposited soon. This could reflect a check you deposited or perhaps a direct deposit that you set up.
How long do direct deposits take to clear? Typically, direct deposits can take a couple of days to clear, but paychecks are often orchestrated in advance to show up and be available on payday, so they may appear instantaneous.
If you’ve deposited a check, it typically takes no more than two days to clear, but in some situations, it can take up to a week.
Recommended: What Happens if a Direct Deposit Goes to a Closed Account?
Pending Transaction vs Posted Transaction
A bank pending transaction and a posted transaction represent two different stages of your bank or financial institution processing a payment or a deposit. Specifically, the difference is:
• A pending transaction on your bank account means one of two things: either a merchant initiated a request for payment to your bank because of a purchase you made with your debit card or a deposit is waiting to be released into your account.
• To get to posted transaction status, your bank finishes processing the payment or deposit request, and money goes from your account to the vendor to fund your purchase or vice versa. For example, say you spend $50 at the grocery store. After you use your card, the store communicates with your bank to record a pending transaction. Then, your bank uses funds in your account to fulfill your grocery purchase. Your account has a posted transaction, a debit, of $50 after your bank pays the grocery store.
How Long Does a Transaction Stay Pending?
A transaction typically stays pending for one to three business days. During this time, your bank or financial institution processes the request and transfers money from one account to another according to your purchase or deposit amount.
After these steps occur, the transaction is no longer pending. It becomes a posted transaction.
What Causes a Transaction to Stay Pending?
A transaction can stay pending for various reasons.
• First, the vendor you transacted with might be slow to move the payment from your bank. The transaction stays pending until the vendor accepts payment from your bank. If the vendor takes too long to accept the money, the bank can cancel the transfer. If that happens, the pending transaction will vanish from your account, along with the charge against your balance.
• In addition, pending transactions can take longer to clear because of how businesses operate in specific industries. For example, a hotel won’t resolve a pending transaction on your account until you check out because you might, say, order room service during your stay, increasing your bill. As a result, the pending transaction stays on your account until the hotel can charge the grand total to your card.
• Lastly, transactions can stay pending because of holidays and weekends. During these times, banks and businesses may take longer to resolve pending transactions on your account.
How Does a Pending Transaction Impact Your Account Balance?
Although a pending transaction on your bank account means the vendor hasn’t received payment yet or the funds for the deposit are not cleared, it still influences your account balance. Put another way, pending transactions count toward your balance, which helps prevent you from overspending money.
There’s another benefit to this practice: That quick deduction of pending charges from your bank account balance might help you avoid overdraft or NSF fees. You see how much money is actually in your account and can therefore be cautious with your purchases.
Pending Transaction Examples
Say you have $2,000 in your bank account, and you go to buy a $400 espresso machine. The merchant initiates a hold with your bank account, and your bank creates a $400 pending transaction on your account. This transaction reduces your account balance by $400.
Meanwhile, the bank takes four days to process the merchant’s request. However, the moment the pending transaction hit your account, your balance changed to $1,600. As a result, you had a realistic sense of the money available to spend immediately after buying the espresso machine despite your bank taking four days to pay the merchant.
In other words, the bank pending transaction is instantly subtracted from your bank account to prevent you from overdrafting. So, when managing your checking account, your balance might be lower than expected from time to time. In these situations, check for pending transactions from recent purchases, as they may be taking away from your balance sooner than you thought.
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Can You Cancel a Pending Transaction?
Depending on where you are in the purchase process, you may be able to cancel a pending transaction with the vendor or your bank. Here are a few scenarios to consider. First, here’s how you might be able to work with a vendor:
• Perhaps you place an online order for new clothes and feel buyer’s remorse a few hours later when you see the pending transaction hit your bank account. Fortunately, the vendor probably hasn’t shipped your order yet, so you contact them and cancel the order. Once your vendor processes the cancellation, the pending transaction should disappear from your bank account and restore your available funds.
• What if you placed an online order, but you notice the pending transaction on your bank account is double the amount of what you actually ordered? You realize the vendor has charged your account twice, so you notify them about the issue. Once they rectify the ordering error, the pending transaction should change to the correct amount.
In other situations, contacting your bank or financial institution is a better move.
• If you see an unfamiliar pending transaction from a company you don’t remember doing business with, it’s best to notify your bank of the suspicious activity. The bank will investigate on your behalf and cancel any fraudulent charges.
• If you see a pending transaction for an amount that doesn’t match your records, you can ask your bank to nullify the charge. This option is helpful if you can’t get in touch with the vendor or want to avoid overdrafting your account.
• Say you have a pending transaction from a business that is unresponsive to your communication or refuses to cancel the transaction. In that case, contacting your bank to cancel the pending transaction can resolve the issue.
Recommended: Benefits of Using Mobile Deposit
The Takeaway
A pending transaction on your bank account means your bank is processing a purchase or an incoming deposit from another account. Although a pending transaction signifies your vendor has yet to receive payment or the deposit funds aren’t released yet, the amount involved is typically reflected from your bank account. This gives you an accurate, up-to-date picture of the money you have available.
It’s possible to cancel a pending transaction by contacting the vendor or your bank, but it’s crucial to act quickly.
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FAQ
Are pending transactions already deducted from my account?
Once a pending transaction appears on your bank account, the amount is deducted from your balance. As a result, you don’t have to wait for the transaction to post to see how the purchase impacts your bank account.
What do I do if my transaction is pending?
If your transaction is pending, all you need to do is wait for your bank to resolve the charge with the vendor or the deposit to your account. This process usually takes one to three business days. The only reason to take action regarding a pending transaction is if you want to cancel it.
Can pending transactions be declined?
A vendor can decline a pending transaction by not accepting payment from your bank. This scenario means the vendor loses money on your purchase, so it’s rare for this to happen (unless, say, an item is sold out). The vendor will also decline a pending transaction if you successfully cancel your order with them.
The SoFi Bank Debit Mastercard® is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated and can be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances. SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 4.20% annual percentage yield (APY) interest on Savings account balances (including Vaults) and up to 1.20% APY on Checking account balances. There is no minimum direct deposit amount required to qualify for these rates. Members without direct deposit will earn 1.20% APY on all account balances in Checking and Savings (including Vaults). Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 4/25/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet. SOBK0223017
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We are going to under the cover and discover $14 an hour is how much per year.
For most Americans, this is hovering near minimum wage.
Let’s get this straight… This is not a livable wage.
If you are in high school or college and have support from your parents, then this is great spending money for you.
However, if you are making it on your own, $14 per hour will not make ends meet each month.
For most people, being at minimum wage is common and the goal is to make your way up the payscale and quickly!
In this post, we’re going to detail exactly what $14 an hour is how much a year. Also, we will break it down to know how much is made per month, bi-weekly, per week, and daily.
That will help you immensely with how you spend your money. Because too many times the hard-earned cash is brought home, but there is no actual plan for how to spend that money.
When living close to minimum wage, you must know how to manage money wisely.
More than likely, you are living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to survive until the next paycheck. Take a deep breath and make this minimum wage just a season.
The ultimate goal is to make the most of your hourly wage with inspirations to make more money.
If that is something you want to do, then keep reading. You are in the right place.
$14 an Hour is How Much a Year?
When we ran all of our numbers to figure out how much is $14 per hour is an annual salary, we used the average working day of 40 hours a week.
40 hours x 52 weeks x $14 = $29,120
$29120 is the gross annual salary with a $14 per hour wage.
Breakdown of 14 Dollars an hour is how much a year
Typically, the average workweek is 40 hours and you can work 52 weeks a year. Take 40 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 2,080 working hours. Then, multiply the hourly salary of $14 times 2,080 working hours, and the result is $29,120.
That number is the gross income before taxes, insurance, 401K, or anything else is taken out. Net income is how much you deposit into your bank account.
Work Part Time?
But you may think, oh wait, I’m only working part time. So if you’re working part time, the assumption is working 20 hours a week at $14 an hour.
Only 20 hours per week. Then, take 20 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 1,040 working hours. Then, multiply the hourly salary of $14 times 1,040 working hours, and the result is $14,560.
How Much is $14 Per Month?
On average, the monthly amount would average $2,426.
Annual Amount of $20120 ÷ 12 months = $2426 per month
Since some months have more days and fewer days like February, you can expect months with more days to have a bigger paycheck. Also, this can be heavily influenced by how often you are paid and on which days you get paid.
Work Part Time?
Only 20 hours per week. Then, the monthly amount would average $1213.
How Much is $14 per Hour Per Week
This is a great number to know! How much do I make each week? When I roll out of bed and do my job, what can I expect to make at the end of the week?
Once again, the assumption is 40 hours worked.
40 hours x $14 = $560 per week.
Work Part Time?
Only 20 hours per week. Then, the weekly amount would be $280.
How Much is $14 per Hour Bi-Weekly
For this calculation, take the average weekly pay of $560 and double it.
$560 per week x 2 = $1120
Also, the other way to calculate this is:
40 hours x 2 weeks x $14 an hour = $1120
Work Part Time?
Only 20 hours per week. Then, the bi-weekly amount would be $560.
How Much is $14 Per Hour Per Day
This depends on how many hours you work in a day. For this example, we are going to use an eight-hour workday.
8 hours x $14 per hour = $112 per day.
If you work 10 hours a day for four days, then you would make $140 per day. (10 hours x $14 per hour)
Work Part Time?
Only 4 hours per day. Then, the daily amount would be $56.
$14 Per Hour is…
$14 per Hour – Full Time
Total Income
Yearly Salary (52 weeks)
$29,120
Yearly Wage (50 weeks)
$28,000
Monthly Wage (173 hours)
$2.426
Weekly Wage (40 Hours)
$560
Bi-Weekly Wage (80 Hours)
$1120
Daily Wage (8 Hours)
$112
Net Estimated Monthly Income
$1,853
**These are assumptions based on simple scenarios.
Paid Time Off Earning 14 Dollars an Hour
Does your employer offer paid time off?
As an hourly, close to minimum wage employee, more than likely you will not get paid time off.
So, here are the scenarios for both cases.
For general purposes, we are going to assume you work 40 hours per week over the course of the year.
Case # 1 – With Paid Time Off
Most hourly employees, get two weeks of paid time off which is equivalent to 2 weeks of paid time off.
In this case, you would make $29120 per year.
This is the same as the example above for an annual salary making $14 per hour.
Case #2 – No Paid Time Off
Unfortunately, not all employers offer paid time off to their hourly employees. While that is unfortunate, it is best to plan for less income.
Life happens. There will be times you need to take time off for numerous reasons – sick time, handling an emergency, or even vacation.
So, let’s assume you take 2 weeks off without paid time off.
That means you would only work 50 weeks of the year instead of all 52 weeks. Take 40 hours times 50 weeks and that equals 2,000 working hours. Then, multiply the hourly salary of $14 times 2,000 working hours, and the result is $28,000.
40 hours x 50 weeks x $14 = $28000
You would average $112 per working day and nothing when you don’t work.
$14 an Hour is How Much a year After Taxes
Let’s be honest… Taxes can take up a big chunk of your paycheck. Thus, you need to know how taxes can affect your hourly wage.
This is why you always wondering why your take-home pay is so much less.
Also, every single person’s tax situation is different.
On the basic level, let’s assume a 12% federal tax rate and a 4% state rate. Plus a percentage is taken out for Social Security and Medicare (FICA) of 7.65%.
Gross Annual Salary: $29,120
Federal Taxes of 12%: $3,494
State Taxes of 4%: $1,165
Social Security and Medicare of 7.65%: $2,228
$14 an Hour per Year after Taxes: $22,233
This would be your net annual salary after taxes.
To turn that back into an hourly wage, the assumption is working 2,080 hours.
$22233 ÷ 2080 hours = $10.69 per hour
After estimated taxes and FICA, you are netting $10.69 an hour. That is $3.31 an hour less than what you planned.
This is a very highlighted example and can vary greatly depending on your personal situation. Therefore, here is a great tool to help you figure out how much your net paycheck would be.
$14 an Hour Budget – Example
You are probably wondering can I live on my own making 14 dollars an hour? How much rent can you afford at 14 an hour?
Using our Cents Plan Formula, this is the best case scenario on how to budget your $14 per hour paycheck.
When using these percentages, it is best to use net income because taxes must be paid.
In this example, above we calculated that $14 an hour was $10.69 after taxes. That would average $1853 per month.
According to the Cents Plan Formula, here is the high level view of a $14 per hour budget:
Basic Expenses of 50% = $926
Save Money of 20% = $371
Give Money of 10% = $185
Fun Spending of 20% = $371
Debt of 0% = $0
Obviously, that is not doable when living so close to minimum wage. So, you have to be strategic on ways to decrease your basic expenses and debt. Then, it will allow you more money to save and fun spending.
To further break down an example budget of $14 per hour, then using the ideal household percentages is extremely helpful.
recommended budget percentages based on $14 per hour wage:
Category
Ideal Percentages
Sample Monthly Budget
Giving
10%
$73
Savings
15-25%
$194
Housing
20-30%
$728
Utilities
4-7%
$121
Groceries
5-12%
$231
Clothing
1-4%
$24
Transportation
4-10%
$109
Medical
5-12%
$243
Life Insurance
1%
$21
Education
1-4%
$12
Personal
2-7%
$36
Recreation / Entertainment
3-8%
$61
Debts
0% – Goal
$0
Government Tax (including Income Tatumx, Social Security & Medicare)
15-25%
$574
Total Gross Income
$2427
**In this budget, prioritization was given to basic expenses. Thus, some categories like giving and saving were less.
$14 An Hour Salary Calculator
Now, you get to figure out how much you make based on your hours worked or if you make a wage between $14.01-14.99.
This is super helpful if you make $14.25, $14.50, or $14.75.
Living on $14 Per Hour
Living close to minimum wage can be a very difficult situation.
Is it doable? Probably not for long.
You just have to be wiser (or frugal) with your money and how you spend the hard-earned cash you have been blessed with.
A lot of times when people are making under near the minimum wage mark, they feel like they are in this constant cycle that they can never keep up with (which completely makes sense it is hard!).
When your thoughts are constantly focused on how you are struggling to keep up with bills and expenses, that is all you focus on.
You need to do is change your money mindset.
This is what you say to yourself… Okay, I am making near minimum wage for now. I have aspirations and goals to increase how much I make. For now, I am going to make sure that I am able to live on my 14 dollars per hour. I’m going to try and avoid debt and payday loans at all costs.
Other Tips to Help You:
Check your minimum wage for your state and city. You might find a higher minimum wage in a nearby city.
Look to living in a lower cost of living area to stretch your money.
Find ways to minizine your basic expenses.
Thrive with a frugal green minimalist lifestyle.
Decide if a roommate or moving back with your parents would help.
Bike or walk to work.
In the next section, we will dig into ways to increase your income, but for now, you must focus on living on $14 an hour.
5 Ways to Increase Your Hourly Wage
This right here is the most important section of this post.
You need to figure out ways to increase your hourly income because I’m going to tell you…you deserve more. You do a good job and your value is higher than what your employers pay you.
Even an increase of 50 cents to $14.50 will add up over the year. Even better $15 an hour!
1. Ask for a Raise
The first thing to do is ask for a raise. Walk right in and ask for a raise because you never know what the answer will be until you ask.
If you want the best tips on how specifically to ask for a raise and what the average wage is for somebody doing your job, then check out this book. In this book, the author gives you the exact way to increase your income. The purchase is worth it or go down to the library and check that book out.
2. Look for A New Job
Another way to increase your hourly wage is to look for a new job. Maybe a completely new industry.
It might be a total change for you, but many times, if you want to change your financial situation, then that starts with a career change. Maybe you’re stressed out at work. Making $14 an hour is too much for you and you’re not able to enjoy life, maybe changing jobs and finding another job may increase your pay, but it will also increase your quality of life.
3. Find a New Career
Because of student loans, too many employees feel like they are stuck in the career field they chose. They feel sucked into the job that they don’t like or have the potential they thought it would.
For many years, I was in the same situation until I decided to do a complete career change. I am glad I did. I have the flexibility that I needed in my life to do what I wanted when I needed to do it. Plus I am able to enjoy my entrepreneurial spirit.
4. Find Alternative Ways to Make Money
In today’s society, you need to find ways to make more money. Period.
There is no way to get around it. You need to find additional income outside a traditional nine to five position or typical 40 hour a week job. You will reach a point where you are maxed on what you can make in your current position or title. There may be some advancement to move forward, but in many cases, there just is not much room for growth.
So, you need to find a side hustle – another way to make money.
Do something that you enjoy, turn your hobby into a way to make money, turn something that you naturally do, and help others into a service business. In today’s society, the sky is the limit on how you can earn a freelancing income.
5. Earn Passive Income
The last way to increase your hourly wage is to start earning passive income.
This can be from a variety of ways including the stock market, real estate, online courses, book sales, etc. This is where the differentiation between struggling financially and being financially sound happens.
By earning money passively, you are able to do the things that you enjoy doing and not be loaded down, with having a job that you need to work, and a place that you have to go to. And you still make money doing nothing.
Here is an example:
You can start a brokerage account and start trading stocks for $50. You need to learn and take the one and only investing class I recommend. Learn how the market works, watch videos, and practice in a simulator before you start using your own money.
One gentleman started with $5,000 in his trading account and now has well over $36,000 in a year. Just from practice and being consistent, he has learned that passive income is the way for him to increase his income and also not be a slave to his job.
Tips to Live on $14 an Hour
In this last section, grasp these tips on how to live on $14 an hour. On our site, you can find lots of money saving tips to help stretch your income further.
Here are the most important tips to live on $14 an hour. Highlight these!
1. Spend Less Than you Make
First, you must learn to spend less than you make.
If not you will be caught in the debt cycle and that is not where you want to be. You will be consistently living paycheck to paycheck.
In order to break that dreadful cycle, it means your expenses must be less than your income.
And when I say income, it’s not the $14 an hour. As we talked about earlier in the post, there are taxes. The amount of taxes taken out of your paycheck is called your net income which is your home $14 an hour minus all the taxes, FICA, social security, and medicare are taken out. That is your net income.
So, your net income has to be less than your net income.
2. Living Below Your Means
You need to be happy. And living on less can actually make you happier. Studies prove that less is better.
Finding contentment in life is one thing that is a struggle for most.
We are driven to want the new shiny toy, the thing next door, the stuff your friend or family member got. Our society has trained you that you need these things as well.
Have you ever taken a step back and looked at what you really need?
Once you are able to find contentment with life, then you are going to be set for the long term with your finances.
Here is our story on owning less stuff. We have been happier since.
3. Make Saving Money Fun
You need to make saving money fun. Period.
It could be participating in a no spend challenge for the month.
Check out the 200 envelope challenge (which is doable on your income)
It could be challenging friends not to go to Target for a week.
Maybe changing your habits and not picking up takeout and planning meals.
Whatever it is challenge yourself.
Find new ways of saving money and have fun with it.
Even better, get your family and kids involved in the challenge to save money. Tell them the reason why you are saving money and this is what you are doing.
Here are 101 things to do with no money. Free activities without costing you a dime. That is an amazing resource for you and you will never be bored.
And you will learn a lot of things in life you can do for free. Personally, some of the best ones are getting outside and enjoying some fresh air.
4. Make More Money
If you want if you do not settle for less, then find ways to make more money. If you want more out of life, then increase your income.
You need to be an advocate for yourself.
Find ways to make more money.
It could be a side hustle, a second job, asking for a raise, going to school to change careers, or picking up extra hours.
Whatever path you take, that’s fine. Just find ways to make more money. Period.
5. No State Taxes
Paying taxes is one option to increase what you take home in each paycheck.
These are the states that don’t pay state income taxes on wages:
Alaska
Florida
Nevada
New Hampshire
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Washington
Wyoming
It is very interesting if you take into account the amount of state taxes paid compared to a state with income taxes.
Also, if you live in one of the higher taxed states, then you may want to reconsider moving to a lower cost of living area. The higher taxes income tax states include California, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, the District of Columbia, New York, Vermont, Iowa, and Wisconsin. These states tax income somewhere between 7.65% – 13.3%.
6. Stick to a Budget
You need to learn how to start a budget. We have tons budgeting resources for you.
While creating a budget is great, you need to learn how to use one.
You do not have to budget down to every last penny.
You need to make sure your expenses are less than your income and that you are creating sinking funds for those irregular expenses.
Budget Help:
7. Pay Off Debt Quickly
The amount that you pay interest on debt is absolutely absurd.
Unfortunately, that is how many of these companies make their money from the interest you pay on debt.
If you are paying 5% to even 20-21% or higher, you need to find ways to lower that debt quickly.
Here’s a debt calculator to help you. Figure out your debt free date.
Make that paying off debt fast is your target and main focus. I can tell you from personal experience, that it was not until week paid off our debt that we finally rounded the corner financially. Once our debt was paid off, we could finally be able to save money. Set money aside in separate bank accounts and pay for cash for things.
It took us working hard to pay off debt. We needed persistence and patience while we had setbacks in our debt free journey.
Jobs that Pay $14 an Hour
You can always find jobs that pay $14 per hour. Polish up that smile, fill out the application, and be prepared with your interview skills.
Job Search Hint: Always send a written follow-up thank you note for your interview. That will help you get noticed and remembered.
First, look at the cities that require a minimum wage in their cities. That is the best place to start to find jobs that are going to pay higher than the federal minimum wage rate. Many of the cities are moving towards this model so, target and look for jobs in those areas.
Possible Ideas:
Cashiers
Back of the house restaurant staff
Landscape Laborer
Retail jobs
Paraeducators at schools
Janitors
Farm help
Warehouse workers
Fast Food Restaurants workers
$14 Per Hour Annual Salary
In this post, we detailed 14 an hour is how much a year. Plus all of the variables can impact your net income. This is something that you can live off.
How much is 14 dollars an hour annually…
$29120
This is under $30000 per year and you need to make at least $43k a year.
In this post, we highlighted ways to increase your income as well as tips for living off your wage.
Use the sample budget as a starting point with your expenses.
You will have to be savvy and wise with your hard-earned income. But, with a plan, anything is possible!
Learn exactly how much do I make per year…
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further
It’s no small task to hire someone to work on your house.
Even if you have a starting point — say, a neighbor’s recommendation for a great electrician — you’ll still have to put in the time to fully vet the contractor before handing over the master key to your front door.
Hiring a pro is a big decision, so make sure your decision-making process is spot on the first time.
Here are the four stages of hiring the perfect pro to finish your home’s to-do list:
DIY or not.
Every homeowner has a decision to make: Do you try to go it alone, or do you call in a professional to do it right the first time?
So when something breaks in your house, evaluate the damage on a scale of DIY to Don’t.
Sure, a little Drano might take care of the clog in your shower, but do you feel the same level of proficiency for installing your recently purchased dishwasher? Or for fixing an outlet that produces an inconsistent current?
And there are other considerations as well: You might feel comfortable cleaning your own gutters, but what if you didn’t have the right size ladder?
Thinking through these details ensure that you’ll be confident in your decision to spend the money to bring a pro into your home.
Reputation: It matters.
No matter the scale of the work you need done in your house — be it a clogged sink or a full kitchen remodel — the contractor you choose will be in your most sacred of spaces: your home.
You need to hire someone you can trust. So before you put money down on any home-service pro, ask your neighbors if they’ve ever hired the pro you have in mind.
(It’s helpful to get your neighbors’ perspectives, as they might be able to recommend someone who’s done work on the other houses in the neighborhood.)
Double-check everything online; many pros with long service records will have the same on review sites, so you’ll be able to back up his or her work history with pictures and reviews from sites like Yelp.
Price shop.
Trying to get the best price on your home projects goes hand-in-hand with investigating the reputation of the pro you’re hiring to do the work.
Beware of any prices that sound too rock-bottom to be true. Pros who know their market and have the most experience in a certain specialty will charge you accordingly.
Aspiring contractors with little experience will seem like a comparative steal, but think about the long-term effects: You may end up investing more in the long term if you bring in someone at a lower price and an equally low level of experience.
On the flip side, though, a high price tag isn’t an acceptable substitute for knowing a pro’s experience, and you’re much more likely to feel price gouged if you don’t get a handful of quotes from nearby pros to get an idea of the high, low, and median for your project.
Negotiate and schedule.
Not the other way around.
Within these negotiations should be some guidelines set around the timing of your project — an easy thing to predict if you’ve got a small repair to make, but a much tougher thing to do if you’re staring down a remodel.
Cost and time are typically tied tightly to each other, and you’ll want to keep an eye on the time in order to lasso in the price tag for the project.
And the best way to do this? Get it in writing.
Have both your signature and the pro’s on a tidy document outlining the time frame of the work and the cost associated with the labor and materials.
Tip: A reputable pro won’t ask you for more than 15% of the cost up front, so be wary of any contractor who wants your payment before the work has begun.
The bottom line.
Sure, it’s a lot to consider, and the process of choosing one might take awhile, so it’s best to proactively work on projects before they become a hazard to your life.
But your home — arguably the largest investment you’ll ever make — is worth getting the right pro the first time.
This post was provided by RedBeacon, the best way to find trusted pros for your home. Find out how much home services cost using their free price estimator. Stop overpaying for home repairs today!
Save more, spend smarter, and make your money go further
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A restored and rarely available home known as a “super Eichler” in Walnut Creek, CA, flaunts an amazing architectural pedigree.
Listed for $1,995,000, the 2,435-square-foot dwelling is in the North Gate subdivision, the last Eichler development in the East Bay.
So, what is a super Eichler anyway?
“They were on larger parcels and the houses were larger,” says Thomas Westfall, of Compass. “All of them had four bedrooms—if not five, even six.”
Completed in 1969, the four-bedroom, 2.5-bath home was designed by Claude Oakland, “one of the most prolific [Eichler] architects,” says Westfall. “Joe Eichler was the developer.”
Roughly 11,000 of these modest, midcentury modern, tract homes were designed and built between 1956 and the late 1960s, mostly in Northern and Southern California. As ranch-level dwellings, they feature atriums and range between 1,300 and 1,500 square feet.
This home is one of just five super Eichler designs in the East Bay. The extra-large floor plan and cheery, yellow decor made the listing a magnet for vintage-home enthusiasts.
And within a week, multiple bids were made. An offer was accepted, and the property is listed as pending sale.
“There is definitely a following of people who want to live in an Eichler,” Westfall says.
In 2004, the sellers—who previously lived in another Eichler home—snapped this one up for $720,000. After almost 20 years and major restorations, they are now letting it go.
The sellers added an insulated, foam roof to improve heating and cooling efficiency. There’s also a new boiler, updated electrical system, flooring, and custom closet doors.
The sellers “did all of the landscaping, including irrigation, accent lighting, and paving,” says Westfall. “They [also] remodeled the bathrooms and the kitchen and replaced the interior doors with solid-core doors, as well as heightened and lightened them.”
The listing includes an attached, two-car garage.
Entry
(Open Homes Photography)
Living room
(Open Homes Photography)
Kitchen and adjacent outdoor dining area
(Open Homes Photography)
Fireplace
(Open Homes Photography)
Den
(Open Homes Photography)
One of the bedrooms
(Open Homes Photography)
One of the baths
(Open Homes Photography)
Standout space
The super-sized Eichler design has what’s known as the “H Plan” layout, a truly notable style.
“It’s the only Eichler with the double-door entrance and the only atrium, I’m aware of, that is more than 500 square feet,” says Westfall. “That’s the whole Eichler philosophy—bringing the outdoors in.”
Nearly all rooms open to the outdoors via sliding-glass doors.
The prospect of living in Walnut Creek is a major draw for buyers.
“It has some of the highest-rated schools in the Bay Area,” Westfall notes. “It’s like the Palo Alto of the East Bay. There’s a downtown with shopping, nice restaurants, and the Apple Store. North Gate is very walkable.”
I get sick when I think about that day and the mistake that cost me $5,000.
I compare it to something in between smashing my thumb with a hammer to breaking your mother’s most beloved piece of China.
It is something that makes me sick just reliving it.
I actually just puked in my mouth a little bit. <ugh….>
I had been a financial advisor for almost four years so I should’ve known better.
But thanks to a lot of greed and even more ignorance, I got my rear handed to me on a silver platter.
The Temptation
I was meeting with a client who was telling me the story about their daughter’s boyfriend whose dad worked for some mining company.
[Do you see how bad this starts off? I usually make fun of people that will even entertain stories like this. And here I was caught up in the moment. Back to the story…]
The client was telling me how this company had just signed some new deals and since it was a penny stock, otherwise known as an OTC or over-the-counter thinly traded security, there wasn’t a lot of news about it. His theory was that this penny stock could soar pretty quickly.
[Don’t you like how I’m getting advice from my client who really knows nothing about investing. And I’m really considering taking his advice about what the next stock is I’m going to buy? This has “epic fail” written all over it. ]
I had some cash in my investment account (lucky me!) so I thought I might as well give it a shot.
[Seriously, that was my logic: “might as well give it a shot”. I should have hired one of these advisors to punch me in the face.]
I proceeded to place a trade to buy a certain number of shares of this stock that was going to make me millions.
[Hah. Not even close buddy. Not by a long shot.]
Buying an OTC Stock – Woops
When buying an over-the-counter stock, otherwise known as a penny stock, you must be sure to protect yourself and make sure that when you place an order to buy or sell, that you put a specific price on it. I unfortunately put an order in to buy “at market”.
Translating, that means that I put an open order to buy whatever a price that someone is going to sell it to me for. If you think about it in Ebay terms, instead of bidding on the price, I elected to “Buy Now” and the seller could increase the price if they so choose.
In larger stocks that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ, that’s typically not an issue because the market will keep that price in check. In the over-the-counter market, it’s a different story. An entirely different story.
The Wild, Wild West
You can think of the OTC market like the Wild, Wild West of trading. Just because the stock is trading at $0.90 doesn’t mean that you’ll buy or sell those shares at $.90.
If I put a buy order in “at market”, that price could shoot up to $1.90, $3.00; whatever their price might be. Essentially that’s what happened in my case.
I had put in an order to buy say 2,500 shares (I don’t remember the exact number) and a few 100 of the shares executed at what I thought was the market price. But I quickly and expensively learned that a lot of them issued at a price double of what I intended to buy it for.
To make matters worse, after the trade settled, the prices were displaying what I thought I was paying for it in the beginning. To summarize:
I submitted a buy order for 2500 shares of a penny stock “at market” and thought I was buying it for $.90.
I bought a few hundred shares at $.90 but most executed at least 2 if not 3 times that. That means I made an investment of $5,000 instead of what I thought was going to be $2,250.
After the trade settled, the price reverted back to the original price of $.90. If I sold it that day I would take an immediate huge loss.
If I’m doing a bad job of explaining how the system works, it’s a further demonstration of why I have no business buying penny stocks. Chances are if you’re reading this, you fit that description, too, so let’s reflect of how I screwed up royally.
Don’t Do as I Do, But Do as I Say
Before you start trying to make yourself believe that you can make millions off buying penny stocks, take note of how I screwed up and I let my over-confidence and flat out ignorance get the best of me.
I listened to advice from someone I had no business getting advice from. My client knew nothing about the stock, knew nothing about the company, other than what his daughter’s boyfriend had told him. Whenever you’re getting investment advice from someone, make sure you consider the source.
I had no idea how the over-the-counter market works. This system works nothing like logging into my TD Ameritrade account and picking up a stock on the NY exchange. It’s more like traveling to Spain, going to a flea market, and trying to bargain with a vendor even though I don’t speak the language. Chances are I’m going to be screwed just like I was in this situation.
Greed is not always good. I don’t care what Gordon Gekko says, I was doing just fine making a decent return on my boring mutual funds but the chance of quadrupling my money in a short amount of time got the best of me.
That was the last penny stock that I’ve ever bought and will ever buy again. I don’t care if my best friend’s uncle’s seamstress knows a guy that has an insider at some other company. Never again…
Have you invested money into something that you didn’t understand?
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36k salary is a solid hourly wage; above most minimum hourly wage jobs.
For most people, an entry-level job would be paying just over $36,000 a year. The question that remains is can you make a living off $36k a year.
The median household income is $67,521 in 2020 which decreased by 2.9% from the previous year (source). Think of it as a bell curve with $68K at the top; the median means half of the population makes less than that and half makes more money.
The average income in the U.S. is $48,672 for a 40-hour workweek; that is an increase of 4% from the previous year (source). That means if you take everyone’s income and divided the money evenly between all of the people.
But, the question remains can you truly live off 36,000 per year in today’s society since it is well below both the average and median household incomes? The question you want to ask all of your friends is $36000 per year a good salary.
In this post, we are going to dive into everything that you need to know about a $36000 salary including hourly pay and a sample budget on how to spend and save your money.
These key facts will help you with money management and learn how much per hour $36k is as well as what you make per month, weekly, and biweekly.
Just like with any paycheck, it seems like money quickly goes out of your account to cover all of your bills and expenses, and you are left with a very small amount remaining. You may be disappointed that you were not able to reach your financial goals and you are left wondering…
Can I make a living on this salary?
$36000 a year is How Much an Hour?
When jumping from an hourly job to a salary for the first time, it is helpful to know how much is 36k a year hourly. That way you can decide whether or not the job is worthwhile for you.
36000 salary / 2080 hours = $17.31 per hour
$36000 a year is $17.31 per hour
Let’s breakdown how that 36000 salary to hourly number is calculated.
For our calculations to figure out how much is 36K salary hourly, we used the average five working days of 40 hours a week.
Typically, the average workweek is 40 hours and you can work 52 weeks a year. Take 40 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 2,080 working hours. Then, divide the yearly salary of $36000 by 2,080 working hours and the result is $17.31 per hour.
Just above $17 an hour.
That number is the gross hourly income before taxes, insurance, 401K, or anything else is taken out. Net income is how much you deposit into your bank account.
You must check with your employer on how they plan to pay you. For those on salary, typically companies pay on a monthly, semi-monthly, biweekly, or weekly basis.
What If I Increased My Salary?
Just an interesting note… if you were to increase your annual salary by $7K to $43K per year, it would increase your hourly wage to over $20 an hour – a difference of $3.36 per hour.
To break it down – 43k a year is how much an hour = $20.67
That difference will help you fund your savings account; just remember every dollar adds up.
How Much is $36K salary Per Month?
On average, the monthly amount would be $3,000.
Annual Salary of $36000 ÷ 12 months = $3000 per month
This is how much you make a month if you get paid 36000 a year.
$36k a year is how much a week?
This is a great number to know! How much do I make each week? When I roll out of bed and do my job of $36k salary a year, how much can I expect to make at the end of the week for my effort?
Once again, the assumption is 40 hours worked.
Annual Salary of$36000/52 weeks = $692 per week.
$36000 a year is how much biweekly?
For this calculation, take the average weekly pay of $692 and double it.
This depends on how many hours you work in a day. For this example, we are going to use an eight-hour workday.
8 hours x 52 weeks = 260 working days
Annual Salary of$36000 / 260 working days = $138 per day
If you work a 10 hour day on 208 days throughout the year, you make $173 per day.
$36000 Salary is…
$36000 – Full Time
Total Income
Yearly Salary (52 weeks)
$36,000
Monthly Salary
$3,000
Weekly Wage (40 Hours)
$692
Bi-Weekly Wage (80 Hours)
$1,384
Daily Wage (8 Hours)
$138
Daily Wage (10 Hours)
$173
Hourly Wage
$17.31
Net Estimated Monthly Income
$2,290
Net Estimated Hourly Income
$13.21
**These are assumptions based on simple scenarios.
36k a year is how much an hour after taxes
Income taxes is one of the biggest culprits of reducing your take-home pay as well as FICA and Social Security. This is a true fact across the board with an all-salary range up to $142,800.
When you make below the average household income, the amount of taxes taken out hurts your hourly wage.
Every single tax situation is different.
On the basic level, let’s assume a 12% federal tax rate and a 4% state rate. Plus a percentage is taken out for Social Security and Medicare (FICA) of 7.65%.
So, how much an hour is 36000 a year after taxes?
Gross Annual Salary: $36,000
Federal Taxes of 12%: $4,320
State Taxes of 4%: $1,440
Social Security and Medicare of 7.65%: $2,754
$36k Per Year After Taxes is $27,486
This would be your net annual salary after taxes.
To turn that back into an hourly wage, the assumption is working 2,080 hours.
$27486 ÷ 2,080 hours = $13.21 per hour
After estimated taxes and FICA, you are netting $27,486 per year, which is $8,514 per year less than what you expect.
***This is a very high-level example and can vary greatly depending on your personal situation and potential deductions. Therefore, here is a great tool to help you figure out how much your net paycheck would be.***
Taxes Based On Your State
In addition, if you live in a heavily taxed state like California or New York, then you have to pay way more money than somebody that lives in a no tax state like Texas or Florida. This is the debate of HCOL vs LCOL.
Thus, your yearly gross $36000 income can range from $24,606 to $28,926 depending on your state income taxes.
That is why it is important to realize the impact income taxes can have on your take home pay. It is one of those things that you should acknowledge and obviously you need to pay taxes. But, it can also put a huge dent in your ability to live the lifestyle you want on a $36,000 income.
How Much Is 36K A Year Hourly Salary Calculator
More than likely, your salary is not a flat 36k, here is a tool to convert salary to hourly calculator.
Many entry-level jobs start at this range, which may make you believe that a business degree is worth it.
36k salary lifestyle
Every person reading this post has a different upbringing and a different belief system about money. Therefore, what would be a lavish lifestyle to one person, maybe a frugal lifestyle to another person? And there’s no wrong or right, it is what works best for you.
One of the biggest factors to consider is your cost of living.
In another post, we detailed the differences of living in an HCOL vs LCOL vs MCOL area. When you live in big cities, trying to maintain your lifestyle of $36,000 a year is going to be extremely difficult because your basic expenses, housing, transportation, food, and clothing are going to be much more expensive than you would find in a lower cost area.
To stretch your dollar further in the high cost of living area, you would have to probably live a very frugal lifestyle and prioritize where you want to spend money and where you do not. Whereas, if you live in a low-cost of living area, you can afford the cost of living and maybe save more money. Thus, you have more fun spending left in your account each month.
As we noted earlier in the post, $36,000 a year is well below the average income that you would find in the United States. Thus, you have to be wise in how you spend your money.
What a $36,000 lifestyle will buy you:
If you are debt free and utilize smart money management skills, then you are able to enjoy the lifestyle you want.
You are able to rent in a decent neighborhood in LCOL.
Driving a beater car is normal.
You should be able to meet your basic expenses each and every month.
Not be able to afford many of the fun spending luxuries.
Ability to make sure that saving money is a priority, and very possibly save $5000 in one year.
When A $36,000 Salary Will Hold you Back:
However, if you are riddled with debt or unable to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, then living off of 36k a year is going to be pretty darn difficult.
There are two factors that will keep holding you back:
You must pay off debt and cut all fun spending and extra expenses.
Break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.
It is possible to get ahead with money!
It just comes with proper money management skills and a desire to have less stress around money. That is a winning combination regardless of your income level.
$36K a year Budget – Example
As always, here at Money Bliss, we focus on covering our basic expenses plus saving and giving first, and then our goal is to eliminate debt. The rest of the money leftover is left for fun spending.
If you want to know how to manage a 36k salary the best, then this is a prime example for you to compare your spending.
You can compare your budget to the ideal household budget percentages.
recommended budget percentages based on $36000 a year salary:
Category
Ideal Percentages
Sample Monthly Budget
Giving
10%
$150
Savings
15-25%
$450
Housing
20-30%
$884
Utilities
4-7%
$135
Groceries
5-12%
$270
Clothing
1-4%
$18
Transportation
4-10%
$135
Medical
5-12%
$150
Life Insurance
1%
$8
Education
1-4%
$8
Personal
2-7%
$24
Recreation / Entertainment
3-8%
$60
Debts
0% – Goal
$0
Government Tax (including Income Tatumx, Social Security & Medicare)
15-25%
$710
Total Gross Monthly Income
$3000
**In this budget, prioritization was given to basic expenses and no debt.
Is $36,000 a year a Good Salary?
As we stated earlier if you are able to make $36,000 a year, that is a low salary. You are making around or just above minimum wage.
While 36000 is a decent salary just starting out in your working years, it is a salary that you want to rapidly increase before your expenses go up or the people you provide for increase. If not, you will be left working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
However, too many times people get stuck in the lifestyle trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses, and their lifestyle desires get out of hand compared to their salary. And what they thought used to be a great salary actually is not making ends meet at this time.
This $36k salary would be considered a lower class salary. You must make each dollar count in your budget.
Check: Are you in the middle class?
In fact, this income level in the United States has enough buying power to put you in the top 95 percentile globally for per person income (source).
The question you need to ask yourself with your 36k salary is:
Am I maxed at the top of my career?
Is there more income potential?
What obstacles do I face if I want to try to increase my income?
In the future years and with possible inflation, in many modest cities 36,000 a year is not a good salary because the cost of living is so high, whereas these are some of the cities where you can make a decent living at 36000 per year.
If you are looking for a career change, you want to find jobs paying at least $45000 a year.
Is 36k a good salary for a Single Person?
Simply put, you can make it work.
You can stretch your salary much further because you are only worried about your own expenses. A single person will spend much less than if you need to provide for someone else.
Your living expenses and ideal budget are much less. Thus, you can live comfortably for $36000 per year.
And… most of us probably regret how much money wasted when we were single. Oh well, lesson learned.
Is 36k a good salary for a family?
Many of the same principles apply above on whether $36000 is a good salary. The main difference with a family, you have more people to provide for than when you are single or have just one other person in your household.
At the 36K salary with a family, you would need more than one income stream to make this possible without government help.
The costs of raising children are high and will steeply cut into your income. As you can tell this is a huge dent in your income, specifically $12,980 annually per child and this does not include college.
That means that amount of money is coming out of the income that you earned.
So, the question really remains can you provide a good life for your family making $36,000 a year? This is the hardest part because each family has different choices, priorities, and values.
More or less, it comes down to two things:
The location where you live in.
Desire to improve your career and make more money.
Your lifestyle choices.
You will not be able to afford everything on this salary.
Many times when raising a family, it is helpful to have a dual-income household. That way you are able to provide the necessary expenses if both parties were making 36,000 per year, then the combined income for the household would be $72,000. Thus making your combined salary a very good income.
Learn how much money a family of 4 needs in each state.
Can you Live on 36000 Per Year?
As we outlined earlier in the post, $36000 a year:
$17.31 Per Hour
$138-173 Per Day (depending on the length of day worked)
$692 Per Week
$1384 Per Biweekly
$3000 Per Month
Next up is making $40,000 a year.
Like anything else in life, you get to decide how to spend, save and give your money.
That is the difference for each person on whether or not you can live a lower-class lifestyle depends on many potential factors. If you live in California or New Jersey you are gonna have a tougher time than Oklahoma or even Texas.
In addition, if you are early in your career, starting out around 32,000 a year, that is a okay place to be getting your career. However, if you have been in your career for over 20 years and still making $36K, then you probably need to look at asking for pay increases, pick up a second job, or find a different career path.
Regardless of the wage that you make, if you are not able to live the lifestyle that you want, then you have to find ways to make it work for you. Everybody has choices to make.
But one of the things that can help you the most is to stick to our ideal household budget percentages to make sure you stay on track.
Learn exactly how much do I make per year…
One of the best ways to improve your personal finance situation is to increase your income. Here are a variety of side hustles that are very lucrative. With time and effort, you can start enjoying the lifestyle you want.
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Have you ever wondered how you could double your money with or without the stock market? The reality is, there are a ton of ways you can double your money by investing smartly and giving it enough time. There are also plenty of ways to double your money in a hurry — maybe within a day.
The thing is, it’s a lot easier to double a $300 or $500 initial investment than it is to double, say, $10,000 or $20,000. Either way, we all want our money to grow, and there are lots of ways to achieve a great return-on-investment on both your money and your time.
Let’s Talk Safety vs. ROI
Wouldn’t we all want an investment which gave us a 12% ROI and had no risk? That would be a perfect world.
Sadly, you won’t find an investment with decent returns which doesn’t come with a certain level of risk.
Think of safety and ROI as a seesaw. The more you have of one, the less you’re going to have of the other. As the old adage goes, “more risk, more reward.”
For example, let’s look at investments with low-risk.
Bonds are a common low-risk investment. If you buy a long-term bond, you can get around 4% back on your investment. This means that bonds will give you a modest return (depending on the type of bond) and they have almost zero risk.
At the other end of the spectrum, you’ll find stocks, REITs, and high-yield bonds. These are going to come with a much higher level of risk, but there is a chance you could make a lot more money over the long-term.
For example, you can put some money in a REIT. You could get dividends worth around 15%, but the real estate market can be shaky.
If someone ever tells you they have an investment you can make excellent returns on with ZERO risk, then it’s probably a scam. You will never be able to invest your money without the chance of losing some or all of it.
The Rule of 72
The Rule of 72 is an easy strategy you can use to determine how long it will take for an investment to double based on a fixed rate.
To use this method, all you have to do is take the number 72 and divide it by the rate of return you expect to receive. The number you get back is a rough estimate of how many years it’s going to take for the investment to double.
Here’s a good example: Let’s say you invest in a specific index fund known as the Mid-Cap Growth Fund from T. Rowe Price (RPMGX), which has returned a whopping 14.91% for investors over the last 10 years. Using the Rule of 72, you would find this fund might let you double your money in 4.82 years. That’s pretty amazing if you ask me.
But all funds are not created equal. Imagine for a moment you invested in VanEck Global Hard Assets (GHAAX) instead, which has featured an average return of .67% over the last 15 years. Using the Rule of 72, you would probably be shocked to find that you could double your money with this fund in 107 years. Obviously, that is not going to do you much good!
With all this in mind, one problem with the Rule of 72 is the fact that, the higher the rate of return is, the less accurate it becomes. This is due to the fact that, by and large, short-term investment returns are incredibly volatile and hard to predict. With that in mind, my suggestion is you never use the Rule of 72 as a “hard” rule. Instead, use it as a rough estimate of what you may be able to earn on an investment.
50/50 Approach
The 50/50 investment technique has become one of the most popular through the years.
The idea is simple: Put half of your investments in stocks and the other half in bonds. Ideally, the bonds will give you financial security while the stocks give you an opportunity to achieve much higher returns.
With that being said, my suggestion is to put half of your money into a CD. You will be able to sleep at night knowing you won’t lose the money, but you can still earn a slight return.
Take the other half of the money and put into some higher risk investments. This can be mutual funds or ETFs depending on your goals and your risk tolerance.
These investments can help you earn some extra returns without leaving you high and dry if something were to happen to the investment market.
7 Ways to Double Your Money Fast
If you don’t want to wait a decade or longer to double your money, there are some ways to double smaller initial investments in a hurry. Some of these strategies require more work than others, but at least one of them should work for you. Read over these options, pick one, and get started toward doubling your investment right away.
Get a free stock
When you open an account with Robinhood, you get a free stock. You don’t get to choose which stock since Robinhood randomly chooses from their inventory of settled shares. However, you will get a stock worth something, and you can keep it or sell it down the line.
Better yet, Robinhood will give you a free stock each time you refer a family member or friend who opens an account through your link. You can receive up to $500 in free stock through referrals each calendar year, which is pretty sweet.
Webull is another online brokerage firm that offers free stock when you meet certain conditions. Just remember that the stock you receive will be chosen automatically from their settled shares, so the value of your free stocks can vary. In total, you can receive a stock worth up to $250 for opening your account and another stock worth up to $1,400 with your initial investment of at least $100.
These options are actually better than doubling your money. Robinhood and Webull offer free money, and who wouldn’t want that?
Buy the right IPO
An IPO is an initial public offering, which is basically the first time a stock is being sold to the general public. IPOs can wind up flopping for sure, but you can definitely double your money or better if you buy into the right IPO at the right time.
Case in point: The IPO price for Facebook stock was around $38, yet its trading at over $290 as of this writing. If you had bought a single share at the IPO price point, you would have received a return of over 700 percent so far.
The same is true with Tesla stock, which was originally offered at around $17 per share. Tesla stock was recently trading at well over $2,000 per share, so initial investors basically made bank. The stock went through a five-for-one stock split in August of 2020, and investors in Tesla are still ahead by a lot more than double since just the beginning of 2020.
With all this being said, keep in mind that not all IPOs are created equal and that you can buy the wrong IPO just as easily as you buy the right IPO.
Take the SmileDirect Club Inc. (SDC) I received as a free stock from Robinhood, for example. This stock is currently trading at a little over $11 per share when the original IPO price was $23 per share. This means early investors in Smile Direct Club did not double their money. Instead, they have lost about half of their initial investment so far, provided they bought in at the IPO price and haven’t sold.
When it comes to IPOs, the most important factor to keep in mind is buying into companies positioned for growth. According to Barron’s, IPOs performed really well in 2019 with the average IPO gaining around 20 percent. A few IPOs from 2019 are up huge too, like Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX) and NextCure (NXTC).
Buy and sell sneakers
Shoes are pretty hot right now, and the spoils of their surge in value really does go to those who can put in some time and effort. There are many times in the last few years where I have purchased a pair of “hot” sneakers for around $800 then turned around and sold them for $1,250. That’s not quite doubling my money, but it’s not bad, either. Plus, you can do it over and over again.
My Air Jordan One Chicagos (which are super sweet I might add) were originally purchased for $519. However, they now sell for a little over $1,300. Part of this is due to all the hype surrounding The Last Dance, which is a newer documentary that chronicles the historic rise of basketball legend Michael Jordan.
Crazy enough, one pair of Michael Jordan’s sneakers recently sold at auction for over $500,000. I don’t have any shoes that can sell for anywhere close to that, but you can still check out this video where I share my top 10 Jordan sneakers and more insights into how to make money buying and selling shoes.
If you love sneakers and want to get into the game, you can try buying and flipping shoes using StockX or even eBay.com. You can also download the SNKRS app from Nike, which can help you be the first to know when a popular pair of sneakers is about to drop.
Use Fiverr
Fiverr is an online marketplace that helps connect creatives with people who want to hire them. You can use this site to hire someone to design a logo, build your website, design a video, or work on data entry for you.
On the other side of the spectrum, you can use Fiverr to find almost any kind of work, and usually with little investment or no investment upfront. You don’t have to have an incredibly technical skillset, either. Or you might have a really specific skill set. For example, one time I paid a day trader who was advertising his services on Fiverr to tell me which stocks to invest in for speedy returns. You could watch this video to see how that project turned out, and to find out what happened to the $10,000 in cash I put on the line.
Funny enough, this example actually shows two different ways to make money on Fiverr. First, someone is making money by teaching other people how to become a day trader on Fiverr. Second, you can make money as a day trader, although it’s also just as likely you could lose your initial investment.
Keep in mind there are plenty more additional ways to make money with Fiverr. You could sign up for a service like Canva for $10 per month, for example, then charge people for basic design work they don’t have time for. Heck, you could edit resumes or write blog posts or do other basic tasks without any initial investment at all. Either way, Fiverr is an excellent resource if you need to earn money or double money you have in a hurry.
Garage Sales
Garage sales and consignment shops are a great place to find stuff you can buy and sell. You’ll only get ahead and double your money with this strategy if you buy low and sell high, but this is entirely possible if you know which items to look for.
At garage sales especially, many people price extremely nice clothing and household items for a few bucks, and you can monopolize on this by buying low and reselling these items online at a higher price point.
Heck, a lot of people head to garage sales to buy brand name clothing then resell it for much higher prices using websites like Poshmark.com. This is an easy side hustle that can help you double your money over and over again if you know which brands sell easily and for how much.
While I’m not a garage sale junkie, Gary VaynerChuk is constantly sharing his tips and tricks to help people double their money or better. Gary V. has a ton of blog posts and videos where he talks about buying vintage beer mugs for $5 and reselling them for $20, or how you can sometimes find collectible stuffed animals for $1 or less and resell them on ebay for many multiples of that.
One time he even bought a box of Skylander toys for $7 and sold them for over $180. The key to making money with garage sales is knowing which items can sell for a lot of money, and of course paying as little as possible.
Flip Websites
You can also buy and sell websites, which are basically virtual property. You might be amazed at how much some people are willing to pay for just a simple domain name. For example, my friend Noah Kagan once paid $1.5 million dollars for the domain Sumo.com. He’s made his money back and then some, but whoever bought the domain the first time definitely made a pretty penny.
You can find websites to buy on Flippa.com, including both domains and full websites that already have some content. From there, you can try to improve the sites so you can sell them for more money later on. You can also use them to make long-term, passive income with affiliates or ads.
As an example, I bought a website called FinanceforTeachers.com several years ago. I haven’t sold it, but I have more than doubled my money thanks to the ad revenue it brings in! I might keep it for a while until I feel I have made enough money and sell it for a profit, too.
Buy an Online Course
Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, right? This is exactly how I feel about buying online courses.
I’ve invested up to $30,000 on different courses over the years, and that doesn’t even include mastermind and coaching programs. For example, I bought Brian Dean’s course on how to make money using YouTube videos, which has paid for itself many times over even though the initial cost was over $2,000.
However, there are a ton of other courses out there that can help you double your money. This includes the Facebook side hustle course from LapTop Empires, which can teach you how to set up a Facebook ad company. With your own company, you can get paid to run Facebook ads for other people. Obviously, you’ll need to fork over some money upfront, but with a few clients, the course can pay for itself and you can be on your way to doubling your money over and over again.
Bobby Hoyt of Laptop Empires says the reason that you can get such high return-on-investment from this course is pretty simple. Once you’re trained on how to run Facebook ads, you can realistically charge a $1,500 monthly retainer for your services. The course is less than $500, so you can “double or triple your investment” within the first month of working with a client.
If you’re curious about more ways to earn money by investing in yourself, you should also check out my Passive 1K Income Accelerator Course. My course will help you learn how to grow a passive income business from the ground up — as in, make money while you sleep!
I will provide one final caution about investing in online courses. You should only fork over the cash if you’re willing to do the work. So many people buy courses but never finish them or follow through, which will not help you double your money in the long-term.
New to Investing?
If you’ve never invested your money, you might be worried about getting started. Maybe you clicked on this page to get some advice about doubling your money, but you’re scared to put your money on the stock market or you don’t know where to begin.
Thanks to the internet and some fancy algorithms, investing your money has never been easier. There are plenty of websites where you can start investing and they make it as simple as a few mouse clicks.
Betterment is one of the best. All you have to do is create an account, set your investment and financial goals, and then start contributing money. Betterment will handle the rest for you.
They automatically invest your money and will continue to invest it as you earn returns.
If you are interested in learning more about investing an inheritance, safe places to store your money, and the best places to open up a brokerage or savings account, here are some good reads:
Best Online Brokers for Beginner Investors – Want to get started investing, but don’t know how. Check out our post that outlines the best places online to get going.
Top Places to Invest Your Money for The Short Term – This post outlines 11 different options to put your money for the short-term. Also good options for people that don’t want to take a lot of risk starting out.
Low Risk Investments with High Return – Does investing give you sweaty palms and elevated heart rate? If so, first go out and buy some good deodorant. 🙂 Next, check out our post that lists 10 different safer options for people timid of the stock market.
Mortgage rates are trending up ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week, with the FOMC expected to increase the federal funds rate.
Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6.43% as of April 27, up four basis points from last week and 133 basis points from this time last year, when rates averaged 5.10%. The PMMS focuses on conventional, conforming loans for borrowers who put 20% down and have excellent credit.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased modestly for the second straight week, but with the rate of inflation decelerating, rates should gently decline over the course of 2023,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement.
Khater added: “Incoming data suggest the housing market has stabilized from a sales and house price perspective. The prospect of lower mortgage rates for the remainder of the year should be welcome news to borrowers who are looking to purchase a home.”
For now, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association(MBA) president and CEO Bob Broeksmit, “rates are trending up because financial markets are anticipating that the Fed will raise short-term rates” at its next meeting on May 2-3.
Per the Commerce Department‘s data, the U.S. economy grew at a 1.1% rate in the first quarter. It’s the weakest pace in three quarters but still represents growth.
“Continuing growth in the economy, coupled with a strong job market and inflation that is still too high – the first quarter PCE index showed 4% growth, double the Fed’s target – will likely lead the Fed to raise the Fed funds rate one more time at its next meeting, even as credit conditions tighten due to challenges and uncertainty in the banking sector,” Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement.
Kan added: “They are expected to then hold the funds rate at this higher level at least through the end of 2023.”
LLPA changes
Mortgage rates are increasing as the Federal Housing Finance Agency(FHFA)’s loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) go into effect on May 1. (Because of the length of the process from origination to delivery to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, lenders have baked in LLPA changes into conventional loans for more than a month.)
On social media platforms, misstatements circulated that the change will make mortgage fees cheaper for low-credit scores borrowers than for good-credit scores borrowers, among other claims.
These fees are based on factors such as borrowers’ credit scores and the size of their down payment. They are charged by the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as an upfront fee, but most lenders convert it into an interest rate so borrowers can pay it over time.
FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said in a statement that changes will “bolster safety and soundness, better ensure the Enterprises fulfill their statutory missions, and more accurately align pricing with the expected financial performance and risks of the underlying loans.”
Thompson added: “Higher-credit-score borrowers are not being charged more so that lower-credit-score borrowers can pay less. The updated fees, as was true of the prior fees, generally increase as credit scores decrease for any given level of down payment.”
Thompson said that some updated fees are higher and some are lower, in differing amounts. “They do not represent pure decreases for high-risk borrowers or pure increases for low-risk borrowers. Many borrowers with high credit scores or large down payments will see their fees decrease or remain flat.”
According to Jiayi Xu, Realtor.com’s economist, while having a lower credit score still costs more, the effective penalty for scores under 680 is now smaller than it was.
Xu gave the following example: if a first-time home buyer has a credit score of 659 and a down payment of 20%, then the buyer will pay a fee equal to 2.25% of the loan balance under the new structure instead of the 3.0% under the previous policy. On a hypothetical $400,000 loan, the borrowers would save $3,000 in closing costs.
Meanwhile, borrowers with scores ranging from 680 to above 780 will likely have to pay slightly more than they did under the previous system. Xu said it raises concerns about the impact on middle-class homebuyers.
According to Xu, a homebuyer with a 739 credit score and a down payment of 20% will face a surcharge of 1.25%, compared to 0.75% previously. This equates to an additional $2,000 in closing expenses for a $400,000 loan.
“As we enter the typically busy spring season, affordability remains the primary concern in the housing market,” Xu says.
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The Offer
Paypal just sent out an email offer with one of the following versions on their Paypal 2%/3% Cashback Mastercard:
Get double cashback everywhere, that equals 4% anywhere or 6% everywhere when paying with Paypal. Max $50 in bonus cashback can be earned from this offer.
Another version has a flat 4% everywhere (extra 1% on Paypal and extra 2% everywhere else) with the same $50 max bonus cashback.
Another version has $15 cashback when spending $200.
Another version has $10 cashback when spending $100.
The Fine Print
Requires activation
Activate by December 18th
Offer can be used until December 20th
Important: It will take 24 hours to complete your registration. Purchases will be eligible for this offer after registration is complete.
Our Verdict
All of these looks like nice easy wins. Seems like most/all many cardholders got one version or another of this spend offer.