by Jon Oman
Twitter is not just about micro blogging anymore. It is also about saving money. And with a bad economy and many people out of work, any idea that can help save us money is a good idea. You may not even realize how many different ways you can use this free service to save you money every day, but here are 7 simple methods that anyone can use to make life a little more affordable.
1. Find coupon codes and hot deals online. If you love to shop online then you will love how easy it is to find the hottest deals using Twitter. Most big companies have a Twitter account and if you just follow them they you will let you know whenever they are having a big sale. There are also many “deal finder” accounts that post some big deals on gadgets, clothing, etc., so just pick the genre you want to shop for and follow that account.
2. Find giveaways. Everyone loves a giveaway and you can find a lot of them on Twitter. Often all you have to do is follow that person’s account or retweet a message. Sometimes the free gift is only for the first 10 people, and sometimes 10 people are randomly selected. Either way, it’s something you don’t have to pay for. There are some Twitter accounts that allow you to follow any website that is currently running a giveaway so you don’t have to do the searching yourself. You might be surprised what you can get for free.
3. Enter contests by following someone. One of the best ways for someone with a Twitter account to get more followers is to host a contest. Usually all you have to do is follow that account or retweet a certain message in order to enter your name into the contest. I have seen prizes range from Ipods to Xbox 360s. It’s free to enter so you might as well at least try. And if you win you can always sell the prize on eBay for some cash or give it away as a Christmas gift.
4. Find great budgeting tools. Nobody likes to follow a budget, but it’s a proven way to save your income and keep yourself from spending irrationally. There are some great ways you can use Twitter to keep track of your budget and make sure you aren’t totally blowing it. You simply tweet every time you buy something and at the end of the month you can see if you staid within your limits.
5. Save money on travel. We have all heard of Orbitz, Priceline, and Travelocity, but what about using Twitter to save you some money on your next flight or vacation. Twitter has a very active search engine and you can do a search for “Las Vegas flights” and it will show you some current deals. In fact, I just looked up that exact term and found a 4 night trip package for $160. A lot of travel companies will use Twitter in their marketing and by searching with this search engine you can compare across the board very quickly and easily.
6. Get helpful tips on investments. The thing people love most about Twitter is that the information you get is up-to-the-minute. It’s this kind of instant data that makes it a useful tool for reading about different trends in the stock market. You can follow big investors and what they are saying about the latest economic data. Of course, you should take any investing information with a grain of salt, but this is still a great way to spot a shift in the market on the fly.
7. Stay on track to get out of debt. If you are one of the millions who are in debt you may want to consider using Twitter to get you out of it. Not only can you get daily updates with tips on digging yourself out, but you can also use the micro blogging platform in a creative way. There are users that will answer any question you may have about debt if you are one of their followers.
There are many more ways you can use Twitter to save money, but it should also be noted that there are also a lot of ways you can lose it as well. Beware of scams asking for money or for personal information. A little common sense can go a long way in saving you some extra cash, and this powerful micro blogging tool is a great way to get started with a little penny pinching.
Make sure you keep your social profiles like Twitter and Facebook safe from ID theft with identity theft protection. Jon is a writer for www.SafeIdentityprotection.com, and writes helpful tips and advice for keeping your ID safe and learning how to restore your identity as well.