More Free Money - Employee Stock Purchase Plans

Are you leaving $100k of 'free' money on the table??

We admit, we experience an irrational joy when we find free money.

It is probably why we will open up a credit card, pocket the bonus $200+, max out the first year points, and take advantage of the 0% promo APR for the first 18months. We will drop the $20k balance into a savings account and just sit on it.

• $200 promo

• $400 in point (2% points x $20k in charges)

• $400 in interest on savings balance while we wait to pay off the $20k balance

A free $1k…not moving the needle in life for us anymore, at least no where as much as it did 15 years ago, but the feeling is irrationally the same as when we were poorer & younger. It feels good like we outsmarted the system.

It is how we are still one of the only accounts telling you to NOT do balance transfers, but use the infinite debt cheat code. Because unlike your typical budget gooroo just repeating froogal nonsense they read from Davey Boy Ramsey, we think for ourselves and look for better ways to get free money.

Well, we got another one for you today. Thanks to a conversation with a senior at our company who had his mind blown about the money he left on the table. (yes, senior doesn’t mean intelligent sadly), we realized a lot of people may not be aware of how to use their employee stock purchase plans to get a few $1k a year free & clear.

Sure, another few thousand isn’t going to set you financially free. But keep clipping a g here and there and you start talking about real money.

Every time we write about free money, we think of the joke about 2 economists walking down the street. They see a $100 bill laying on the sidewalk, and the first asks if they should pick it up. The 2nd responds “the markets are efficient and there is no such thing as a free lunch” so they walk on…

You can get caught up with our other “hey look, free money” posts here:

• SOFI Promo (still can get $250 opening a sofi account and dd money in, plus 3% APR on their savings account. Though their credit card promo is some stupid spin the wheel thing, so better cc out there)

• 5 Free Monies for a Recession

• BowTiedBettor guest posting showing you how to churn betting site free bet promos with resources on his site

• Prepping for future free money

For those of us with a W2 - here is a way to potential get $3k a year free using your ESPP…an extremely underutilized benefit