How to earn money as an extrovert

Plus: credit score myths, selling your friendship and Thursday night football [The Penny Hoarder]( [THEPENNYHOARDER.COM]( THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017 We’re all enjoying the sunshine and humming “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” But we took a break from checking the stats to round up today’s tips! Read on for ways extroverts can score extra cash. First, this news… Hitting the jackpot. Want to know what it feels like to win the lottery? People who got more Zzz’s over a four-year period experienced long-term psychological benefits equal to winning a lottery jackpot of about $200,000, according to a recent UK-based study. Let’s see what your landlord thinks when you show up on May 1 with a pillow and a lullaby… [These tips will help you feel like a lottery winner](. “Alexa, turn on the game.” Have you been holding onto your cable subscription for that last lingering holdout — live sports? Amazon wants to help you cut the cord without missing a play. This fall, Prime members will be able to see [live broadcasts of 10 of the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games]( through the platform. Is it enough to convert you? Lunch Money Does your Myers-Briggs score always land on E? Here are three ways your outgoing attitude can help you make money today. 1. Sharing is caring (and earning). When it comes to marketing, word of mouth is still one of a company’s strongest tools. It’s so important, in fact, they’ll pay you to help spread the word. Most apps and services you use online have a refer-a-friend program that lets you earn easy money. You get a unique link to share with friends, coworkers and family, and you earn money for each one who signs up. [Here are 35 apps that will pay you for sharing](. 2. Sell your friendship. Ever think you’re such a great friend you should get paid for it? Bold! But you actually can. Sites around the world like RentAFriend and Rent a Local Friend let you [get paid to be someone’s friend for a day](. Don’t worry; these people aren’t as sad as you think. They’re usually visiting or moving from other cities or countries. Your job is to show them the hot spots around town. P.S. No funny business — these are not dating or escort sites. 3. Take it to the streets. Many buskers — street performers — are musicians, dancers, painters, magicians or actors who need an outlet for their art. But some are just friendly people in costumes. Find a busy spot in your city, and turn your extroversion into cash. People need an exotic Instagram feed, and you can help them by dressing like a goon. Or maybe a robot, werewolf or chimp. Left Shark might still be in style, and you know zombies will never die. In a hot spot, [you could earn upward of $20 an hour]( just putting on the mask and posing! Word of the Day Hard inquiry (n): When a credit card company or other lender checks your credit report because you’ve asked them to give you money. Could hurt your credit score for a hot minute, because it shows you recently applied for new credit. In case you missed it, yesterday we talked about [factors that do affect your credit score](. As promised, today we’re busting some common myths to ease your mind about the things that actually don’t grace your credit report. 1. Applying for Major Loans in Several Places Remember when we said applying for a bunch of credit cards at the same time is bad? That same logic does not apply to major loans like a mortgage, auto loan or student loans. That’s because you want to shop around for those. You’ll apply with several lenders to see which will give you the best rate — that’s the responsible move! As long as you make them within 30 days of each other, multiple inquiries won’t hurt your score. 2. Checking Your Credit Score You’ve probably heard credit inquiries ding your score. This makes some people hesitant to ask for their credit report, afraid their attempt to keep an eye on their score will actually hurt it. That would be pretty awful if it were true — thankfully, the world’s not that cruel. (Not even the world of money.) When you [check your score]( to see how things are going, that’s called a “soft inquiry.” It doesn’t affect your score. When a lender requests your credit report because you applied for a loan or credit card, however, that’s a “hard inquiry.” You’re trying to get more credit, so that does impact your score. 3. Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) What the heck is a HELOC? [We’ve got all the details here](. What you need to know for now is the amount you borrow through a HELOC won’t factor into your credit usage the way credit cards do. That’s good, because credit usage plays a huge role in your credit score. But (of course there’s always a “but”…) monthly payments toward your HELOC balance do factor into your payment history, another big deal to your score. So, just like with credit cards, make sure you’re keeping up with what you owe. 4. Income or Employment Status Neither your job nor your income affect your credit score directly. A lower salary or loss of income altogether could affect your ability to open a new card or take out a new loan — because, less money. So you might not want to apply for credit if you’ve just taken a pay cut… even though you might really want it then. 5. Marrying Someone With Bad Credit Are you afraid of a soulmate with a bad credit score? [You’re not alone](. But you have nothing to fear. Fortunately, your new spouse’s credit score doesn’t stick to you the way their hair sticks to your once-pristine bathroom sink. (Why didn’t you notice all this shedding before the vows?!) Their bad score — and the hairy approach to money it implies — could, however, impact your financial future together. [Here are a few steps to take before getting married]( to set you up for success. Wondering about other mystery stains on your credit report? [Here’s how to fix them](. Until tomorrow! P.S. Do you owe money to the IRS? [You’re going to want to read this news](. The Penny Hoarder | 300 1st Ave S, Suite 400 | Saint Petersburg, Florida 33701 | United States You can [update your mailing preferences here]( or [unsubscribe]( from all email from The Penny Hoarder. Questions? View our [Privacy Policy](. Having trouble reading this email? You can [view it online](. Like what you're seeing? Go old-school and [share this]( someone you like. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -