Recently we wrote about how social media can ruin your finances. But, what about the flip side?.

Can we use social media for financial help? Can it really help us save money, become more frugal, and help us be more successful with our finances?

There are plenty of ways that we can use social media to help our pocket books. Here are just a couple, but I’m sure we can come up with some more!

Find Items You Need

One of the biggest trends I see on Facebook, especially with mothers of small children, is asking for baby/kid’s clothes.

This is genius! Kid’s clothing is getting more and more expensive these days! By finding used items in great shape, you can save a ton of money.

Before Facebook if you wanted to get kids clothes from your friends or even extended friendships, you would have had to call each one of them up on the phone and ask. Let’s be honest, was that easy to do? Calling a friend and asking for kids clothes seems to me as being a little intrusive and needy.

Now, with Facebook or even Twitter, you can just throw it out there on your feed. If people have it and want to help out they can! Also, now you don’t feel the rejection of the other person saying “No” to you over the phone.

You may not want to do this all the time though. A person that constantly is asking for something through Facebook can give their friends the feeling of being used.

Sell Items You Don’t Need

Looking to unload a few items for some extra cash this holiday season? Let everybody know exactly what you have and how much you are selling it for! You never know if one of your friends or followers have a need.

Another tool you can use that most people don’t even know about yet is Facebook Marketplace. It’s a great way to find and sell your things locally. It could be a Craigslist killer if it catches on!

You see that Xbox 360 in the corner that has been just sitting there for months? It could give you a little coin to go towards your savings, night out, or for new Christmas presents!

Get Coupons and Discounts

Have you heard of foursquare? This is a fun little phone app that allows you to “check-in” at the places you go. If you check-in the most at a particular place you can earn the title of “Mayor” for that particular venue.

One example is Starbucks. They were giving $1 off coupons for coffee products for the Mayor of that location. If you go to Starbucks as often as I do, this could save you some good money! 🙂

Even if you are not the Mayor of the venue, you can still earn savings just by checking-in to the location through your phone app. The screenshot above shows a coupon you could receive from Bath & Body Works just by checking-in.

Go ahead and download the app from your favorite provider and see what places you go often provide discounts.

Lower Interest Rates

On our post about how social media can ruin your finances one of the commenters made an excellent point. Finance and loan providers are doing searches for you through social media networks when you apply for a loan.

They can deny you or give you a higher interest rate if they see something on your profile that would scare them into thinking you are a greater risk than you really are.

Goes the same if you seem to be a model citizen on your social media profiles. Keep your profiles clean, this could give your loan officer a warm fuzzy feeling and could make them more willing to help you out.

Use Social Media To Your Advantage

These sites are out there and they are FREE (for now). Why not use them to leverage your finance needs too! Just remember to not get addicted, because it can ruin your finances just as easily as it could help.

Let’s hear from you…How are you using Social Media to save money?

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