Quote:
Originally Posted by JustSomeGuy
Is there a good beginners guide to manufacturing spend somewhere? I'd imagine that unless you're spending a decent amount of money each month you have to be using MS to make going through all of these cards worth it, right?
There are lots of decent beginners guides. I just googled "beginners guide to manufactured spending" and all of the top 10 links are decent. It's best to read a few and then delve into some forums/blogs because what used to work a year ago might not work now. It's a lot of trial and error as well, especially if you want to try and find your own methods or locations. For example, I typically try and buy money orders at lots of different places like gas stations (almost always cash only), local grocery stores (a great option), and check cashing places that advertise free money orders. These are in addition to some of the main places that sell a lot of money orders like walmart.
Sometimes I get denied by the cashier, sometimes I get denied by the computer, and sometimes it works! You never know until you try.
Something else to keep in mind is that if you plan to manufacture spend, make sure you can float money if needed. It rarely happens, but you never know when you're going to have an issue with a prepaid debit card, or something else and it might take anywhere from a week to 3 months to get your funds. For example, I had a prepaid debit card the other day that was not working at any of my usual places, so I ended up loading it to my amazon gift card balance. Not ideal, but I know I will eventually spend the money on amazon purchases, so it's no big deal, but I don't have that money to pay bills or anything else I might have needed it for.