About The Clear Investor

Most investing advice assumes you already have money left over to invest. A lot of people don’t. This site covers the whole path, from finding that money to growing it.

If your paycheck doesn’t leave room to save, I show you real ways to earn extra money online, from the same platforms I’ve personally earned over $11,000 on, with payout screenshots as proof. Then I show you how to keep more of what you earn, with the cash back apps and cards I use every day and the sign-up bonuses I’ve actually collected. And once you have money to put to work, I explain investing plainly, from your first bank account, credit card and brokerage account to ETFs, dividends and compound interest.

Along the way, I build calculators so you can run your own numbers: how much tax you’ll owe on your side income, how much you can save on gas, and how your money grows when you invest it.

Who’s behind this

I’m Rafay Abubakar, a self-directed investor, Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®) and computer science graduate. I started investing at 19 with $200 of VOO, after learning how compound interest works. That one idea is still the core of everything on this site: start early, keep adding, and let time do the heavy lifting.

Today I invest for the long term with a core of broad-market ETFs, add to them with dollar-cost averaging, and pick individual stocks I believe in. My computer science degree helps when I’m digging into tech companies, and it’s how I build the calculators on this site.

I’ve been earning money online since 2021, on platforms like Outlier AI, Handshake AI, Prolific, CloudResearch Connect, Crowdtap, Qmee, UserCrowd, Neevo and Amazon Shopper Panel. See the full breakdown in how I make money online.

My credentials

What this site covers

Earn more

Making Money: Honest reviews of every platform I’ve earned from, each with real payout screenshots, plus guides on how to get more work and how much you can really make. Start with how I make money online.

Save more

Cash Back: The apps and cards I actually use and how I stack them, like the PayPal Debit Card for 5% cash back on gas, with Upside cash back on top; the PayPal Cashback World Mastercard for 3% cash back wherever PayPal checkout is available; and the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card for a flat 2% cash back everywhere else.

Sign-Up Bonuses: Bonuses I’ve actually earned, like $200 from the Wells Fargo Active Cash and $80 from the Amazon Store Card, and whether they were worth it.

Invest and grow it

Tools I’ve built

I’ve built calculators which you can use to see your own numbers, not just mine:

See them all on the tools page.

How I keep this site honest

  • I only review platforms, apps and cards I’ve actually used, and I show my real screenshots so you can see the numbers for yourself.
  • When I write about a stock I own, I say so.
  • Some posts contain affiliate or referral links, which may earn this site a commission at no extra cost to you. I always disclose them.
  • When something changes, I update the post and add the date at the top.
  • I’m not a licensed financial advisor, and nothing here is personalized financial advice, just clear explanations and tools so you can make your own informed decisions. The CFEI® is a financial education credential, not a license to give financial advice.

Questions or suggestions? Get in touch here.

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