A good source for population, housing, and economic data for your area is FactFinder.Census.gov. From the 2005 data provided, I decided to compare the median value of housing to the median household incomes for various cities (with a West Coast bias). I then calculated the ratio of housing price to income and plotted them:
Here’s the actual data:
Read the rest of this entry…
I just made an update to My Rough Guide to Money and Investing, a loose framework of some of my more general money-management tips. Hopefully this is more organized and easier for everyone to digest than trying to dig through the archives.
So you can keep up with future updates more easily, I’ve also placed it in my “Popular Posts” section on the top right of every blog page. It’s replaced my $20 Emigrant Direct Savings Signup Bonus, although that’s still going strong.
Invariably this time of year, all the “tipping experts” of the world unite and tell us ignorant folk what to do. But how do I tip the trash collector? I’m never around during pickup. Put a wrapped package beside the can and hope it doesn’t get overlooked? Tape an envelope to the bucket and hope it doesn’t blow away? U.S. Postal Carriers aren’t allowed cash or anything worth over $20, so I usually give out either gift cards or I’ve also done lottery tickets. Some of them seemed really surprised to get them. I don’t have anything else – nannies, gardeners, personal trainers…
Where I used to live, people leave out a case of beer or soda for the trash collector. No idea why, but maybe because it’s pretty easy to spot. People have never heard of it here. Does anyone else do that?
The American Express Platinum Business Premium Cash Rebate Card is again offering a $250 statement credit (update: removed) after your first purchase, with no annual fee. If you got in on this last time like I did, you may not be able to get it again unless you have a 2nd business – “You may be permitted to have more than one American Express? Business Card account; however, you are eligible to receive only one promotional $250 statement credit per unique business.”
See other similar $100+ bonuses here.
Added: I just saw this if you click on “Special Offer” in the upper-left – “Note: Only business owners who received this offer via Inc. Magazine qualify to apply for a Card through this website.” I don’t remember seeing that last time, so watch out.
Just about every major cell phone provider has discount for large corporations or groups, even when it’s an existing personal line. While most people know about their company’s discount, some do a bad job of advertising them. In addition, many students can get discounts using their school e-mails in some of these programs. Others require you to be an employee of the university, which many students also are. So grab your work or school e-mails, visit these links, and find out what discounts are available to you. You may be pleasantly surprised! I was able to get 15% off with Cingular Premier using my school e-mail.
Cingular: Premier Corporate Discount Program
Cingular has business agreements with thousands of corporations, government agencies and educational institutions to offer wireless products to their employees and families at a significant discount.
Verizon: Employee Discounts
Enter your work email address to see if you qualify for discounts. If the work email address matches our files, we will send you an email that will help you determine your eligibility for a discount (personal email addresses cannot be accepted).
T-Mobile Corporate Discount Program
Employees of contracted T-Mobile Business Customers may request a corporate discount. The discount ranges from 0% to 15%, per Business Customer monthly volume.
Sprint / Nextel: Employee Value Program
Sprint has business agreements with hundreds of corporations and government agencies to offer wireless products and services at a significant discount when purchased online or over the phone.
AllTel: [can't find one?]
There’s definitely discounts for certain corporations and universities, but I can’t find a specific link.
Now how about a snapshot of our investments, as of the end of the day 12/15. Remarkably, our investments have increased $4,911 (7.3%) since my last update in October. Another example of how I can’t predict the stock market. We’re already done contributing to our Roth IRAs and 401ks this year, so we haven’t made any new deposits. Everything has been going into the house down payment fund.
I did realize that I’m not including my Bridgeway investments in my net worth calculations. This is because Bridgeway does not work with Yodlee, and I never remember to log into their website. Oops!
| Retirement Portfolio | ||
| Fund | $ | % |
| FSTMX – Fidelity Total Stock Market Index Fund | $11,058 | 15% |
| VIVAX – Vanguard [Large-Cap] Value Index | $13,775 | 20% |
| VISVX – V. Small-Cap Value Index | $13,748 | 19% |
| VGSIX – V. REIT Index | $8,813 | 12% |
| VTRIX – V. International Value | $7,821 | 11% |
| VEIEX – V. Emerging Markets Stock Index | $7,500 | 10% |
| VFICX – V. Int-Term Investment-Grade Bond | $7,596 | 10% |
| BRSIX – Bridgeway Ultra-Small Market | $2,056 | 3% |
| Cash – Unreinvested Dividends | - | - |
| Total | $72,367 |
Although I get asked regularly to do so, I’m always wary of making specific investment advice . I’m haven’t passed any securities exams, and I have no financial letters after my name like CFA, CFP, CIC, or ChFC. I’m just a SRDO – Some Random Dude Online.
At the same time, I also appreciate the fact that people like to hear some specific suggestions in order to jumpstart their own research. It’s like being told “go buy a good used car” versus “check out the 2002-2004 Honda Civic (7th Generation, but not the 1st year) with less than 60,000 miles on it.” It’s not the perfect answer for everyone, and you may not even buy that car, but it gives you something to work with.
With that in mind, this is what I would tell my sister to invest. Not you, because I don’t know you. 
She’s in her early 20s, recently out of college, working in her first professional job, and trying to balance renting in a big city, being young and trendy, paying back student loans, and oh yeah! – also retirement. She’s busy, doesn’t feel like reading the books I recommend just yet, but has some extra money now to put away for the future. So what does big bro tell her?
Get investing! You need to do this now so you can:
Option 1: No Money Down?
Set Up An Automatic Transfer at TIAA-CREF or T. Rowe Price
Read the rest of this entry…
I was chatting with my local Bank of America banker about mortgages, and she mentioned that they have a Best Mortgage Value Guarantee where if you apply for a mortgage with them, but end up going with another lender, they will give you a check for $250. So if you’re shopping for mortgages, it can’t hurt to include them in your search.
I got some reader requests for more Bored Money entries. Remember, this category is for stuff that I feel has a relatively low reward-to-effort ratio. This usually includes things that involve taking surveys or that involve smaller or non-guaranteed payouts, as compared to the fatter rewards like $100 signup bonuses or free iPods that I put in the Deals & Offers posts. They also tend to be things that are always available. In other words, you can save them until you’re bored!
Coincidentally, I just got another e-mail from StartSampling.com. As the name suggests, you give them some of your demographic information and they match you up with manufacturers that are looking for feedback on their products. You pick what you like, and it gets sent to you free in the mail. I’ve gotten things from food to soap to various coupons (nothing worth over $10). I just picked up a sample of Swiffer dusters. Just stick to the “Select Samples” area and avoid everything else. The “Tryer Miles” points system is largely useless, as there is nothing to redeem them for.
Follow-up: Not being a homeowner, I may not have adequately expressed the importance of knowing what’s on your free CLUE report. For a better explanation, see this MSN article titled “Insurers keep a secret history of your home“. If they decide your house is high-risk, even if you don’t file a claim, finding homeowners insurance may become next to impossible. This is also something to be wary of when buying a house. Link via Consumerist.
Don’t tell your insurer about problems unless you’re sure you’ll file a claim. This last piece of advice is unfortunate, because insurers and insurance agents can be a decent source of counsel on whether it’s worth filing a claim. Since any damage you report could get passed on to the CLUE database, however, it’s smart now to err on the side of caution.
(This offer expired at the end of 2006.)
Is it just me or are iPods quickly taking over the world? A new trading site, Hedgestreet.com, is offering a free 1 GB iPod Shuffle for opening an account, funding with at least $100, and making one trade. No trading fees for the first 30 days. You can start trading immediately when you open the account. However, this is because you cannot take out your money for 30 days after deposit.
Read the rest of this entry…
I’d like to know what topics that you’d like to learn more about, whether it is something personal related to me, or a financial topic in general. Please go ahead and leave an anonymous comment in this post (type in anything for name and e-mail). I won’t publish them, it’ll just be between you and me. I can’t make any promises, but I will take each suggestion into consideration. Thanks!
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