Archive for May, 2005
Only 2 days left to enter MyMoneyBlog Giveaway! (Open to ALL)
Wednesday, May 4th, 2005Just a friendly reminder to enter the MyMoneyBlog Giveaway if you want a free chance to win a free music CD or Starbucks card. It’s open to all, but as of right now only 10 people have entered. So they have a 50/50 chance of winning right now! Giveaway ends Friday at 3pm Eastern.
The turnout is a bit lower than I had hoped, I’m thinking it’s partly due to the fact that the e-mails show to the public? Use a Hotmail or Yahoo account! Or maybe the prizes just suck =P. I am not collecting e-mails for a mailing list.
Presidential Online Checking now pays 3.25% APY
Wednesday, May 4th, 2005Presidential Bank now pays 3.25% APY for balances up to $25,000 in their Internet Checking Plus account. To get this rate and avoid fees, you must open with $1,500, maintain a minimum balance of $1,000, and direct deposit at least $200 a month into the account. There are no opening bonuses that I am aware of. If you can meet the above criteria, this would be a good alternative to Emigrant Direct, ING Direct, or similar.
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New Savings Bonds Rates Announced - I-Bonds More Attractive at 4.8%
Monday, May 2nd, 2005As of May 1st, the Treasury announced that I-Bonds bought from now until 10/05 will earn 4.8%. The fixed component is up from 1.0% to 1.2%, and the inflation-indexed component rises to 3.6%. (For more on how I-bonds work, please see this previous post). For me, my older I-bonds, with a fixed part of 1.1%, pay 4.7% now. Not too shabby, especially since you’re not paying state income tax on the interest.
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Making a Budget, Part 1: Fixed Expenses
Sunday, May 1st, 2005
Ok, I’m slowly getting my transactions all categorized, one by one, into personal finance software, but I’m going to take a break and look at what fixed expenses, or bills that I get every single month, and see if there is any fat to cut. Using my last post as a guide:
Phone (Landline) - Used to be about $40/month for local + long distance. Switched to VoIP with SunRocket, and so far it’s been great. Now it’s only $199/yr = $17/month including taxes. Don’t think I can get much cheaper, unless I go without, but I need fax send/receive capability. Even MyFax costs $10/month for online faxing. Realized Savings: $23.40/month.
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Budgeting areas to watch, and Free Budgeting Spreadsheet
Sunday, May 1st, 2005As other bloggers have mentioned, USA Today is currently doing a six-week series on how to go on a “Financial Diet“. Nothing ground-breaking, but it’s a pretty good read with stories from real-life families and tips on how to reduce debt and save more. Last week (Week 2), the focus was How to Make (and stick to) a Budget, which is exactly what I’m trying to do right now.
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