Archive for May, 2006
Monday, May 22nd, 2006
If you have all your domestic stock allocation invested in an S&P 500 or Total Stock Market Index Fund like VFINX or VTSMX, here’s some interesting food for thought that I picked up from All About Asset Allocation by Richard Ferri.
Based on historical data from 1975-2004, compared to a portfolio containing 100% of a Total Market index fund (specifically the Wilshire 5000 here), a “mix of 70% in the total market and 30% in the small value index would have increased U.S. equity returns by 2.7% with no increase in portfolio volatility.” In layman’s terms, by adding a small exposure to Small-Cap Value stocks, you would have gotten more reward for the same amount of risk. Here’s a simple sketch that illustrates this:
Read the rest of this entry…
Posted in Investing | 9 Comments »
Monday, May 22nd, 2006
Thanks for all the SF restaurant tips, here’s where I ended up eating:
Cheeseboard, Home, Swan Oyster Depot, A16, Brothers, Saigon (East Bay), Slanted Door, Dottie’s True Blue Cafe (Tenderloin), In-N-Out, Blue Fin Sushi (Marina), L&L Hawaiian BBQ (Kearny), House of Prime Rib, Naan N Curry (O’Farrell), and Sushi House (Alameda).
Posted in General | 3 Comments »
Sunday, May 21st, 2006
Looking at their account comparison chart, it looks like Presidential Bank has quietly dropped the monthly maintenance fee on their Premier Savings Account, currently paying 4.87% APY (for balances up to $35k). Previously, if you went below $5,000 you were hit with a monthly fee ($7.50 I believe). Ain’t competition grand? Their 4.50% APY checking account still has a $1,000 minimum.
You still need at least $5,000 to open the savings account, although you can take it all out afterwards. If you don’t have that kind of scratch, maybe you could borrow some for free from credit card companies?
Posted in Banking | 3 Comments »
Friday, May 19th, 2006
I’m fine with being called cheap, but I personally think of it as hating to waste money on things I don’t want. I am perfectly willing to pay for things I value. Top on the list are food and travel. On this trip I’m eating my way through the Bay Area of California. Here’s a taste of my culinary itinerary. I tend to prefer smaller restaurants that aren’t too pretentious or overpriced.
East Bay
La Note - Berkeley; Provencal cuisine, excellent breakfast
CheeseBoard Pizza - N. Berkeley; Awesome vegetarian pizza.
Gregoire - N. Berkeley; Affordable French. You must try their potato puffs.
Read the rest of this entry…
Posted in General | 32 Comments »
Thursday, May 18th, 2006
Presidential Premier Savings (Presidential Bank review) is now at 4.87% APY, with its Checking at 4.50% APY. These guys are my primary bank.
Citibank e-Savings Account“>e-Savings Account (previously discussed) is now at 4.75% APY.
HSBC Direct (HSBC Direct review) is now at 4.65% APY.
Don’t miss my Rate-Chaser Calculator. I need a new comparison chart…
Posted in Banking | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
I’ve had my SunRocket
VoIP phone line for over a year now, and was happy to renew it for another $199 per year (see my Sunrocket Review for more about the service). Shortly after agreeing to another year at $199, I read somewhere on DSLReports that people who were calling in near their 1-year anniversary were being offered a 1-year extension for $99. Of course, I wanted in.
But when I called, they said that I was already locked in for $199, and that I would have to wait until the end of that year to ask again for the $99 deal. Bummer. Well, after calling back with some polite sweet-talking and a month of waiting, it looks like I got it. $100 saved for not giving up, cha-ching! So if you have Sunrocket and are near your 1-year anniversary, I’d definitely recommend calling in before your annual contract renews.
Read the rest of this entry…
Posted in Budgeting, Deals & Offers | 17 Comments »
Tuesday, May 16th, 2006
It’s been a year now since we’ve gotten our kid… err, dog. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to be exact. I know this because we just had our annual vet appointment for more shots and a general exam. This got me to thinking how much we’ve spent on pet care over the last year. I think many people who get pets fail to realize the financial committment that it requires. They also may underestimate the emotional attachment you get to your pup. I know I did.
Since we broke the $1000 cost barrier only 3 months into having him, we’ve actually settled down to a nice routine with him. Basically all the things we bought, like the crate, bed, leash, nail clippers, etc. were all decent quality and are still working just fine. Here are the rest of our expenses.
Read the rest of this entry…
Posted in Budgeting | 25 Comments »
Monday, May 15th, 2006
~8%, not bad. At least it’s greater than inflation. I don’t think it takes effect until July, but it’s nice to know it’s coming. To celebrate, we just ordered a new Nissan Xterra SE 4×4 - just kidding! I don’t think we’re going to do anything different at all. How boring.
On that note, I’m following her on a conference trip this week. I’ll still be posting, but my e-mail turnaround time will be even worse than usual…
Posted in Budgeting | 13 Comments »
Monday, May 15th, 2006
I finally installed Skype
about a month ago, joining the techie elite. Actually the great thing about Skype is it’s really easy to use. If my parents actually had internet at home I bet I could teach them to use it. All you need is a headset and their software.
Anyhow, the big news today is that SkypeOut, which allows you to dial real phone numbers from your own computer (as opposed to just other Skype users), is free to any number in the U.S. or Canada until the end of the year. This is a great way for them to get users used to using their service, which used to cost 2 cents a minute within the U.S.
Read the rest of this entry…
Posted in Frugal Living | 18 Comments »
Monday, May 15th, 2006
The AT&T Universal Rewards Card is offering 10,000 ThankYou Points after application and first purchase, which is equal to a $100 gift card to various merchants such as Gas Stations, Target, Banana Republic, and Home Depot. You can also get $100 cash towards student loans. This offer has expired.
The rewards program is pretty dull, unless you spend a lot of money on AT&T products. You do get a few free directory assistance calls and cell phone insurance, with a maximum value of $100 and a $50 deductible. Good credit needed for approval.
For tips on how to extract the money from Citi, check out my post on How To Get Cash From Citibank Balance Transfers. No human interaction needed!
Posted in Deals & Offers | 21 Comments »
Monday, May 15th, 2006
Although I’m still not worked up about gas prices personally, I still hear all kinds of tips to save gas left and right. But do they really work? Edmunds.com tests them out and gives us some hard(ish) numbers. Briefly:
What worked
Driving less aggressively
Using cruise control
Avoiding long idles
What didn’t
Turning off the A/C
Ensuring proper tire pressure (ignoring safety issues)
Posted in Frugal Living | 9 Comments »
Saturday, May 13th, 2006
Given that money matters are hardly taught at school at all, much of people’s financial knowledge comes from their parents. Given that I grew up in an apartment smaller than the one I live in now with just my wife, I learned quickly the value of money and not to waste things. At the same time, I also resented at times not being able to have what the other kids had when growing up.
But now, I see that being taught to live within your means and to have to work for what you get is infinitely more valuable than simply being given whatever I wanted. While I try to be more financially successful than my parents (as they want as well), I hope that I can pass these same values on to my own children. On that thought, I say - Thanks Mom (and Dad)!
Posted in General | 7 Comments »
Friday, May 12th, 2006
Equifax and PayPal have teamed up to provide a basic credit monitoring service that is free to anyone. I say it’s free to anyone because after you click on the sign-up link, there is no verification that you actually use PayPal when signing up. In fact, I already had an Equifax login from my free government-mandated credit reports, so I just used that and it grabbed all my info automatically. Two types of alerts are included:
- Upon an Equifax credit inquiry, or a
- Balance change over a chosen percentage or dollar amount.
I signed up a few days ago, and got my first balance alert today. It doesn’t tell you which credit card triggered the alert, which is a bummer. Still, not bad for free and now I’ll know when my Equifax credit is pulled.
Posted in Credit Cards | 9 Comments »
Thursday, May 11th, 2006
Got a bunch of gift cards you haven’t used yet? Sell or trade them the new site CardAvenue.com. For example, you could swap an unwanted $100 Pottery Barn gift card you just got for a $100 Home Depot gift card that you could really use. I’ve already spent my $200 in free Target gift cards, but maybe I can pick some more up at a nice discount. At least for now, the site looks to be supported by advertising, and does not charge any fees to buy, trade, or sell. All you have to pay is postage, which hopefully will lead to better prices for both buyers and sellers.
As with any other person-to-person system, you have to watch out for fraud. CardAvenue try to avoid this in a variety of ways. They are able to check gift card balances ahead of time, and also have an eBay-like feedback system. If something does go wrong, you must use the PayPal claim system (you can only use PayPal), and then their own CardAssure protection system (up to $100). I’d still be careful.
Posted in Frugal Living | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006
A while ago I set aside $5,000 to buy and trade stocks. I call it my ‘play money’, as the rest of my portfolio is painstakinly allocated into index funds. But I really don’t do much ‘playing’ anymore. I just check the stock prices every few days, say silly things to myself like “Hmm… I guess that was a smart buy” (RIN) or “I wonder why nobody likes that stock anymore?” (PFE). Then I log off, forget about it for a while, and then the process repeats itself a few days later.
Exciting story huh? Yeah, I thought so. Anyways, for posterity and the voyeurs out there here is a snapshot of my current stock holdings. Feel free to make suggestions as to what I should do with it.
Read the rest of this entry…
Posted in Investing | 24 Comments »
