Archives for November 2005

Don’t Forget Your Local Credit Union

Posted on November 6, 2005 // 6 Comments

I know a lot of people who use local credit unions not only because they have reasonable prices, but they like the personalized customer service and small bank feel. Me, I’ve been pretty happy with my local Bank of America branch, it fulfills all my needs. But I just noticed in the newspaper that a local credit union is offering a 6 month promotional CD paying 5% APY. Not only is that a good rate, but they also have a branch right by my house.

Looking at their website, I also notice a lot of cool little features. They include: free cashier’s checks, free traveler’s checks, $10 outgoing wire transfers, and non-network ATM reimbursements. Definitely must check it out in person, their safety deposit boxes are only $20 a year. All these little things cost more at BofA and can add up.

Filed Under: Banking //

$50 Opening Bonus, E*Trade Money Market, 4.10% APY For 3 Months

Posted on November 5, 2005 // 11 Comments

(Oops, gotta read that fine print. Their regular 3.25% APY is only good for balances over $100k. Bummer, I might have kept it open after the bonus period, but 0.3% stinks.)

Just got this offer in the mail. Go here for the offer details. You get 4.10% APY for the first three months, after which you’ll go back down to their standard money market rate, currently at 3.25% APY 0.30% for balances under $5,000. I went for it, and the $50 bonus showed up in my account a couple days after I opened the account. No waiting is nice. With $1,000 cooped up for 120 days (4 months, you get about $68 $51, which is a 15% annualized return! Offer ends soon on 11/15.

The fine print makes getting the bonus a bit confusing. There is only a $100 opening minimum, but you need a monthly average of $1,000 (or combined balances of $5,000) to avoid a $10 monthly fee. Also, you’ll need to keep the account open for 120 days to avoid a $10 early closure fee. Overall, not bad if you just put in $1,000 and take it out and close the account after 6 months. They only let you fund electronically with a max of $100, so either open with a check or send in a 2nd deposit after the confirm your account great enough to make your monthly average at least $1,000.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Where the !%^@ Is My Money??

Posted on November 5, 2005 // Leave a Comment

First of all, thanks to the participants in my $10 Emigrant Direct Opening Bonus for not sending me any e-mails like the title of this post. It has been about 45 days since I started it, and I know some of you have finished opening your account weeks ago. Well, unfortunately I haven’t gotten paid yet. After an account is opened and tracked, I have to bill them at the end of the month. (Nobody sent me their 2nd notice earlier than October) Then they are supposed to pay me within 30 days of that. There have been some bumps in the process, but I have been assured that my first payment is ‘in processing’ and should arrive shortly. I apologize for the delay and just wanted to give you guys an update.

Also, I have streamlined the bonus directions so that new bonus seekers will instantly get e-mail confirmations that I have received your information. If you already started the process, please continue to use the old directions.

Filed Under: Banking //

HSBC Online Savings Account Now at 4.00% APY

Posted on November 4, 2005 // 7 Comments

Just got note that HSBC’s Online Savings Account is now at 4.0%, matching Emmigrant Direct. (thanks Allan) Too bad I can’t find any sign-up offers right now, I missed the last one for $35. Let’s hear it for some rate wars!

Filed Under: Banking //

Buying I-Bonds in November: Worst Case Scenario

Posted on November 3, 2005 // 12 Comments

So what’s the worst case scenario with I-Bonds if you cash out in a year? Well, that would mean deflation. Contrary to what some believe, the fixed rate is not the minimum you get. The minimum return is zero (see #5 of FAQ), meaning at least you don’t lose anything.

So 6 months at 6.73%, and then 6 months at 0.0% (3-month penalty of… well, nothing). Buying late in November, you’d actually be holding it for 11 months, working out to an annual rate of about 3.67%, not including tax benefits. Of course, deflation is very unlikely. But that’s still the worse case scenario (barring Armageddon).

Filed Under: Savings Bonds //

What’s My Marginal Tax Rate?

Posted on November 2, 2005 // 13 Comments

If you don’t know what your federal marginal tax rate is off the top of your head, here ya go. This way you know how much of those bank bonuses you’ll actually get to keep. (I won’t be sending 1099s for my Emigrant Direct bonuses though, don’t worry).

Marginal Tax Rate [Taxable Income] Single Married Filing Jointly
10% $0-$7,300 $0-$14,600
15% $7,301-$29,700 $14,601-$59,400
25% $29,701-$71,950 $59,401-$119,950
28% $71,951-$150,150 $119,951-$182,800
33% $150,151-$326,450 $182,801-$326,450
35% > $326,450 > $326,450

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Taxes //

Submissions for Carnival of Debt Reduction

Posted on November 2, 2005 // 4 Comments

I’m hosting the Carnival of Debt Reduction next week. To learn more please see the guidelines and schedule at MightyBargainHunter. I’ve only got one entry so far, so let get those debt-reduction posts coming in! (Just e-mail them to me). I need to come up with a good post myself. Unfortunately I may actually be getting further into debt as we speak. Good debt, of course.

Filed Under: General //

OneSuite 2.5 cents/minute Long Distance + 10-15% Bonus Promotion

Posted on November 1, 2005 // 17 Comments

Before I switched to VoIP and cell phones, I used OneSuite.com exclusively for long distance calls. The charge a meager 2.5 cents/minutes for calls to the lower 48 if you live an urban area, 2.9 cents otherwise. Great international rates too. To top it off, they are currently having a November Promotion where you get a 15% bonus on recharges, and a 10% bonus on new sign-ups!

In my opinion, their greatest innovation was ZipDial. Instead of having to remember some long 800-number and a PIN number, you just register your home phone number and poof! no more PIN needed. So just put their number on speed-dial and you’re all set. You can even assign commonly called numbers to a two-digit ‘RapiDial’ number.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Frugal Living //

Buying a 4-Week Treasury Bill, Hoping to break 4.30%

Posted on November 1, 2005 // 16 Comments

I think it was pretty cool we predicted the new I-Bond rate two-weeks ahead of time, and let everyone make some educated decisions on when to buy. I’m now interested in Treasury Bills. Today, the new rate for the 4-week T-Bill is 3.788%. After using our tax-advantaged conversion formula and using a 25% federal tax rate and 9% local tax rate, this works out to the equivalent of a bank rate of 4.30%. Not bad at all.

Too bad I can’t guarantee myself that rate. Apparently, you can’t figure out the exact rates ahead of time, as they are sold in an auction format. And if you buy them through TreasuryDirect.gov, you don’t actually participate in the auction, you just agree to buy them at the decided price. On the plus side, you pay no commissions. The next auction is November 8th. Since tomorrow the Fed is expected to raise rates again, I just put in a order to buy a $1,000 4-week T-Bill to see how it works out.

Filed Under: Investing //

New I-Bond Fixed Rate: 1.0%, Current Return 6.73%

Posted on November 1, 2005 // 14 Comments

The new fixed rate for I-type Savings Bonds was announced today, and it has decreased from 1.2% to 1.0%, matching the lowest historical fixed rate. This was within my prediction of 1.0 to 1.4%, but one has to wonder if all the mid-October buzz caused them to make the rate lower. Oh well, I bought $5,000 worth in October with the higher fixed rate, so I have until the end of this month to decide whether to buy more. No need to buy now, since they credit you interest for the whole month anways as long as you buy it within November.

If you do buy in November, it will earn 6.73% for 6 months, then 1.0% + a variable rate depending on future inflation adjusted every 6 months. You have to hold at least a year, and you lose the last 3 months interest if you redeem within 5 years.

Filed Under: Savings Bonds //
« Previous Page