Archives for September 2007

Our Wedding: What We Spent, Who Paid For It, and How It Went

Posted on September 12, 2007 // 27 Comments

First, even though it could have been executed better, to the right are the results of my informal wedding cost survey. While there was a big spread, over 30% of people said they spent less than $5,000 on their weddings. Impressive! The median value was near $10,000.

Now, a few people asked me what we spent on our wedding. I’m sure more people were wondering, but weren’t so bold. 😉 I’ve actually avoided talking about this topic for a variety of reasons, the main one being that I don’t think I have anything especially helpful to offer on this front! However, I’m sharing all kinds of money stuff already, so why not throw it out there and see what happens…

Weddings Are Very Personal
Weddings are tricky. They involve the expectations, cultures, and traditions of two families, who might have completely different ideas of what a wedding “should” be. This is on top of what the media perpetuates as standard, in everything from wedding magazines to movies. As such, I try to refrain from forming opinions on what people should or should not do for their weddings. Everyone needs to find their own balance between wants and costs.

What We Spent
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Frugal Living //

Free Nights of Theater In October and November

Posted on September 12, 2007 // 3 Comments

In an effort to attract new audiences, a large group of America’s not-for-profit theaters are organizing a Free Night of Theater clustered around October 18th, 2007 in various locations nationwide:

In 2007 the Free Night program will be presented in Atlanta, Austin, Boise, Cincinnati, Cleveland, the state of Connecticut, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Lexington, Los Angeles, the state of New Jersey, the state of North Carolina, Oregon (in Ashland and Eugene), Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle/Greater Puget Sound, South Carolina, Charleston, several states represented by Southeastern Theatre Conference, Washington D.C. and the state of Wisconsin.

Despite the somewhat confusing wording, it’s not necessarily confined to 10/18, but depending on the area may include multiple plays from different groups. For example, last year in the San Francisco Bay Area over 8,300 tickets were given away to 151 performances from 110 local companies, including “many of the region?s leading theatre producers, such as American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks, Magic Theatre and California Shakespeare Theater, along with a host of smaller companies.”

It sounds like quite an event, and a good opportunity to get out and see something new. Check out the website for additional information and how to book tickets, as it is first-come, first-serve. Via Punny Money.

Filed Under: Frugal Living //

Interest Rate Chaser Discussion: Where To Go After FNBO Direct’s 6% APY Promotional Period?

Posted on September 11, 2007 // 38 Comments

Many people who are with FNBO Direct right now earning 0.65% APY are asking – What is FNBO Direct’s rate going to be after September 28th? After a few phone calls, the official answer is apparently “We’re not going to tell you until we have to… on 9/28.”

This is actually pretty smart on their part. If they announced that the rate is going to drop now, then people may already start moving their money out. It’s better to keep us in suspense, playing off our hope that it will somehow stay high. I personally feel like it’s going to go back to 5.25% at the highest, otherwise they would have told us to kept us from preemptively moving. But that’s just my guess.

If this turns out to be the case, then the rates for no-minimum balance, no-monthly fee, liquid savings accounts will be again clustered closely around (a respectable) 5% APY. For those that want to keep chasing, I also tried to find the best combination of highest rate, FDIC-insured, lower minimums, and high liquidity:

6.01% APY for up to 6 months from EverBank, $1,500 minimum
Although this is technically a promotional rate for their FreeNet Checking Account, since it’s guaranteed you could simply treat it like a 3-month, 100% liquid CD paying 6.01% APY. Here are the details:

  • 6.01% APY guarantee for first 3 months, after it goes to 3.35-4.89% APY based on balance.
  • $1,500 minimum to open, no monthly minimum or fees, no direct deposit requirement
  • Online Billpay costs $4.95/month if you have less than $1,500 in there, $25 fee if closed within 30 days of opening
  • Free ACH in/out funds transfer system
  • Checkwriting (1st 50 free), ATM rebates (up to $6/month), Postage-paid deposit envelopes
  • FDIC-insured (certificate #34775), 3 star “Performing” Safe & Sound rating

After the first 3 months (assuming it’s still available), you can then open a Yield Pledge Money Market that also has 6.01% APY for 3 months. Also $1,500 minimum to open. It has more restrictions since it’s a savings account as well as a monthly minimum balance, so go with the Checking first. In total, this offers up to 6 months more of 6% goodness.

5.70-5.75% APY from IndyMac Bank
Indymac Bank has seen some troubles from the subprime loan mess, even though it specialized more in “Alt-A” loans, which are between prime and sub-prime in quality. However, it does offer some of the current top FDIC-insured rates. Here are two options:

$5,000 Mininum – Internet CD

  • 5.70% APY for 5-month or 6-month Certificate of Deposit.
  • Minimum to open is $5,000.
  • It’s important to note that these are certificates of deposit, and so you can’t transfer money in and out as with checking/savings accounts. In addition, there is a early withdrawal penalty of 1 month of interest.

$25,000 Mininum – Internet First Rate Money Market

  • 5.75% APY for balances above $25,000. No guaranteed term for this rate.
  • Minimum to open is $1,000. Monthly fee of $7 if your balance falls below $1,000.
  • Limited checkwriting is available.

Indymac’s FDIC certificate number is 29730, and it has a 2 star “Below peer group” Safe & Sound rating. Worried about their financial health? Check out my post exploring What happens if my bank goes bankrupt or fails? There may be ways to expand your $100,000 FDIC coverage.

Filed Under: Banking //

This Is Why I Hate Rebates…

Posted on September 10, 2007 // 31 Comments
altext

Wonder why you haven’t received your rebate? It might be because they just threw it away. Above are 1,300 unopened rebate forms that were dug out of a dumpster by a San Jose Mercury reporter (need a login?). Here is an excerpt:

I know that Shu Wong of San Jose hasn’t received the $3.50 mail-in rebate for a Vastech computer networking USB hub purchased at a Fry’s Electronics in May. Richard Louie of Austin, Olivia Sattaypiwat of Saratoga and Buu Duong of San Jose haven’t received their rebates, either.

I know this because they told me so, and because I am staring at more than 1,300 rebate requests sent to Vastech on Bonaventura Drive in San Jose. The envelopes were tossed – unopened – into a garbage dumpster near Vastech. I have two boxes of envelopes that were thrown out without being processed. In all of my years of reporting, I have never encountered such outrageous behavior against consumers.

Grrr. Did you know that rebate processing companies compete with each other based on their rebate rejection percentages? It’s part of their marketing materials… essentially “We reject more than the other guys, so go with us!” Makes you feel warm and fuzzy, no? Via the Consumerist.

Filed Under: Frugal Living //

Bummer, I’m An Under-Accumulator Of Wealth…

Posted on September 9, 2007 // 40 Comments

I just found my old copy of The Millionaire Next Door, a book which found that, contrary to popular belief, most millionaires actively live in modest neighborhoods and drive common cars like the Ford F-150 truck. Flipping through it, I remembered that it also provided a target as to what your net worth “should” be:

Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be.

If you don’t have any significant inheritances, this boils down to:

altext

If you are near this target, you are an average accumulator of wealth (AAW).

If you are less than half your target, you are an under-accumulator of wealth (UAW).

If you have more than double this target, you are an prodigious accumulator of wealth (PAW).

I’ve never liked this formula. The main problem I see with this rule of thumb is that it is linear with respect to age. This makes it pretty harsh on younger people, especially those who are just starting out.

Someone who is 25 and makes $40,000 a year is supposed to have a net worth of $100,000. If you got a job at 21, you’d need to have both graduated with zero student loan debt and saved up $25,000 each of the last 4 years. That’s barely even possible after taxes. But if you went to say, law school, and just graduated at 25 making $90,000 a year, you’re supposed to have $225,000 saved up right out of the gate?

Let’s do our target, roughly: 29 x 200,000 / 10 = $580,000. Whew, we are serious under-accumulators!

Filed Under: Goals //

Getting Out Of A Cell Phone Contract By Giving It Away

Posted on September 8, 2007 // 13 Comments

Want out of your 2-year contract early? Already tried the conventional methods of smooth-talking or catching them changing your contract? The next step may be to simply give it away.

At least that’s what the author of this Wall Street Journal article How to Dump a Cellphone Contract did. Apparently most carriers allow you to transfer your contract to another person, as long as they pass a credit check. To find a potential taker, the options range from sites that charge $20 like CellTradeUSA and CellSwapper, to the free sites Craigslist and FreeCycle. Thanks to KG for the tip.

It’s not quite as easy as it sounds… you will likely have to offer to either swap contracts or include your phone as an incentive. You’ll also lose your phone number. The author threw in her phone, a bunch of accessories, and $50 cash, which I guess is understandable as her contract had over a year left on it.

The winner? FreeCycle. In one day! I don’t know if they just got lucky, but it would seem prudent to use the free sites first. The pay sites entice you by dangling a bunch of communications from potential swappers, but you can’t get their info without paying.

This is what I’m wondering – if you already fulfilled your contract, wouldn’t that potentially be worth some money? Another user could simply hop on and go month-to-month. They wouldn’t get a discounted phone, but it’d be cheaper than most prepaid plans. Maybe I should have tried selling mine before jumping ship to Sprint SERO…

Filed Under: Frugal Living //

How Much Did You Spend On Your Wedding?

Posted on September 7, 2007 // 50 Comments

A friend of mine wants to know. This survey is anonymous, so tell the truth! 🙂

{democracy:6}

I will follow up with a more detailed post next week. For the curious, various studies report the average cost of weddings in the US to be about $30,000, while the median is around $15,000. Those crazy celebrity weddings must throw off the averages, especially since everyone seems to get married three times each.

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Simple Living //

Pinecone Survey Application Link, Other Paid Survey Sites

Posted on September 7, 2007 // 31 Comments

Paid surveys can be a reasonable source of additional income for the right people. On a per-hour basis, they are rarely a great deal and can get tedious. But hey, you can do them during downtime on the job or late at night while watching Leno, and they can add up to hundreds of dollars over a year. I find myself being more and more picky about them as time goes on.

Accordingly, my preference is to stock with sites that offer regular surveys and are upfront about payouts. I’d much rather know I’m getting $5 for a 20-minute survey than be entered in some vague sweepstakes drawing for $500. Here are the sites that I think best fit this criteria:

Pinecone Research is one of the more elusive paid survey companies, as they pay $5 for each and every survey you complete, as well as give some neat products to try out. With them, I used to* make a steady $10-$25 per month. Thanks to Kathy for sending me the most recent recruitment e-mail, which states that they are looking for new members who are male and 18+. Here’s the Pinecone sign-up link. I’ve anonymized the link, but this still won’t last long!

*Two important tips to keep the Pinecone gravy train running:

1) These guys are very strict. Whatever info you sign up with, you must always keep it up to date and follow it exactly. For example, if your profile says you’re 35 and in a later survey you state that you’re 46, you may mysteriously stop getting any new surveys. It’s best just to be honest.

2) Fill the surveys out as soon as you get them. I think this is why I was kicked out. For some reason they stopped e-mailing me survey alerts (multiple e-mails to Ms. Scott trying to fix this went unanswered). By the time I got the notices in the mail, the survey had expired. If you miss enough surveys, they boot you. I’m still a bit grouchy over this… 🙁

NFO MySurvey is another site that always tells you exactly what you’ll get before you do the survey. The payout rates are a little lower, but you can get a steady stream going. Some examples are 10 points (10 cents) for a 1-question survey to 250 points ($2.50) for a longer 10-minute survey. Occasionally you get a big one for more. You request payout svia check, and they send it out promptly. MySurvey sign-up link.

These folks are more laid back. You can miss several of these surveys, but you have to do one every few months to keep your points alive. They’ll send you an e-mail reminder to do so.

Other Surveys Sites
Here are some other ones, sorted in decreasing order of how often I get survey opportunities: American Consumer Opinion, SurveySavvy, Greenfield Online, Lightspeed Panel

Filed Under: Bored Money //

Free Cold Stone Ice Cream On Your Birthday

Posted on September 6, 2007 // 31 Comments

I’ve actually never been to a Cold Stone Creamery before, but they seem to be everywhere now. Are they really that good? I personally prefer the $2.50 pints of Ben & Jerry’s when they go on sale once a month at the grocery store.

Anyways, if you sign up for their Birthday Club and the accompanying mailing list, you’ll get an e-mail for a free Ice Cream Creation on your birthday. I imagine proper ID is required… what a sneaky way to get your real birth date! Found via an e-mail forward from my parents, of all places.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Yodlee, Bank Of America MyPortfolio Updates

Posted on September 5, 2007 // 11 Comments

While getting the numbers for my monthly net worth update, I noticed that Yodlee has added a number of new accounts to their aggregation list. Specifically, I use the licensed version at Bank of America called MyPortfolio. So if you haven’t checked in a while, you might be pleasantly surprised – I think they actually cover all my accounts now. Here are a few sites that I just added, along with some info on why I have an account with them:

Zecco Broker Review, free stock trades!
TradeKing Broker Review, award-winning broker, $4.95 trades
FNBO Direct Review, new online bank with 0.65% APY Promo
Bridgeway Mutual Funds Info, I hold the BRSIX micro-cap mutual fund

See here for more on Yodlee and why I use it.

Filed Under: General //

Random Business Idea: LCD/DLP Projector Rental Service

Posted on September 5, 2007 // 29 Comments

Recently, I got placed in charge of trying to obtain an LCD projector for a family event. Has anyone else out there had to do this? What kind of prices did you get? I found that renting an LCD projector directly from a higher-end hotel costs at least $500. An hour. Then I searched for local or online stores, and found the cost was around $200-$350 for one day. The high end was including delivery and pickup, but neither place actually would help me set things up. Finally, we worked something out with a friend of a friend.

Is it me, or is the highest ratio of renting/owning of any product? I can rent a car for $50 a day, but not an LCD projector?!

This got me thinking – wouldn’t this be a great business? You can buy a solid 3,000 lumen DLP projector for about $1,000. Basic ones start at $500. You don’t need a HD or home theater version, most people are just doing PowerPoint presentations or picture slideshows. You can also pick up a screen and stand (many places just let you use the screen they have) for another couple hundred dollars. After some quick brainstorming, here’s a rough plan of attack:

1) Set it up. Pick a name “AnyTown Speedy Projector Rental”, and put up a professional-looking website with your phone number and nice description of your equipment. Help out some friends and add some testimonials and references. Definitely put up a “Best Price Guarantee”.

If you need a business license for your area, grab one of those for $50 or so. Get a merchant account so you can accept credit cards.

2) Do cheap guerrilla marketing. List your service on Craigslist. Tell everyone you know. Put a big sign on your car. Maybe start a highly geo-targeted Google Adwords search engine advertising campaign. Contact some wedding coordinators and offer a referral fee or reciprocal marketing agreement.

3) Price aggressively and offer extras. On most days, you could simply require them to pick up the day before the event, and drop back off at your house the day after. Take their credit card information and make them sign a damage waiver stating that they will be liable for replacement. Charge… say… $100 per day (ignore the pick-up and drop-off days). In 10-11 rentals, you’ve broken even. After that, it’s all profit!

(With the “Best Price Guarantee” you could simply ask them their lowest quote, offer 10-20% less, and charge even more than $100.)

My idea is that on weekends (when most people need it), you can also offer “professional setup” by bringing your own laptop and speaker system, and running the show yourself for an additional price. Lots of times the projector part only last for less than an hour. Maybe charge $250 for the delivery, rental, and the first 2 hours of work. This is cheaper than any other person I’ve talked to. As long as you’re pretty good with computers, you could be a one-man show.

For someone looking for ways to earn some extra cash on the side, I think this could be very viable. People are already doing it on Craigslist. You could even use it at home to watch movies when it’s not rented out. Poke holes in my idea in the comments! 😀 Got your own instant biz ideas? Share those too!

Filed Under: Entrepreneurial //

September 2007 Financial Status / Net Worth Update

Posted on September 4, 2007 // 32 Comments
Net Worth Chart September 2007

About My Credit Card Debt
Newer readers may be alarmed by my high levels of credit card debt. I’m actually borrowing money for free, putting it in safe investments that earn me 5-6% interest, and keeping the difference as profit. Along with other things, this helps me earn extra side income of thousands of dollars a year. Recently I put up a series of step-by-step posts on how I do this. Please check it out first if you have any questions. This is why, although I have the ability to pay the balances off, I choose not to.

Commentary
August was still a very transitional month with starting new jobs, meeting new people, and getting used to living in the in-law unit of a family member. Most of our things are still stuffed in the basement. The positives definitely overwhelm the negatives however:

Cash Savings. It’s showtime! With dual incomes, no kids, and no rent or mortgage, the next several months should allow us to save money faster than ever before. This is a great opportunity, so I really want to take full advantage of it.

We’ve tried to alleviate the no-rent guilt by buying food, power tools, and football season tickets for our family. But they all know the whole point of living here is to save up for a house, and have done the same thing themselves, so hopefully there won’t be much tension.

Retirement and Brokerage accounts. There seems to have been a bounce since last month, with our accounts going up about 3% and ~$2,500. I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet, though. I do need to catch up on my Solo 401k contributions, and make sure to finish setting up our new Roth 403b plan.

Quick summary. Our non-retirement funds now add up to $83,763, which puts us at 84% of our mid-term goal of $100,000 towards a house downpayment. Total net cash is at $78,232 (+$10,938 from last month). Take a look back at our previous net worth updates here.

Filed Under: Goals //
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