Archives for December 2008

Charles Schwab 2% Cashback Credit Card

Posted on December 4, 2008 // 16 Comments

Schwab brokerage is offering a new credit card that gives you 2% cash back on all purchases. The only catch is that the rewards can only be redeemed into a SchwabOne brokerage account. When linked to the Schwab card, the SchwabOne account has no minimum balance requirement or monthly service charges.

With no annual fee and no cashback limit, this is a very competitive card. I just hope it sticks around – many, many 2% cashback on everything cards have come and gone, from Farm Bureau to Countrywide, as that level of rewards make the issuer’s cut very slim. I’m sure they are counting on fees from the SchwabOne brokerage account to make up for the difference. Fidelity has a similar 2% back American Express card.

Filed Under: Credit Cards //

Capital One 360 Referral Giveway (Expired)

Posted on December 3, 2008 //

Do you have an Capital One 360 savings account with unused referrals? I usually have lots of $25 bonus links available, but have been falling behind again. The first 25 people who comment below tonight and leave a working contact e-mail (real name not required, e-mail will not be shared publicly) will get one filled by me for free, which is $10 for you. I’m good for now, but will probably ask in a month or so. Thanks!

Due to comment moderation, your comment may not show up right away. One referral per person. You cannot have had a “freebie” before. Look for a message from me to your e-mail address with further instructions later on.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Dilbert’s One-Page Guide to Everything Financial

Posted on December 3, 2008 // 18 Comments

The story goes that Scott Adams wanted to publish this as a one-page book, but he couldn’t find a publisher to do it. In fact, he is quoted as saying that “if God materialized on earth and wrote the secret of the universe on one page, he wouldn’t be able to find a publisher” either on CBS Marketwatch. Instead, he weaved it into a Dilbert cartoon-based book called Dilbert and the Way of the Weasels (368 pages).

Everything else you may want to do with your money is a bad idea compared to what’s on my one-page summary. You want an annuity? It’s worse. You want a whole life insurance policy? It’s worse. You want to invest in individual stocks? It’s worse. You want a managed mutual fund instead of an index fund? It’s worse. I could go on, but you get the point.

Overall, the book is pretty funny if you like Dilbert and understand the corporate hell that he lives in. Otherwise, without further ado, here is Dilbert’s One-Page Guide to Everything Financial:

  1. Make a will.
  2. Pay off your credit cards.
  3. Get term life insurance if you have a family to support.
  4. Fund your 401k to the maximum.
  5. Fund your IRA to the maximum.
  6. Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it.
  7. Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market account.
  8. Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement.
  9. If any of this confuses you, or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues), hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio.

From Vanguard article:

Does Adams live by his financial rules? For the most part he does. Adams said he’s allergic to debt and makes a habit of saving half of his income.

“I found that people who had massive credit card debt were asking me how they could invest in stocks, or how they could borrow money from their credit card to invest in stocks,” the cartoonist recalled.

However, Adams said he no longer follows his rule to invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund. The best-selling author says he invests primarily in municipal bonds today, which are tax-exempt, and also owns land in his adopted home state of California.

If I had his amount of money, I’d probably be investing only in muni bonds as well!

Filed Under: Book Reviews, General //

WTDirect Bank: 3.06% APY + Up To $250 Sign-up Bonus

Posted on December 1, 2008 // 15 Comments

Here’s another decent deal with hopefully minimal drama. Online bank WTDirect is offering up to a $250 cash bonus for opening a new account and keeping a certain minimum average balance for January and February. WT stands for Wilmington Trust FSB, which is FDIC-insured and all that good stuff. Your bonus depends on your average balance:

$10,000 = $50 bonus
$20,000 = $100 bonus
$30,000 = $150 bonus
$40,000 = $200 bonus
$50,000 = $250 bonus

Must be funded by ACH transfer initiated by 12/22. You must type in the promotion code WTG3DNC, or simply apply.

This offer is available to new WTDirect clients only. To receive the bonus, clients must enter the promotion code “WTG3DNC” at the time of account opening. There is no minimum balance required to open the account. WTDirect account must be funded via electronic (ACH) transfer which must be initiated by 12/22/08. Clients may transfer funds in and out of the WTDirect account during the promotion period (1/1/09 – 2/28/09) and the bonus will be based on the average balance level during that time. Account must remain open and in good standing through the end of the promotion period. Bonus will be credited to client’s WTDirect account on or about the second week of March. WTDirect reserves the right to cancel or modify this promotion at any time without notice.

How good is this bonus? To start, you are already guaranteed 3.06% APY for the first 60 days, which using my APY to APR calculator gives you roughly 3% APR. On $10,000 for two months, that’s 10000 x 0.03/12 x 2 = $50 in interest. Since the bonus is also $50 for a $10,000 balance, you’re basically getting double the interest, or roughly 6% APR during these two months.

Alternatively, if you’re trying to see how much more interest you’re earning as opposed to DollarSavingsDirect or FNBO Direct, even compared to 4% APY you’re looking at least $30 extra interest for every $10k invested ($150 on $50k).

So if you’ve got the cash, I’d put in $50k to max out what is basically a 6% APR 2-month CD. There is supposed to be no hard pull. I’d also do it sooner rather than later, as you still have to verify some trial deposits to set up the ACH by the 12/22 deadline.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

MyCorporation Corporation/LLC Filing: Free For All Of December

Posted on December 1, 2008 // 12 Comments

If you missed it last month, MyCorporation is offering their incorporation filing services for free again for the entire month of December for a “limited time” with the coupon code MYGIFT. Usually this costs $149. Tip: You can also check out now but delay the official filing of your corporation or LLC until 2009 if you want.

Must use coupon MYGIFT to obtain discount. Document shipping, state fees, publication fees, and additional product fees are additional. Discount valid for orders placed for a new corporation or limited liability company only.

More info in this previous post.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

CyberMonday Gifts That Can Pay For Themselves?

Posted on December 1, 2008 // 16 Comments

My friends and I were talking about CyberMonday and we started trying to come up with some gift ideas that might pay for themselves, beyond the usual rechargeable batteries or fluorescent light bulbs. Things we’d actually want to receive as gifts, or may end up buying ourselves with the inevitable gift cards. Here’s a few of them:

Emergency Hand-Crank Flashlight and Cell Phone Recharger – Keep one of these in the car, and your cell phone will never die. Just crank and recharge! This one is even solar-powered. Add in the fact that many old cellphones with no monthly plan still have 911 service, and you have another nice emergency back-up. I actually bought one of these – one tip is to make sure you have the right power adapter tips for your phone and keep it handy.

Ooma VoIP Phone System – This VoIP phone system that costs $210 upfront, but you don’t have any ongoing monthly fees for unlimited local and long distance calling in the US. I still haven’t seen one in action, but I keep hearing good reviews though this blog.

Wii Game Console – We were divided on this one (mainly between those who have one and those who don’t…). It can certainly produce less going-out and save money on movies/food/drinks that way, but all the little accessories really add up. Controllers, $50-$80 a pop since they have two parts. Guitar Hero will make you want two guitars. And now comes the Wii Fit! Still, I must admit I love those Raving Rabbids…

Crock Pot / Slow Cooker – Cold weather + recession = Increased slow cooker sales. At least that’s my theory. I saw this at Costco and they were selling fast. The actual crock pot is removable for serving and easy clean-up.

Some previous mentions:

Chest Freezers – Not really much of a gift idea, but still something to consider as food prices are still going up.

Kill-a-Watt Energy Meter – For some reason I bought one of these a year ago, took a bunch of data, and then promptly lost it when we moved. Arrgh. Need to dig this up again.

The Simple Dollar also has some other items in his list of gadgets that actually save money.

Any other ideas?

Filed Under: Frugal Living //
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