Archives for September 2011

LivingSocial: $20 Whole Foods Market Gift Card For $10

Posted on September 13, 2011 // 9 Comments

LivingSocial, the group-buying deal-a-day website trying to go IPO like Groupon, is offering national deal today of a $20 value voucher to Whole Foods Market for only $10. Limit one per person. 5% of the sale price goes to the Whole Kids Foundation. I don’t shop there very often, but my sister says the organic chicken tastes much better than the standard stuff. Selected portion of way-too-long fine print below:

Limit one voucher per person • Whole Foods Market code shall not be deemed purchased by the purchaser until claimed • If code is not claimed within 90 days following offer period, code will be deemed forfeited, and purchasers will be refunded the full paid value ($10) of the Whole Foods Market code in Deal Bucks to be used on livingsocial.com • Whole Foods Market code claimed by purchaser may be used over multiple purchases • Entire value of World Foods Market code claimed by a customer does not expire • PAID VALUE EXPIRES ON September 13, 2016 • PROMOTIONAL VALUE EXPIRES ON December 13, 2011

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

My Unclaimed Money From State of California Actually Came

Posted on September 13, 2011 // 7 Comments

Amazingly, less than two months from mailing in my claim submission, the State of California actually sent me a check for my $74.93 in unclaimed money. Thanks guys, sorry you can’t use it to plug your gaping budget hole, but I’m sure you’ll get me back somehow. 😉 Here’s an expanded listing of useful websites to see if you’ve got any money waiting for you:

  • USA.gov – Listing of US government-related items, including bank FDIC insurance failures, mortgage insurance refunds, and more.
  • Unclaimed.org – State-by-state unclaimed property listings
  • California Unclaimed Property page
  • MissingMoney.com
  • TreasuryHunt.gov
  • PBGC.gov – Unclaimed pension plan benefits
Filed Under: Frugal Living, Taxes //

GE GeoSpring Hybrid Electric Water Heater: Good Investment?

Posted on September 12, 2011 // 28 Comments

I’m normally not excited by water heaters, but I do love the idea of investing small money upfront to lower my expenses and save big money in the future. We currently have a 10-year old electric water heater which I’d like to replace soon due to age and inadequate size. We live in a warmer climate and thus considered a solar hot water heater, but the combination of cost and having to cut and install water pipes through our roof didn’t sound especially fun. I just saw that until October 5th, Lowe’s is selling the GE GeoSpring 50-Gallon Hybrid Electric Water Heater for $999. Currently, both GEAppliances.com and Sears also have it at $999. If you can get free delivery in your area, one may be cheaper than the other. Both Lowe’s and Sears offer another 5% off if you have their store credit card.

Tax credits. There is a Federal tax credit of $300 available on electric heat pump water heaters. In addition, check for state energy rebates here, and you may get even more back (look carefully, as many states have already exhausted their rebate funding). Without anything local available for me, this makes the net cost $700. A conventional 50 gallon electric heater with a shorter warranty can be found for about $300, with a 9+ year warranty runs about $400. This makes the cost difference with no state credits to be no more than $400. Both could be installed yourself if you’re handy, otherwise installation is extra.

Potential $2,400 in savings. With average electric cost assumptions, this heater is supposed to save about $25 a month, or $320 a year in electricity costs. If you have your electric bill handy, you can do the math yourself as a 50-gallon standard electric tank water heater uses about 4881 kWh per year vs. the GE Hybrid water heater at 1856 kWh per year. Using their standard numbers, this hybrid system would pay for itself less than two years. Assuming a 10-year usage, you would then have 8 years x $300 a year = $2,400 of potential total savings.

What’s a hybrid water heater? It’s called a hybrid because it can heat up your water using a heat pump as well as the conventional electric resistance coil. I was having flashbacks to my thermodynamics college courses while learning about it, but essentially a heat pump takes the heat from ambient air and transfers it into the water. This is kind of like an air conditioner in reverse, which takes the heat in the air and moves it outside with the aid of a refrigerant like Freon. The heat pump is more energy efficient than the electric coil, but slower, so the coil is still there as a backup during times of high demand. A heat pump works better in warmer climates, as there is more heat in the air. You’ll also end up with condensation which will need a drain unless you want to empty out a water pan every few days.

The added complexity of the heat pump does make for more things to go wrong, which is why I suppose it comes with a rather long warranty. It is worth the upfront investment? I think so for us, but I’ll haven’t fully run the numbers on a similar whole-house tankless system. Thoughts?

Filed Under: Frugal Living //

American Express Electronic eGift Card Fee Waiver Code

Posted on September 9, 2011 // 10 Comments

I’ve mentioned American Express Gift Cards are being useful for shifting your purchases forward, in case you’re still working on satisfying spending requirements for big bonuses like the $400 cash bonus from the Chase Sapphire Preferred(SM) Card or $500 in gift cards  from the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card. This way you get the purchases counted and out of the way first, and then you spend them down gradually.

I just got another e-mail from American Express that they now have an electronic version called eGift cards, which can only be used online at websites that take AMEX, but you don’t have to pay any shipping fees. There is a $2.95 purchase fee, but you can get it waived with the promotional code EMGIFTWL, valid through 10/31/2011. Useful if you regularly buy stuff online anyway.

You can try to use a cashback shopping portals, but the e-mail they sent me says that you have to go through the provided link above to get the fee waived. When buying larger amounts, it may simply be better just to pay the fee and go for the 1.6% cash back.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Poll: How Would Winning The Lottery Change Your Investment Risk Tolerance?

Posted on September 9, 2011 // 20 Comments

In a discussion about risk on the Bogleheads forum, member John Norstad brought up an intriguing question. Let’s say you won $1 million (net after taxes) in the lottery tomorrow. This money will get added to your existing investment portfolio, and may or may not be enough to allow you to fully “retire” as you would like to. As a result, how would you change your investment style?

Make it more aggressive. Sample reasoning: Now that I have a head start and a cushion, why not gamble a little and see what happens? I should buy more stocks, and perhaps I can retire even earlier or with a bigger nest egg. This is given the term Decreasing Relative Risk Aversion (DRRA).

Make it more conservative. Sample reasoning: I’ve just gotten much closer to my goal, and I don’t want to mess it up. I can now invest more in safer things like bonds and be more confident in reaching my goal eventually. Known as Increasing Relative Risk Aversion (IRRA).

Keep it the same. Sample reasoning: I have a set allocation set up, and I see no reason to change it. Anything I don’t spend, I will leave to my heirs. Known as Constant Relative Risk Aversion (CRRA).

If you won the lottery, how would you adjust your investment style?

View Results

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Filed Under: Investing //

New Laptop? Extend Your Warranty By A Year For Free With American Express

Posted on September 8, 2011 // 13 Comments

School is back is session and lots of people are buying new computers. I’m thinking of one myself, to replace my aging 2007 refurbished Mac Mini that cost $400. As an example, the manufacturer’s warranty on a new* Apple Macbook is only one year, unless you pay an extra $250 for AppleCare. (*Still 1-year if you buy refurbished.) A much more economical option is simply to buy it with an American Express credit card. The “Extended Warranty” feature on their consumer cards is pretty generous, with details from their FAQ page:

When you charge the cost of a covered product with your American Express® Card, the Extended Warranty1 will extend the terms of the original manufacturer’s warranty for a period of time equal to the duration of the original manufacturer’s warranty, up to one additional year on warranties of five years or less that are eligible in the U.S.

This means your Apple warranty will have been doubled to 2 years if bought with your AMEX. Be sure to keep as much supporting paperwork as possible, including your original receipt and the warranty information. Some versions of Visa and MasterCard also have an extended warranty feature, but in my experience AMEX is the best at actually paying out when called for. Even the consumer advocate site Consumerist has a tale of AMEX refunding the entire cost of a laptop as part of their extended warranty. I’ve also written before on the AMEX warranty covering a Roomba vacuum. AMEX has some other additional features as well, but I’ll save those for later.

 

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
My default rewards card. You get 1 point per $1 spent, and 20,000 Starwood points = 25,000 airline miles (free ticket). Essentially up to 1.25 miles per dollar spent, and you can convert to a variety of airlines or free hotel rooms. Top off an account, or convert a big lump sum. Currently, the sign-up bonus is 10,000 points (worth $100 gift certificate at Amazon.com) after first purchase. On top of that, you can also get an additional 15,000 points by spending $5,000 on the card within the first 6 months. Annual fee is waived for the first year, and is $65 the second year if you keep it.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Frugal Living //

Sharebuilder $50 Bonus For Existing Customers, Promo Code

Posted on September 8, 2011 // 25 Comments

Got a Sharebuilder.com brokerage account? Current customers can get an extra $50 by making transferring over at least $100 each month from September 2011 through December 2011. Log into your account, and navigate the following tabs: Accounts > Overview > Profile & Settings > Enter Promotion. Enter the promotional code OLRCDP50, and you should see the following message:

Your promotion code has been accepted. Congratulations! Now all you need to do is make a deposit of $100 or more every month from September 2011 through December 2011. Click the Transfer Money link above to get started. You can expect your $50 credit before the end of January 2012. Enjoy!

Via NihmRodd of FW. I haven’t used my account in years, but this worked on my account even with a zero balance. Not a bad idea to spur on some activity, and $50 return on $400 within 3 months is a really good return on investment, better than any savings account. Note that if you make any withdrawal from your account during the promotion timeframe (September – December), you won’t be eligible to receive the bonus.

Don’t have an account yet? Check out this $50 bonus when you open an new Sharebuilder account and deposit $50 before 12/31/11. After you open the account, try and apply the promo code above to get both bonuses.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture [Book Review]

Posted on September 7, 2011 // 21 Comments

Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell covers a wide variety of topics, but the main idea I got from reading it, was that we are too focused on price, and not enough on value. We have shifted from quality, durability, and craftsmanship towards quantity at the lowest possible price. I previously wrote about how it’s harder to judge quality these days as it relates to Coach Outlet stores. Next time you buy something, think about what you actually know about who made the product, the materials or ingredients used, and how long it will last before you have to buy another one.

Thanks to globalization and a relentless pursuit of efficiency, we now have $1 chicken sandwiches, $5 toasters, and $10 IKEA coffee tables. That saves us money, right? However, also notice that it’s often the crap in our lives that gets a bit cheaper. The real essentials – rent, education, healthcare, gas, never seem to get less expensive. On top of that household wages are stagnant, partially because all the jobs making stuff have gone to the countries with cheapest labor before our workforce has had a chance to learn to do something else. Look at the current unemployment rate. So are we really coming out ahead?

The book includes an interesting history of the evolution of retailing and the creation of the discount superstore. There was a time before Wal-mart when small shops sold specialized products through educated salespeople. Now, everything is propelled by mass advertising everywhere, followed by do-it-yourself shopping. Now, I personally like reading tons of peer reviews on Amazon before buying a product, but you have to admit that the genius of a store like IKEA is that so much of the cost is shifted onto the consumer. We load up the huge boxes onto a shopping cart ourselves, cram it into our car, drive it back home (paying for the gas), and build it ourselves with hours of labor.

There is also the interweaving of behavioral economics topics you may be familiar with by academics like Daniel Kahneman and Dan Ariely. For example, you probably get excited when you buy something marked down 60% at the mall. We’re all genetically wired to get hyped up for that, so it’s not surprising. Well, these days basically everything is marked down. Only 20% of department store merchandise is actually sold at full price. If everyone is getting the same “deal”, is it still a deal or just manipulation?

On a related note, discount stores often tout “everyday low prices”, but they really just try to compete hard on things that we buy most frequently and are most familiar with. Wal-mart actually has higher than average prices on about 1/3rd of its inventory. On the items for which prices are lower, the savings is 37 cents, with about 1/3rd of items carrying a savings of no more than 2 cents. The loss leaders draw us in and make us feel like we’re saving money, but the other things we toss in our basket make the profit.

Although some of these trends are unlikely to be reversed, we should remember that it’s not all about the price tag. An example of how things “should” work is the grocery store Wegman’s, which I am not familiar with but sounds a lot like Trader Joe’s on the West Coast. Locally-sourced products, good wages and benefits for employees, and good service create an atmosphere that is not solely focused on price (although it is still an important component).

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Frugal Living //

Free 2,500 Chase Sapphire Rewards Points + $5 Free Postage With Stamps.com

Posted on September 6, 2011 // 21 Comments

If you signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card recently (most likely for their $625 travel bonus offer, like me), here’s how to get another $25 out of the deal. As cardholders, log into the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping mall, which is one of those shopping portals where you get rebated points for buying stuff at online merchants. Right now, you can get 2,500 points (worth $25 or 2500 miles) and $5 in free printable postage just for signing up for a free 4-week trial at Stamps.com.

Chase Saphire Preferred Card Screenshot

This comes via Infamousdx via Flyertalk. Not bad for a few minutes and one phone call. I still have a Stamps.com weight scale from way back when they were giving away $50+ in printed postage with a free membership trial. (Although don’t order the scale with this offer, as they charge shipping.) I don’t remember any hassles and printed the postage on my old inkjet with no issues.

“Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program.  “The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.”

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Labor Day Weekend Links: Insurance for Freelancers, Google Looks For Money Advice, Vanguard Canada, and More

Posted on September 6, 2011 // 3 Comments

I hope that everyone managed to have a relaxing and refreshing long weekend. I managed to catch up on some Instapaper reading, and here are some links worth sharing:

Freelancer’s Union
Independent workers make up 30% of the nation’s workforce, and the FreeLancer’s Union is trying to help organize them into a stronger community. The primary reason I found this interesting is in limited geographical areas, they offer ways to get affordable health, dental, and disability insurance to freelance workers. Finding non-employer-linked insurance is a big concern of mine in the future, and perhaps more localized freelancer groups can help.

The best investment advice you’ll never get (San Francisco Magazine)
In 2004, when Google’s IPO occurred and made hundreds of young multimillionaires that quite possibly had no idea how to handle that money, their management team did something very clever. Instead of just shunting them to Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley “predators” :), they brought in a series of speakers to talk about investing. This included names like Bill Sharpe, Burton Malkiel, and Jack Bogle. Read this (long) article to see what they were shown.

Vanguard Is Coming To Canada (Marketwatch)
I did not know this, but according this article Canadian investors are not able to buy Vanguard mutual funds offered in the US. They can, however, buy the same Vanguard ETFs. Well, Vanguard has recently announced that it plans to open 6 low-cost index ETFs for the Canadian market, including an MSCI Canada ETF, a Canada Aggregate Bond Index ETF, a CAD-hedged US Total Market ETF, and a CAD-hedged EAFA Index Fund. It may also open corresponding open-ended mutual funds. This development should put significant pressure to lower costs across the industry.

Intuitive Probabilities – Blackjack and Loss Rebates (Kid Dynamite)
There was some buzz recently about a guy playing high-stakes blackjack that walked away with another $1 million winning session. It was revealed that to entice his play, the casino actually rebated 20% of his losses. Basically, he got to keep whatever he won, but if he lost $1 million, he would only have to pay $800k. This may sound like a sweet deal, but this article shows that with as little as 100 hands played in a session, the casino is still theoretically ahead. The house still wins. Kind of like a lot of hedge funds. You give them your money to invest/gamble, and if they win, they keep 20% of the winnings. If they lose, hey, it was your money. 🙂

Create Time to Change Your Life (Zen Habits)
Making clear priorities allows to you see what you need to do, but you also need to cut out some existing things as well. You may think you can just cram it all in, but you really can’t without burning out eventually.

Chase British Airways Card: $50 off two meals at Michelin-starred restaurants
If you got this card from the previous 100k mile bonus offer, they are offering two $50 off $50 purchases at fancy-schmancy restaurants with Michelin stars. A nice perk, although a meal at these places can easily run a lot more than fifty bucks. I’m sad to say I have never eaten at any of these fine establishments. Le Bernardin would be top on my list.

Refinancing While Underwater (NYT)
Includes different options on how to refinance your mortgage if your home’s value has dropped such that you owe more than your house is worth.

If your loan is owned by Fannie or Freddie, you may qualify for the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP. Some 2.5 million to 3 million homeowners may be eligible to use HARP, according to government estimates — provided, among other things, that they have not been late on their payments more than once in the last 12 months.

Filed Under: General //

TradeKing $100 New Account Bonus Via Referral (September 2011)

Posted on September 3, 2011 // 3 Comments

Online stock brokerage firm TradeKing.com has a $100 bonus via referral promo for September 2011. If you get a referral from an existing account holder, open a new account with at least $1,000, and make a trade, both people will get $100. TradeKing offers $4.95 trades (market & limit) with no minimum balance requirement. I’ve had an account for years now, and they’ve gotten the job done without issues. They’ve recently added some social community features (which I don’t use), and were rated #1 in customer service by SmartMoney magazine in 2010. The details:

  • New customer must fund new non-IRA account with a minimum of $1,000 within 30 days of new account opening, and must execute one trade within 180 days of new account opening.
  • The minimum funds of $1,000 must remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of 180 days of new account opening or the credit may be surrendered.

A new feature is that they allow referrals by Twitter, so you should just be able to simply click on this link and be done with it. There is no promotion code, but the page does show:

Thanks for taking your friend’s suggestion to open a TradeKing account — we think you’ve made a great decision. We’ll treat you like a best friend should, we promise, and as a bonus, we’ll put $100 in your account.**

If you’d like an official referral just contact me, and I’ll be happy to send you one. I only need your e-mail address, please allow 24 hours. Offer expires Septmeber 30th, 2011.

Also, if you transfer an account of $2,500 value or greater from another broker over to TradeKing, they will also refund up to $150 in account transfer fees charged by your old broker. Both promotions are able to be combined.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Investing //

Ally Bank 5-Year CD Rate (Drop) History

Posted on September 2, 2011 // 10 Comments

As part keeping the interest rate on my emergency fund as high as possible, I’ve shared my like of rewards checking, savings bonds, and the Ally Bank 5-Year CD. Ally CDs have a small 60-day interest withdrawal penalty, so the liquidity is still quite good. As long as you hold it for 6 months, you’ll be earning more interest than the highest rate from an online savings account even after the penalty is factored in. After that, the effective rate just keeps getting better until you reach maturity at the full rate.

With no minimum balance requirements, you can also buy them in whatever size chunks you want. And I have. But I checked the rates again today, and was sad to see they’ve been dropping quite fast recently. The current Ally Bank 5-year CD rate is 1.60% APY (as of 10/25/13). I decided to compile the rate history from as far back as I’ve been tracking them.

There have been a few small rate hikes, but for the most part the rate has been gradually dropping due to market conditions. If you’ve been thinking about buying, I would buy now before rates drop even farther. When opening a CD, remember they have a “10 Day Best Rate Guarantee” in which you get the best rate they offer within 10 days of opening. You can now also find slightly better rates elsewhere, for example Alliant Credit Union has their 5-year certificate at 2.35% APY (2.45% for $25k+), but with a larger 6-month interest penalty. I’ll probably still buy a little more at 2.17%, but if the rate drops below 2% then I’m looking elsewhere.

Filed Under: Banking //
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