Archives for November 2012

Chase Ink Bold & Plus: Free Airport Lounge Access Details

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

I’ve already written about the Ink Plus® Business Card (review) previously – which has a great 60,000 point bonus worth $725 towards any travel, good Ultimate Rewards structure and redemption options, and the first year annual fee is waived. If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred that’s nearing the end of the first year and you don’t want to renew, you can just open up an Ink card and transfer your Ultimate Rewards points balance over instantly for free. You can even transfer points between spousal (or anyone’s) accounts for free, so it’s easy to keep the balance alive.

An added Ink card benefit on top of all that, buried in the benefits details, is a mention of “complimentary airport lounge access”:

Complimentary airport lounge access to over 350 VIP lounges worldwide. Lounge amenities include internet access, complimentary snacks and beverages, phone, fax, conference rooms and more. ($150 comparable value)*

How exactly do I get this free lounge access? Once you get your Chase Ink Bold or Ink Plus card, you must go to loungeclub.com/inkcard and enter an invitation code which should be mailed to you with your card details. Otherwise, simply call the number on the back of your card and they’ll tell you. (It’s not very creative.) You’ll sign up with your personal info and card number.

Next, Lounge Club will send you a package with your personalized membership card, welcome letter, and informational brochure. You’ll need to present the physical card at the airport lounges to gain access, but you can find a directory of all the available lounges at either LoungeClub.com or via their iPhone/Android smartphone app.

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My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Prosper: Best Search Filters for Automated Quick Invest

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

(This post is for investors and lenders. If you need a loan or debt consolidation, check out my LendingClub vs. Prosper comparison for borrowers.)

As part of my new Beat-the-Market Experiment, I have dedicated $5,000 to Prosper. As a quick recap, Prosper.com securitizes person-to-person loans so that you can lend money to other people in $25 increments and earn interest. The idea is to replace banks and credit cards as the middlemen. Since their mid-2009 re-launch after SEC registration, there have been a full cycle of 3-year Prosper “2.0” loans fully maturing with an average net return of over 8% annualized. However, this is still unsecured lending which means no car or home as collateral, and thus there is a risk of loss (which can be mitigated by diversifying in multiple loans).

Prosper looks at the credit history of prospective borrowers and charges them an interest rate based on a Prosper Rating of AA, A, B, C, D, E, or HR (high risk). (The ratings are relative; the minimum credit score is 640.) Now, if Prosper’s grading system was perfect, life would be simple. The interest rate charged would be high enough to cover any defaults plus a little extra for the added heartburn. Ideally, after defaults and fees are accounted for, perhaps AA loans would earn 6%, C loans would earn 8%, and E loans would earn 10%.

However, things aren’t quite that neat. Prosper publicly shares all its loan information, and smart folks have made tools to analyze that data. Currently, the best place to go is Prosper Stats. If you take all the loans, we see that AA loans have a net return (after estimating losses from late loans and actual losses from defaults) of ~6%, C loans had a net return of ~11%, but E loans only returned ~9%. Hmm. Look further and you’ll see other small inconsistencies. For example, loans to people with 2 or less open credit lines actually have a measly 3% net return, while loans to folks with 18+ open credit lines open have net annualized returns of over 11%?!

As a result, many investors avoid investing in Prosper loans blindly and instead use specific search filters. Indeed, Prosper makes it easy with their “Automated Quick Invest” service which automatically invests in loans that satisfy your custom search rules. There’s no need to spend time every day looking for loans. So, what are some possible criteria?

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My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Home Depot LED Christmas Light Trade-In Details

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Last year, we debated how much money do LED Christmas lights really save?, where I suggested that since the electricity savings were on the order of $1 per year per 100-light strand, it wasn’t really worth throwing away perfectly good incandescent lights if you had them already.

Well, this year Home Depot is having a Christmas light trade-In promotion where you can get between $3 and $5 off a box of LED lights for every string of old lights you give them to recycle (working or not). You can get up to 5 coupons per customer, promo ends 11/14. The cheapest lights that can be found online are about $8.50 for 50-lights, or $5.50 after coupon. The GE-branded lights (~$20 for 100 lights) are slightly more expensive but easier to compare prices, and based on a quick scan the prices are competitive so that after the coupon you should be ahead.

Throw in the fact that the price differential has narrowed, and this may be a good opportunity to recycle your old lights and upgrade to energy-efficient LEDs. Fine print below.

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My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Ask the Readers: Portfolio Advice for a World Traveler

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

One of my online friends, Nomadic Matt, approached me for some investing advice. Matt changed his career path and now travels around the world and writes about it for a living. Not a bad gig, eh?

Matt and I had a short chat about his goals and situation, which he agreed to open up to outside advice as he has some specific investment ideas and leanings that he’d like to explore. I believe he is single in his late 20s or early 30s, and he also has an MBA so he’s not starting from scratch.

MMB: So roughly how much money are we talking about here? How is it currently invested and in what types of accounts (bank, IRA, brokerage, etc)?

Matt: I have a small five figure sum invested in a SEP IRA.

MMB: What is your timeline and goals for this money? Are you looking to save for retirement, a house, or something else? Would you want access part of it if needed? If retirement, are we talking at age 40 or 65?

Matt: It’s in an IRA, so retirement. I just want it to grow. I wouldn’t need to before 65.

MMB: Approximately how much additional money are you going to be able to contribute in the future?
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My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


CouponTrade Promo Codes – $5 off $50, 5% Off, Waived Listing Fee

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Updated with new 5% off code. CouponTrade.com is another marketplace for unused gift cards. You can buy gift cards from other individuals at a discount from face value, or you can sell your gift cards (partial balances okay) at a price that you name and get cash instead.

The main difference between CouponTrade and other gift card sites like PlasticJungle is that at CouponTrade the seller sets their own price as opposed to fixed pricing. Therefore, you have a chance at selling at a higher price than competitors, or buying at a lower price. For example, at times sellers will curiously list at full value, turns out in the hopes that someone has a coupon code that CouponTrade will honor on their end.

Buying fees details. There are no fees for the buyer, just pay the listed price and get free shipping. Sometimes you’ll find a great deal, other times the prices are too high, and finally many times there will be no stock at all. After the holidays, activity should pick up. Here are currently active coupon codes:

  • GIFT4U – $5 off $50, existing customers eligible, can only be used once, can’t be combined with additional coupons. Expires 12/2/12.
  • CTHOLIDAY – 5% off, new customers only, can’t be combined with additional coupons. Expires 12/31/12.

Selling fees details. If your gift card does not sell, you won’t be charged anything. If your gift card does sell, the standard fees are a flat 10% commission plus a listing fee of $1.75 for a physical gift card and $0.99 for an electronic e-gift card sale. You can choose to get paid via check, Amazon gift certificate, or Paypal. Current promo codes:

  • 4FREE – Free listing fee. Expiration unknown.
  • SELL5 – Half off gift card fees (regularly 10%). One time use only, one single gift card listing. Cannot be combined with other offers. Expires 1/31/13.

Looking for where to enter your promo code at CouponTrade? Here are some sample screenshots:

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My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Recent Investment Returns By Asset Class – October 2012

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Here is my monthly update of the trailing total returns for the major asset classes that I find useful. I am using passive ETFs to track asset classes, as they represent “real” investments that you can buy and sell. Return data was taken after market close at the end of October 2012.

Asset Class
Representative ETF
Benchmark Index
1-Mo 1-Year 5-Year 10-Year
Broad US Stock Market
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
MSCI US Broad Market Index
-1.75% 14.75% 1.57% 8.73%
Broad International Stock Market
Vanguard Total International Stock (VXUS)
MSCI All Country World ex USA Investable Market Index
0.56% 5.43% -5.49% 8.90%
Emerging Markets
Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (VWO)
MSCI Emerging Markets Index
-0.41% 3.47% -3.94% 15.80%
REIT (Real Estate)
Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ)
MSCI US REIT Index
-0.82% 14.72% 2.26% 11.89%
Broad US Bond Market
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Float Adj. Bond Index
0.11% 4.99% 6.35% 5.39%
US Treasury Bonds – Short-Term
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY)
Barclays U.S. 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Index
-0.06% 0.30% 2.58% 2.66%
US Treasury Bonds – Long-Term
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)
Barclays U.S. 20+ Year Treasury Bond Index
-0.12% 10.97% 10.82% 8.21%
TIPS / Inflation-Linked Bonds
iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP)
Barclays U.S. TIPS Index
0.83% 7.85% 7.72% n/a
Gold
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
Price of Gold Bullion
-3.25% -0.57% 16.38% n/a

Here is a chart of the 1-year trailing returns for the major asset classes above, which I use for rebalancing. Note that I do not necessarily invest in all the listed asset classes, see my personal portfolio for more details.

I’ve barely been investing for a decade, but this month I notice that all the 10-year returns look pretty good for all the asset classes. (The 2001 dot-com crash is now left out.) Is this why everyone seems to be pretty happy with the market right now? I wonder if the good times will last.

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My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.


Beat The Market Experiment: My Money Blog Play Portfolio Breakdown

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

Update: Check out the monthly updates on this experiment.

Do you think you’re a below-average driver? Of course not. Everyone thinks they’re above-average. This is why I’m a big proponent of the “Core and Explore” or “Play” portfolio. You should set aside a small percentage of your portfolio and try your best to beat a passive benchmark. If you track things carefully, chances are that after a few years you’ll discover you really aren’t so good and hopefully end up settling into the slight-but-guaranteed outperformance of low-cost, passive investing. Or, you’ll find you’re meant to be a rich and successful hedge fund manager. Win-win!

I’ve been running a little side portfolio for years, but I haven’t been following my own advice about tracking my relative performance. I think it’s time. I’m taking $30,000 and using it for my “Beat the Market” experiment. This is less than 5% of my actual portfolio, which is still overwhelmingly in low-cost index funds rebalanced to a target asset allocation. I’ll track the balances monthly with actual screenshots starting today, November 1st, 2012. Here’s how I’m breaking it down.

$10,000 “Good Boy” Passive ETF Benchmark Portfolio

My real portfolio is held primarily at Vanguard and Fidelity but also includes non-index funds due to limited 401k choices. To create a separate benchmark, I opened a new account at TD Ameritrade as they offer 100 of the most popular ETFs commission-free, including the Vanguard and iShares ETFs that I use. My benchmark portfolio will be based on my usual target asset allocation, except fully-invested in 100% stocks (details coming). As the portfolio will consist of commission-free ETFs and there are no maintenance or service fees, the overall cost drag should be very, very low.

I will not make any deposits or withdrawals to this account, and will report the total balance on a monthly basis. I suppose I could also track after-tax efficiency, but that sounds like too much work and most people invest predominantly in 401k’s and IRAs anyway.


(I know, it has $15,000 in it right now, I already submitted a withdrawal request for $5,000.)

$10,000 “Bad Boy” Beat-the-Benchmark Portfolio

In this account, I’ll be able to buy whatever: individuals stocks, ETFs, options, and even short stocks as needed in my attempts to crush the Benchmark portfolio above. I liquidated the holdings in my existing TradeKing account and left $10,000 in there. This will serve as a low-cost, no-fee brokerage account with $4.95 trades and 65 cent options contracts. (TD Ameritrade standard pricing is $9.99 a trade.)

[Read more…]

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.