Archives for August 2023

Lesser-Known Cheap Cell Plans on Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile Networks – Unlimited Data from $25/Month

Posted on August 10, 2023 // 29 Comments

Updated 2023. You can save hundreds of dollars per year by shopping around and using a lesser-known plan. Every major network sells wholesale minutes and data to MVNOs (Mobile Network Virtual Operators), which they in turn sell at a significant discount to individuals. Most recently, the major networks themselves have either entered the game and/or bought out competitors. You can now get “unlimited” data for just $25 a month on most networks.

The drawbacks are that the customer service may be more lean, and the data speeds may be slower as the MVNO data is usually at a lower prioritization than if you had a direct plan. If you’re at a Taylor Swift concert, the MVNO plan users will be the ones with slow uploads to TikTok. But once I was set up, it was pretty smooth sailing and worth the savings given my needs (I also can’t afford to go to Taylor Swift concerts).

This list includes unlimited talk and text plans that include 5G and 4G LTE data. Many of these advertise “unlimited data”, which actually means they throttle speeds down the 128 kbps (2G) after your LTE allotment runs out. Here are the best options by network below (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile). I sort by network because that usually makes it easier to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), though every MVNO will have a form where you can check compatibility via your phone’s specific identification number (IMEI or MEID).

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links where available. If you make a purchase through the links below, I may be compensated.

T-Mobile Network – T-Mobile Network Color: Hot Pink

  • Unlimited Talk & Text + 5 GB 5G/LTE Data. Mint Mobile has an unlimited talk, text, and 5 GB 5G/LTE data plan from $15 per month. Their intro offer is 3 months at $15 per month for all plans. After that, you’ll have to buy 12 months of airtime upfront to get the $15 per month price. After your 5G/LTE data runs out, you still get data included at slower 2G data speeds until your month resets. 15 GB for $20/month ($240/yr), or 40 GB for $30/month.
  • Less value, but direct from T-Mobile. T-Mobile Connect has an unlimited talk, text, and 1 GB data plan for $10 a month. 3.5 GB for $15/mo. 6.5 GB for $25/mo.
  • Unlimited Talk & Text + “Unlimited” 5G/LTE Data (30 GB full speed). Boost Infinite offers unlimited talk, text, and “unlimited” data for $25 a month + taxes. 30 GB of high speed data before “lower speeds”. Use all 30GB as mobile hotspot for additional $10/mo.

Note: I personally use Mint Mobile – see my Mint Mobile review for tips and details based on my experiences.

AT&T Network – AT&T Network Color: Blue

  • Unlimited Talk & Text + 1 GB 5G/LTE Data. Boost Mobile offers unlimited talk, text, and 1 GB data for $8.33 a month. To find this plan option, you must click on “12 months” on the Plans page. You must prepay $100 + taxes/fees upfront for 12 months of service. After your 5G/LTE data runs out, you still get data included at slower 2G data speeds until your month resets. You can choose the AT&T network (GSMA) when you sign up. You can also upgrade to 15 GB of data for $20/month ($240/yr).
  • Unlimited Talk & Text + “Unlimited” Data (16 GB full speed). AT&T Prepaid offers unlimited talk, text, and “unlimited” data for $25 a month. You must prepay $300 + taxes/fees upfront for 12 months of service. After 16GB of data each month, speeds are slowed to max 1.5 Mbps for the month… 16GB is a relatively low cap for “unlimited” data.

Verizon Network – Verizon Network Color: Red

  • Unlimited Talk & Text + 2 GB 5G/LTE Data. Twigby Mobile runs on the Verizon network and offers unlimited talk, text, and 2 GB data for $15 a month (Intro offer is $5/mo for 3 months). 5 GB for $20 a month (Intro offer is $10/mo for 3 months).
  • Unlimited Talk & Text + Unlimited 5G/LTE Data. Visible Wireless has an unlimited talk and text plan with unlimited 5G/LTE data that recently dropped their pricing to a flat $25 per month, tax and fees included, no annual prepayment required. Data speed will be lower (5-12 Mbps for LTE) compared to Visible+ plan. No group buy required. Visible is owned by Verizon. Unlimited hotspot included (5 Mbps cap). Ability to add a smartwatch Apple Watch for $10/mo.
Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Frugal Living //

Best Interest Rates on Cash – August 2023

Posted on August 7, 2023 // 1 Comment

Here’s my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash as of August 2023, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. There are often lesser-known opportunities available to individual investors. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you could earn from switching. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 8/7/2023.

TL;DR: 5%+ APY available on liquid savings. 5% APY+ available on multiple short-term CDs. Compare against Treasury bills and bonds at every maturity.

Fintech accounts
Available only to individual investors, fintech companies often pay higher-than-market rates in order to achieve fast short-term growth (often using venture capital). “Fintech” is usually a software layer on top of a partner bank’s FDIC insurance.

  • 5.25% APY ($1 minimum). SaveBetter lets you switch between different FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions easily without opening a new account every time, and their liquid savings rates currently top out at 5.25% APY from multiple banks. See my SaveBetter review for details. SaveBetter does not charge a fee to switch between banks.
  • 5.20% APY (before fees). MaxMyInterest is another service that allows you to access and switch between different FDIC-insured banks. You can view their current banks and APYs here. As of 8/7/23, the highest rate is from Customers Bank at 5.20% APY. However, note that they charge a membership fee of 0.04% per quarter, or 0.16% per year (subject to $20 minimum per quarter, or $80 per year). That means if you have a $10,000 balance, then $80 a year = 0.80% per year. This service is meant for those with larger balances. You are allowed to cancel the service and keep the bank accounts, but then you may lose their specially-negotiated rates and cannot switch between banks anymore.

High-yield savings accounts
Since the huge megabanks STILL pay essentially no interest, everyone should have a separate, no-fee online savings account to piggy-back onto your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

  • The leapfrogging to be the temporary “top” rate continues. Milli.bank (app-only) at 5.25% APY. CIT Platinum Savings at 5.05% APY with $5,000+ balance.
  • SoFi Bank is now up to 4.50% APY + up to $275 new account bonus with direct deposit. You must maintain a direct deposit of any amount each month for the higher APY. SoFi has their own bank charter now so no longer a fintech by my definition. See details at $25 + $250 SoFi Money new account and deposit bonus.
  • There are several other established high-yield savings accounts at 4.25%+ APY that aren’t the absolute top rate, but historically do keep it relatively competitive for those that don’t want to keep switching banks.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
A common question is what to do with a big pile of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (plan to buy a house soon, just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple and take your time. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. CIT Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 4.90% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit. Ally Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 4.55% APY for all balance tiers. Marcus has a 13-month No Penalty CD at 4.50% APY with a $500 minimum deposit. Consider opening multiple CDs in smaller increments for more flexibility.
  • Blue FCU via SaveBetter has a 9-month No Penalty CD at 5.25% APY. Minimum opening deposit is $1. No early withdrawal penalty. Withdrawals may be made 30 days after opening.
  • Northern Bank Direct has a 11-month certificate at 5.60% APY. $500 minimum. Early withdrawal penalty is all the interest earned.

Money market mutual funds + Ultra-short bond ETFs*
Many brokerage firms that pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). * Money market mutual funds are regulated, but ultimately not FDIC-insured, so I would still stick with highly reputable firms. I am including a few ultra-short bond ETFs as they may be your best cash alternative in a brokerage account, but they may experience losses.

  • Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund is the default sweep option for Vanguard brokerage accounts, which has an SEC yield of 5.24%. Odds are this is much higher than your own broker’s default cash sweep interest rate.
  • The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Bond ETF (MINT) has a 5.47% SEC yield and the iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR) has a 5.52% SEC yield while holding a portfolio of investment-grade bonds with an average duration of ~6 months.

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks and are fully backed by the US government. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes.

  • You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 8/4/23, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 5.38% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 5.36% annualized interest.
  • The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) has a 5.29% SEC yield and effective duration of 0.10 years. SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) has a 5.10% SEC yield and effective duration of 0.08 years.

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest. The annual purchase limit for electronic I bonds is $10,000 per Social Security Number, available online at TreasuryDirect.gov. You can also buy an additional $5,000 in paper I bonds using your tax refund with IRS Form 8888.

  • “I Bonds” bought between May 2023 and October 2023 will earn a 4.30% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More on Savings Bonds here.
  • In mid-October 2023, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will have another post up at that time.
  • See below about EE Bonds as a potential long-term bond alternative.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops which usually involve 10+ debit card purchases each cycle, a certain number of ACH/direct deposits, and/or a certain number of logins per month. If you make a mistake (or they judge that you did) you risk earning zero interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others would rather not bother. Rates can also drop suddenly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling.

  • Genisys Credit Union pays 5.25% APY on up to $7,500 if you make 10 debit card purchases of $5+ each, and opt into receive only online statements. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • Pelican State Credit Union pays 5.50% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization membership.
  • The Bank of Denver pays 5.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 12 debit card purchases of $5+ each, receive only online statements, and make at least 1 ACH credit or debit transaction per statement cycle. Thanks to reader Bill for the updated info.
  • All America/Redneck Bank pays 5.30% APY on up to $15,000 if you make 10 debit card purchases each monthly cycle with online statements.
  • Presidential Bank pays 4.62% APY on balances between $500 and up to $25,000 (3.625% APY above that) if you maintain a $500+ direct deposit and at least 7 electronic withdrawals per month (ATM, POS, ACH and Billpay counts).
  • Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

  • Dept of Commerce FCU has a 60-month CD at 4.67% APY $500 minimum. The early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.
  • Lafayette Federal Credit Union has a 5-year certificate at 4.42 APY ($500 min), 4-year at 4.68% APY, 3-year at 4.84% APY, 2-year at 5.09% APY, and 1-year at 5.20% APY. They also have jumbo certificates with $100,000 minimums at slightly higher rates. The early withdrawal penalty for the 5-year is very high at 600 days of interest. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization ($10 one-time fee).
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Right now, I see a 5-year non-callable CD at 4.55% APY (callable: no, call protection: yes). Be warned that both Vanguard and Fidelity will list higher rates from callable CDs, which importantly means they can call back your CD if rates drop later.

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk, but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10 years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. You might find something that pays more than your other brokerage cash and Treasury options. Right now, I see a 10-year CDs at (none available, non-callable) vs. 4.08% for a 10-year Treasury. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs where they can call your CD back if interest rates drop.
  • How about two decades? Series EE Savings Bonds are not indexed to inflation, but they have a unique guarantee that the value will double in value in 20 years, which equals a guaranteed return of 3.5% a year. However, if you don’t hold for that long, you’ll be stuck with the normal rate, currently 2.50% for EE bonds issued from May 2023 to October 2023. As of 8/4/23, the 20-year Treasury Bond rate was 4.36%.

All rates were checked as of 8/7/2023.

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers, Investing //

Essentialism Book: More By Doing Less

Posted on August 7, 2023 // 4 Comments

If I were to summarize the book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown, I would simply put up the graphic (from the book) above.

We all have finite energy. Nobody can “have it all”. You need take the time to explore and find a few pursuits that are a definitive “YES!”, and most other things need a polite but firm “No”. We know that everything is not equally important, but we still spend too much time putting out small fires.

The creates two difficult questions. What are your highest priorities? What is your “North Star”? What are you going to aim that big arrow at? As Mary Oliver says in the famous last line of her poem The Summer Day:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Second, what are you going to *stop* doing? For many people, this will be the hardest part. You have to let go of goals, say no, go part-time, decline requests, disappoint people, all in order to reclaim the energy to redirect toward your chosen focus.

This is closely related to the probably-apocryphal story of Warren Buffett and the Pilot.

I struggle with both questions. I don’t really have a singular life goal, which is partially why I pursued financial freedom. Meanwhile, I enjoy trying out different interests. But at the end of the day, I do have higher priorities in my mind and I want to do better at truly making them a priority in real life. I have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to the top picture.

While this book suffers a bit from the “magazine article stretched thinly into a book” dilemma, I found it a worthwhile read overall. It’s a simple concept, but there are some useful tips to implement it. Here are a few selected highlights from the book:

On reflection I discovered this important lesson: If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.

[…] Once an Australian nurse named Bronnie Ware, who cared for people in the last twelve weeks of their lives, recorded their most often discussed regrets. At the top of the list: “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

Many capable people are kept from getting to the next level of contribution because they can’t let go of the belief that everything is important. But an Essentialist has learned to tell the difference between what is truly important and everything else.

In other words, it’s not enough to simply determine which activities and efforts don’t make the highest possible contribution; you still have to actively eliminate those that do not.

How do we maintain this focus and keep from being distracted? A good routine helps:

Routine is one of the most powerful tools for removing obstacles. Without routine, the pull of nonessential distractions will overpower us. But if we create a routine that enshrines the essentials, we will begin to execute them on autopilot.

[…] We won’t have to expend precious energy every day prioritizing everything. We must simply expend a small amount of initial energy to create the routine, and then all that is left to do is follow it.

This includes establishing clear boundaries.

One simple answer is we are unclear about what is essential. When this happens we become defenseless. On the other hand, when we have strong internal clarity it is almost as if we have a force field protecting us from the nonessentials coming at us from all directions.

For example, when asked to work extra on a Saturday:

Clay simply responded: “Oh, I am so sorry. I have made the commitment that every Saturday is a day to be with my wife and children.”

Filed Under: Book Reviews //

Facebook User Privacy Class Action Settlement (File a Claim Soon)

Posted on August 2, 2023 // 1 Comment

Facebook has another class action settlement, this one for $725 million and different from the last $90 million one. Lots of people will be eligible:

If you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive, you may be eligible for a cash payment from a Class Action Settlement.

File a claim here. It’s all online and pretty simple, although you may have to log into your Facebook account if you forgot your username. The deadline to file a claim is coming up soon on August 25, 2023.

I don’t have deep thoughts about these class action settlements. I simply submit a claim and forget about it. Last month, I think I was surprised by $100+ in claims from a Yahoo data breach and Zoom something something.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //
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