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OptionsHouse Raising Commission Rate From $3.95

Online stock broker OptionsHouse sent me the following e-mail today: On October 1, 2013, OptionsHouse is changing our stock commissions rate. However, we wanted to notify you that this change will not affect any of your current accounts with us. … [Read the rest]

US Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Stats 1978-2012

The U.S. Census Bureau just released its 2012 annual report on Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States. A good recap of the data can be found via the charts in this slide presentation [pdf]. Below is my even-briefer … [Read the rest]

Do You Spend More at Restaurants When Splitting The Bill?

There always seems to be a new startup involving sending money person-to-person, with the most common demo showing how easy it is to split a restaurant bill with your friends. Is this really a huge problem? Are there many groups of friends where … [Read the rest]

Cheapest iPhone Plan with Unlimited Data? Virgin Mobile $30 a Month

Price drop! You can now buy an 8GB iPhone 4 for only $199.99 from Virgin Mobile. Even after learning about the new iPhone 5S, in my opinion the iPhone 4 is still not that outdated and still works fine with nearly every app out there. Their Beyond … [Read the rest]

Free Subscription To Businessweek Magazine

Here’s a free 2-year subscription to Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine. Not a trial, no credit card required. My suspicion is that magazines allow these free deals to boost their circulation numbers, which in turn increases the amount they can charge … [Read the rest]

Book a Los Angeles to Honolulu Award Ticket for only 25,000 British Airways Avios Points

I got introduced to British Airways through their generous credit card bonuses. Even if you didn't, British Airways Avios points are good to understand because Starwood Preferred Guest points, American Express Membership Rewards points, and Chase … [Read the rest]

Famous Investor Benjamin Graham on Modest Living

Benjamin Graham is considered the father of stock analysis and value investing, with his books Security Analysis and The Intelligent Investor (first published in 1934 and 1939, but since revised many times) still considered must-reads today. He has … [Read the rest]

Citibank Checking Account Promotion: 20,000 ThankYou Points

Update: Citibank has a new checking account promotion for new customers. You can get up 40,000 ThankYou points if you can maintain a $50,000 balance, but the more accessible option can still get you a nice 20,000 ThankYou points. I'll only focus … [Read the rest]

Citi Bike Sharing Program – New York City (Free Day Pass)

Update: Get a free 24-Hour Access Pass to Citi Bike with any Mastercard, which will get you unlimited short bike rentals (less than 30-minutes to avoid overtime fees) within a 24-hour period. Register by 9/30/13, use by 10/31/13. … [Read the rest]

Self-Employed Lifestyle Design from the 1970s: The Incredible Secret Money Machine Book

What is success? Perhaps you think of a new idea, get some venture capital, grow and scale like crazy, and then you sell it after a few years for mega-millions. More traditionally, you work your way up the corporate ranks, become a … [Read the rest]

Vanguard REIT Fund Historical Total Annual Distributions 2000-2012

The Vanguard REIT Index Fund provides low-cost, broad exposure to real estate investment trusts (REITs). It is available in mutual fund (VGSIX, VGSLX) and ETF shares (VNQ). A unique feature of this asset class is that to qualify as a REIT, a … [Read the rest]

Cost of Convenience: Costco Rotisserie Chicken vs. Homemade Whole Roast Chicken

Ah, the famous Costco Rotisserie chicken. According to this WaPo series on supermarket rotisserie chickens, Costco sells over 50 million of them a year. You could make an entire cookbook with all the recipes online on how to stretch this bird into … [Read the rest]