Just Another Money Blog

Get up to 30% cash back on your online purchases

2011-06-08T00:35:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to make sure you are aware of Bigcrumbs.com that allows you to earn cash back on your everyday online shopping.

Tiny sample of some sites that offer cash back:

Walmart - 1.8%

The Container Store - 4.8%

Staples.com - 3.2%

Skype - 20%

Magazines.com - 28%

Here I'll explain how it works and how to sign up. In my next post, I'll talk about some advance techniques so you can double dip and get cash back twice!

How it works:

Sign up at Bigcrumbs.com
Then before you shop, sign in to Bigcrumbs.com, and find the retailer you want to shop at, and click through.
Shop as usual!
In about 2 months, you will get a paypal deposit with any cash back you earned! Payments take about 8 weeks, so purchases made throughout the month of June will be paid on Aug 15. (Always the 15th)
That's it!

Note, please go through my referral link, I do receive a small commission if you sign up through my account. If you go on to refer others, you will end up earning a little cash on your referral's shopping also!

NYC transit saving tips over at NYC Money!

2009-04-07T13:12:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to let you know I've updated my NYCMoney blog with a new post detailing how one can save money on NYC transit. Go check it out!

NYC Money blog relaunched!

2009-02-25T12:00:00.002-05:00

Today, I'm relaunching my other blog (nycmoney.blogspot.com) to be a more NYC specific deal finding and money saving blog!

Times are tough and I know everyone would not mind saving some money - especially on things they purchase already. So, if you live in NYC (or don't, it doesnt' matter) - head on over and check out my new blog!

There, I expect to have links to specific NYC related deals including fresh direct coupon codes, ways to save extra money at local stores, transit related deals, and more!

More Friends and Family coupons

2008-11-20T15:13:00.002-05:00

Here's some more friends and family coupons for both online and in store.

Credit to slickdeals.net.

Online coupons

Aeropostale 30% off coupon FRIENDS08. Expires: 11/23/08
Alternative Apparel 40% Off coupon CEF183. Expires: 11/26/08
Ann Taylor 30% off coupon FRIENDS08. Expires: 11/23/08
Ann Taylor Loft 30% off coupon FRIENDS08. Expires: 11/23/08
Art.com 30% off coupon FF2008. Expires: 11/21/08
Eddie Buaer 20% Off Coupon FRNDSAVE. Expires 11/24/08
Land's End: 20% Off Coupon SHARE with pin 00008692.
New York & Co 30% Off coupon 9815. Expires: 11/26/08
QuickSilver 40% off Coupon FFN8 or FFN81. Expires: 11/23/08
Ralph Lauren 30% off coupon HOL2008. Expires: 12/8/08
Roxy.com 40% off Coupon FFN8 or FFN81. Expires: 11/23/08
Rugby 30% off coupon HOL2008. Expires: 12/8/08
Sports Authoriity 25% off coupon TSAFEPL. Expires: 11/23/08
Shop Ecko 30% off coupon FRIENDS. Expires: 11/23/08

Printable/in-store coupons

Aeropostale printable 30% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
Ann Taylor printable 30% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
Ann Taylor Loft printable 30% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
New York & Co printable 30% Off coupon. Expires: 11/26/08
QuikSilver Stores printable 40% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
Roxy Stores printable 40% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
Sports Authority printable 25% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08

It's that time of the year again, except...

2008-11-14T14:52:00.003-05:00

It's almost holiday shopping season again! The one time of the year where everyone is almost expected to spend spend and spend. Except, given what's going on with the economy, I don't think most of us can afford it. But if you have the cash, there are plenty of deals to be had.

Keep an eye on this space as I'll be posting any deals I find worthwhile.

For now, here's a 20% Bloomingdales friends and family offer. Use that in store or combine that with their online sale and you could be potentially saving up to 60% off.

Freshdirect : Free Delivery Pass

2008-03-01T13:22:00.001-05:00

Got this from Fresh Direct in my email just now:

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR TWO-MONTH FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP:
1.Click here for Unlimited DeliveryPass
2.Add the membership (a $29.99 value) to your cart.
3.Shop as usual and enter the code FDDELIVERSFT1 at checkout.

The fine print:
If you enjoy your free trial, your membership will be automatically renewed at the $59 Six-Month Membership fee. There's no obligation — cancel anytime before your free trial ends.
This limited-time invitation is good through April 1, 2008.* Shop today to claim your FREE Two-Month Unlimited DeliveryPass!

"The Mother of all Holiday Discount Codes list!"

2007-11-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

Well, the shopping season is upon us. With the economy turning and recession coming (it is, ignore the optimistic press), I hope you decide to save your money instead of splurging and buying the latest useless gifts. However, I know everyone has to do a little gift shopping, and I hope this helps.

Got this via email, although it seems to have originated from fatwallet. I have not checked if they work, so leave a comment if something is wrong. Enjoy!

ps. Sorry no fresh direct codes, I'm keeping an eye on them though!

Online Discounts:

Alloy Coupon Code: ALYGIFT (20% off entire order til Dec. 3, 2007)
American Eagle Outfitters Coupon Code: 64152219 (15% off from Nov. 27 - Dec. 11, 2007)Armani Exchange Coupon Code: STYLE20 ($20 off $100 from ? - ? )
Banana Republic Coupon Code: BRHOLIDAY (20% off from Nov 27 – Dec 24, 2007)
Bare Escentuals Coupon Code: BEFAMILY (20% off from Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Barnes & Noble Coupon Code: T4N3B6W (25% off Single Item on Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2007)
Bath and Bodyworks Coupon Code: VELVET10 ($10 off $30 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Bed Bath Store Coupon Code: holiday07 ($15 off $75 from Nov. 28 - Dec. 10, 2007)
BeBe Sport Coupon Code: FAMILY25 (25% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
CCO - Closeout Catalog Outlet Coupon Code: CC10040 (extra 30% off your most expensive item - ends midnight Thursday, 11/29/07)
CCO - Closeout Catalog Outlet Coupon Code: CC10042 (extra 30% off your most expensive item - ends midnight Tuesday, 12/04/07)
Children's Place Coupon Code: FFTAHPVAC7 (30% off from Dec. 2 & Dec. 3, 2007)
Cloud Veil Coupon Code: 7LJ400 (45% off from ? - ? )
Crazy8 Coupon Code: C8ONLINE (20% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Designer Linens Outlet Coupon Code: FRIENDS77 (50% off from Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007)
Disney Store Coupon Code: HOLIDAY25 (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 2, 2007)
***Eastbay Coupon Code: EMEB72GC (20% off Giftcards from Nov 17 – Dec 20, 2007)
GameStop Coupon Code: AFF25 (25% off Used Games from ? – ? )
Golf Smith Coupon Code: FFD07 (UP TO 30% off from Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2007)
Exclusions, here's the original post
Guess Factory Stores Coupon Code: FNF30F (30% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Hasbro Toy Shop Coupon Code: FRIENDS20 (20% off from Dec 2 - Dec. 9, 2007)
Illuminations Coupon Code: 999201329 (20% off from Nov. 27 - Nov. 30, 2007)
J. Jill Coupon Code: FFNV25 (25% off on Nov 27 – Dec 2, 2007)
JC Penny Coupon Code: CHAMPION (20% off from Dec. 9, 2007)
Joann.com Coupon Code: NOVA740 (40% off 1 Regularly-Priced Item from Nov. 28 - Nov. 30, 2007)
Levis Store Coupon Code: LOJVWYJ9 (20% off $75 from Nov 30 – Dec 2, 2007)
Limited Too Just click link for savings (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 9, 2007)
Linen & Things Coupon Code: 223823997733 (20% off from Nov 30 – Dec 31, 2007)
Liz Claiborne Coupon Code: FRIEND40 (40% off from Nov. 30 - Dec. 3, 2007)
Macy's Coupon Code: MACYSFRIEND or MACYSFF or CFF117 (20% off from Nov 28 – Dec 03, 2007)
MetroStyle Coupon Code: MSTYLE50 (50% off Single Item from Nov. 28 - Dec. 31, 2007)
New York & Company Coupon Code: 9897 ($30 off $75 from Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007)
Nike Coupon Code: 2PCTH7A (20% off $125 from Nov 27 – Dec 24, 2007)
***Overstock Coupon Code: 73989 (10% off $45 from ? - ? )
***Ralph Lauren Coupon Code: HOL2007 (30% off 11/10 - 12/10)
Red Envelope Coupon Code: AMX25WISH ($50 off $200 from ? – ? )
restaurant.com Coupon Code: THANKS (60% off from Nov. 28 - Nov. 30, 2007)
Sephora Coupon Code: FF2007 (20% off from Nov. 28 - Dec 31, 2007)
***Sharper Image Just cick link for savings ($10 off $100 from Nov 27 – Jan 31, 2008)
Snap Fish Coupon Code: FRIENDS07 (25% off on Nov 27 – Dec 25, 2007)
Speedo Coupon Code: FRIENDS4 (25% off on Nov 27 – Nov 30, 2007)
Sports Authority Coupon Code: TSASAVE25 (25% off on 11/29-12/2)
Timberland Coupon Code: 3421273 (40% off from Nov 30 – Dec 2, 2007)
Toys 'r' us Coupon Code: TRUFRIENDFAMILY (15% off $150 from Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2007)
Ulta Coupon Code: 84447 (20% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2007)
Victoria's Secret Coupon Code: FA78113 or FA78449 ($15 off $100, $30 off $150, $75 off $250, & $150 off $500 from Nov. 28 - Dec. 20, 2007)
Victoria's Secret Coupon Code: WARM25 (25% off Single Sweater from Nov. 28 - Dec. 1, 2007)Warner Bros Coupon Code: HGFFWB (20% off from Nov 27 – Nov 30, 2007 )
WinkFlash Coupon Code: G3F8E7W4 (40% off from Nov 28 – Dec 15, 2007 )
Yankee Candle Just cick link for savings ($10 off $25 from Nov 27 - Dec. 22, 2007)
Zales Coupon Code: SAVE50FRIEND ($50 off $200 [works on 199.99] from Nov 28 & Nov 29, 2007 )

Printable instore coupons:

Barnes & Noble (10% off on Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007)
Bath and Bodyworks ($10 off $30 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2007)
BeBe Sport (25% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
BestBuy ($20 off $175 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2007)
Borders or Waldenbooks (20% off from Nov 27 – Dec 6, 2007)
Crazy8/Gymboree (20% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Foot Locker (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Champs (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
FootAction (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Gordmans (20% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 9, 2007)
Guess Factory Stores (30% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
H&M (25% off from Dec. 7 - Dec. 9, 2007)
J. Jill (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 2, 2007)
JC Penny (20% off on Dec. 9, 2007)
Kirklands (25% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 31, 2007)
The Limited ($30 off $100 from Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2007)
Limited Too (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 9, 2007)
Linen & Things (20% off from Nov. 27 - Dec. 31, 2007)
Loehmanns (15% off Reduced Item & 20% off Clearance Item from Nov 27 – Dec 31, 2007)
Lord & Taylor (15% off from Nov. 9 - Dec. 24, 2007)
Macy's (pdf)(20% off from Nov 28 – Dec 03, 2007)
New York & Company ($30 off $75 from Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007)
Niketown, Nike Women, Nike Outlet - Front / Back 30% off 11/29 - 12/2 YMMV
oshKosh ($10 off $50 from Nov 26 – Dec 11, 2007)
Radio Shack (Various Deals Dec 1, 2007 from 7am - 9am)
Sharper Image ($10 off $100 from Nov 27 – Jan 31, 2008)
Staples (12% off from Dec. 2 - Dec. 8, 2007)
Ulta (20% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2007)
Yankee Candle ($10 off $25 from Nov 27 - Dec. 22, 2007)

Another Fresh Direct $50 free food offer

2007-10-31T16:17:00.000-04:00

Here's another Fresh Direct offer for new customers.

The code to use is "DJ50A". The terms say that you must place your order by 11/2/2007 and your second order by 11/16/2007.

Hope this helps!

The secret iPhone subsidy that ATT doesn't want you to know about (buy a new iPhone for $200)

2007-10-01T14:18:00.000-04:00

Update 10/2/2007: Answered some concerns at the end. Added ATT/Cingular terms.

It's no surprise that the Apple Iphone is a big hit. It looks not only looks great, but functions well also. The press and public are infatuated with it (notice all the iphone related news). The one problem is its price. At $400 (down from $600 after the recent $200 price cut), it's a pricey phone. Many would-be buyers have to ask themselves, why spend $400 when you can get a subsidized phone for free?

The problem is that ATT/Cingular does not subsidize the Apple iPhone in any way. Normally they subsidize the price of your phone to entice you the sign up and lock you into a lengthy 2 year contract. This way, over the course of 2 years, they can recuperate the cost of that initial subsidy (usually around $200). This is why you see all those "free phone" commercials and advertisements.

So how do you take advantage of this subsidy if ATT/Cingular isn't offering one?

Here's a step by step method on how to do it.

Assumptions first: You aren't currently locked into any contract with any carrier. And you are comfortable with using ebay/craigslist.

1. Go online at amazon.com, newegg.com, or where ever you prefer, buy a new phone and sign up for a new 2 year contract with ATT/Cingular. For example, the Sony Ericsson W580i is currently selling for $0.01 on amazon.com.

2. After your contract becomes valid and activated (a couple days after you place your order), go buy your new iPhone from Apple. At this point you are locked into a 2 year contract with ATT/Cingular.

3. Once you get your new iPhone, activate it normally. Your new plan (the one with the unlimited wireless) will also require you to sign a 2 year contract. This is the key to this method. The new 2 year contract UPDATES the contract you signed when you bought your phone from amazon.com. Your contract is still 2 years from the date you activated your iPhone. It is not four years.

4. When you receive your phone from amazon, sell it on ebay or craigslist! Ignore all the junk you get from amazon about how to set up and activate your new phone, you don't need to do that anymore. If you get $200 for it, great - your iPhone was effectively $200 cheaper! Enjoy your new iPhone.

The end result is that you have your iPhone, the contract you would have signed if you had gotten your iPhone right away, and about $200 extra in your pocket.

Any comments or questions? Leave a comment. Remember to bookmark my site! Thanks.

Questions and Answers:

Jonathan from My Money Blog asks: Are you sure that the new iPhone contract simply shifts the contract date a couple of weeks, and does not tack on two years on the end? You would think both phones (subsidized or not) require two-year contracts. Otherwise you could just keeping buying iPhones and selling them with no contract (and only extending your current one by a few days).

Yes, I am positive that you do not end up with a 4 year contract. You are merely adding the $20 wireless data plan and that will restart your 2 year contract commitment. In fact, the Cingular website even has a FAQ on this same question. I'll copy and paste it here for clarity. From Cingular's iPhone FAQ:

Q. I just upgraded my phone recently. Are there any penalties or restrictions for upgrading to iPhone right away?
A. No. Everyone can upgrade to iPhone right away, you just need to add an iPhone Data Plan (this may replace your current data plan but your voice plan will stay the same) and sign a new 2-year service contract. Discount eligibility for other devices will continue from the time of your current contract.

As for keeping on buying iPhones, you are more than welcome to do that. However, I think each subsequent iPhone you activate will deactivate the earlier ones, making the whole process moot. Furthermore, you DO NOT get another free cell phone (or subsidy) if you are already locked into a contract. This is the key point. This whole method only works if you are not in a contract with Cingular currently.

Updates and tips on exchanging money overseas.

2007-09-24T17:11:00.000-04:00

The last deal I posted about the unlimited Blockbuster renewals doesn't work anymore unfortunately. It was a good 6 months of free movies and video games. You can still sign up for new accounts using new email addresses + credit card combinations, but that's a bigger hassle.

Some thoughts about exchanging money overseas.

On my recent trip to Europe, I experimented with different ways of obtaining cash and paying for items. Now that all my credit card and bank statements have posted, I can do some analysis and share with you what were the best ways to pay when travelling.

The best way by far was to get money directly via an ATM. Bank of America does not charge you any ATM fees if you use any of these banks's ATMs overseas: Barclays (United Kingdom), BNP Paribas (France), China Construction Bank (China), Deutsche Bank (Germany), Santander Serfin (Mexico), Scotiabank (Canada), Westpac (Australia and New Zealand). After returning back from my trip, I noticed that with each ATM withdrawal I made, there was a ATM charge of exactly 1%. After calling BofA and learning that this was a currency conversion charge, the friendly customer rep even waived it for me, resulting in absolutely no fees.

The end cost (over the prevailing rate) of using ATMs to withdraw money was essentially zero (comparing my daily ATM withdraws to x-rate.com's historical data)*. If you have access to free ATMs, this is definitely the way to go, even if you can't get the 1% currency conversion fee waived.

Other options that I used or noticed were paying with a credit card, letting the store charge it in USD, exchanging it at the hotel, or exchanging it at a currency exchange location. They all offered worse rates, some really bad. Without going into too much detail, I'll briefly explain why.

Credit cards will tack on a 3% fee if you charge in a foreign currency, unless there are no ATMs, this is your 2nd best option. Some credit cards don't have this foreign transaction fee (or charge a smaller %, amex for example), but they are a little less common.

Other options are all rip offs.

* if anyone knows of a site that has historic hourly breakdowns of the exchange rate, that would allow me to compare more precisely. Thanks.

Free Blockbuster total access, over and over again.

2007-03-23T11:17:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've last posted - almost 8 months. It's been so long that the last item I posted about doesn't even really work anymore. Ebay prices for fandango.com movie codes have jumped and the listings have dwindled.

Recently, I've been toying around and trying Blockbuster's total access. There is a blockbuster store near my work place so returning and renting movies is a snap. If you aren't sure how it works, you can read more on the blockbuster page. Basically, it's like netflix + convenience of returning and exchanging for movies in store + free movie/games coupons.

Sound interesting? Well, I haven't even mentioned the best part: I've been using it for months so far... completely free. Here's how you do it. Sign up using the code "morevalue32" and you'll get your first month (or 2 weeks if you've been a previous subscriber) free.

Make a note of when the next billing date is (in your manage account section) and remember to cancel 1 day or 2 before that date. After canceling, wait a couple of days and log back in, there should be a link saying "upgrade" or "try a 2 week free trial". Click on it to sign up for another 2 week free trial. Cancel and repeat!

It's really quite simple. However, this may or may not work for you and I have no clue when they will fix this loophole. Remember to return your store movies on time to avoid fees, etc.

UPDATE 9/24/2007: Deal is dead. Was fun while it lasted!

How to save over 64% on movie tickets!

2006-08-15T10:10:00.000-04:00

I've been saving at least 50% off my movie tickets for the past year or so and I assumed most people knew about this "trick". But after reading the comments over on MyMoneyBlog's post about saving $100, it occured to me to share this little gem.

To save money, I buy fandango gift codes on ebay. Here is an example, $8.70 for 2 tickets. In NYC, it costs me $12.25 for a movie ticket (including the $1.50 convenience charge). Paying $8.70 for TWO tickets means I end up paying only $4.35 per ticket - saving me 64.5%! Even if you don't have to pay $12+ for a ticket (consider yourself lucky), $4.35 per ticket should still reflect some substantial savings.

Some words of caution however. You have to make sure that fandango.com sells tickets to your favorite theatre. You also have to double check the restrictions on the gift codes. Some of them expire soon, and some of them are only for "R" rated movies. In my experience, the sellers tend to email you the codes within a couple of hours; buy them in advance if you can't wait.

FYI, here's the search terms I use on ebay: fandango tickets.

I hope this helps! If you know any other ways to save, feel free to share!

United profitable

2006-07-31T16:59:00.000-04:00

United Airlines reported it's first profit today since... quite a while ago (it just came out of bankruptcy). This is interesting to me because it represents a successful turnaround and restructuring process during bankruptcy. United cut a lot of capacity and lowered costs (dumping their pension liability helped of course) during the past few years and it's good to the results of that.

Another reason why I care is because I blogged about United's hiring as a leading indicator of better times ahead way back in my 2nd blog post. This is also a sign that my United Mileage plus miles won't become worthless after all.

One other interesting point mentioned in the article is that United hedged 28% of its third quarter oil costs at $69.84 a barrel. I wonder how that compares to other airlines?

Carnival of Personal Finance, right here! (week #57)

2006-07-15T15:28:00.000-04:00

Welcome! This is the 57th week of the carnival of personal finance! If you're new here, feel free to browse around and look at some of my older posts - I like to write about many topics beyond personal finance (including a recent post about life in North Korea).

Now on with the carnival! I received 42 submissions this week and here they are. They are ordered by primarily by the time of submission. Bolded and italicized articles are the best in my opinion, while some submissions will be penalized for being incoherent or being a general waste of time.

Praveen Puri from My Simple Trading System introduces us to the technique of constant value investing.

Emmanuel Oluwatosin gives some advice on how much money one needs to be their own boss.

Blogtrepreneur discusses how he uses ebay to make money on the internet.

Pacesetter Mortgage Blog helps answer the problem of revealing your income to your mortgage broker.

We're In Debt rambles on until he gets to his point about a system for keeping receipts. (574 words)

Penny Foolish shares a well organized and written guide on how to start a blog. (2921 words)

FMF at Free Money Finance presents some Alternatives to Retiring. Some work, most don't. (ie. working is the opposite of retiring, not an alternative!)

Consumerism Commentary, like many others before him, tries to decide between ING direct or HSBC direct.

Frugal Wisdom from Wenchypoo's Warehouse submits a LONG article about "Inflation". (1439 words)

frugal underground shares with us tips on how to find an affordable vacation rental.

jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity presents Spread Your Savings Across Multiple Online Banks

AboutPMI at About Private Mortgage Insurance shares a Sample Letter to Cancel Private Mortgage Insurance

Ian Anderson from Myquo.com shows us why your house might not be your biggest investment.

Insureblog wonders why people purposely ignore and don't care about how much their medicinal care costs.

Amanda at Young and Broke explores the creation of an emergency fund.

Free The Drones Blog shares hints and instructions on how to improve your credit score by fixing common mistakes in your credit report.

Dan Melson at Searchlight Crusade presents Agents Refusing to Make an Offer on Real Estate.

mimi from Pocket Change discovers the joy of Books on CD and offers a tip on how to listen for free.

Jeff Howard rehashes the boring Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA comparison. I swear every single money blog has done one of these articles, we don't need anymore!

Stock Market Beat has a short post on Data Point Investors.

Paul's Tips shares an excellent article on tackling the question of to rent or to buy?

Nick from Trading Winner helps us choose an online stock broker.

2million gives us an interesting and inside look at negotiating a property price. I had to look this up, but FSBO apparently stands for For Sale By Owner. Unique article.

Queercents shares some thoughts and facts about owning a vacation home.

Single Ma's Fabulous Financials highlights why she likes credit cards and high limits. Common knowledge for most money bloggers, but well presented. Worth a read for those that are new.

My 1st Million At 33 gives some solid advice on accumulating wealth from the 20's to the 50's. One hint: it involves saving.

Getting Out of Debt shares a story and advice on shopping and credit card debt addictions.

Nick from Punny Money wants to help you marry your wife, not her lawyer.

Jonathan from MyMoneyBlog analyzes a credit card rewards program and figures out how to get a free set of tires.

It's Just Money talks about how Southwest's in-flight magazine "sells out." A post about him not reading the first thing on the page.

The MotherLoad shares her first experience using ebates.

Accumulating Money gives us some faulty retirement assumptions.

Journey To Financial Freedom explains how to set your personal level of financial freedom.

InvestorGeeks presents a well written article detailing your options if the USD declines and inflation rises. In error, they also submitted another article analyzing CD laddering. I'm including both because they are excellent, well thought out articles.

My Financial Awareness writes about tithing and how the law of tithing does not merely apply to finances. The Dali Lama, Dilbert, and Mother Teresa are all mentioned in this unique post.

Money and Values ponders how much money one should keep in a checking account.

Pragmatic Finance explores and compares some target retirement funds.

The Prince of Thrift wants to share his financial mission statement with us.

StopBuyingCrap.com reminds us not to let the boring nature of personal finance stop us from caring.

nickel at fivecentnickel.com dissects and analyzes Bank of America's "Out of State" Check Policy

NCN submits some basic and sound advice for the financially out of shape.

Business Opportunities Blog compiles 10 questions to help you figure out if buying a business is right for you.

Okay, and that's it! I hope you all enjoyed the wide variety of topics and posts. The carnival next week will be held at AllThingsFinancial. Take care.

North Korea - what is it really like??

2006-07-12T18:54:00.000-04:00

With their recent test missile launch, stories about North Korea are dominating the media again. We know North Korea is ruled by a dictator by the name of Kim Jong-Il (remember him from Team America World Police?). We know North Korea has nuclear ambitions and capabilities. We know it's a dangerous place, etc etc.

But have you noticed, all the reports are just based off of how crazy and dangerous Kim Jong-Il is, and how his people are starving and suffering as a result of his lunacy? Think about it, we really don't know what North Korea is like. How do North Koreans live? What do their cities look like? Is everyone really starving and living off their fields?

I recently stumbled upon two photo essays that I'd like to share with you. One is by Time Magazine, cleverly titled "Exposing North Korea". This one is very professional, every picture seems to be perfectly thought out and choreographed.

The other one is a less professional, and is taken by a Russian web designer by the name of Artemii Lebedev. These pictures are simply stunning and candid, as they are forbidden pictures (the North Korean Government apparently tries to control what pictures you can take). The pictures are here, and the translated version is here.

I hope you enjoyed those pictures as much as I did. It certainly makes the secret North Korean society a little more human.

Reminder:
I will be hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance on Monday, July 17th. Please feel free to submit any articles to me at my email address (in my profile).

Congrats Italy! Vacation time for me.

2006-07-04T18:14:00.000-04:00

Wow what a finish for the Italy Germany game. I hope you guys got to see it. I'm still cheering for Portugal though.

On a completely unrelated note, I'll be going on vacation for a week or so. So posting will be sparse. Enjoy the summer weather!

Do you Ebay snipe?

2006-06-26T15:47:00.000-04:00

"Sniping" on ebay is to bid during the closing seconds of an auction in an attempt to win the auction by denying others time to out bid you. This method is extremely popular and I personally see it happen with most of my auctions. In fact, there are many programs that will even do the last minute bidding for you.

But just how effective is this method? USAToday has an article that shows, mathematically, that "it pays to snipe." Apparently a bunch of South Korean physicists did some research on this matter and concluded that:

...the probability of submitting a winning bid on an item indeed drops with each bid. "Our analysis explicitly shows that the winning strategy is to bid at the last moment as the first attempt rather than incremental bidding from the start."

So, the question is, do you ebay snipe to win auctions? I personally don't. If I see an item I want, I just bid the price I'm willing to pay and see what happens. However, since I hardly win any auctions, maybe my bidding strategy is severly flawed.

I'm curious, do any of you guys have a particular ebay bidding strategy you use? AND on the flip side, what about any particular selling strategies to counter ebay sniping?

Stuck at work and want updates on the World Cup?

2006-06-13T10:36:00.000-04:00

I've been pleasantly surprised by how well the underdog teams have played so far. Trinidad and Tobago held out for an emotional undermanned draw. Togo (the lowest FIFA ranked team) managed to score, something France couldn't do in THREE games four years ago. Overall, it's been fun to watch.

However, since most of us are going to be at work while the World Cup matches are being played, watching the games on tv live will be tough. Instead I'll share some of the sites that I use to follow along with the live matches.

FIFA World Cup site
Duh.

New York Times World Cup Blog
A live blog as the matches are being played. Well written with fast and frequent updates. Interesting comments also.

BigBadBobby writes that you can get text message updates from this site:
"Check out 4INFO's World Cup Text Alerts. Send "world cup" or "usa" to 44636, or visit their World Cup page. At least you can get a text message after every goal."

Soccernet, espn, sportsline, etc, also have their own match commentaries.

One more thing, Fanuch shares a site with great downloadable spreadsheets and charts to keep track of all the results.

The two remaining games this afternoon are going to be interesting. I want to see if France can break free from their poor performance of last World Cup and if Brazil is as good as everyone thinks they are.

World Cup time!

2006-06-09T15:15:00.000-04:00

Now that my CFA tests are done with (for now at least), I can focus my time and energy on important things like the World Cup. I'm very excited about this upcoming month of football and I think you should be too.

I spent my lunch break watching the second half of the Germany and Costa Rica game, and it was certainly time well spent. There were six goals scored, and Costa Rica managed to keep the game close.

I'll post again with some interesting articles I had saved about the World Cup. In case you were wondering, I'm cheering for England and Portugal!

Who doesn't want free food?

2006-05-26T11:07:00.000-04:00

Today's the last day for the $50 Freshdirect.com promotion I posted about a couple of weeks ago. Be sure to place your order by today!

Once you're done with your first order, remember to place your second order by 6/16 to get your second $25 off!

Here are the codes once again: FIRSTFREE for $50 off first two orders (new customers) and FREEDELTRY for free delivery (existing customers).

Oh and one more way to save on food: using fatwallet cash back and restaurant.com

The latest restaurant.com code is on the right hand column!

Baby boomers will lead to stock crash?

2006-05-18T11:48:00.000-04:00

Two weekend trips to California and the CFA test coming up on June 3rd means there won't be much time for me to post.

However, here's an article that interested me:

Will the stock market crash from baby boomers pulling their money out?

This Economist article presents two competing arguments. I personally side with Mr. Milken. From my personal observation, it seems that baby boomers are now expecting to live longer than they originally thought. Maybe it's the better health care or maybe it's the increasing social participation and acceptance of the elderly (as older people constitute a larger proportion of the population, the stigma and negative connotations of being "old" is reduced); whatever it is, to me it seems like there's a general sense of optimism as older people continue on with the rest of their lives. As such, I don't foresee any mass exodus from the stock market - baby boomers will still need to invest and grow their retirement porfolios, especially since retirement will now last longer than before.

Mr. Siegal's "great hope" of developing countries offsetting any shortfall in domestic demand in assets is a key point that needs reiterating. As developing countries get richer, their investors will soon need to put their money somewhere (developing countries might not have a robust stock market). This growing global pool of investors could more than offset any outflow created by baby boomers - the question is, would foreign investors put their money into US assets? Consider: transparent, well regulated markets and well managed companies vs. declining dollar, huge foreign debt, and negative foreign image. All this remains to be seen.

$50 free food! From freshdirect.com!

2006-05-10T20:59:00.003-04:00

UPDATE again (2/25/2009): I have just launched my new NYC specific money saving website that talks specifically about Fresh Direct coupon codes and NYC related deals! Visit and bookmark NYC Money! There you will find the latest Fresh Direct coupon codes (and there are many right now since the economy is tanking).

UPDATE: This is an old post. Newer freshdirect.com deals will be contained in newer posts. Bookmark justanothermoneyblog.blogspot.com to stay notified!

This is for us living in NYC. Walking out of Circuit City the other day, I picked up one of these little business cards indicating two promotions that freshdirect.com is offering.

Freshdirect.com is offering $50 in free food for first time customers! Use the code "FIRSTFREE" at the checkout screen, and get $25 off each of your first and second orders. The minimum purchase required is $40 per order. Even after the $5 delivery fee, you are still getting your groceries for almost 50% off.

I personally just ordered a lot of drinks. You can't beat the fact that someone will deliver heavy (and heavily discounted) drinks right up to my apartment!

And for those that are existing customers, you can use the code "FREEDELTRY" for free delivery. Not bad if you use freshdirect.com anyways!

Carnival time. 46.

2006-05-02T16:33:00.000-04:00

The latest Carnival of Personal Finance is up!

Only one post stood out to me this week and it was a post about porfolio allocation.

The Real Returns and his analogy of singles and home runs to stocks. Especially fascinating to me was the calculation that showed how $8000 invested at 10% is equivalent to $1000 invested at 16% (both over 40 years). Unfortunately, he doesn't have the answer as to how to properly allocate one's porfolio with those numbers in mind.

One more thing, I'm going to visit Ninja New York as a follow up to my earlier post about unique dining experiences this weekend. I'll post about it sometime next week!

Just who is an active blogger?

2006-04-24T20:20:00.000-04:00

This is an uncharacteristic post. I normally try to keep my posts longer and more substantial, and bring light to things that my readers may not usually think about or analyse. However, apparently in some people's minds, that means I am not an active blogger and therefore, I am not deserving of hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance.

While I understand why Flexo would propose and enforce a rule of two posts per week - some upcoming hosts are clearly not "active", in any definition of the word, the reality is that not every blogger has the time to post like he does (He has FIVE posts for today, April 24th). Furthermore, not everyone WANTS to adopt a posting schedule like he has. I honestly don't think anyone cares if I posted two sentences about how I received my tax refund today.

Should a blogger who updates regularly and consistently (whether that be weekly, bi weekly) be considered inactive? And should carnival hosts be prevented from hosting just because they have different posting schedules? Any thoughts?

Every time I spend, I get 5% cash back.

2006-04-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

Well not every time I spend, but pretty close. Most of my expenses tend to be in the groceries, drugstore, and dining out categories. And through the clever use of certain credit cards, I get 5% back!

The two main credit cards I use are the Citi Dividend Platinum Select and the Citi MTVu. Both of these cards give 5% back in certain categories. Granted my spending habits are going to be vastly different from yours, applying for these cards should still be a good move (especially since gas prices are high).

The Citi Dividend Platinum Select gives 5% cash back on "Everyday purchases." These are purchases at:

Gas stations
Supermarkets
Drugstores

The MTVu card gives 5% rewards (in the form of Thankyou points redeemable for gift certs, etc.) at these locations:

Restaurants (including fast food)
Book stores
Record stores
Movie theatres
Movie rental stores

One caveat, the MTVu card is for students only. However, I graduated and applied and still got approved.

I hope this helps! One more card that I noticed, but don't have, is the Hilton HHonors Platinum Amex card. It gives 5% back on restaurants, everyday purchases, the USPS, and cell phone bills. Too bad it is in the form of HHonor points. One more thing, be sure to apply for these cards through cardoffers.com. You can get some extra money if you go through them.

Credit goes to fatwallet for some of the info.

Dining with Ninjas, no seriously.

2006-04-18T10:19:00.000-04:00

Ninja New York is a restaurant in lower Manhattan that serves modern Japanese cuisine in a traditional ninjitsu mountain village setting. Sound interesting? Read on.

In addition to the interesting decor and ambiance, all the waiters are dressed as ninjas, blending in and out of the dark as your food is served. Every group has their own private dining area, whether it be a Japanese house or a cave in the mountain. Apparently, the ninjas also perform magic tricks throughout the night :

Because there's a touch of theme park in all aspects of the dining experience, expect the unexpected. Think Orlando carnival, not Big Apple boîte. So, when your waiter arrives to take your order and opens his "wallet," steel yourself for a display of fireworks, as stupefying flames ignite seemingly from nowhere. We don't want to give away too many secrets about the magic that awaits you, because surprise is part of the experience and fun. But, know that your meal will be peppered not merely with condiments and savory flavors, but with entertainment and ecstatic giggles, as well. (And, these are tax-free!)

The rest of the article goes on to talk about the food and the cost ($100+ per person). Now that it's clear this is a unique restaurant, offering a special experience obtained no where else (well, except for Japan where it has a sister restaurant), would you be willing to spend the money?

I personally would. While pricey, it definately sounds like fun. There really isn't a price that can be put on unique, once in a lifetime experiences. I'll probably go try this place out sometime later this year.

Are you willing to spend more to go to unique or top rated restaurants?

Taking the CFA - less than 2 months to go!

2006-04-07T16:01:00.000-04:00

I promised myself a couple of months back that come April, I would start studying my ass off for my CFA test in June. Well it's been April for a week now and I still haven't really started. Hmm. That's not good.

The test is on June 4th this year, and while I have been going to a weekly class every Wednesday after work, the material just doesn't seem to stick until you start doing practice problems. Hopefully I'll be able to get some studying time in this weekend.

For those that aren't sure what I'm talking about, the CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst and is awarded by the CFA Institute to those who pass three examinations covering economics, financial accounting, portfolio management, quantitative analysis, security analysis, and ethics. The designation meant for those in the investment management business, although a lot of people in broader finance also study for it.

Here's a link to the CFA program brochure and here's a link for prospective candidates.

If there are any of you who have questions, feel free to email me. I know some of us financial bloggers are going to be taking this test too, best of luck!

London felt expensive, but is it really?

2006-04-05T10:54:00.000-04:00

I just got back from a trip to London and everything there, from the food to the shopping, seemed pretty pricey. For the first time, I actually felt that living in Manhattan was cheap.

According to Mercer's 2005 worldwide cost of living survey, London scores a 120.3 compared to New York's 100. This means that the cost of living in London is 20.3% more expensive than living in New York. Since we don't know what they are actually comparing, the number 20.3% means absolutely nothing. However, this is what they had to say:

Mercer's survey covers 144 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

Two hundred items is a lot, but what exactly are they? The webpage doesn't say, so I have no clue.

So instead, I will list some prices in London and compare them with New York prices. This is from personal observation and is completely unscientific. The exchange rate during my stay was approximately 1.75 (factoring in transaction costs). Hopefully someone will find this interesting.

London prices are bolded.

Transportation
Single tube fare from Heathrow into the city: £4 ($7)
JFK to midtown : $7
Single bus ride : £1.50 ($2.63)
Single bus ride : $2

Single tube fare (1-2 zones) : £3 ($5)
Single subway fare : $2
One Day bus pass : £3.50 ($6.13)
One Day tube pass : £4.90 ($8.76)
One Day bus + subway pass : $7

Food
500ml bottle of Evian : 75p ($1.31)
Haribo 225g candy : £1.89 ($3.31)
Random sandwich at Pret a Manger : £2.50 ($4.38)
Same sandwich at Pret here in NYC : $5.50 (approx.)
Random lunch specials at a restaurant : £5-7 ($8.75-12.25)
Random lunch specials at a restaurant here in NYC : $6-10
Mcdonalds value meal : approx. £3.50 ($6.13)

I'll add some more later as I have time. One major point is that in London, the tax of 17.5% is INCLUDED in the price of goods and food, whereas here in New York, we would still have to add 8.xx%. Service charge of 10% seems to be customary in London also, instead of the 15% here. That would narrow the price gap between many items.

If you would like to add to the list, feel free to email me or leave a comment. It would be interesting to hear from some other cities in the world also.

The importance of statistics

2006-03-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

Did you know that your odds of winning the PowerBall lottery is 63.1 billion times that of picking the perfect NCAA basketball bracket? (63,127,100,745.234:1 to be exact, Thanks bill.)

The WSJ has an interesting article about what the odds are of picking the elusive perfect bracket, taking into account different methods of predicting winners.

However, the real reason why I bring up the article is because Carl Bialik's column presents an educational look at the importance of understanding statistics. Read through his biweekly articles and you will quickly be able to get a grasp of how statistics can be used to lie and manipulate the facts.

So, if you have some free time and want to educate yourself on how to see through erroneous statistics, I suggest reading through his articles. The best one to start off with is this article here, where he gives examples of how even journalists (and we trust them to bring us the news) can't or don't know how to use statistics and numbers properly.

I'm off to london this week, so it might be a while before I update next.

Why I don't update often.

2006-03-13T13:00:00.000-05:00

I try not to post quick links to articles, deals, etc as that is a waste of my time. I also don't post my monthly networth or intimate financial details. There are plenty of sites out there already that do that. This blog isn't about generating traffic (and subsequently more ad clicks). This blog isn't my second job or income like some others. I am not trying to monetize my readership, however patheticly small that is :P

My goal for this blog is to present to you a unique perspective and analysis on personal finance that you won't find elsewhere. Sometimes I post and point out how other bloggers are wrong. Other times I try to probe deeper and analyze an article or idea that I found interesting. I also sometimes try to share some personal tips and methods that I've figured out. The idea is that my posts should be more unique and thoughtful than simple "ING rates went up, click here." posts that you often see elsewhere.

Therefore, to get updates for when I post, I suggest you subcribe to my RSS feed here. Upcoming posts will include the 2nd part of my article on tax rates around the world and a post about the CFA program (I am currently studying for level 2), along with my usual ramblings. I also have some books to review, but the priority on those are low.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the only thing that I really do update often is the restaurant.com coupon code on the right side bar. I use restaurant.com a lot and I just check my blog for the latest code. If you're not familiar, please read this post.

Feel free to email me if you have any suggestions for this blog!

STOP OVER SAVING!

2006-03-04T15:00:00.000-05:00

I want to direct you guys to this post by Kirby over at Kirby on Finance. He makes some great observations about striking a balance between saving and spending.

It seems to me that most personal finance blogs advocate lots of saving and frugality, and ultimately building networth. The whole point seems to be to reach some magic number by some arbitrary age, where one can then finally start living life to its fullest.

I'd just like to advise caution on that mentality. Life is in the present. I spent over $1000 on dining last month (mostly due to one meal at per se), and only managed to save a little. While I understand that that meal, had I invested it at a rate of x%, for x years (blah blah), would have become a ridiculous amount of money, I have no problem with it. In fact I think that meal was worth every dollar; I'll remember that meal for years to come.

Ultimately, it's about balance. You are trading present enjoyment for POSSIBLE future enjoyment by saving. Just something to consider while you put away money into your savings account.

EDIT: I hope no one gets the idea that I am suggesting you spend beyond your means. The balance that I am talking about is a balance between saving and spending. In no way does that mean NOT saving.

Move out of the country for better returns and more wealth?

2006-02-14T10:24:00.000-05:00

The recent record snowfall here in NYC had nothing to do with me writing this post, I promise. This is something I've been thinking about and researching for a while.

Would moving and working in another country lead to higher net worth and more spending power? I'll try to leave the issues of quality of living out of this, since that is mostly subjective. Furthermore, I'm also leaving out the feasibility of just picking up and moving to another country, I'm no immigration expert. But first, we have to tackle the main components of growing wealth.

Since your choice and allocation of investments (stocks, bonds, etc.) is not limited by where you reside and work, your rate of return is also not going to be affected. The only factors in your REAL rate of return are going to be taxes and inflation. This is highlighted and thoroughly examined in this Study of Real Real Returns.

Looking at the first couple of charts, you can see that the real increase in net worth is only a fraction of the nominal gain. And most striking of all is that in the calculations, only dividends have been subjected to the capital gains tax! This means that if you were to cash out your investments, you would be further taxed another 20%! (I've read and reread his calculation methodology to confirm this, please let me know if I'm wrong).

Your other source of income is your job (or business). And likewise, taxes play a big role here. Assuming you hold a 50k job, a mere 5% reduction in your income tax rate would lead to 2500 extra dollars a year to invest. Do the compounding magic, and after 20 years that turns out to be a tidy sum (2500/yr, 5% growth turns out to be 88k, no taxes).

Ultimately, the point is that taxes play a HUGE role in your net income, your rate of return, and your capital gains (remember companies are taxed also, thus influencing their growth). Take a look at your paycheck and you'll realize that taxes are one of the biggest expenses you incur. While inflation is out of our control, taxes are not.

In the next part of this post, I'll compare some of the tax rates around the world and see how the US stacks up. I'll also explore the influence of tax rates on stock returns. Lastly I'll come up with a shortlist of possible and ideal places to move to!

Please realize that I am not advising anyone to move, I am merely pointing out alternatives. For most people, this will extremely difficult if not impossible. As usual, feel free to email or leave comments!

Just a few quick links.

2006-02-10T16:29:00.000-05:00

I've been extremely busy recently and haven't had the time to post, but here are two links that have caught my eye recently:

Here's a fatwallet thread on maximizing cash back for your credit cards depending on various catergories (restaurants, groceries, etc.)

The Economist has a an interesting article this week about the influence of bloggers and other forms of online "social media" on corporations. A recent example of this power would be the Nvidia/AEG focus group incident.

While NYC will be blanketed in snow this weekend, I hope you won't be as unlucky. Have a great weekend!

Identity Theft Overblown?

2006-02-01T12:57:00.000-05:00

According to a recent report , identity theft is under control and contained. Is this really the case? Should we believe what they say? Here's a well written article over at Arstechnica that analyses and digests this report.

Given all the conflicting information, I really don't know who to believe. However, what I do know is that it is important to be smart and prudent when dealing with my own personal information. Off the top of the head, these are some of the things I do to prevent identity theft happening to me:

1) I bought a shredder. All my old receipts, statements, and even junk credit card offers are now shredded. I've had my credit card number, name, and expiration date printed on some of my receipts before and shredding them before I throw them away makes sense.

2) I use a nick name (instead of my real name) and a bogus birth date when I deal with borderline trustworthy sites that ask for this information. This way, if I was expecting any mail it would still arrive in my mailbox.

3) I get a free credit report from Annualcreditreport.com every 4 months to make sure nothing funny shows up. Since you are allowed one credit report from each of the three companies, I space them out over course of the year to give myself more frequent updates on my credit history.

4) I have set up Quicken to download any transactions daily. This way if any errant charges were made on my credit card, I would know about it ASAP.

5) I use temporary credit card numbers. My Citi Platinum Dividend Select has this feature and it is called "Virtual Account Numbers." You can access it and learn more about it here. This feature generates a random virtual credit card number that expires in a very short time period. That way, even if your virtual card number was stolen, it would be useless.

While the effectiveness of my methods is uncertain, at the very least if anything were to happen, I would be able to notice and rectify it quickly.

What other methods do you use to protect personal data?

HSBC Online Savings at 4.80%!

2006-01-30T15:38:00.000-05:00

It looks like HSBC has finally responded to the recent rate increases at Emigrant and ING direct! HSBC Online Savings is now at 4.80%!!

Apparently not moving my money over to ING has paid off. While the HSBC main site has not been updated yet, it should be soon. If you haven't opened an account yet, the $25 sign up bonus I posted about here is still valid (til 2/28/06).

EDIT: HSBC has updated their page and it looks like the 4.80% only lasts through 4/30. Looks like a direct response to ING's winter sale.

"Link Love"

2006-01-28T12:24:00.000-05:00

After reading Boston Gal's post about link love, I decided to do the same.

So, if you want me to exchange links, please shoot me an email! (justanotherblogger AT gmail)

Also, Happy Chinese New Year for those who celebrate it.

Eating out.

2006-01-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

I live in New York City and I eat out often. There are so many restaurants within a few blocks of where I live that I would never be able to try them all. While eating out/ordering in isn't cheap, the cost difference after factoring in my horrible cooking skills, my time, and the ridiculous prices Food Emporium charges just isn't that great.

There are a few sites that I frequently visit to help me decide where to eat and how to eat there cheaply. I want to share them with you.

Restaurant.com - Helps me save $20 if the restaurant participates (less than $5 for a $25 gift cert with discount codes and fatcash). See my previous post here for more information.

Opentable.com - For making reservations. I've used this site countless of times and I highly recommend it. On top of saving your time, there is a reward points program that allows you to save extra money (sometimes $10) if you show up to your reservations.

Menupages.com - Great site for taking a glimpse at the menu before you dine. Also great for ordering delivery from places you have never been to! Most restaurants in NYC seem to be listed here, and they recently just expanded to cover San Francisco and Boston. Has helpful reviews too.

Citysearch.com and Gayot.com - both review sites that help me decide if a restaurant is worth trying out or not. On top of that, they both integrate with Opentable.com.

I hope that helps. While some of those sites only apply to Manhattan, restaurant.com and opentable.com both work nationwide. I highly recommend them both. I was even able to use opentable.com when I was traveling over the winter holidays in Vancouver!

Are there any other sites that you would recommend?

Thinking about saving money at ING direct?

2006-01-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

Well good news, ING direct just announced their Winter Save Up Sale, an oddly named program that will give you 4.75% APY on any NEW funds you deposit. Only new money from outside sources qualify for this higher interest rate, and here is how they will keep track of that:

To determine what portion of your Orange Savings Account balance will earn the 4.75% APY, during the Sale Period we add up all of your new deposits from an external source and then subtract all withdrawals from the account (whether internal or external) from that total. If that amount is greater than zero, it is eligible for the 4.75% APY.

However, before you move all your money over to ING to capture this 3 month period of higher interest rates, take a moment to calculate just exactly how much more you will be earning by moving your money. It may surprise you that keeping your money in your current account may actually earn you more!

To consider your net gain, you would need to subtract any lost interest (the time it takes you to transfer your money does not earn interest) from any extra interest gained. Let's do an example:

Your original rate is 4.25%, the new rate is 4.75%, the promotional period for the higher rate is 83 days (1/20 til 4/15, minus 3 days for transfer), days of lost interest is 6 days (3 days each way), the amount is $10,000.

Net gain = amount * (extra interest earned - interest lost in transfer)

Net gain = amount * ((Int. rate gain * (# of promotional days / 365 days in year)) - (original Int. rate * (# days lost / 365 days in year)))

Net gain = $10000 * (((4.75% - 4.25%) * 83/365) - (4.25% * 6/365))

Net gain = $10000 * (0.001136986 - 0.00069863) = $4.38356

So for our example, we would earn an extra $4.38 from moving our imaginary $10,000 to ING and then moving it out again afterwards. I wish I knew how to make an online calculator where you can plug in your own numbers, but I don't have the technical skills. Feel free to plug in your own numbers to see if the net gain is worth your time to move your money over!

One more thing, consider the possibility that HSBC, or whichever bank you use, may raise rates soon to match this ING promotion. There is also a fed meeting coming up, and the market expects another 25 basis points increase.

As always, leave a comment if you notice any errors or have any questions.

Carnivals

2006-01-17T10:26:00.000-05:00

I didn't submit anything this week, but here they are:

The Carnival of Personal Finance is over at savvy saver.

The Carnival of Investing is over at The Real Returns.

The Carnival of Debt Reduction is over at Frugal for Life.

Why save when you can win the lottery?

2006-01-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

Read this Reuters article and it's easy to see why so many Americans are drowning in debt and having trouble saving for their own retirement. It's astonishing to me that over 20% think winning the lottery is the best way to get rich.

Upon further digging, I found the actual press release that the Reuters article was based on. Some other interesting numbers include the fact that almost half of those surveyed didn't know what net worth consists of, and the fact that another 48% don't know what their own individual net worth is.

If you don't know, or can't calculate your own net worth, there is no way you can work towards increasing it! I personally use Quicken, but that costs money to purchase the software. An alternative, suggested here by Jonathan of MyMoneyBlog, is Yodlee OnCenter. I don't have much experience with it, but if you have any questions (about Yodlee, Quicken, or anything else), feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Wall Street bonuses this year.

2006-01-11T12:21:00.000-05:00

Here's a follow up article to my post in November about Goldman's bonuses this year.

The numbers in the CNNMoney article don't add up with the New York Magazine numbers though - I find it hard to believe that Goldman, with $11 billion in bonuses, will account for more than half of all of Wall Street's bonuses.

10 financial strategies for the new year

2006-01-06T10:03:00.000-05:00

CNN Money has a guide listing 10 strategies that will help you achieve your financial goals. Although this guide is not new, since it is the beginning of a new year, I thought it would be appropriate to touch on and emphasize some of the points important for us recent graduates.

However, don't follow the list in the order provided, the list wasn't written with recent grads in mind. Instead consider my reranking, starting with the most important:

1. Get out of debt.
Take the advice in that page and come up with a plan to eliminate your credit card debt. Don't worry about your student loans just yet, the interest rates on those are extremely low, that is unless you haven't consolidated and locked in a low rate (which you should do asap, refer to my earlier post).

2. Save more money.
Start not by maxing out your 401(k), but instead by creating an emergency fund. Try to save at least 3-6 months worth of expenses in an interest bearing, liquid, and easy to access account (HSBC Online Savings for example). Remember the emergency fund is for emergencies only (unemployment, medical, etc.), don't dip into it for any other reason! Only after your emergency account is fully funded should you proceed with the rest of the article's suggestions, such as maximizing your employer's 401(k) match.

3. Jump start your career.
Since most of us will be at our first job, we may not fully understand how the corporate world works. There are a lot of tips here that will not only help you impress your boss and your coworkers, but also teach you how to network and build professional relationships.

4 & 5. Create a long-term investing plan and Invest smarter.
Again, this only begins after you have fully funded your emergency plan. I will touch on this in a future follow up post.

The remaining points, while helpful, don't really apply to recent graduates. However, they do make for good reading, so feel free to skim through them.

Why did I rank them in that order? I firmly believe that paying off your debts, establishing a routine of saving, and performing well at work will pay huge dividends later on.

As always, feel free to leave comments. How would you rank them?

Happy New Year

2006-01-04T23:55:00.000-05:00

Happy new year everyone! I hope you have enjoyed my site so far. I will be working hard to improve this site as the year progresses.

One of the changes that I've made to the site so far is the new "popular posts" section on the right hand side. I will also be keeping an updated restaurant.com promotion code there for your convienience, so check back if you need the latest promotion code!

And of course, if you have been enjoying my site, add me to your bookmarks on del.icio.us, or refer me to your friends! I hope this upcoming year will be a great year for everyone.

EDIT : I also have a new email address for this blog. It is justanotherblogger AT gmail DOT com. Feel free to email me comments, questions and suggestions!

Good news! I just saved a bunch of money on my car rental!

2005-12-29T17:22:00.000-05:00

Well, not really. But I want to share what I learnt when I rented a car for 5 days in Canada over Christmas. Assuming you have your exact dates and the type of car you want, here are some tips :

- Start your search by looking through all the major travel booking sites (Orbitz, Travelocity, etc...) so you have an idea of the current prices.

- Be sure to check out rentalcodes.com to see if there are any discount codes that are applicable.

- Book early and then check back often. Booking a rental car does NOT bind you to that rate. You can cancel free of charge (please double check and read any fine print) most of the time. Therefore, since rates change often, keep on checking for a better rate as your trip nears.

- Use any "best value guarantees" to your advantage. For example, thrifty.com has a "best rate guarantee" where they match and then take off an extra 10% off.

As for my trip, I ended up booking on cheapseats.com at first for 41 CAD/Day. A couple of weeks later, I found out that cheapseats had dropped their rate to 26.46 CAD/Day while thrifty had the same booking for 27.85 CAD/Day. After writing thrifty to match the cheapseats.com rate, I ended up with a final rate of 23.81 CAD/Day.

I hope that helps. As always, leave a comment if you have any questions, have any other tips, or don't agree with something I wrote. Thanks!

Carnival of Personal Finance #28

2005-12-27T02:16:00.000-05:00

The 28th Carnival of Personal Finance is up at mightbargainhunter.com! Be sure to head over to check it out! Lots of great posts again this week.

I especially liked MillionDollarGoal's list of 2005 personal finance changes. In that article he highlights some of the more important personal finance news of the year.

Happy Holidays

2005-12-25T13:32:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has gotten their Christmas shopping done. Sorry for the lack of updates as I am currently out of the country on vacation. Enjoy the holidays!

Eat out often?

2005-12-16T10:40:00.000-05:00

Restaurant.com is a good way to save money if you eat out often. You can purchase a $25 gift certificate to participating restaurants nearby for around $5 (depends what current discount codes are available). Simply type in your zip code and search for restaurants nearby.

The current 50% off discount code is "15215" and expires on 12/18.

Most restaurants accept the gift certificates without problem, but if you want to be extra safe, you could call the restaurant and ask before purchasing the gift certificate. The one time where a restaurant refused to accept my gift certificate, I emailed restaurant.com and got a refund within days.

On top of the discount code, fatwallet offers a 7% cash back if you enter the restaurant.com website through their link (sign up for a fatwallet account if you haven't already, it's worth it. You can earn cash back on online purchases!). I hope that helps.

EDIT: The code "69132" is for 60% off and lasts til 12/25!

EDIT 12/27/05: Here's another code since the last one expired. "36059" is for 60% off and expires 12/31!

Final edit: I am now posting the most recent code in the right hand column.

HSBC online savings is now 4.25%

2005-12-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

Title says it all. HSBC direct just raised their rate from 4% to 4.25%, matching the fed rate increase on tuesday.

If you haven't started saving and putting money away into an emergency fund (enough to cover a few months of expenses), opening an account with HSBC is a great way to start.

In fact, there's a $25 opening bonus from a few weeks back that may still be active.

Carnival of Personal Finance 26

2005-12-12T20:53:00.000-05:00

Check out other articles from other finance blogs at this week's carnival, hosted by Wealth Junkie.

One article that caught my eye was an article about increasing S&P 500 Dividends at The Real Returns. Increasing absolute dividends comes as no shock to me; as the overall market rises (which it has done historically), the amount of dividends paid out to maintain a certain yield must also increase.

Before you go rushing out and investing in the S&P 500 for dividend payouts, know that the current dividend yield (for the past 12 months) is only 1.77%. The average yield growth rate of 6.24% actually has nothing to do with what the actual return you would get.

EDIT: A poster commented that "Dividend Growth + Current Dividend Yield usually ends up being the total return. So, 6.25% + 1.75% = 8.00% should be a long term expected return for the S&P 500. Better than bonds."

However this is not true. A 6.25% dividend yield growth based off of a 1.75% current divided yield means that the dividend will grow to 1.75 * 1.0625 = 1.859%. No where near 8%.

For example, Pfizer this week raised its quarterly dividend from 19 cents a share to 24 cents a share. That increase of 26% is dividend yield growth. Its current annual dividend yield is 3.70% (from Yahoo Finance).

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

How would you split a taxi fare?

2005-12-09T12:46:00.000-05:00

Suppose you had to split a taxi with your friends, with each of you getting off at a different point in the route. How would you split the fare evenly?

By questioning various economists, The Numbers Guy in the WSJ tries to tackle the problem in this article.

The resulting answers vary of course. My favorite one being the simplest and most practical, where all passengers evenly split any leg of the journey that they partake in. (This is the answer the author proposes before talking to any economists.) I mean, who really has the time to engage in Nash bargaining strategies before they flag down a cab?

End of Year Money Management

2005-12-03T00:51:00.000-05:00

As I, along with most of my friends, am a new college grad and have just started working this year, there are multiple strategies and methods we can use to save money and reduce our tax obligations this year. Working for only a portion of the year allows us to be eligible for tax deductions that are otherwise meant for people who earn less.

Here are a few so far that I have come up with:

-Put money in retirement accounts to take advantage of the Saver's Credit. Edit: not eligible if you have been a full time student for 5 months or more.

-Deduct moving expenses (only if related to new job, and if move is over 50 miles). This applies to me since I moved to the location of my new/first job. Here is the IRS page on the details.

-If you are over 25, you can try to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit. This one will probably be tough to qualify for.

-Education Tax Credits This does not apply to me so I haven't really looked into it, but could for those of you who paid for your own higher education expenses.

-Reconsolidating your student loans. Here is a fatwallet thread that describes how to get the best rates by consolidating your student loans through UHEAA (Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority).

Those are some of the things I have come up with so far. If you have any other ideas, please leave a comment! In the meantime, I'm comparing brokers/institutions to determine where I am going to open a roth IRA. Hope this helps.

HSBC Online Savings Promo

2005-11-30T09:36:00.000-05:00

Looks like HSBC Direct is having another sign up promotion. They offer a great rate at 4% and best of all, they allow you to access your money via their ATM network. Sign up here and use the promo code "start" to get a $25 account opening bonus.

The fine print states: "Limit one $25 bonus per customer. HSBCdirect Online Savings Account must remain open until bonus is credited or bonus will be forfeited. $25 bonus is considered taxable income and will be reported on IRS Form 1099." Got this from fatwallet.

Let's compare annual bonuses!

2005-11-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! In this week's New York Magazine, there is an article about how Goldman divides its annual bonus pool ($11 billion this year). To put that bonus pool into perspective, if you were to evenly divide the $11 billion, each Goldman employee would get a $500,000 bonus! But of course, the money isn't going to be split evenly. Here's a summary of where the money goes:

The Big Piece
There are 250 or so partner managing directors, each of whom would receive an average bonus of $2 million right off the top. The rest depends on the success of their part of the business, and it can be massive. Top income-producers like Mark McGoldrick, co-head of global proprietary investment, can make upward of $40 million.

The “Tide You Over Until You’re a Somebody” Piece
Executive managing directors, also known as “MD Lites,” can make up to $3 million.

The Table Scraps
Just-out-of-college analysts make $70,000 and hope to match that in bonus. Associates, with M.B.A.’s, hope to match their $95,000 salaries with a bonus, too. Secretaries who make as much as $75,000 have their sights set on bonuses of roughly $15,000.

I wonder how some of the other ibanks and banks compare?

Bush walks into locked door.

2005-11-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

Well, almost. Door thwarts quick exit by Bush. Be sure to watch the video.

Savers credit on taxes

2005-11-18T15:22:00.000-05:00

From this cnn article about tax cuts that will be extended by the Senate:

Savers credit: Through 2006, low-income taxpayers may receive a credit (a dollar-for-dollar reduction of the taxes they owe) for contributions they make up to $2,000 to qualified retirement savings plans such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s as well as traditional and Roth IRAs. The Senate bill would extend this provision through the end of 2009.

The credit is available only to those taxpayers with AGIs of $25,000 or less ($50,000 or less for married couples).

The move would reduce federal revenue by an estimated $4.1 billion over five years.

Some of my friends and I are all going to be able to take advantage of this tax credit. All of us will probably earn under 25k AGI this year as well as contribute to some kind of retirement savings plan. I will look into this further.

Edit: AGI is adjusted gross income. Here's an AOL article about how to calculate gross income, adjusted gross income, and taxable income. Basically AGI is calculated by taking gross income (say, your annual salary) and then substracting IRA contributions, Student loan payments, etc etc.

Year end money management stuff.

2005-11-18T10:14:00.000-05:00

As the year comes to an end, it's time to reassess my financial situation. Over the next month or so, I'm going to have to fix up my stock portfolio, set up a Roth IRA account, and see if there is anything I can do to reduce my taxes owed for 2005. I'll try to keep a log of that process here.

United doing ok?

2005-11-16T14:51:00.000-05:00

United is going to hire 2000 flight attendants.

After all the news about the airline industry struggling to cut costs, is this a sign that things are turning around?

Edit: After doing some quick math, 2000 flight attendants multiplied by salaries of about 25000 is about 50 million in extra costs. Although nothing compared with the 1.7 billion dollar loss last quarter, United actually achieved a $165 million operating profit last quarter. The operating profit, their first in a while (I think the last time was back in 2000), coupled with the large hiring spree, could indeed be a leading indicator of better times.

Japan's Labor Force

2005-11-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

In this week's edition of the Economist, there's an interesting article about how the Japanese labor force will be changing as the population gets older. To counter the long term trends of a shrinking labor force (due to longer lives and less births), Japanese firms are now increasingly trying to attract females, young people, and the elderly through various means. One particular statistic I found interesting was the current percentage of women in the labor force :

Female participation in the labor force, at 55%, has risen in recent decades, but lags well behind Britain (61%) and America (62%), with many women, says Kathy Matsui, an analyst at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo, dropping out completely to raise children. Less than 10% of managers are women in Japan, compared with 46% in America.

The low percentage of female managers surprised me at first, but after considering the gender roles and dynamics in Asian culture, it makes more sense. I wonder what the female workforce statistics are for other Asian countries?