October 16th, 2007 12:45pm
admin
When I first decided to open an internet account with HSBC, their rate was very competetive. At that time it was at 5.05%. The opening procedure was involved. I remember I had to fill out multiple forms to finally be able to have a joint account. Once opened, the account had no bad surprises. It worked as expected and I was able to transfer money in and out. However, its worth noting, that it took 3 business days for the money to arrive at the destination checking account. I thought it was long, considering that Emigrant Direct took only 1 business day.
I like when banks are up front about the current rate and display it in an easily visible place. Emigrant Direct, Paypal do that well, for example. When you have to hunt to be able to discover a rate, you know that it’s probably not the best. Unfortunately, HSBC’s rate is no longer great and that’s one of the reasons I marked the account for closing.
One of the things I liked the least about HSBC was the process of logging in. This is highly personal opinion and others might find it ok. Every time I was accessing the site, I had a fear that it might not work and my account would be locked out causing me more headache trying to resolve the issue over the phone. This might be due to the fact that HSBC puts out a warning after one unsuccessful attempt to log in saying that future attempts will lock one out.
In addition to entering username and password information, HSBC requires you to enter a security code by using a mouse. This makes logging in more cumbersome and you better remember what the security code is or else you will feel like trying to beak into someone else’s account.
September 28th, 2007 01:22pm
admin
After rates on the e-savings account have been dropping steadily and quietly, I decided it was time to close down the account and move the money to Emigrant Direct, where the rates keep the same. The final nail to the coffin was the fact that EZ-checking account doesn’t have a firm deadline for sending online payments. In other words, if I need to send a payment by a certain due date, I can’t specify that date; it has to be a date ahead - something in the order of 2 business days, but it is not specific.
In Citizens Bank, once I specify the due day, I can have a guarantee that the payment will be sent in advance so that the other party will receive its payment on time. With EZ-checking that was different, and as a result I missed a credit card payment resulting in immediate finance charges and APR changing from 0% to 24%.
Both, e-savings and EZ-checking, were closed and it took quite a long time to get the money in the mail. Even though I really like Citi products, I don’t miss these accounts.
September 12th, 2007 06:17pm
admin
My husband and I received offers from the Citi Dividend accounts to use “extra cash”. The amount is $300. The way it works is you have to log into an account on extracash.citi.com and then shop around from the selected items on the web page. Each item there is discounted by various amounts. These discount amounts are considered the extra cash. I looked at the selections and so far was able to buy one toy which arrived promptly. As far as other items - maybe some other day. So far, I don’t have a need for them.
July 3rd, 2007 11:52am
admin
In the current Discover card program, you can get 5% cashback on gas, hotels and summer amusements like water parks, theme parks, aquariums, zoos and museums. This promotion runs from July 1-st till September 30-th. Don’t forget to enroll first at www.discovercard.com.
This one is an useful one, since the gas prices are pretty hight now.
April 22nd, 2007 12:03pm
admin
Even though Citi dividend card lowered its cash back bonus, it still wants to attract new customers. Just recently a referral bonus of $25 was offered for anybody who applies and gets approved to get the card. As usual, one can refer up to 5 people and get up to $125 in bonuses. The deadline is May 31, 2007. In order to refer someone, the following steps need to be done:
1. Log on to www.refer.dividend.citicards.com and follow the instructions on the page.
2. Under the promotional code enter PC4.
What is going to happen is Citi will send emails to the referred friends inviting them to apply for the card. If they apply and get accepted by the deadline, then you will receive $25.
March 12th, 2007 03:32pm
admin
The good cash backs from Citi Dividend are about to end. Both, my husband and I have been enjoying the 5% cash back on every day purchases even when the terms of that card for new members has changed last year. We both received letters informing us of changes. The every day purchases will earn 2% beginning April 15-th. There is a small additional benefit that offers 2% cash back on certain utilities like cable or gas. Telephone is excluded, however.
This is unfortunate and it looks like it is time to switch to another card.
March 4th, 2007 01:35pm
admin
HSBC Direct is running a promotion now that offers 6% APY on an online savings account. This promotion is good until April 30-th 2007. The money deposited must be a “new money”, which means that if you have another account with them, you can’t just transfer from one account to the other. After the promotional period, the rate goes down to the regular rate of 5.05% APY. This is not a bad rate considering that e-savings from Citi is now down to 4.75% ( I always considered Citi to be ahead of the pack, but I guess not this time ). Emigrant direct has 5.05% as well.
I do have an account with Hsbc and for a moment considered opening another one with different money. However, it doesn’t make much sense at the moment, since there is not that much time left since the end of the promotion and opening an account with Hsbc is a bit of a hassle due to their extreme security protections.
Also Hsbc is a bit slow on trasfering money out of the account. It takes about 3 days.
If you are interested in this promotion, go to:
www.hsbcdirect.com
February 16th, 2007 07:30am
admin
If you like shopping at Disney stores and own the Disney credit card, there are couple of coupons now for 15% off the purchases.
The first one runs through 3/4/07 and is good for Disney Store. The promotion code here is 3315.
The second one runs through 3/15/07 and is good for DisneyShopping.com with a promotion code DRVFEB15.
Be sure to use your Disney Rewards Visa to get these discounts.
February 13th, 2007 02:20pm
admin
I received an offer to try CompleteHome free for the first month in addition to $40 gift card to Lowe’s. The offer came from Bank of America. To get the gift card, I have to apply by March 13-th. After the first month, the membership fee would be $11.99 and then $12.99 per month withdrawn automatically from my bank account.
CompleteHome is a service offering various information on how to improve or decorate your house, how to find pre-screened contractors or where to find coupons for discounts on home improvements.
In addition, there are savings promised by shopping in the following places: Shopping Outlet, Home Saving Coupons, FTD, American Blinds, Wallpaper & More, and ThermoSpas.
Finally, it offers savings when moving by using select moving services. Also, if using a recommended realtor for selling or buying a house, you can receive cashback from $50 to $1,800, for example.
The membership, apparently can be cancelled at any time.
January 26th, 2007 03:22pm
admin
TD Ameritrade is running a promotion now that promises free trades for 45 days plus $100 when opening a new account with them by 4/16/07. The requirement is that a minimum of $25000 is used to fund this new account. If opening the account with smaller amount (minimum $2000), then the free trades for 45 days still apply, but there is no cash bonus.
The account needs to be open for at least 9 months.
I have used Ameritrade before, since my other broker would not take the fund I was tranfering from Schwab. Last year, I liquidated the fund to travel, but as far as Ameritrade, I haven’t had any bad experiences with.
December 19th, 2006 03:38pm
admin
I’ve been enjoying the 5% cash back offer on restaurants from Discover card, by buying donuts every Saturday. My boys go to Polish school on Saturdays and in order to sweeten the fact that there is one more school day, they’ve been promised some reward. They usually pick donuts. However, this is about to end.
The new promotion from the Discover card is for people who are going to travel a lot in the first three months of 2007. It runs from January 1 till March 31. There is a 5% cash back on:
Airlines
Cruises
Hotels
Car Rentals
Amtrak® Trains
Greyhound® Buses
As usual, you have to enroll in this promotion by calling Discover or using their web site at: www.discovercard.com.
Rewards Credit Cards
–compare the best rewards cards
November 24th, 2006 07:36pm
admin
The new Citi Dividend has a referral promotion that runs until the end of this year. The referral promotion offers up to $125 in dividend dollars. For each person referred and accepted for the Dividend card, you can get $25. Up to 5 people can be referred that way.
To be credited for the referral, the following web site needs to be accessed:
www.refer.dividend.citicards.com
After entering the promotional code PDN, you can specify email addresses of family and friends that might be interested in getting the card.
November 15th, 2006 02:56pm
admin
I haven’t been a big Discover card’s enthusiast lately, but this holiday promotion is worth checking out. The card offers $20 Discover gift card for shopping at a mall. The mall has to be participating in the promotion. After spending $200 at that mall (using the Discover card, of course), the receipts can be submitted to the customer service desk to receive the gift card.
The promotion runs from November 1, 2006 till December 31, 2006. The receipts have to be submitted by 12/31/06.
To see which malls participate in this promotion, check their site at www.discovercard.com/holiday
October 24th, 2006 03:53pm
admin
No-load stocks are stocks purchased directly from a company and without a broker. There are companies out there that offer stock purchasing of their shares directly. Not every company offers this, but the list of companies that do, is getting bigger. The big advantage of this is the avoidance of broker fees. The stock purchase plans do charge small fees, but they compare favorably with any fees that brokers would charge.
I’ve been reading “No-Load Stocks How to Buy Your First Share & Every Share Directly From The Company - With No Broker’s Fee” by Charles B. Carlson. The author presents the no-load stocks as an investment option - not necessarily as an alternative to mutual funds, but as an addition to any investment portfolio.
The idea certaintly seems interesting and is worth researching more. Some of the companies that provide the plans include Wisconsin Energy, Johnson Controls, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble Co. and many others. My favorite is Home Depot - mainly because it is a great store.
Through the direct purchase plans (DPPs), individual investors are allowed to buy shares directly from companies with low minimums and optionaly make additional investments on a regular basis, often by automatically transferring money from their bank accounts. Home Depot, for example, requires $500 to initially purchase shares and $50 for additional purchases. The fees are the following: For first-time investors - $5.00. For subsequent purchases - 5% up to maximum of $2.50. Sales $10.00.
The investments grow overtime from regular contributions, appreciation of the stock shares and dividend reivestments (DRIP).
noload.info has a list of companies offering no-load stocks.
Moneypaper has a section on how to start kids on investing through these programs.
October 3rd, 2006 03:05pm
admin
If you drive a lot, you might be interested in the Driver’s Edge Platinum Select card from Citi. The card lets you earn 6% rebate on all everyday purchases that include purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations for the first 12 months. After that, the everyday purchases earn 3%. All other purchases earn 1%.
In addition, the card will pay $0.01 per each mile driven. Some paperwork is needed to established exactly what that mileage is, namely submitting forms to Citi showing the mileage, but these miles can add fast. My husband commutes to work everyday and adds on more than 90 miles per day in mileage.
The maximum in rebates on the card is $1,000 per 12 months of which $500 can be earned just by driving. The only thing to be aware here is that when redeeming the rebate earned from driving, an equal or greater amount of rebate earned from non-driving has to be also redeemed. In other words, you can’t just use the card to earn rebates from driving and not use it for purchases.
The redemptions are done through: www.redemptions.driversedge.citicards.com.
The card compares favorably with other rebates/cash backs cards available now and remains one of my favorite cards.
October 1st, 2006 08:25am
admin
In March of this year, I opened the EZ checking account at Citibank encouraged by the promotion that promised $50 every quarter up to a total of $200. All that needed to be done for the promotion was to keep a balance of at least $1500 in the account and have 2 bill payments per billing cycle.
At first I was a little bit disappointed when I saw that my name was misspelled when I received the debit card. This wasn’t easy to change since it required a change of title. It was suggested that I go to the nearest branch and take care of it. Sounds good? Not if you have 3 young children at home and every trip is an ordeal, especially that it wasn’t really my fault the representative made a mistake. Finally, this was handled and a promise of a new card arriving soon was made. Well the card didn’t arrive as promised, but at least the title of the account was changed to reflect the correct spelling. This allowed me to open the e-savings account with a high rate. Having a checking account and a saving account in one place is a big convenience, I have to say. No days lost transferring money.
I’ve been maintaining the required balance and making bill payments as required by setting up automatic money transfers and automatic bill payments. However, after 3 months of that, the $50 didn’t show up. After 4 months, still no payment. Ok, after 5 months, I realized that nothing was happening and it was time to pick up the phone. An inquiry was put into this matter. Another wait. In the meantime, I am still waiting for that debit card with the correct name spelling. I called again to find out the status of the inquiry. Still not done. That day, though, funny thing happened. I received a call from Citi asking me how satisfied I was with the card. Coincidence? One can only wonder. To make the story short, this was a very productive conversation. I learned that just for having the EZ-checking and e-savings account, there was 75 “thank you” points each month. These points can be combined with other points from the ‘thank you” network. In order to get them, though, it’s necessary to enroll; it doesn’t happen automatically.
I was offered another promotion of $20 for setting up a direct deposit. I passed on that, since I was still working on receiving money from the first promotion. Not long after this phone call, I did receive the debit card and finally, couple of days ago, the promotional payments showed up in my account.
It all worked out in the end, but not without some hassle. Overall, I would recommend this setup: EZ-Checking for bill payments and e-savings for high yield savings - especially if an opening promotion is also attached to it.
September 9th, 2006 09:27am
admin
Back in May 2006, Citi discontinued the AT&T Universal Cash Rewards card that paid 5% cash back on everyday purchases (groceries, gas, pharmacies). Customers received letters and had about a month to accrue enough points to be able to cash out the rewards. If not cashed, it was forfeited.
My father found this out the hard way, when his card was refused at a gas station abroad. Since he was traveling during the summer, the letter has not reached him. He went to the official web site, but could not find any information about this closing.
Some people were offered switching to the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card which offered the same cash back benefits
However, this card is the process of changing its 5% cash back benefit. I know people already received letters informing them about reducing the cash back from 5% to 2%. Card holders are angry about this process, especially that obtaining each card slightly lowers the credit score.
When I talked to the Citi support about the Dividend card, I was told that if I didn’t receive the letter, the card stays the same. I didn’t receive any other information. Why can’t Citi be more open about the future of existing cards?
The bottom line is that Citi, being one of the biggest credit card company, is not handling closures nor changes very gracefully.
What does AT&T think about it? We can only guess that they now have different issues to deal with in the light of the recent theft of personal information that was later used for phishing attacks.
September 7th, 2006 08:17pm
admin
The Citi PremierPass offer I wrote about before has been extended till September 30-th. You can still refer friends and get 5000 points per referral. The referral code remains the same.
September 4th, 2006 07:20am
admin
The new cash back offer from Discover gives 5% cash back on restaurants, movies, books and music purchases. It starts on October 1, 2006 and ends December 31, 2006. All purchases made at the following books and music merchants qualify: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Circut City, Napster, Crutchfield, Waldenbooks.
You can keep earning the cash back up to $1000 in spending. This amounts to a maximum cash back of $50.
As usual, you have to enroll in the offer through Discover’s web site at www.discovercard.com.
August 31st, 2006 08:45am
admin
My favorite credit cards remain cards that give 5% cash back on everyday purchases. The everyday purchases are purchases made at grocery store, drug stores and gas stations. All other purchases earn 1% cash back.
Up until recently, I would recommed the Citi Dividend Platinum Select card or the Chase Cash Plus Rewards card. Both card had the cash back bonuses. However, in August 2006, both cards became unavailable for new members in the same shape. Existing cardholders still enjoy the benefits.
The next best choice from Citi would be the Driver’s Edge Platinum Select MasterCard. It offers 6% cash back on everyday purchases for 1 year and 3% after that. All other purchases earn 1%.
I also like Capital One with cash rewards that offer 1.25% cash back on all purchases.
August 30th, 2006 04:43pm
admin
Unfortunately, Citibank changed the best rewards card it had, the Dividend Platinum Select one. It no longer earns 5% on everyday purchases and 1% elsewhere like it used to. Chase discontinued the Cash Plus Rewards card that also earned 5% on everyday purchases and 1% on other purchases. These were my some of my favorite credit cards.
So far, the existing accounts are unchanged. I called both cards and was told that unless a letter is sent notifying about any changes to the rewards, the cash back percentages remain the same.
August 25th, 2006 06:00pm
admin
So far, I have not been using Bank of America products. The only account I have with them is a credit card without any points nor cash back. Occasionally, an offer is sent for a 0% APR balance transfer, but each time I see that a fee of $90 is going to be charged and accrue interest at the cash advance rate, I quickly put that offer in the recycle pile. However, this new offer might be worth looking into.
I received a letter stating that the bank will pay $200 for opening a personal checking account along with a Regular Savings account by 9/24/06.
After checking the fees and minimum requirements for these accounts, this offer doesn’t look bad. A regular checking account can be openend with $100 and monthly fees are waived if balance of $750 is maintained. If $750 seems like a lot, then there is MyAccess Checking with opening minimum of $25 where monthly fees can be avoided by setting up a direct deposit.
As far as the second account, the Regular Savings account, to avoid monthly fees, $300 is needed or have automatic monthly transfers of at least $25 from the checking account set up. In case the monthly transfers are chosen, the minimum opening balance is not required. Otherwise, $100 is required.
The interest rate on the saving account is variable. I wouldn’t count on it being very good, however, with the option of automatic transfers, not a lot of money is being transferred into this account at once. Any interest losses if transferring from an online bank like Emigrant, for example, are minimal.
Looks like I might be trying Bank of America soon.
August 15th, 2006 05:03pm
admin
While normally I use my favorite credit cards, recently I’ve been traveling in Poland and Capital One’s Visa became indinspensable. There are 3 main reasons while this credit card is the king now.
- Capital One credit card doesn’t charge any foreign currency conversion fees. This is really a rare card that will not add costs to converting money from one currency to another. The transations are charged in local currency, but charged to the card in US dollars. There are a lot of places in Poland now that accept credit cards - many more than I remember from 9 years ago. Being able to pay with a credit card saves worrying about carrying a lot of cash. Unfortunately, Poland is one of the places where thieves are not sleeping.
- The credit card gives a better currency exchange rate that local money exchange shops. Why even bother looking aroung for the best exchange rate in local places when I can find it by using the card. Capital One, like other cards, uses the current exchange rate published in the New York Times on a given day. This rate, I found is always better than the rate offered in exchange stops. The difference is not huge, but every little bit counts.
- Each transaction qualifies for the 1.25% cash back. Even though purchasing abroad, the purchases still earn the normal cash back.
July 17th, 2006 04:13pm
admin
Is there such a thing as having too much money? Would a lot of money take away something from your life? Some people believe the answer is yes.
Last night I was watching 60 minutes that had an interview with the eyebrow-raising Olympic skiier, Bodie Miller. Bodie, who was brought up in a very spartan way, said that having millions of dollars is a problem - “it takes away a big motivating force”.
In a way, I can see that. Sometimes I wonder if had millions of dollars, would I still enjoy getting a cash back on purchases in the same way or would I still go for the account opening bonus?
I saw an interview once with a lottery winner that used to be a truck driver before he won millions in lottery. He built a huge mansion with indoor swimming pool, etc., however he said that he really missed going to work everyday. He didn’t look like a happy winner.
Then there are people like Donald Trump, who just won’t stop at making more and more. Just recenly, Trump was shown on TV advertising his real estate seminars. The market must be slowing down if Trump is going into this kind of business…(but that’s another topic).
What do you think? Would you enjoy the same kind of things you enjoy now if you had millions of dollars?
July 17th, 2006 04:10pm
admin
I got a letter from Emigrant Direct introducing a new web page with a 10 digit security code. I hope this new introduction is not going to make the interface too cumbersome. So far, the bank only needed a username and password.
The rate, effective July 28-th is going up from 5.0% to 5.15%.
July 6th, 2006 08:40am
admin
A while back I opened the Emigrant’s American Dream Account. I was attracted to it by its high interest rate and no minimal deposits requirements. Before opening, I researched it on the internet to make sure it was safe. I found that others had pretty good experiences with this bank and with the online savings. The only problem seemed to be a minimal user interface. That didn’t bother me at all so I started the application online. (more…)
July 5th, 2006 08:38am
admin
I received an offer from Citi Business card for $15. All I have to do to is to make purchases of $100 in July and $100 in August. I think that’s not hard to do. Looks like it is time to get this card our of the drawer.
July 5th, 2006 08:33am
admin
Emigrant’s American Dream Account has been updated reflecting raising rates. It changed from 4.8% to 5%.
In September, last year, I started a CD with Corus bank that had a very appealing rate of 4.4%. Now, I can’t wait to withdraw that money and put it in a better rate online savings account. Lesson from this experience? Do not open CD accounts if the rates are on the rise.
July 4th, 2006 11:01am
admin
Citi PremierPass card has a promotion till the end of March 07. For each referal, a cardholder gets 5000 bonus points that can be redeemed through the Thank You Network. 5000 points translates into $50 in gift cards. I usually redeem the points by getting a Home Depot gift card, which is very close to getting actual cash, since we use that store anyway. Home Depot is just one option; there are numbers of other stores like Target, Gap or Toys R’ Us - just to name a few. The points can be also redeemed in other ways, e.g. 25,000 points gets a rount-trip airline ticket.
You can refer up to 5 friends for a maximum of 25,000 bonus points. This sounds like a nice deal, especially that PremierPass card comes with a signup $100 gift card if approved and one purchase is made.
The points show up in the Thank You Network account 3-5 billing cycles after the referal is approved.
To take advantage of this offer you need to do the following:
- go to refer.citipremierpass.citicards.com before March 31, 2007
- enter promotional code SP9
- enter the email addresses of your friends and family
July 2nd, 2006 12:02pm
admin
When the competition heats up between the bank’s online savings accounts, the consumers win. Just days after Citibank brought up its rate on the e-savings account to 5%, Hsbc online savings increased to 5.05%. I am really curious to find out if Citibank is going to do anything about it, since it just raised its rate.
June 30th, 2006 10:40am
admin
Discover card has a special “Get More” bonus that offers 5% cash back on tuition, apparel, home and office supplies during the summer. This offer lasts from 7/1/06 till 9/30/06. I have been disappointed with the Discover card and switched to Capital One after learning that the 1% cash back bonus I thought I was getting, goes down after reaching the anniversary of opening the credit card account. However, its auto and gas 5% cash back that just ended and this new program, make it still a keeper. Its too early for a drawer status yet.
Under this summer offer, the tuition that qualifies, ranges from preschool to college. The apparel purchases receive 5% cash back in the following stores: Gap, Kohl’s, Marshalls, T.J.Maxx and Famous Footwear. Home and office purchases can be made in: Dell, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, Linens’n Things and Pier 1 Imports.
It doesn’t happen automatically though - you still have to enroll. To enroll, go to: http://www.discovercard.com. After loggin in, follow the link to enroll.
June 26th, 2006 04:16pm
admin
Just as predicted, Citi has raised the rate on its e-savings account. Since both HSBC and Emigrant direct have raised their rates to 4.80%, Citi not only matched that, but beat it to remain number 1 as far as savings accounts, in my opinion. I am also surprised that it jumped as high as it did. I expected something in the vicinity of 4.90%.
June 22nd, 2006 11:24am
admin
The American dream account from Emigrant Direct increased its rate from 4.65% to 4.80%. This follows HSBC’s direct savings rate increase to 4.80%. My favorite online savings account from Citibank is trailing these rates now. I suspect it is just a matter of time before Citibank increases its rate as well.
June 18th, 2006 03:45pm
admin
Citi PremierPass credit card is offering double points on restaurants, airfare and car rental purchases through 9/15/06. My husband received this offer in the mail. The letter included an invitation number and it appears that it is not transferrable. This sounds like a pretty good deal if you are planning on traveling this summer or eat out a lot. We are using the PremierPass cards to hold balances, so it would not make sense for us to make purchases on them - maybe in the future.
To enroll you can either call 1-800-256-1838 or go to: specialoffer.citicards.com
June 13th, 2006 03:29pm
admin
Update: PayPal’s rate is now 4.82%.
If you have any money in your PayPal account, you might want to think twice before withdrawing them. They are earning a surprisingly high interest rate. Currently 4.73%. This is one of the highest rates for money market accounts that can be opened without minimums and no fees. The only one currently higher than that and one that doesn’t have any fees, restrictions and its minimum balance is $1, is Amboy Direct’s premium savings with its 4.75% interest rate. I also like Citibank’s e-savings, but Citibank does require opening the EZ Checking in addition with a minimum of $1500 to avoid fees.
PayPal has been around for a long time and is mostly used to purchase or sell items at online auctions. It is really easy to open an account there. All you need is either a credit card, debit card or a bank account. It is free to open it, free to add funds, free to withraw funds in US banks, free to send money and free to receive money up to the $500 limit. There are 3 account tiers: personal, premier and business. To receive money without limits, you’d need either premier or business account and the fees for that are 2.9-1.9% depending on the amount + 0.30 per each transaction.
What are the drawbacks? This money market fund is not FDIC insured, but that would not worry me. The drawback I would be more concerned about is the possibillity of easily spending the money on online auctions. Perhaps having a higher balance might make you want to spend more. Personally, I use ebay a lot and pay with paypal.
May 30th, 2006 04:24pm
admin
When my second son was 9 months old, I got a phone call from the company I used to work for before, that a position became available. Since I missed working, I thought this was great. It was supposed to be a contract job for 6 months. Without thinking much about it, I celebrated this event. However, this celebration did not last long. After a few days, the reality of the situation hit me: I won’t see my boys anymore. Yes, I’ll see them for an hour each night after dinner. I wanted to cry.
At that point I decided that I would not go past the 6 months contract. Instead, I would find a way to survive on one income. Being a software developer and going from two salaries to one would not be easy, but definitely worth a try. Needles to say, I only lasted 5 months full time at the job.
It’s been over 2 years since quitting and I know that living on one salary can be done. We now have 3 children. Here are some tips that I learned to make the ends meet.
- Go grocery shopping once a week
I plan the menu for a week and buy all the ingredients at once. If the meat will not last the whole week, it will be put in the freezer. By not going to the store more often, I eliminate any impulse buying and make sure that I am staying within the rough budged for grocery spending.
- Find a store that sells the same food for less
By switching to a store that perhaps doesn’t have as pretty looking shelves as other stores and is 3 minutes farther away, I end up paying much less for exactly the same type of food as in other more expensive stores. The quality is not sacrifised at all. The same organic milk costs from 0.50 to 1.50 less, for example. In my state, I use Market Basket.
- Buy in bulk
If possible, buy in bulk, but check the prices carefully. Not every bulk purchase will guarantee savings. I use BJ’s. It is worth joining since the savings will pay for the membership fee quickly.
- Use reusable diapers
Using reusable diapers saves a lot and relieves the need to rush to the store anytime more diapers are needed. I know it sounds hard, but nowadays there are a lot of dependable diapers that don’t leak the minute a child goes. I use Fuzzi Buns. They are washed on average 2-3 times a week - not everyday. In the summer time, it is nice to have them for swimming. I use just the shell from the diaper instead of swimmies, which can be expensive.
- Get credit cards that give you cash back
Credit cards are accepted almost everywhere and it seems like everyone is using them. Earn money while spending. I list my favorite credit cards in one of the posts. They pay 5% cash back on groceries, gas and drugs. You want to use the credit cards to pay for utilities and other expenses as well.
- Open an online savings account that pays high interest
There are more and more online savings accounts that offer high interest without any fees or minimum payments. If you combine this with accepting a balance transfer offer at 0% APR from some credit cards, you end up earning a little bit of money. The trick is to pay minimum payments on time and, of course, pay the balance off before the introductory 0% APR runs out.
- Check out local yard sales
Yard sales are great places to get deals. Buying clothes for kids is especially convenient, since some of them let you fill a bag for very little money. I also found that most people are willing to go down in price from the original amount, so don’t forget to bargain a little. If you see something that your children will need a few years down the road, you might want to consider buying it right then. Believe me, time flies and before you know it, your son or daughter will be using it.
- Buy on ebay
Ebay is still a good place to find a deal. Not every item and not as good as yard sales, but there are deals if you look around. When searching for an item, try a keyword that is more generic. This might show you some items other might have missed.
- Sell on ebay
Do you have any old maternity clothes that you want to dispose of? Ebay might just that place. It is easier than you think to start selling here and there on ebay.
- Drive a smaller car
While it might be more comfortable to fit everyone in a bigger car, it is not absolutely needed. Our family of 5 drives in sedans: Honda Civic and Toyota Camry. Doing this saves money on gas and car payments.
- Switch to voice over IP phone
By switching to voice over IP phone (we use Vonage), we can save money each months plus enjoy inexpensive rates for internationall calls. Vonage also offers referral bonus of two free months of service.
May 26th, 2006 01:07pm
admin
After other online banks like Hsbc or Citibank raised their rates, I’ve bee waiting for Emigrant direct to follow as well. Especially, that I recently transferred money into Emigrant. There is it. Rates went up from 4.5% to 4.65%.
May 23rd, 2006 10:27pm
admin
Most credit cards will charge you a fee when buying abroad. This fee is called “foreign transaction fee” or “currency conversion fee”. Typically, when purchasing in foreign currency, the amount will be converted to US dollars amount using a current conversion rate. Additional 1-3% will be charged for this service. Which cards charge what? It varies. Here are some examples:
- American Express - 2%
- Hsbc, GM - 3%
- Citibank - 3%
- Discover - no fee
- Chase - 3%
- Capital One - no fee
- Bank of America - 3%
May 19th, 2006 08:59am
admin
Citibank raised the rate on its e-savings account a full quarter from 4.5% to 4.75%. This is a great news, considering that I just opened the e-savings account with Citi recently. However, the highest rate in online savings currently belongs to Presidential premier savings - 4.87%. I don’t have any accounts with that bank yet. Sounds like its time to open an account with Presidential as well.
May 18th, 2006 09:47pm
admin
The HSBC direct savings account is earning interest at 4.65% now. Just recently, I opened an account with HSBC and I am pleased to find out that the rate went up from 4.5%. I will write more about the experience with this bank.
May 14th, 2006 09:16pm
admin
I got a letter from Bank of America offering 0% APR on balance transfers till January 2007. It is already May, so the introductory period is not that long. I had this credit card for a while, but never used it since there were so many more attractive cards. When I got this letter, I though maybe Bank of America is becoming more competetive. I was tempted at first, but then when I saw that 4% or maximum of $90 was going to be charged for this balance transfer, I lost my enthusiasm. In addition, the balance transfer fee was going to be a subject to a finance charge. Well, no thank you.
May 10th, 2006 10:32am
admin
If you think you are getting 1% cash back on everything with the Discover card, you might be right. Then again, you might not be. One day you have 1% and the next day you don’t. What is that magic day that lowers the cash back bonus? It is the yearly anniversary.
When I first got the Discover credit card, which was a while back, I was excided about the 1% cash back. After spending the required minimums to get to the 1% cash back tier, I loved using this card. However, one day I looked at the statement and saw that the cash back is very small. First, I thought it was a mistake. It wasn’t. After 12 billing cycles, the cash back bonus reverts to what it was at the very beginning. Needles to say, the card almost ended up on the shelf. The saving grace is the current promotion that offers 5% cash back on gas automotive purchases till June 30-th. Included in this promotion is gas, car washes, AutoZone®, Firestone Complete Auto Care™ , Midas®, Pep Boys and Sears Auto Center.
Discover card likes to keep you guessing and as a result you need to really pay attention to current promotions in order to maximize this card. Enrollment in each promotion is also required.
credit card
May 9th, 2006 02:23pm
admin
At the beginning of this year, I opened a direct savings account with WAMU (Washignton Mutual). The rate was pretty good then (4.0%). There was a signup bonus ($25). The account run without any problems. However, when it came time to transfer money out of it ( yes, I decided to transfer to a higher rate direct savings account from Emigrant Direct ), I run into a small problem. The online screen allowed me to enter only 10K for a given day. I have to say that was a surprise. Because there is a limit of 6 transactions per statement cycle, this caused an excessive activity fees to the account. The fees were only $3 each, but I didn’t want to pay any. Luckily, calling the customer support and requesting to take the fees back, worked without problems.
On a different day, I had an opportunity to test WAMU’s customer service. I scheduled a 2 transfers from my checking account to WAMU direct savings. Believe it or not, my bank flagged this activity as a potential fraud and held the funds. (more…)
May 6th, 2006 09:49pm
admin
August 2006 update: The following cards are no longer available to new cardholders, so my favorite credit cards changed. Existing cardholders preserve their benefits unless notified otherwise.
There are two main credit cards that my husband and I use for purchases. I have the Chase Rewards cards, while he uses the Citi Divident Platinum Select.
Why did we choose these cards? (more…)
May 4th, 2006 09:25pm
admin
Some of the Citi credit cards offer a bonus of $5 just for enrolling in the electronic statements. So far, the following cards have this option: Simplicity, Diamond Preferred and Dividend Platinum Select. To confirm that this promotion is on a card, look at the top portion of your bill.
This sounds like a good deal, considering that there will be less mail to process each month.
May 2nd, 2006 12:12pm
admin
Capital One’s credit card is becoming more competetive. I have not been using it, mainly because the rewards weren’t that great. The cash back percentage was below 1%, so I could get better rewards by using my favorite credit card. In addition, there was no way of knowing from statements how much earnings I had. However, with this new program called “No Hassle Cash”, there is hope for this card. Now all purchases will earn 1.25% cash back. This is good. I will use this card as a companion to a card that pays 5% cash back on everyday purchases.
In addition, the user interface is also going to improve. Now, we’ll have access online as well as an ability to redeem as soon as $25 is earned in rewards.
This is going to happen after May 31, 2006, so don’t go and put large purchases on this card yet. It is also required to register for this reward either by calling or using their website at
www.capitalone.com/cashrewards after 5/31/06.
In addition, $5 bonus is going to be credited to the account. When its time, I’ll definitely sign up.
May 2nd, 2006 11:31am
admin
While looking at possible domain names for this blog, I came across Inbox Dollars, a place that pays money for taking surveys. I signed up for it to test it out and sure enough, money showed up in my account after signing up and filling out a survey. There was a screen at signup asking to fulfill an offer in order to be elligible for a $5 bonus. I clicked on one of the offers, but did not completed it. Nevertheless, the $bonus showed up in the account. They also paid for reading emails, however, the payout for these was minimal.
I haven’t got a check from them yet. The account balance has to be at least $30. I’ll update this page when I actually receive the check
How much to expect for a survey? They offer on average $1-2. More can be earned by signing up for offers advertised through Inbox Dollars. This might be handy if the offers sound appealing. They also pay $5 for referrals.
April 29th, 2006 03:38pm
admin
Recently, I found out that the Citi Simplicity credit card comes in 3 flavors and one of them is a cash back card. The cash back bonus is 5% for purchases at drugstores and gas stations. All other purchases earn 1