Free $25 From revolutionmoneyexchange

revolutionmoneyexchange.com, a paypal alternative, has just opened their doors. Right now they are in Beta. It’s free to send, receive, and withdraw money, but the only funding source allowed is your bank account. This is probably how they can offer this service for free as credit cards invlove transaction fees when sending money.  They may also be copying the Paypal model where the basic account is free, but if you need to upgrade to allow for different features that is when the transaction fees start. But currently it is free and freevis good.

I am hoping that this site takes off. I hate PayPal. I get charged for anything I do with them. And after all the stuff I have sold on eBay over the years, I have given them a lot of money. So you must sign up for this at the minimum just to give Paypal some competition!! They are backed by Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank AG so you can consider this a safe site. Probably a little safer than Paypal orginally was when they started up.

They are currently offering a $25 bonus during their beta period when you sign up for an account. The money id deposited into your account immediately after you sign up. Signing up is free. Click the offer below:

Prosper.com Experiment Update II

(For more detail, see these previous posts Prosper.com Experiment, Prosper.com Experiment Update)

Well so far the experiment is moving along smoothly. I have received my first $50 in payments yesterday which I used to bid on another loan (Credit Rating: AA @ 11.25%). All loans are now current and none are late which is great news since my one late payer doubled up on her January payment and is now up to date.

Since the $50 in payments I received is made up of prinicpal and interest, I have decided upon this strategy for adding the new loan every month:

• The first two loans, over the next 2 months, will be targeted at credit grade C or Higher, with a tendancy to choose AA, A or B.
• The third loan, in three months, will get a little riskier and take someone with a HR credit rating assuming their credit stats don’t have any glaring concerns.
• I will then repeat with 2 higher credit loans and then a third with a high risk borrower.

This three month cycle of adding two safe loans and one risky loan to my portfolio should help keep my risk low while slightly improving my average interest rate. Only time will tell how this will work out in the end, especially if we are approaching a recession. Remember, most of these P2P lending sites have not been through an economic slowdown. Hopefully things will work out for the best and I will keep updating you on my progress here.

2008 Tax Rebate Details

Update: See my latest posts on the Tax Rebate Payout Details in the 2008 Tax Rebate Category!

More detials are starting to emerge regarding the 2008 Tax Stimulus rebate. It appears now that the rebate will be calculated off of your 2007 income. As I said in my previous post this is great for me as I was married in May of last year so our combined incomes will now allow us to receive the full $1200. If they used the 2006 numbers we would only be getting back $600.

PBS.com has created a calculator to help you determine what stimulus plan amount, if any, you will receive.

As the rebate still need to pass in Congress, the details could change. I doubt they will however as this is an election year everything seems to magically work out, doesn’t it? Wait till next year when they raise taxes to get this rebate money back!!!

OneUnited Bank Savings 5.30% APY with $50 Bonus

OneUnited Bank’s Unity Gold Savings Account is still very high (5.30% APY) considering the current Fed rate cuts. Definetly a place worth storing some cash. I imagine if these guys are like every other high yied savings account out there they will drop their rate soon, so get in while it is still high!

You need to open the account with a minimum of $1000 as well as keep the balance at $1000 or greater to earn the 5.30% APY. Their site does not say what rate, if any, you will receive for a balance less than $1000.

Currently they are offering a $50 bonus when you open the account and add a direct deposit or recurring deposit into the account. You can use a monthly deposit from ING Direct or Paypal to satisfy the recurring depoist requirement if you do not want to go through the hassle of setting up direct deposit.

Deal Small Print:
Must be a new direct deposit of a payroll, social security check, or other recurring deposit that occurs at least monthly to a consumer account. $50 will be deposited into your account in good standing automatically within 15 days after a new recurring direct deposit occurs over three consecutive months OR 20 OneUnited Bank Visa Debit card transactions per month occurs over three consecutive months. Offer expires June 30, 2008.

I just opened mine this morning. Very easy and smooth process.

Sign Up Link & Bonus

2008 Tax Rebate Stimulus Plan Announced

Update: See my latest posts on the Tax Rebate Payout Details in the 2008 Tax Rebate Category!

The  Government’s 2008 Tax Rebate Stimulus Plan have been announced. 117 million families will receive rebates to help kick start the slowing economy. This package would give most tax filers refunds of $600 to $1,200, and more if they have children.

The breakdown is that Indivuidal Tax payers will receive $600 and Families will receive $1200 plus $300 for each child. The current plan is to get these checks out sometime in November.

So everyone will receive these rebates right? Of course not! According to the Associated Press, “The full rebate would be limited to individuals earning $75,000 or less and couples with incomes of $150,000 or less, but a partial rebate would go to individuals earning up to $87,000 and couples earning up to $174,000. The caps are higher for people with children.”

I am assuming that they are basing this off of the 2007 tax year since it won’t happen until May. Actually hoping is more like it! My wife and I were married in May of last year so in the governments’ eyes right now we are still two single tax payers and she can qualify for the rebate, but I can’t. Once we file taxes for last year in the next month, we will be eligable for the $1200 family rebate under the combined income limits. So I guess it depends on how they decide to do it. I imagine I will be getting screwed and they will use the 2006 tax year and we will only get the $600. This is what usually happens to me!

Overall I kind of have mixed feelings on this. I understand we are trying to reverse an economic slowdown, but we always tend to bank on the poor and middle class to do it, when in reality they probably should be saving this money. The other question is where is all this money coming from, with the war still costing us billions more every year I am wondering if going into further debt is a good sacrifice for improving the economy.

So I guess the big question is are you gonna spend it or save it? No matter what money we get back, it is going straight into the bank!

Free $50 from Bank of America World MasterCard with WorldPoints

Get a $50 statement credit from Bank of America when signing up for the World MasterCard with WorldPoints. You just need to make once purchase totaling $25 or more to get the credit. Allow 8-12 weeks after the qualifying purchase to receive the promotional credit.

There is no annual fee associated with this card.

What you need to do: Sign up for the Bank of America World MasterCard with WorldPoints
Obligation: None
Initial Reward (if any): $50 statement credit after first $25 or greater purchase
Money to get started: $0 ($25 in purchases if you want the $50 credit)
Annual Fee: None
Things to Note: There will be hard credit inquiry applied to your credit report when applying for the card

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