SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE LATEST POSTS VIA EMAIL!Free Trades for 30 days from TDAmeritrade
January 23, 2008
TDAmeritrade has added an additional offer to current promo (see post) where you can receive free trading for 30 days when opening an account with $2000 or more. They limit the number of free trades to 500, which is a lot. That is over 16 trades a day. They still have the $100 bonuses as well if you deposit over $50,000.
Full Promo Details:
These promos expire 1/31/08
Their current commission rates are $9.95 for online equity trades and $9.95 + $.75 per option for option orders.
How do I deal with my cash?
January 22, 2008
I get a lot of questions asking me what accounts I use for my money. I tend to look for accounts that have the features I want over the interest rate, but have been able to find accounts that offer both. I have posted about many of these accounts since they are what I use everyday, so please refer to the posts for more detail. Here is a quick breakdown of how I handle my money:
Checking Accounts:
My main checking account is the Fidelity mySmart Cash High Yield Checking Account. (See Post) The current yield I am receiving there is 4.82%. This account has free ATM rebates, free checks and free billpay, so it pretty much has everything I want with a high interest rate. Plus it is integrated with my IRA’s and 401k, so it is nice to have everything in one place finally! Since this is a decent enough interest rate, all my savings sits here as well, no need for another account!
Since Fidelity doesn’t have any branches near me, I have a National City Account Free Checking Account that I use for deposits of cash and checks. There is a branch just down the street from me, so this is convenient to make deposits. I then use Fidelity Moneyline to move those deposits from the National City account to my Fidelity account. Very easy and hasslefree.
Brokerage:
I use Tradeking (See Post for Bonus) Brokerage. They are very easy to use and the commissions are low, $4.95 for equity and option trades. They also have an ACH feature where I can pull money out of my Fidelity account easily. Since the market has been so volatile lately I haven’t don’t much trading here, so the cash is just sitting in Tradeking’s money market at 4.25%.
In addition to Tradeking, I also use Sharebuilder. (See Post for Bonus). I mainly use Sharebuilder for a long term investing account. I buy partial shares of 10 ETF’s four times a week. My goal with this account it to dollar cost average while the market is correcting itself. I just set this and forget it. I consider this nest egg fund to use later, possible for kid’s college education.
Credit Cards:
I only use 2 credit cards for purchasing. My main card is the American Express Blue Cash Card (see post). I use this for everything from groceries, gas, utilities, and insurance payments. I never pay anything using a check or debit card if they accept AMEX. This is obviously to maximize my cash back.
If a place doesn’t take AMEX, my backup card is the Fidelity Rewards Visa. This card pays back 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Combined, I usually get back about 1.8% of my purchases every year, sure that doesn’t sound like a lot, but it adds up!
So that is pretty much a snap shot of how I handle my finances. I try to keep it simple but at the same time make sure that I am maximizing the return on my money If I can make decent interest on my money that is just sitting in an account, I will take it!
Tax Software Deals
January 21, 2008
Tax day is approaching so the next question you need to ask your self is am I gonna file my self? Well if you are, I have compiled a list of online tax softwares and their prices as of today (1/21). As a disclaimer, the only two I have ever used is TaxSimple and TurboTax. Many of these sites have multiple packages so I tried to pull out the cheapest for you for the forms that you will need to complete. You can click on the name for a link to the actual product page.
- 1040EZ: $14.95 Federal | $14.95 State
- 1040: $24.95 Federal | $24.95 State
- 1040EZ: FREE Federal | $22.05 State
- 1040: $25.45 Federal | $25.45 State
- State Farm Customers: FREE See Post
- 1040EZ and 1040: $35.96 Federal and State
- 1040EZ and 1040: $29.95 State: $14.95
- 1040EZ and 1040: Standard: Free Federal | $13.95 State
Happy Filing! Be sure to verify prices before filing as they may change. Please leave a comment here if you see any updates to prices or know of other softwares not listed above.
$100 From PNC When Opening New Checking Account
January 19, 2008
PNC is offering a $100 bonus when opening up a Personal Checking account with Direct Deposit. The $100 bonus will be paid out 7 days after your first direct deposit. The first direct deposit must be made by 4/30/08.
In the small print it explains what they consider a direct deposit, “The Direct Deposits must be made by an employer or an outside agency. Transfers from one account to another or deposits made at a branch or ATM do not qualify as Direct Deposits.” It is possible that a Paypal transfer will count as a direct deposit, however it has not been confirmed.
Offer expires 1/26/08.
New $50 ShareBuilder Bonus
January 19, 2008
Since ING Direct (Account Bonus) acquired ShareBuilder, I thought you would see the usual $50 new account bonus go away, or at least get smaller. Well that is not the case, they just started a new $50 bonus for new accounts. You do need to invest at least $50. The $50 bonus will be paid out roughly 4 weeks after you have invested $50. Offer expires 3/31/08.
With the market in the crapper, there isn’t a better time to start investing. Get in low and watch it ride high!!
Free $100 Gift Card from Citi PremierPass American Express Card
January 18, 2008
Citibank is offering a $100 gift card when sigining up for their PremierPass American Express Card. You need to make $100 worth of purchases within 2 months of the account opening. There is no annual fee on this card.
What you need to do: Sign up for the Citi PremierPass American Express Card
Obligation: None
Initial Reward (if any): $100 after first $100 in purchases within 2 months of account opening
Money to get started: $0 ($100 in purchases if you want the $100 gift card)
Annual Fee: None
Things to Note: There will be hard credit inquiry applied to your credit report when applying for the card
