Free Microsoft Office

If you are like my family, a computer really isn’t a computer without Microsoft Office. Let’s face it, purchasing Office, even the student version, is not cheap. Well in response to Google Docs, Microsoft has released a free version of Microsoft Office that is available online. This version is not as full featured as the standard version you purchase, but it does offer basic functionality for Word, Office and PowerPoint. If you are not a power user of any of these apps, the functionality you need should be available.

To access the free version on MS Office, you need a Windows Live account. It is free and you can register for one with your current email address. If you already have an Xbox live account, or you have a Hotmail email account, then you already have one. Go to www.live.com and log in. At the top of the screen you will see a link for “Office”. Once you click on that you will have the option to choose which application you want to run.

When you start a new document you will see the familiar Word, Office or PowerPoint interface that you are used to seeing. This online version is based off of Office 2010, so if you are still using an older version, the interface may look a little bit different to you.

You can do more than just start new documents, if you receive a document from someone, you can upload it to your documents folder. You can then open it and make changes to it. All documents created via the online version of MS Office are available to download to your PC.

Sure this isn’t as great as having the full version of MS Office, but if you are in a household with many computers and don’t want to spring for an Office license for each one, the online version of MS Office should more than suffice for those in school or need a quick way to create a document or spreadsheet.

Instant Hilton HHonors Gold Status

If you have a Visa Signature Card in your wallet, you can get instant Hilton HHonors gold status until August 31st 2011. All you need to do is go to the Hilton HHonors Promo Page and enter the credit card number of any Visa Signature card that you have, then enter your Hilton Hhonors account user name and password. Once you do that you will receive a confirmation message saying that you have received Gold Status.

I did this and them immediatly logged into my Hhonors account and verified that the gold status was reflected in my account.

Your Gold status will expire on 8/31/2011. If you stay at a Hilton family hotel 3 times by then, your Gold status will be extended until March 2013.

If you’re already a Gold or Diamond, there is still something here for you, by entering in your Visa Signature card, you will receive 5000 free Hilton points.

This deal is totally free and pretty sweet if you are going to travel within the next few months. Not exactly sure why they are offering this, unless it is a way to get you to stay at one of their hotels and experience the benefits of a frequent traveler. HHonors gold status gets you a 25% bonus on points earned when staying at a Hilton family hotel, as well as other benefits.

You need to have a Hilton HHonors accout first for this promo. If you don’t have one, then sign up here first, then come back and sign up for the promo.

$100 Bonus Promotion from OptionsXpress

OptionsXpress brokerage has a $100 bonus promotion going on now where you can get a $100 bonus when opening a new account with them. To qualify for the bonus you need to follow these steps:

• Open an OptionsXpress account before 12/31/2011 by clicking on the following link: Learn how you can get $100 when you open up a new optionsXpress account.
• Make an initial deposit of at least $500
• Keep an average account balance of $500 for six months
• Execute 3 trades within 12 months of opening your account
• The $100 credit will be posted to your account within 30 days of meeting the terms and conditions of the offer
• The $100 bonus will be deposited into the new optionsXpress account within one month after meeting the terms and conditions of this offer

OptionsXpress has a flat stock commission of $9.95 per share and an options commission of $1.25 per contract ($12.95 minimun). OptionsXpress’ commission used to be $14.95 per trade, so they have recently lowered their commissions to become more competitive. They also have a very intuitive user interface and smart phone apps for iPhone and Android so you can trade from anywhere.

Another thing to note is that OptionsXpress is merging with Charles Schwab so you don’t have to worry about the long term viability of the company as they will be folded under a very powerful brokerage house.

I use my OptionsXpress account for options trading since their commissions are so competitive. I have never really had any issues with them. Anytime I need a higher level of options trading access, I call them up and they add it immediately. Like every other discount broker, they offer a free ACH feature where you can transfer money to and from a linked account. No more sending in checks and waiting for your money to be deposited.

If you are looking to open a new brokerage account and wouldn’t mind an extra $100 in your account then Learn how you can get $100 when you open up a new optionsXpress account.

Tradeking Bonus – $50 For New Accounts April 2011

Tradeking has started up another refer a friend bonus. This time it is a $50 bonus with a new account. Unfortuently the $100 refer a friend bonus has expired, but $50 is nothing to ignore if you are looking to open a new brokerage account.

To qualify for the bonus, here is what you need to do:

1. Send a $50 TradeKing Referral To:
2. Your Email Address:(valid email required)

 

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(Budgetcents.net Pledge: your email will not be used for anything other than generating a referral to you)

2) Using the link in the email, open a Tradeking account
3) Deposit at least $1000 into the account within 30 days of opening
4) Make one trade in your account within 180 days of opening the account

Your bonus will post to your account shortly after your first trade. There are a couple things to note on this promotion. You need to keep the $1000 in your account for a minimum of 180 days. The referral bonus must also stay in the account for 180 days.

One of the great things about this deal is that once you open an account, you can immediately start referring your friends. They will get a $50 bonus as well as you for referring them. According to their site, there is no limit to the number of referral bonuses you can receive for referring your friends.

I am a loyal Tradeking user and have switched back to using them for all my trading since Zecco.com increased their trading commissions. I never really liked Zecco’s interface, but used them as they were cheaper. Well now that they have raised their commissions, I am back to using Tradeking.

If you want more detail on Tradeking’s service, take a look at my Tradeking Review

Ally Bank to Offer eCheck Deposit

Great news for you Ally Bank cutomers. I received an email this morning informing me that they will be phasing this in for customers through 2011. According to the email, they will be emailing customers and letting them know when they will have access to this feature.

For those of you unaware of what eCheck deposit is, it is a way for you to deposit checks into your Ally Bank account using a scanner connected to your PC. No more mailing in checks or depositing checks at a local bank. I currently use this feature with my credit union, but I can’t wait to get access to do this on my Ally bank accounts, so that I can drop the credit union for good!

With no minimums, ATM fees rebates, a decent interest rate and now eCheck deposit, do you really need a local bank? As the large banks remove their free checking accounts, reduce debit card purchase limits, kill you with ATM fees and offer you little to no interest, switching to a totally online bank like Ally Bank is pretty much a no brainer.

They have a great product selection based on your needs. But best of all they have 24/7 customer service. Yes, this is still a bank I am talking about! Check out the Ally Bank Site for more details.

Tradeking Extends $100 Bonus

Tradeking has extended their $100 new account bonus an extra two weeks until April 14th. So if you are looking to open a new brokerage account and would like an extra $100 bonus to do so, then Tradeking may be for you. Details on the bonus here. Also note that if you open your account, you can refer others and receive a $100 bonus when your friends sign up.

For those of you that are not familiar with Tradeking they are a discount broker with a low commission of only $4.95 per stock trade. They also recently have adjusted their options trading prices to be more competitive as well. If you purchase only 8 contracts you only pay the $4.95 base commission plus $.65 per contract, if you buy over 8 contracts then you pay a base of $8.95 plus $.15 per contract. As you can see, if you purchase many contracts at one time Tradeking’s options pricing tier can save you hundreds of dollars over many purchases.

I am a loyal Tradeking user and have moved most of my stuff from Zecco after their removal of their free monthly trades. As the market turns around and the economy starts to pick up, I am hoping that Tradeking will get my retirement moving even faster in the right direction!

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