SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE LATEST POSTS VIA EMAIL!Alliant Credit Union Savings Still at 2%
March 10, 2010
If you are still looking for a high yield savings account that hasn’t had a rate drop in over 3 months, then you may consider Alliant Credit Union. Their Savings account is still sitting at 2% APY for the past 3 months without a drop. To get the 2% you must maintain a balance on $100 or more in the account
Their checking account is also at a decent 1.75%. To get the 1.75% you need to opt out of paper statements and have at least one monthly electronic deposit. They have an ACH feature that allows you to push and pull money to other linked accounts, which makes moving money around very painless.
Alliant is more of a cutting edge credit union, meaning they have features and benefits that other credit unions don’t. My favorite is the e-Deposit Plus. This allows you to deposit checks into your account by using a scanner. No more trips to the bank to deposit checks. Since Alliant is not located where I live, having an ATM, Checks and free online bill pay for taking money out of my account and direct deposit and e-Deposit Plus to put money back in, I never need to even go to the branch.
They don’t offer any debit rewards programs like other banks, but the high interest rates alone make up for that as you know most of those debit programs conversion rates are terrible.
Alliant Credit Union is based out of Chicago. To join you must be a member of a qualifying organization. A $25 one time membership to the National PTA is good enough to get you in which is how most people are allowed to join that don’t live or work in the Chicago area.
I have had a checking, savings, HELOC and HSA with Alliant for over 2 years now and use them as my main bank. They have excellent customer service and are always competitive with their rates. IF you have had it with banks that just offer teaser rates, or are tired of jumping through hoops in reward checking accounts to qualify for the high APY, you may take a look at Alliant Credit Union for your banking needs
Fidelity.com Cuts Trading Commissions To $7.95
February 2, 2010
That picture says it all. Starting February 3rd, Fidelity.com has slashed their trading rates down to $7.95 for stock and options trades. Prior to this you fell either into the Silver, Bronze or Gold groups based on trading history and dollars on deposit with them, and even in that case the best tier received trades for $9.95.
This is huge when you compare them to other full service brokers. And even better when you line them up against discount brokers. I imagine that this will help Fidelity pull in a large amount of new clients. I have a Fidelity account but didn’t use them much for trading since I was in the $14.95 / trade tier. And with my measly little investments, a $28 charge to buy and sell one commodity was really cutting into my bottom line. Their new pricing cuts that in half.
Sure you can still pay less at some other discount brokers such as Optionshouse.com where it is only $2.95 / trade, but when you look at all the features Fidelity has, it is going to be a tough matchup. Look for new brokerage account bonuses to pop up all over the place to keep Fidelity from stealing their potential customers.
Incredible Bank 2.02% High Yield Checking Account
February 1, 2010
Incredible Bank, a division of River Valley Bank, is offering a high yield checking account with a pretty decent 2.02% APY for balances up to $250,000.
There are no minimum balances required to earn the 2.02% APY, but they do require that you open your account with a minimum of $1000.
This account is set up as an electronic checking accounts similiar to ING’s Electric Orange Account where you do not receive paper checks. All payments can be done with their free online bill pay. A paper check is generated to anyone that cannot receive electronic payments, but there is no check book issued to you. It all has to be done online.
When you open an account you will receive an ATM card. Incredible Bank also rebates you the ATM surchages on the firs 3 ATM usages per day.This is pretty good since I don’t use the ATM more than 3 times a week!
They also have an ACH feature where you can link other accounts to them so you can transfer money in and out of your high yield checking account. From what I have read their transfers only take 1 day, which is extremely fast compared to other online banks. Incredible Bank, a division of River Valley Bank based in Michigan has been FCID insured since 1967. (FDIC Certificate # 19772)
If you can handle not having a paper check book, this account is a pretty good deal. Most high yield checking accounts force you to use your debit card so many times a month to qualify for the high interest and ATM rebates, but here you get it all for free. There is some speculation that this is a teaser rate which they will lower once enough people sign up. Their website does not refer to the 2.02% as anything other than their current fixed rate, but you may want to keep that in mind before you decide to jump on board.
Check out IncredibleBank.com for more details on the account.
Free HTC Drois Eris Cell Phone From Wirefly.com
January 22, 2010
Until midnight on Sunday you can score a free HTC Drois Eris from Wirefily.com when you sign up for a new Verizon Wireless account. This offer is also available to those that have Verizon that upgrade to a Family Plan or Add a New line to their account with a 2-year agreement.
Considering that the Droid will cost you $80 after rebate going through VerizonWirless.com this seems to be a pretty good deal if you are in the market for a smartphone. The HTC Driod Eris phone runs Google’s new Android operating system. You also have access to the Andriod Applications store where you can purchase new apps for the phone.
Get more details on the Free Motorola Droid here.
Happy Holidays
December 25, 2009
From all of us here at BudgetCents.net, we want to wish everyone and their families a Happy Holidays!
Hopefully this coming year as the economy turns around there will be more exciting bonus and money saving deals!
Free Movie Rental from Amazon.com
December 24, 2009
Amazon.com is giving every one a Free Movie Rental
Click the link above and use the code AVODGIFT. This code is good for up to $4. This will get you a free movie rental but can also be used to discount the price of buying a movie. This is only available for their video on demand service. Amazon’s Video On Demand allows you to watch rented or purchased movies on your PC. You can also watch them on a TV if you have a networked Xbox 360 or a Roku Player
I use my Xbox 360 to rent movies from Amazon quite a bit and love not having to go to the video store!! Just don’t get addicted to it like I am. I believe that is why they are offering the free code!
