tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40020613071701158082024-02-20T06:56:57.242-05:00My Financial OutlookA blog where those who share an interest in finance can share their ideasCheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-70718164491240647482007-08-24T18:40:00.000-05:002007-08-24T18:59:09.297-05:00AOR (app-o-rama) with Business Credit CardsIn the past few weeks I have applied for 3 business cards, one through Advanta ($10k credit line, but only $5k can be used for balance trasnfers), Bank of America ($20k credit limit, but only $10k can be used for balance transfers, and Chase ($20k credit limit/balance transfer limit). Among these 3 cards I took out respectively $4500, $10000, and $17500, so a total of $32000, which I have deposited into a high yeild savings account offering 5.30%. All of these balance transfers carry a 0% APR for 12 months, except for the Advanata card which is for 15 months. Each card had a 3% balance trasfer fee capped at $75 except for the Advanta card. Overall I am aiming to make nearly $130/month. This will vary with the min payments that are due for the cards, but that shouldn't change my initial earning by much. Bad part is that this income will have to be reported on my taxes, but hopefully my CPA will suggest some things that I can consider to be deductible.<br /><br />An advantage to using business cards is that the credit line is not reported to credit agencies, thus it hardly effects one's scores. The main credit hit takes place when applying for the card. Hopefully the impact is not much, but then again I am not looking to make a major purchase or finance anything in the near future.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-24953102439632156452007-08-19T14:50:00.000-05:002007-08-19T14:58:23.737-05:00Finally Refinanced!As mentioned before I went through Bank of America to refinance my home mortgage. The whole process was wonderful and easy! I looked into Bank of America after coming across an ad on their site. I applied, was instantly approved, and the next day a rep called me. For about 3 days the rep and I went back and forth as I was trying to negotiate a good rate. I used examples of rates that other web sites/banks had offered me. Eventually I got a rate I was looking for. For the next process, during the next 2 weeks I was working with another rep who worked with me to get my home insurance information, payoff statements for my current mortgage, and anything else needed. My current mortgage company was not cooperating, which I sort of expected since they were not timely in providing a payoff statement. Luckily I could get this from their web site. Right before closing, the 2nd rep passed my mortgage info to the underwriter who approved everything. In order to close within the 30 days, Bank of America sent me all of my documents via FedEx overnight. I went to a local Bank of America branch, signed the documents, had the needed documents notarized, and then sent everything back via a prepaid FedEx overnight envelope. All communication was done via email and a few phone calls. With emails I would get an immediate response or a response within an hour. Not bad. Overall this has been a good experience.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-82367582554803278602007-08-06T21:23:00.000-05:002007-08-06T21:30:53.323-05:00$19.99/month Service Plan for A/C, Heater, and Water HeaterThe other day my dad was telling me about a service plan that my local utility offers which covers the a/c, water heater, and heater in one's home. My father has has this plan, which is added to his monthly gas and electric bill, but he was suggesting that i should maybe get it as well. This got me thinking whether or not if this was actually worth it. Instead maybe I should save that $20 and put it into a high yield savings account as an emergency fund in case if anything went wrong with my a/c, water heater, or heater. Annually this is roughly $240 that I could save or that I could pay a company. The gas and electric company's service contract covers pretty much anything that happens to any of the mentioned equipment. This does sound like a tempting deal, especially since installation, labor, or parts for these items could be costly, but then again my house isn't too old yet either. I am still debating this issue, but if I do decide to get this service contract, I won't sign up for it until it is a little closer to the winter months.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-43164967042778652002007-08-06T16:09:00.000-05:002007-08-06T16:14:29.259-05:00Starbucks at Target CouponI came across a coupon for a Buying 1 Grande size Starbucks beverage and getting another free when I was checking out this site: http://afullcup.com/upload/cmps_index.php?page=coupon_generator<br /><br />The coupon is currently the eighth coupon on the list. I know for a financial related blog it may be contradictory for me to promote buying beverages at Starbucks, especially since their prices just went up, but hey at least your wallet will thank you when you are craving a Starbucks drink. Plus it may come in handy if you are with someone and you both want a beverage from Starbucks. Either treat the other person or split the total cost.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-35537001967507878012007-08-02T15:00:00.000-05:002007-08-02T15:07:42.417-05:00Insurance UpdateYesterday my insurance agent's secretary emailed me the application that I had to sign for my auto and home insurance policies. I immediately read over the documents and signed what needed to be signed. The bad part was that the agent wanted the original signed documents and I couldn't just email or fax them back. This morning I stopped by my agent's office and dropped my paper work off as well. Actually I really like the insurance company that I am working with and the agent is great! In the past when I was under my parent's policy, this agent has always provided great service and rates. Since I am refinancing my mortgage as well, the mortgage company needs proof that I have gotten the new insurance, so my agent's secretary is supposed to fax the bank a copy with documents to verify my new policy. I will probably call my mortgage agent to ensure that she received the documents. Another big thing in saving some money on my insurance was that if I pay the costs for my automobile insurance upfront rather than in quarterly installments, I save roughly $150. I was considering on paying them quarterly, but keep the reserved funds in one of my online bank accounts that offer a high interest, but in the end this would not save me money. Anyways I am paying for to automobile policy upfront.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-5430368517465119632007-07-31T23:56:00.000-05:002007-08-01T00:07:12.058-05:00Insurance and RefinancingSince I was already looking to change insurance companies for my home insurance, I figured why not look into refinancing my home loans since now the rates aren't bad and plus I can bet on getting a lower rate than I currently have. When I bought my house, not many companies were looking to offer me a mortgage. Granted my salary was no where near than what it is today, but I guess companies thought I would be a risk. In the end I ended getting 2 loans, one 80% and the other being a 10% loan to avoid and PMI fees. These mortgages were 5 year ARMS and at the time I really wanted to buy the house. Plus the mortgage broker I went through gave me a decent monthly payment amount, which I could manage. One mortgage had a rate of 8.125% and 11%. Plus my monthly payments for one of the mortgages was creating negative amortization (I think that is the term) since I was paying below the payment option that covered just the interest. I shopped around for rates and ended up with a good deal with Bank of America. I am looking to close sometime around next week. So far the process has been very smooth and easy. Everything so far has been done through phone calls, email, or by faxes. I got a rate of 6.25%, only have to pay $2500 for closing costs, and do not have to pay any points. Since I am also changing home insurance companies this was perfect timing for me to change my mortgage company as well. My monthly payments have increased a little, but at least now I will not have to face any negative amortization, which could have been costly down the road. Overall I am happy with the process and will post an update once the refinancing has been completed.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-1800363081395599422007-07-31T23:40:00.000-05:002007-07-31T23:55:40.034-05:00GolfBack around March I changed positions with my current employer and have been part of a new team. Majority of my fellow coworkers on my team regularly play golf every Friday mornings. A lot of coworkers in the company actually participate in this ritual, but 80% of the coworkers on my team participate. This soon got me thinking that maybe I should consider playing a round of golf with my coworkers since it would in a way be a physical activity, which allows one to stay healthy, and also allows social interaction with my coworkers when not at the office.<br /><br />I decided to go ahead and look into get a golf set and practice a bit before playing a game with my coworkers. A contractor on my team actually makes custom golf sets. He approached me about this and mentioned he won't charge me anything except for the material. This was wonderful since I a tad below average height and people have been saying I may need a custom golf set. After comparing prices of a decent golf set, which typically with a bag and irons was around $130, I decided that it was well worth the $200 to get a set that is custom and made from material that will last. This whole process took at most 2 weeks from ordering the set till when my coworker gave me my whole set, which was custom made. The website we ordered the material from actually badly messed up my order, but I ended up getting better iron heads and was billed only $30....not bad at all!<br /><br />To get used to a swing, I went to a local golf course that also has a driving range. A medium size bucket of golf balls cost $7.50. As far as quantity there is enough balls to surely keep me busy until I get tired. After 4 visits to the driving range I played my first 18 hole round of golf with my coworkers. Granted playing the actual game is totally different than hitting balls at the range, but it was surely a great experience. My coworkers were helping me and encouraging me as well. I didn't have a putter yet, but one of my coworkers even lent me his until i got my own putter. The 18 hole round cost me about $30, but in the end I think it was well worth it especially since I now have a better bond with my coworkers, I can now participate and understand conversation in regard to golf, and you see a different side of your coworkers when not in the office building.<br /><br />Sure the $30 may seem like a lot at first, but majority of my coworkers do not eat out for lunch everyday, so I think of the moving being saved there goes toward the round of golf with the coworkers. <br /><br />Eventually I paid regular price of the the expected $170 and even got my father a golf set. We know both go to the golf range together, which has also allowed me to have more father-son time with my dad. I haven't taken my dad out to play on the course yet, but I guess after taking him to the range 2 more time, he will be good to go.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-2413879796035246412007-07-11T15:00:00.000-05:002007-07-11T15:14:22.123-05:00Home Depot - Storm DoorTwo weeks ago on the local news broadcast there was a report on a technique known as key bumping, which criminals use to break into a house. The report mentioned that You Tube has videos on how to perform this technique. I watched various movies on You Tube and wow this is crazy!!! The process of key bumping is cheap, fast, and easy! Very creepy!!! Since that report I considered looking into a storm door for my main door. I went to Lowes and Home Depot, but Lowes seem to be pricey at first. Thus, I went to Home Depot. The problem with Home Depot is that that if they are performing the installation they charge $25 for a required measurement session. They also offer a $75 mail in rebate for installation, so the deal looked good to me. They had a storm door which looked well built and was around $210. I figured $210 plus the $150 installation minus the $75 rebate for a total of $285 was well worth it for an extra piece of mind. After the measurements were taken I went back to Home Depot, since they do not disclose the information over the phone, which is odd. I went to the store, but wow did Home Depot try to rape me with the price. They said my door needed some custom work to be installed as well as a custom sized door would have to be ordered. The grand total the sales rep gave me was $675!!! I was shocked and pissed off. The rep at first when I went to the store said the total should be around $350 at most and he even wrote this down on this card for me. I figured that isn't too bad, but $675 is way too much for a storm door at the moment. Knock on wood I luckily live in a pretty safe area, but I still wanted to eventually get a storm door. Anyways, I canceled my order with Home Depot and argued to get my $25 measurement fee back as well. I guess I will have to shop around even more or find a reputable contractor. I never knew a storm door would cost that much. Oh well. I guess on the bright side it saved me some money. Plus I guess this is part of the whole home owner experience.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-50524236453376572952007-07-11T14:51:00.000-05:002007-07-11T15:00:08.248-05:00Home and Car InsuranceSo my home insurance policy with the current insurance company is about to expire in August. For now I have still been under my father's automobile insurance policy which is with another provider. I figured now since I am 24 I should look into getting my own car insurance policy as well as see if I can get a discount if I was to get my home insurance policy through the same insurance company. Long story short I will save roughly $150 on home insurance and my auto insurance is the cheapest that anyone else has quoted. Knock on wood I have a clean driving record, which helped. I did shop around but staying with the same company who has provided my auto insurance since I was driving greatly helped me save some money. Plus you can't beat their service, which is really worth it.<br /><br />All in all other finances are the same for the most part, but with some slight increase in savings. Recently I have done some decorating around the house with the help of my girlfriend. She actually has been finding me some great deals on various items such as curtains and a large mirror.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-63578106139552848172007-07-02T16:50:00.001-05:002007-07-02T17:24:27.499-05:00Updates - Cell Phone, Electric Rate Hike, GolfYes, I know it has been a long while since I last posted. Overall there have been some minor changes since my last post. My spending has remained to be the same overall. I have not really splurged on anything in particular, except for a few gifts for my parents (since I hardly ever got them anything before). I did receive a minor salary increase, which surely is not bad. My savings is slowly but steadily growing as well, which is what I love to see.<br /><br /> I used to have a Sprint family plan with multiple cell phone lines, but I have finally consolidated to just one line, which is only $30/month before discounts. I analyzed my past cell phone usage and now see that ever since graduating from undergrad I do not use my cell phone as much. At home I have a VoIP line and at work I can casually use the desk phone when needed. From my employer I have a Verizon Blackberry, which gets free Verizon mobile to mobile calling, so I use tjat to call my friends who have Verizon. To help out I also signed up with Grand Central for a free phone number, which can then forward calls and even screen calls. I got Sprint to offer me free "Sprint to Home" service, which allows free calls between my cell phone and a designated "home number". In this case my Grand Central number is my "home" number. Now I can freely distribute a number when needed. If I get any annoying calls I can black the caller or block any callers whose name or number show up as private or unavailable on caller id. These callers can also be screened.<br /><br />Electricity rates in MD have gone up significantly and I have been trying to adjust with this change. I used to be a huge advocate for using the air conditioning, but now ever since having my own place I watch my a/c usage. So far I have greatly limited my use to mainly having the a/c on only when I have guests over, which is not too often, thus helping ease the transition to the increased electricity rates. Most of the bulbs in my house are already the CFL bulbs. One major saver on electricity was when I switched from having a desktop running 24x7 to having the laptop run instead. I mainly have a computer on for server related functions, plus I am a computer nerd, but by switching my server related functions to a laptop I have noticed nearly a $30 drop in my electricity bill. To fight the heat I have purchased 3 $35 tower fans from Wal-Mart, which actually work great. They even came with their own remotes. The fans have helped keep the temperature near comfortable levels throughout the house.<br /><br />Recently a lot of my college friends have been getting engaged, so I have been busy attending these events and even buying gifts for such events. I actually need some good ideas on such gifts.<br /> Since March I have been part of a new department within my employer. It is still IT related, but a different side of IT than before. My coworkers love playing golf and most of them play golf every Friday morning. Best part is on Fridays when they do go to play golf they come in around 9:30, which is normally after eating breakfast after the game, but yet they leave around 3:30pm, and my manager is fine with it as long as everyone gets their work completed. Due to this I figured I would learn to play golf and even go golfing with my coworkers. This is in a ways a social event since I can socialize with my coworkers as well as I can improve on my golf skills. I ended up buying a custom built golf set, which cost me $120 just for irons. The website that my coworker recommended I order the golf equipment from totally messed up my order, thus I got nearly a 50% discount. I gotta admit though that even if the price still seems to be high, I really do like these clubs. Granted these are only an iron set as well as a driver, but I can always buy other clubs later. Plus I figured the $120 "investment" is worth the socializing time with my coworkers. Hopefully this will help build a stronger relationship and help me advance in my career path. The driving range I go to costs roughly $10 for a huge bucket of balls. A 9 hole game is around $20. Overall this isn't too bad. I guess it makes up for not eating out for lunch. I played my first 18 hole golf game 2 weeks ago and it was great. I am surely not the next Tiger Woods, but it was amazing to see that so many of my coworkers actually golf. I was even surprised to see a fee of them, but yet was glad to see them there.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-87130738763545530532007-05-17T08:47:00.000-05:002007-05-17T09:09:06.721-05:00Best Savings/Checking Account ComboMaybe people may already know this, but I am a sucker for playing the rate chase game when it comes to banking. I pretty much have an open account with majority of the online banks, as long as there is no monthly fee or minimum balance requirement. The problem is that majority of the online banks offer accounts, which have ATM access, but none of the fee free ATM's are near me or these ATM's do not accept deposits. I am trying to have my main savings and checking account at one bank, rather than having to transfer funds back and forth. The problem is that with the banks that do offer a high yield savings account they do not offer a checking account or vice versa. Another issue is that many of these high yield savings accounts are in fact money market accounts or have a monthly withdrawal limit.<br /><br />Overall ING Orange Checking seems to offer the best rate (4.00% - lowest of the tiered rates offered) for a checking account, nor is there a monthly fee or minimum balance requirement. Plus this ING account offers a fee free ATM card that can be used for withdrawals at one of their many ATM locations nationwide. ING is part of the Allpoint ATM network. As far a savings account rate, the rate that ING offers for savings account is only 4.50%, which is not as good as many of today's online banks that offer rates between 5.00-6.00%.<br /><br />Last month I learned about about Bank of America's affinity accounts with AAA and NEA, which offer high yield money market accounts. The rates have been around 5.07% or more. These rates are reevaluated every week, thus they change a tad every so often. Since my undergrad days I have had a free checking account with Bank of America, which I mainly used to deposit checks to and then transfer the funds to my online bank account. I figured if I opened one of these affinity accounts I could keep majority of my money with one bank now. In this case though I would loose out on a high yield checking account. Now my problem is should I go with a bank that offers a money market account with a high yield, but hardly anything for checking, or do I go with ING who offers an okay savings account rate, but higher than normal checking account rate?<br /><br />For now I am using ING mainly for the checking, but using Bank of America for the money market account. Let me know your thoughts.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-46987585424926746392007-05-17T08:43:00.000-05:002007-05-17T08:47:53.839-05:00So I Have Not Kept UpI just finished my last final for the Spring semester of my MBA classes, so now I will surely have more time for the next several weeks until when the summer semester starts. I will surely try to keep up with the blog this time. By being a daily reader of various other financial blogs it gave me some encouragement to continue blogging. On that note, I will continue my blogging!Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-61242791021013994902007-05-03T07:21:00.000-05:002007-05-03T07:29:47.582-05:00Banking - Tackling Interest Earned as Being TaxedI have been following various forums in regard to what is the best apr being offered by online banks. Like many others I also play the whole rate chasing game, where you dump your money into a bank account that currently offers the highest apr. I actually have made a decent amount by utilizing this strategy. Overall I'd like to one day see a bank where I get both the highest savings and checking account apr's, but until then I am currently utilizing ING's Orange Checking and a Bank of America Affinity money market account.<br /><br />The one disadvantage I see with playing the rate chasing game is that the interest earned is taxable. How do you guys go about decreasing the amount taxed, more specifically do you guys deduct anything? One CPA who I talked to earlier mentioned that I could deduct the expenses related to making this money. For example I could deduct my cable internet costs, my computer's value, etc. Has anyone gone about making such deductions when rate chasing?Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-33257793287465383042007-05-01T12:06:00.000-05:002007-05-01T12:24:03.756-05:00Back and DedicatedSo I kind of neglected the idea of having a blog. I was in a way questioning whether to still continue it or not and if it is going to help anyone. Pretty much I figured it is a good way for me to voice my ideas and if it helps anyone that will be great.<br /><br />As far as new things overall my savings account looks much better. This is partially due to my tax refund as well as my annual bonus from my employer. I decided to open up a MMA with Bank of America. I can receiving the special intro rates for AAA members (at least for now my AAA was finally worth it to an extent). I had a huge problem with GMAC Bank when I went to transfer money from my account with GMAC to BoA. I wrote myself a $500 check just to try my new BoA MMA. The deposit went through properly, but GMAC Bank withdrew the check twice. For 4 days I lost $500. GMAC Bank admitted to the mistake and credited my account back along with a credit for lost interest. This still left a bad taste in my mouth in regard to GMAC Bank. Their error caused them to "steal'" my money and not say anything in regard to it, until I contacted their customer support line.<br /><br />Recently I was looking to get into playing some golf. I got some clubs from a coworker for only $20, but I still need a bag, which I will worry about later once I get all of his clubs. Last week I decided that my reel mower was a pain to use and that I need a cheap gas push mower. I placed an ad on Craigslist for my reel mower and within 30 mins I got several emails from interested parties. The next day I showed the reel mower to a person who was interested and they purchased the mower from me for $40. Not bad since I bought it last year for only $25 from another guy who posted the reel mower on Craigslist. I don't want to pay someone $15-$25/month to cut my grass so this further justified my thinking of getting a gas mower. WalMart has a $109 gas lawn mower that is very basic but it uses a Briggs and Stratton motor. My dad had a Briggs and Stratton lawn mower that lasted 20 years, so I trust their motors. The lawn mower I bought also hardly takes any space, which is perfect when storing it.<br /><br />Overall these are the most recent financial changes.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-41665780671599354802007-03-14T22:13:00.000-05:002007-03-14T22:38:12.245-05:00Gas and Electric BillToday I logged into my utility provider's online access site to check what my monthly utility bill is and wow did my jaw drop. My bill this month is for $190, of the $70 was from electric use and the rest is from gas use. My electric use was average compared to my past bills, but my heating bill was very high. I think this is due to the fact that in February the average temperature was pretty low compared to earlier winter months. I figured I would look at how my usage is. Mainly most of my electric usage is from a desktop pc I have running 24x7, then after work or school when I come home I will watch some TV, get on the laptop, or both, then the rest of my usage is mainly from using the microwave for breakfast, the stove for food, then the lights when I am home, and that is pretty much it. As far as gas usage that is mainly from the water heater and the heating system. I keep my showers no more than 10 minutes if that, then I have a pilot light running for the fireplace, and that is all. I am trying to think of ways to cut my costs. I know I should start with that server desktop I have on 24x7. I mainly use that to remote into when I am at work, school, or at someone's house. I am considering to switch that to a laptop based system. Actually I am working on this right now. I already have CLF bulbs all through the house. Besides that I do not see where else I can save money. I already use a programmable thermostat, which is always set at 63 degree f. Maybe during the day I should have lowered the setting even further? That is pretty much all of my ideas.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-73928551818080211912007-03-13T20:08:00.000-05:002007-03-13T20:23:10.865-05:00Another Rebate, Spending, New Car or Used CarI got a $20 rebate in the mail today from Netgear, which I submitted the forms for back in mid December. This rebate also had some problems as well from the rebate issuer. They claimed I didn't send all of the required items, when I in fact did. Anyways I got the rebate.<br /><br />Overall I have decreased my spending. This is partially due to the fast that I have already bought most of what I wanted for my house. I do not have everything in the world yet, but I have enough to have a simple and somewhat furnished house. Luckily I do not have any debts or outstanding credit card balances, just a mortgage. The next big thing I am trying to save up for is a wedding ring for my girlfriend and as well as a wedding.<br /><br />Today I noticed that my neighbor just got a new Honda CRV. He traded in his Jeep Liberty, which was constantly giving him problems. He got the EX version, which is surely nice, but it got me wondering, why spend so much for a depreciating asset? When I graduated from undergrad I wanted to buy a new car too, but I ended up getting a used late model Toyota coupe. I partially wanted a coupe just since everyone has told me enjoy a coupe before you have kids and I also wanted something sporty. Anyways I got a good deal and it only had 35k miles. I love the car and have not had any problems. Best of all it looks flawless. My dad has taught me to not consider a new car unless I do not mind it's value depreciating. I figured if my neighbor looked around he could have gotten a good deal on a used CRV, but most likely it wouldn't have been the latest generation design. I know it is a personal preference. Overall I think everyone should look at or consider a used car before buying a new car.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-71571362967887926172007-03-12T20:41:00.000-05:002007-03-12T20:49:41.479-05:00Another Rebate and On Hold With SprintGood news is today I got a $30 Radio Shack mail in rebate for a Logitech Wireless Keyboard and mouse.<br /><br />Today I contacted Sprint in order to get a replacement Motorola RAZR, since the one I got for my dad was not holding a charge for a long period. My parents were out of contract on their cell phone lines with Sprint and they have had their current phones for over 2 years. I ended up calling Sprint and saying I was going to leave them since Verizon and Cingular are offering the RAZR for $25 or even free. The retention rep offered 2 Motorola RAZR's for $50, which was a good deal for a full featured phone, so I went with this deal. I wanted my parents to have a feature rich phone that was also small and easy to use. Another advantage is that this phone has a built in mp3 player with removable memory, which would come in handy when my parents do not have their IPods with them, but want to listen to music. I was on hold for roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes, but I finally got a rep who helped me. The rep is sending out a new RAZR replacement phone as cell as a prepaid mailer to use when sending the defective phone back. The wait time was very long, but I guess in the end it will pay off since my dad will have a phone that actually maintains a charge.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-54034240655028969262007-03-11T20:41:00.000-05:002007-03-11T20:45:07.380-05:00Taxes - Now Need Receipt/Proof of DonationsI heard from my CPA as well as others online that the IRS will now require people to have some type of proof or receipt for cash donations. This was brought to my attention by my CPA, since I normally make a once a month donation to the place I go to pray.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-47089435233706818852007-03-11T20:20:00.000-05:002007-03-11T20:40:19.461-05:00End of Citi Dividends 5% Cash BackAs I mentioned before I had a MasterCard and an American Express Citi Dividends Platinum Card. Both of these cards offered 5% cash back on grocery, gas, and pharmaceutical purchases. The one thing I liked about the American Express card is that it offered the price protection feature that American Express used to offer on majority of their cards. With this is mind, I closed my MasterCard card and had it's credit line transferred to my American Express' card. I think I will continue to carry the Citi Dividends American Express card in my wallet. Also as mentioned earlier, I am still considering whether or not to replace the Discover 5% cash back card for gas and auto mechanic shop purchases. Recently I also noticed that more and more restaurants are starting to not accept Discover credit cards. This problem has become annoying at times when trying to use my Discover Restaurant card that gives 5% cash back on restaurant purchases. Luckily I normally carry at least 3 to 4 credit cards on me.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-47186520905086544132007-03-11T12:32:00.000-05:002007-03-11T12:40:20.064-05:00TipsFriday evening I attended a happy hour which was in honor for a coworker who was leaving the company to run a sushi restraurant and a fast food franchise. A table in the pub cleared, so some co workers and I went to sit at the table. We noticed that the bill was on the table for the previous 2 people who were sitting at the table. Their bill was for $70, but they only left the waitress a $4 tip. This got me wonderering, why would people leave such a low tip, are they being fruggle, was the service bad, or are they just being cheap. The people who the bill was for had a decently prived wine bottle, had some cigars, and other various drinks. Just from that I figured they must not be that cheap. A coworker who I was sitting with, had a friend of his sit with us as well. His friend saw the bill and pretty said "what the heck, only a $4 tip, that is messed up". His dsguist in the tip led him to change the tip and total amount, which I thought was nice but then again the pub might be blamed for such a false action, which is bad. This friend of my coworkers, made the tip to be $24 and added a few strokes to make the total $94. He meant to do this to be nice, but then again when the previous customers check their credit card bill, they may fight the charge. Anyways though I was wondering what do other fruggle people think a good tip amount should be?Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-38928191109953585902007-03-11T12:30:00.000-05:002007-03-11T12:32:54.042-05:00State Tax ReturnYestreday in the mail I recieved my state tax return, which was around $500. I can't believe how fast it came, especially since I just had my account e-file my taxes on Tuesday when I went to see her to go over my taxes. Wow....4 days is not bad!!! I was excited about that. I deposited the check and will have it transferred into my savings account.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-52055653312008481642007-03-10T01:15:00.000-05:002007-03-10T01:21:13.670-05:00Doc's No Show FeeI forgot to mention this, but on Thursday my dad got a letter in the mail which was addressed in my name and from the ophthalmologist who I used to go to. I was supposed to go see this doctor until I found out he does not accept my insurance. Originally I did make an appointment, which gave me time to find out whether or not my insurance would cover any expenses if I was to go see him. Apparently my insurance will not cover the bill, so I wanted to cancel my appointment. A day before the appointment, I went ahead and canceled the appointment. This letter that recently was in the mail was in regard to a $50 no show fee for the doctor. I read the letter and thought what the heck, I did in fact cancel my appointment. So on Friday I called the doctor's office and talked to a rep who helped straighten out this mess. Sure $50 may not seem like much, but then again I did not do anything where I was be at fault, so why give away my $50. Again every penny counts. I understand why doctors have this policy, but they should make sure that whoever handles their appointments, know what they are doing.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-23239301813054743012007-03-09T23:33:00.000-05:002007-03-09T23:41:54.598-05:00ING Orange Checking Debit CardToday I had a good opportunity to use my ING Orange Checking Debit card and as expected it worked as it should. Still still this day my employer has not deposited my paycheck into my ING Orange Checking account. This has been the second pay period where the direct deposit did not go through since the requested change. Hopefully by my next pay period the paycheck will be deposited into my ING Orange checking account.<br /><br />An another note my eBay stock went down today, but my shares of AMD went up. My other investment accounts did well though, so I am not complaining, nor did I invest much into the Zecco stock account I have.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-76719212125829678292007-03-08T21:13:00.000-05:002007-03-08T21:43:51.133-05:00AAA, Mail in Rebate, New Job, Taxes, StocksToday I received my reimbursement check from AAA which was for the car battery and fuse issues, which I posted about earlier.<br /><br />Also in the mail I got a postcard from Kensington in regard to a mail in rebate. They stated that the product I purchased was not within the purchased time frame, when in fact it was. I always keep photocopies of my rebates, so I referred to that and contacted the toll free line. The rep who I spoke with said she will re-evaluate my rebate and I check it's status online within 72 hours.<br /><br />I officially start my new work position on Monday, but was told I could use today and Friday as transitioning days. Thus, today I went to report to my new job and I loved it. I am working more in the networking/server field now. The first few days will be spent getting acclimated to the job.<br /><br /><br />I forgot to post this, but on Tuesday I went to see my CPA in regard to my taxes for 2006. I must say she is a great accountant who is friendly, affordable, knowledgeable, and knows where to save money. I was referred to her from my Dad's coworker. For everything related she charged me $90, which was well worth it. I mostly chose to go to a CPA for my taxes this time, just since I now am a homeowner, which changes some things now. Overall I am to get a few thousand dollars back from the federal and my state government.<br /><br />Today I also got back into investing in stocks through an online broker. I am currently using Zecco.com, which provides up to 40 free trades/month. For now I do not think I will be a hardcore trader, so 40 trades should be fine for me. I used to follow the market heavily when I turned 18 and opened my first brokerage account, but soon after once I was working and making more money, I opened a Roth IRA account, then a 401k account through my employer. I was closing one of my Bank of America account and had $60 in it, so I transferred that balance to my Zecco account. Again I am not looking to invest a lot at the current time, just test ot Zecco and get my feet in the water again. I purchased a share of EBay and 2 shares of AMD. At the end of the day I made $0.09 (it's something), which is not too bad. This may turn into be a small hobby, which hopefully I will do well in. Again I do not think I will invest too much in stocks, since my other investments are doing very well, but I figured I should diversify my portfolio a bit.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4002061307170115808.post-48054102123166873612007-03-07T21:14:00.000-05:002007-03-07T21:28:02.482-05:00Citi Dividends Credit Card ChangesToday in the mail I received 2 letters from Citi in regard to both my Citi Dividends MasterCard and my Citi Dividends American Express Card. Both these cards used to offer 5% cash back on grocery, gas, and pharmacy purchases. The letter today stated that the 5% is being lowered to 2% now. In my wallet I used to carry the American Express card, since it offered the cash back as well as it was an American Express card, which was nice to use when purchasing groceries. So now with this change I have to reevaluate what cards to keep in my wallet. I currently carry a Discover 5% cash back on restaurant purchases, a Discover 5% cash back on gas purchases, an Orchard Bank 2% cash back on all purchases, and for now I have replaced the 4th card with the American Express Simply Cash card, which offers 5% cash back on office supplies, gas, and cell phone related purchases. Overall I am now in the process to see if there is anything better to use, so we shall see how that goes. I like to have the separate cards to separate my purchases, which makes it easier when paying bills.Cheapohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00054049945438555578noreply@blogger.com0