If you have a good credit score and the discipline not to get into consumer debt, you can profit from your responsibility by participating in various credit card sign-up incentives. The bonuses are not subject to tax, and by applying for only the best offers, you can add thousands of dollars to your income a year.
Try looking some of them up. I found the runs $900 a night and the runs $600 a night. The annual fee is $75, so basically you’ll be getting two nights at any Hyatt for 75 bucks (award nights include all taxes and fees). .
It’s the digital age, and we all leave a digital trail. Enter , a site that aggregates all of the public record databases available for any given person. Their background checks include an address history (property records, addresses, appraisals), names of relatives, criminal records, and social network data (site memberships, links to profiles, pictures). Right now, they have a free and where you can get a free background check every 30 days. (The site offers a 7-day free trial, but the apps don’t require any credit card or personal info.)
They warn that these checks should not be used for “employment, tenant screening, or any FCRA related purposes.” That last part about the Fair Credit Reporting Act means you can’t use them to decide whether to provide things like credit or insurance. BeenVerif Read more…
Amazon is giving away a $5 credit towards Amazon Instant Video purchases if you connect your Amazon and Twitter accounts. Amazon will make you follow them and tweet a message about the promo. It kind of worried me giving so much control over to Amazon, but I figure I’ll remove the link later.
Perhaps they are giving people a free taste in response to the ?
Here are the perk highlights for the card ():
Virgin Mobile has a set of no-contract plans that include minutes and unlimited data. Their lowest plan currently offers 300 minutes and unlimited data for only $25 a month. , but now you can buy an LG Optimus V with Android OS for $150.
However, starting July 20th, the to $35 a month for new customers. However, if you are an existing customer or activate by July 19th, you will be grandfathered in on the $25/mo plan. Edit: The 1200 Beyond Talk plans will increase $5 a month, while the unlimited will actually decrease $5 a month. So if you’ve been meaning to switch, you can save $60 to $120 a year by doing so before 7/19. I
I was looking through the Barnes & Noble bargain bin and found a book called “How to do just about everything”. Okay, how to unplug a toilet… how to carve a turkey… hey, a personal finance section! Wow, quite awful. After coming home and looking up the , I found out it was by eHow.com. I should have known. Check out this gem on (), which offers the following advice:
2. Determine how many mutual funds you will invest in. Three to five funds is generally considered an adequate amount of diversification.
Yes, let’s determine diversification by the actual number of funds. One… two… three… done! Never mind that
Over the years, I’ve read numerous articles about “missing money” that the government may be holding for me. I would always enter my name, but there was never any unclaimed property for me… until today!
I was reading an about how California and many other states were using the interest from all their unclaimed money from things like dormant savings accounts to bridge their budget gaps. Even Warren Buffett is owed $20 from an old escrow account.
I visited the and found that I was owed $75 from an unclaimed check from “DSL SERVICES LITIGATION ACCOUNT”, which I can only assume is the result of being part of some class action settlement. I’ll have t
It’s been a few months since I opened up an to complement my existing 5-year CDs and online savings account. Click that show why I made the switch. I’ve managed to try out many of their “perks”, including their official Perks program. Here are my experiences:
Unlimited ATM Rebates I’ve made a few ATM withdrawals at random ATMs, and the surcharges have been credited at the end of the month as promised. (I wish they were credited immediately.) Actually being charged those fees made me realize how fast $2-$5 a pop can add up. My fee rebates were almost higher than the interest I earned one month! I actuall
With the arrival of summer and gas prices at around $4 a gallon, the water cooler conversation has turned again to fuel efficiency. One important thing to remember is that the MPG number is not directly proportional to how much money you’re paying for gas. The chart below shows the annual cost of gas varies with the miles-per-gallon rating. Assumptions are 12,000 miles driven a year at $4/gallon.
Going from a medium-sized SUV that gets 20 mpg (Ford Explorer, Nissan Xterra) to a compact car that gets 30 mpg (Honda Civic, Ford Focus) will save you $800 a year. T