DollarSavingsDirect still 4% APY
[from ]
I got a notice today from FNBO Direct that they were cutting their rate to 2.80% so I decided to see what other options were available out there.
DollarSavingsDirect (DSD) is another offshoot of Emigrant Bank. For anyone with an Emigrant Direct account you’ll notice that DSD’s website is extremely similar to Emigrant Direct’s.
They’re still paying […]
Hatin’ on Subway revisited.
[from ]
Back in March of this year (won’t be able to say that for awhile) I posted about why I hate Subway. It’s been frequently viewed and commented on so I felt I should re-visit the subject.
I’m willing to accept that Subways are franchises and different locations may differ from one another in some ways. I […]
The Perfect Christmas Gift
[from ]
Each Christmas season follows the same general routine.
Throughout the year, I keep my eye open for good Christmas gift ideas for my family and friends. I’ll glance through flyers, look at sales, and stop in at exceptional events like “going out of business” sales with the idea in mind that I’ll find […]
A retarded experience with Chase lending operations.
[from ]
I have a Chase credit card with a low $800 limit that I never use. I called Chase to close the card and consolidate the credit line onto another one of my other Chase cards.
I called up Chase and the first customer service representative (CSR) I spoke to spoke perfect English but couldn’t consolidate my […]
The developing Madoff situation irks me.
[from ]
For those that don’t already know. The famed wall street fund manager Bernard Madoff who produced terrific returns for his hedge fund year after year was running a giant $50 billion ponzi scheme in the end.
I was reading a news tidbit about how a judge signs order to protect Madoff investors. Seriously? I know that […]
250 Hilton HHonors points per monthly donation to St. Jude’s
[from ]
For those that are enrolled in the Hilton HHonors rewards program.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Offer valid for HHonors members who register at www.stjude.org/HHonors during the 2008 Thanks and Giving campaign between November 6 and December 31, 2008. Participants earn 250 bonus points per month for each automatic monthly donation for up to 12 months between November 2008 […]
Old habits can leave your car smelling like gasoline.
[from ]
Whenever I go to the gas station I generally always get $20 worth of regular gasoline. I get $20 because it’s easy to calculate if I’m getting the right rewards (5% cashback) on my credit card statements and I hate it when you ask for a fill up and the amount is $xx.14. They (gas […]
eBay fee calculator
[from ]
For awhile I’ve been using ebcalc.com and then I realized that the calculator on that website hasn’t been updated with the new fee schedule in a long time. I’ve been miscalculating my eBay fees all summer.
There’s another free and basic fee calculator from Michael Repzynski located here that I’ve been using.
Why use a eBay fee […]
What’s the point of layaway?
[from ]
I was watching a segment about how Kmart is trying to promote the concept of layaways again. Growing up I remember seeing signs with information regarding layaways at various retailers but I’ve never understood why a person would choose that route.
Lawaway isn’t as common these days thanks to credit cards and whatnot but I’ve never […]
Unlimited 2% cashback on all purchases with the Charles Schwab Visa
[from ]
Charles Schwab is offering unlimited 2% cashback on all purchases with their branded via card. The 2% gets deposited into your Charles Schwab account each month with no minimum cashout amount.
If you’re not a Charles Schwab customer it may be worth it to open an account with them just for this card if you charge […]
Earn up to 25,000 miles on United by opening a Fidelity brokerage account.
[from ]
The amount of miles you earn depends on how much you deposit into your Fidelity account.
$50,000 = 25k miles
$10,000 = 15k miles
$2,500 = 5k miles
The $2,500/5k miles deal seems to be the best option as you’ll be earning 2 miles for every dollar you deposit and you don’t have to commit $50,000.
More details at fidelity.com/united.
My Chicago trip: the $15 baggage fee, the showers at the ORD lounge and 10.25% sales tax.
[from ]
It somehow slipped my mind that American Airlines charges $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second checked bag. This applies to domestic flights and elite status customers are exempt from this fee. I’ve read about it many times because it was so well publicized in the news media and various internet […]
Got my American Express Platinum card in the mail today.
[from ]
I got an offer in the mail for the American Express Platinum charge card with the annual fee waived for the first year. Normally the annual fee is $450 but depending on how this year goes I can see myself paying the fee and continuing to use the card. I applied for the card earlier […]
Excuses, Excuses
[from ]
When you’re entrenched in a large pattern of bad habits and you’re challenged to escape those habits, it’s very easy to fall back on an excuse of some kind to “explain away” and justify your poor choices.
I know this from experience. I used many excuses to continue my poor spending habits and I […]
1,000 loans on Kiva!
[from ]
Today I lent out my 1,000th loan. It was made to the Sugran Rafiq Mashi Group from Pakistan. I hope they are able to achieve everything they set out to do and hope them the best of luck. You can see my lender profile here.
In June of this year when I started to loan I […]
I’m selling a piece of the subprime mess memorabilia on eBay.
[from ]
I recently found a pack of sticky notes from New Century Mortgage Corporation and decided to auction it off on eBay.
I think I’m going to sell random things on eBay to collect more feedback as I’ve got spare time on my hands these days and way too much clutter in my house.
My FICO score is 597!
[from ]
The last time I checked my FICO score 6 months ago it was hovering somewhere around 700 give or take 25. Today I decided to check it and my score is 597!
The #1 reason my score is so low can be attributed to the fact that I’m carrying roughly $30,000-$34,999 in balances (at 0% apr […]
PNC Checking $75 bonus
[from ]
From October 6th to the 18th you can get a $75 signing bonus from PNC Checking.
The requirement is a qualifying direct deposit. However PNC counts ACH as direct deposit so therefore a push of funds from PayPal will count.
The required minimum to open a free checking account is $25. No monthly fees or minimum balance.
link
TD Ameritrade 30 day free trial.
[from ]
You can trade commission-free for 30 days with TDAmeritrade.
I know the market is a mess right now but if you’re still holding ample amounts of cash there are a lot of bargains out there.
Offer valid for one new individual or Joint TD AMERITRADE account opened by December 31, 2008 and funded within 30 days with […]
ING cuts rate on Orange Savings account to 2.75%
[from ]
With all the talk of the Federal Funds rate being cut yet again soon I guess some banks (like ING Direct) are pre-emptively cutting their interest rates.
I logged onto my ING Direct account this morning to see that dreaded line.
Oct 9, 2008 Interest Rate Change to 2.716% (2.75% APY)
If I had logged on yesterday I guess […]
So I joined the American Express Blue Cash club.
[from ]
My brother has been using the American Express Blue Cash card for some time and I decided to switch over. In the past it wouldn’t have been worthwhile for me to switch over as I didn’t charge much. However the times have changed and I’ll finally make the plunge.
The American Express Blue Cash card gives […]
First edition of the Microfinance Carnival October 15th.
[from ]
The Microfinance Carnival is underway with the first edition scheduled for October 15th and will be hosted right here at Endless Gibberish! October 15th is also Blog Action Day for Poverty.
The Microfinance Carnival will feature articles written by bloggers that are related to microfinance. So what qualifies? Anything that has to do with microfinance from […]
How to make money selling gift cards on eBay!
[from ]
If you’ve been on eBay recently you’ll notice that a lot of gift cards are selling for more than face value. No, people aren’t nuts. Thanks to Microsoft Live giving crazy cashback back on eBay purchases (it’s currently at 30% at time of post).
What happens is somebody will buy a gift card for face value […]
The Microfinance Carnival comes to life!
[from ]
After some brief discussion on the Kiva Bloggers team lending page I’ve decided to start up the Microfinance Carnival.
A carnival is basically a collection of posts from various bloggers. It’s called a carnival because it moves from blog to blog depending on who is willing to host it.
It’s all in preliminary stages right now […]
$125 for opening Chase Free Checking account
[from ]
Use the Chase coupon code 3291873253508570 when you apply online.
*Limited to one personal checking account reward per customer per calendar year.
*Offer is available for existing Chase customers.
*Must set up direct deposit within 60 calendar days of opening account
*Account must remain open for 6 months
This bonus is deposted into the checking within 6 weeks of opening […]
WaMu, I will miss you.
[from ]
As everyone already knows, Washington Mutual’s operations were bought out by JP Morgan Chase. The move that ultimately helped take down WaMu faster was when panicked depositors withdrew more than $16 billion in a 10 day period. Personally I believe a lot of people who withdrew money were idiots in that their money was FDIC […]
Kiva in the American Express Members Project
[from ]
Lyndsey, a volunteer who works on various lender engagement initiatives for Kiva, contacted me recently to inform me about Kiva being back in the top 5 for the American Express Members Project competition for the $1.5 million dollar grand prize. They moved from the #8 spot to the #4 spot overnight because of an e-mail […]
You can link your ING Direct accounts to your Sharebuilder accounts.
[from ]
I logged into ING this morning and noticed at the bottom of the screen there was an option to link your ING Direct accounts to your Sharebuilder accounts. All it takes is inputting your username and password.
Now whenever you log into ING Direct you’ll see the balances of your Sharebuilder portfolios and if you click […]
Asking “Are you serious?” thwarts bank robbery.
[from ]
So a woman tried to rob the Roslyn Savings Bank with a threatening note demanding cash or she’s open fire. The teller asked the robber if they were serious and apparently they panicked enough to run off. link
Seriously?
Get in on WaMu 5% 12 month CDs while you still can.
[from ]
JPMorgan is acquiring WaMu but the offer for 5% 12 month CDs is still on the main page of WaMu.com. If JPMorgan decides to not honor the rate at some point in the future you’re allowed to withdraw your money without penalty.
Minimum to open an online CD is $1,000.
link