Discover Card 5% Back at Chevron and Texaco Gas Stations

Posted on February 11, 2014 // 4 Comments

Just saw this today while filling up at a Chevron. Discover cardholders can get 5% cashback at Chevron and Texaco gas stations from now until March 31st, 2014. Subject to a cap of $250 in purchases. Must sign up first by going to Discover.com/chevron and then logging into your online account. The next screen should look like this:

discoverchevron

This is in addition to the standard 5% back categories on the Discover it card, currently 5% back on up to $1,500 in purchases at restaurants and movies for 1st quarter of 2014. The Chase Freedom card also has gas stations as one of their 5% back categories for Q1 2014 if you have that card (good for up to $1,500 in purchases).

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Free eBook: The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles

Posted on February 10, 2014 // 3 Comments

wattlesI saw that a book called The Science of Getting Rich was temporarily free at the Amazon Kindle store, so I checked it out as with most financially-related titles. Surprisingly, it had over 300 reviews with a 4.3/5 star rating, quite rare for a free eBook. It turns out that this specific eBook is a bit of a “recycling” job done by someone else on the original 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich [Wikipedia] by Wallace Wattles. I guess if you keep the original book but add a bit of your own content, you can add yourself as an author and charge money for it. The original book itself is old enough that the copyright expired and is now in the public domain. You can get a completely free copy of the book in various formats from Archive.org.

Further digging reveals that this book is the basis of the popular book The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, which was made into a bestseller after being recommended by Oprah Winfrey. Both books talk about the power of positive thinking and visualizing your goals. Now, I can already tell that some people will hate this book and some will love it. I’m usually the one to call this sort of thing “fluffy mumbo-jumbo” as I’m more of a practical nuts-and-bolts type of person but I can’t deny that it has helped some other people. (Just don’t pay hundreds of dollars for this type of thing…) Here’s an excerpt:

People must be taught to become rich by creation, not by competition. Every man who becomes rich by competition throws down behind him the ladder by which he rises, and keeps others down; but every man who gets rich by creation opens a way for thousands to follow him, and inspires them to do so.

The book is short, only about 70 pages.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Best Free Scanner Apps for iPhone and Android

Posted on January 29, 2014 // 10 Comments

tinyscanOne of the more useful apps on my phone allows me to take a picture of documents and receipts and convert them instantly into a PDF file. The apps automatically detect page corners and “flatten” the raw images into a high-quality scan with results that are very similar to a traditional scanner. From there, I can either e-mail the file or upload it to Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive, etc. I find myself using it very often for both business and personal reasons.

This post was originally about a $5 app that was temporarily free, but the “sale” ended before I could publish it. Instead, while trying out the various apps I found that many offer really good functionality for the nice price of free. Try them out and see which one works best for you:

  1. CamScanner Free (iPhone / Android) – This one appears to have the most features available in a free app, but it does add a little watermark to the bottom of the PDF. 4.5 stars on Apple, 4.5 stars on Google.
  2. TinyScan Free (iPhone / Android) – Lots of positive reviews, 4.5 stars on Apple, 4 stars on Google.
  3. Genius Scan Free (iPhone / Android) – Lots of positive reviews, 4.5 stars on Apple, 4 stars on Google.

If you know of any better apps, please let me know in the comments.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

PaperKarma App: Take A Photo Of Your Junk Mail and Say Goodbye

Posted on January 29, 2014 // 14 Comments

pkappI totally missed this app the first time around, but PaperKarma is an iPhone/iPad app and Android app that helps you stop junk mail. Catalogs, magazines, coupon books, flier, credit card offers, yellow books, etc.

You just snap a photo of any piece of unwanted mail, and that’s it. (Try to capture the address label and any tracking codes.) They scan the photo, grab the pertinent details, and contact the mailer directly to remove you from their distribution list. They’ll even contact you when you are successfully unsubscribed. For free. That sounds almost too good to be true.

Previously, I’ve had success with the websites CatalogChoice.org to stop unwanted catalogs and YellowPagesOptout.com to finally end delivery of those huge phone books (both free as well).

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Simple Living //

Citi Executive AAdvantage Card 100,000 Mile Bonus

Posted on January 29, 2014 // 1 Comment

(Update: The offer below has expired.)

The premium co-branded Citi Executive AAdvantage MasterCard has a special offer link that is showing a sign-up bonus of 100,000 American Airlines miles after you spend $10,000 within the first 3 months of opening. There is also a $200 statement credit, earned through $1 in statement credits for each $1 spent on purchases within the first 12 months.

There is a hefty $450 annual fee that cannot be waived, so you should be sure that you can get proper value out of those miles. In addition, the primary benefit of this card over lesser AA cards is that you get access to their airport lounges (Admirals Clubs) without having to even be on an American flight. You can get into any American Airlines lounges at any airports with you and your family (or two guests).

This is not the standard offer and so the link appears targeted, but the agent code they ask for is not required and people have gotten approved for the card without it. That doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t have some trouble getting the 100k bonus, so I would take screenshots or save all application pages to PDF format along the way.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

TradeKing $50 Referral Bonus 2014 + Transfer Fee Rebate

Posted on January 27, 2014 // 9 Comments

Updated.  If you are looking to open a new TradeKing stock brokerage account, don’t forget to grab both a $50 opening bonus and a $150 transfer fee reimbursement if moving money from another broker. TradeKing offers $4.95 trades with no minimum balance requirement. There is a inactivity fee if you have less than $2,500 and make zero trades for 12 months. Options are $0.65 a contract. I’ve been using TK for a while, they are a good basic broker for ETFs and dollar-cost-averaging. I am not an active trader or daytrader.

TradeKing $50 referral bonus
You can get a $50 opening bonus through their refer-a-friend program. You must open with $3,000 and make 3 trades within 90 days. I do have an account with TK and if you’d like a referral, please feel free to us my special referral link.

New referred client must fund their account with a minimum of $3,000 and place 3 trades within 90 days of opening the new account. Account types that don’t qualify include: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, SEP IRA, Simple IRA, Solo 401K and Coverdell IRA. Accounts will be reviewed 90 days after account is opened to confirm that all of the requirements are met. At the time of review 3 trades must have been placed within the past 90 days and the account must have at least $3,000 in account equity.

TradeKing transfer fee reimbursement program
If you transfer an account of $2,500 value or greater over to TradeKing, they will also refund up to $150 in account transfer fees charged by your old broker. Yes, you can can combine with the above offer. Here’s how:

TradeKing will credit your account transfer fees up to $150 charged by another brokerage firm when completing an account transfer for $2,500 or more. Credit will be deposited to your account within 30 days of receipt of evidence of charge.

Open a New Account or if you already have an account, log in. Complete and print an Account Transfer Form. Mail or fax the signed Account Transfer Form to TradeKing along with a copy of your most recent statement from your previous broker. Request your account transfer reimbursement by faxing your transfer reimbursement form, along with proof of transfer charge, to 866.699.0563.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

USPS Price Increase Effective January 26, 2014

Posted on January 24, 2014 // 2 Comments

Here’s a quick reminder that the US Postal Service is increasing the price of a First Class stamp from 46 cents to 49 cents on January 26, 2014. I wouldn’t buy Forever stamps as an “investment”, but if you plan on using a lot of stamps in the next year or so you’ll save 6.5% if you buy in the next couple of days. My bills are all paid online besides my property tax, but I still go through a decent amount of stamps with holiday cards and baby-related announcements.

Here’s a chart from Wikipedia tracking the historical nominal (face value) of a stamp along with the inflation-adjusted value.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Target Offers Free Credit Monitoring & Identity Theft Protection

Posted on January 13, 2014 // 12 Comments

After losing their customers’ credit card numbers and other personal data, Target is offering free credit monitoring services at creditmonitoring.target.com to anyone who shopped at their US stores. (Supposedly the data breach “only” affected the 70 million people who shopped at US-located Target stores between November 27th and December 15th, but they also seem to be “discovering” more data lost every week.)

The package includes a complimentary copy of your Experian credit report and 12 months of daily credit monitoring from Experian’s ProtectMyID, which includes identity theft insurance and personalized assistance with identity theft fraud. You must sign up for an activation code by April 23, 2014 and redeem by April 30, 2014. ProtectmyID only monitors your Experian credit report for change, including new inquiries, newly opened accounts, new derogatory information (such as delinquencies or medical collections) and more.

This is not part of Target’s offering, but for better overall protection (2 out of 3 credit bureaus) you can also get free credit monitoring of your TransUnion credit report at CreditKarma.com. If you only used one card for Target (or everywhere) you can just ask for a new credit card number without affecting your credit history or credit score.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Frontier Airlines World MasterCard Review: 50,000 Bonus Miles = Two Roundtrip Award Tickets

Posted on January 9, 2014 // 5 Comments

Update – This offer is now EXPIRED

Frontier Airlines is a lesser-known budget airline that actually has a pretty decent nationwide footprint using its main central hub at Denver. (see route map). For example, you could fly from Los Angeles to New York La Guardia or from Seattle to Orlando (with a stop in Denver). They also fly to Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Mexico.

I looked this up because The Frontier Airlines World MasterCard® currently has a sign-up bonus of 50,000 miles. You get 40,000 bonus miles after spending $500 in purchases in the first 90 days, and another potential 10,000 bonus miles on balance transfers (1 mile per $1 transferred) in the first 90 days. The extra 10,000 balance transfer miles aren’t really worth it due to the 3% balance transfer fee (there are better no-fee balance transfer options).

The good news is that it only takes 20,000 miles to book a roundtrip award ticket anywhere in the US that they fly. (Roundtrip awards from US to Mexico and Costa Rica are only 30,000 miles.) This means 40,000 miles is enough for 2 domestic roundtrip award tickets (subject to government fees/taxes of $2.50 per leg). I just quickly priced out a San Francisco to New York La Guardia flight and it was $385 roundtrip per person. That’s over $750 of potential value right there.

You will need to subtract out the $69 annual fee that is not waived for the first year. However, the spending requirement is relatively low at $500 within 90 days and the issuer is Barclaycard. This makes it a good option if you’ve already gotten the good cards from the other major issuers like I have. The only Barclaycard that I have so far is the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® with $400+ value bonus, but this card can actually offer more value if your flight plans match up with their routes.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Big List of Free Credit Reports, Free Credit Scores, and Free Credit Monitoring

Posted on January 2, 2014 // 11 Comments

Annual reminder for 2014. Want to get back on track for the new year? Here is a list of ways to get free credit reports, free credit scores, and free credit monitoring services.

Remember that there are three major consumer credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – all with possibly different data. A few of these offers require a free trial and noted as such, which is not preferred but I am not completely opposed to as you’re getting something of value in exchange for a bit of hassle. My personal tip is that I always cancel them the same day as part of one continuous process, preferably within an hour after saving what I need, that way there is nothing to forget later.

Free Credit Reports

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Visit AnnualCreditReport.com or call 877-322-8228 to request your federally-mandated free credit report from one or all of the 3 major bureaus. You can get one from each every rolling 12 months, so either get them all once a year or space them out. No trials, no credit card required, although the bureaus may try to sell you a credit score.

Special Situations – Denied Credit, Unemployed, Welfare, Identity Theft. As outlined by the Federal Trade Commission, here are a few other scenarios where you also get a free credit report:

  1. You were denied credit, insurance, or a job due to information on your credit report. A notice stating which credit bureau supplied the report should be included in your letter of denial. You then have 60 days to request a free copy of your report from them.
  2. You are unemployed. You’re also entitled to one free report a year if unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days.
  3. You are on welfare.
  4. You are a victim of fraud, including identity theft. Place a fraud alert on your file, and then ask for a free copy of your credit report.

Here are the numbers you’ll need (remember to mention FTC if needed):

* Equifax: 800-685-1111; Fraud Dept. 800-525-6285
* Experian: 888-397-3742 (same for Fraud Dept.)
* Trans Union: 800-916-8800; Fraud Dept. 800-680-7289

MyFICO Score Watch Trial. If you sign up for a free 10-day trial at MyFICO.com, you’ll get a free Equifax credit report and Equifax FICO credit score. You’ll need a credit card. You must call 1.888.577.5978 to cancel. My recommendation is to get your credit report and credit score, print or save to PDF, and then cancel immediately afterward on the same day so that you won’t forget later. Hours (PDT) M-F 6am-6pm, Sat 7am-4pm, Sun Closed.

Free Credit Scores

Your credit score. Did you know that you have probably 50 flavors of your credit score. Even the “real” FICO score comes in several different versions, and there’s one per bureau. Personally, I would never pay $10-$20 a pop for a score. Many of the free providers below will also provide selected information directly from your credit reports, like overall credit limit utilization or total balances.

Credit Sesame / Experian. You can get a free credit score based on your Experian credit report from Credit Sesame, updated every month. They make money by sending you offers like lowering your mortgage rate. Screenshot:

CreditKarma / TransUnion. Similarly, get a free credit score based on your TransUnion credit report from CreditKarma.com, updated daily as long as you login each time. Also ad-supported. Screenshot:

MyFICO Trial / Equifax. Same as above… If you sign up for a free 10-day trial at MyFICO.com, you’ll get a free Equifax credit report and Equifax FICO credit score. You’ll need a credit card. You can try to cancel online, but it told me that you must call 1.888.577.5978 to cancel. My recommendation is to get your credit report and credit score, print or save to PDF, and then cancel immediately afterward on the same day so that you won’t forget later. Hours (PDT) M-F 6am-6pm, Sat 7am-4pm, Sun Closed.

Citi Idenitity Monitor Trial. Finally, if you’re willing to spend $1 and endure a trial, you can sign up with Citi Identity Monitor get a free credit score and free credit reports from each of the three major bureaus. After you submit your personal info, enter your credit card info, and choose your username/password, be sure to opt for the “free upgrade” which will give you the 3-in-1 report. You’ll have to call 866-279-9637 to cancel within 30 days. Again, cancel the same day if possible. Hours (ET) M-F 8am-11pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun Closed.

Free Credit Monitoring

Credit monitoring checks your credit report data daily and sends you an email or text alert if any activities have occurred – for example, if there was a credit pull by a lender or a new address added. This can provide early warning of attempted identity theft, reporting errors, or simply am overzealous lender checking your credit without permission. Many providers charge $10-$20 a month for similar monitoring, and while it’s potentially useful I’ve never warmed to the idea of paying a hundred bucks a year for it.

Credit Sesame. You can get free daily credit monitoring based on your Experian credit report from Credit Sesame. If you’ve already signed up for the free Experian-based credit score, it’s a very simple opt-in. Screenshot:

Selected AAA Members. If you’re an AAA auto club member, you may be eligible for free Experian credit monitoring as well. To see if your local club offers this, visit aaa.com/identitymonitoring.

CreditKarma. Get free daily credit monitoring of your TransUnion credit report from CreditKarma.com, also easy to add if you already subscribe to their free TransUnion-based credit score.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

HealthyWage: Lose Weight, Make Money?

Posted on December 18, 2013 // 1 Comment

A few well-publicized academic studies have shown that financial incentives can be very effective in helping people lose weight. As a result, there is now a website called HealthyWage.com that will actually pay you money if you can prove you dropped a certain amount of weight. You can even risk your own money, in order to provide both a carrot and a stick (shouldn’t it be HealthWager?). There are a few different “challenges” available:

  • Free $100 BMI Challenge. You must go from an obese BMI (BMI>30) to a healthy BMI (BMI<25) in one year. The free BMI Challenge pays a $100 prize with no upfront fee. Alternatively, you can put up a maximum of $300 at risk in order to win the max prize $1,000.
  • 10% Challenge. You wager $150 and double your money ($300) if you lose 10% of your weight over six months.
  • $10,000 Team Challenge. Competition between groups of people during preset 3-month intervals, with the top prize being $10,000. The entry fee is $25/month for three months (or a one-time $75 fee).

In terms of verification, you can either make short video of yourself following their specific instructions (continuous video, calibrate scale, show entire body, etc.) or visit a fitness or medical professional (health club worker, doctor, etc.). Supposedly, the website is funded by “advertising dollars from insurance companies, health-care systems, and food companies, as well as some government money”.

I respect that they are trying something new. It would be cool if they could help people achieve long-term weight loss, although just the hurdle of having to remember to do something a year later will probably win them a lot of bets. I’m not eligible for the freeroll, but I might try the 10% Challenge out in January… you know, post-holiday food coma.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Fandango: Buy $50 in Movie Gift Cards, Get 1 Free Movie Ticket

Posted on December 11, 2013 // 1 Comment

Several stores are offering a little something extra with gift card purchases this time of year. If you buy $50 or more in Fandango gift cards (can be multiple cards, but must total $50 in one transaction), you will get a bonus gift code via e-mail valid for a free movie ticket ($15 max value). You must make the purchase by 12/25/13, and the free movie ticket code expires 1/31/14.

Terms & Conditions: Offer valid only for purchases of Fandango Movie Gift Cards made between 11/25/13-12/25/13. Spend $50 or more on Fandango gift cards in one transaction and you will receive an email from Fandango with a promotional code redeemable for one movie ticket on Fandango. Promotional Code is valid through 1/31/14 for one (1) Fandango movie ticket valued up to $15 and is good for one-time use only.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //
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