My Money Blog

Capital One 360 Savings Promo – Earn Up to a $500 Bonus

Posted on November 22, 2015 // 10 Comments

Capital One 360 Savings has a limited-time sign-up bonus for up to $500 for new customers, tiered depending on your opening deposit. Here's a quick recap of the features of 360 Savings accounts: No monthly fees or minimum balance … [Read the rest]

PSA: Beware When Shredding Your Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

Posted on November 19, 2015 // 10 Comments

Every credit card is getting a smart chip these days, which means a lot of expired cards. My shredder is rated for 12 sheets of paper at a time, and up until recently handled every credit card, CD, and DVD sent its way. But not the Chase Sapphire … [Read the rest]

Verizon ThanksGetting Promotion: 2 GB Free Data For Existing Customers

Posted on November 19, 2015 // 3 Comments

Here's some free stuff for existing Verizon Wireless customers. Visit vzw.com/thanksgetting and Verizon will give you 1 GB of free data this billing cycle, and another 1 GB your next billing cycle. Starting on Wednesday 11/25, they'll start … [Read the rest]

Straight Talk Promotion: Unlimited Monthly Plan Cards for $22.50 a Month

Posted on November 17, 2015 // 35 Comments

Straight Talk is a prepaid MVNO that offers the ability to buy SIM cards that you can pop into any AT&T-compatible, T-Mobile-compatible, or unlocked GSM phone. This includes many Samsung Galaxys and iPhones that you can buy refurbished or on the … [Read the rest]

Realty Mogul Review: Fractional Investment Property Ownership, Hard Money Lending

Posted on November 16, 2015 // 26 Comments

Added bonus for new sign-ups. I've been a registered member of RealtyMogul for a while, and they recently emailed me that if I referred a friend, we'd both get a $150 Amazon gift card just for completing the registration process (i.e. zero investment … [Read the rest]

High-Quality Bonds Still Best Antidote to Stock Price Drops

Posted on November 15, 2015 // 4 Comments

There is a constant search for the elusive "new" asset class that offers high returns but with low correlation to stocks. In Skating Where the Puck Was: The Correlation Game in a Flat World, William Bernstein points out that soon after one is … [Read the rest]

Charlie Munger: The First $100,000 Is The Most Difficult

Posted on November 12, 2015 // 15 Comments

There used to be a series of ING commercials where people would carry around their "Number", which was usually over a million dollars. I think such large numbers actually discourage most savers, so what if we had an alternative goal that was both … [Read the rest]

Groupon: Starbucks $15 Gift Card for $10

Posted on November 10, 2015 // 11 Comments

It's back! Wow, haven't posted a Groupon deal in a while. I really should have shorted the stock when even I unsubscribed from their daily newsletter, but I didn't have the guts. Now I'm just mad because they deleted my account after not using it … [Read the rest]

Visa Checkout $15 Statement Credit with Chase Freedom

Posted on November 10, 2015 // 5 Comments

There was previous promo with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, but now there is a another separate promo with the Chase Freedom. Earn a $15 statement credit after you spend $15 or more with your Chase Freedom® card using Visa Checkout. Valid for … [Read the rest]

TradeKing $200 Cash Bonus Promotion

Posted on November 10, 2015 // 22 Comments

Promo extended. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, stock brokerage TradeKing is offering a $200 cash bonus for new accounts opened by 12/31/2015, funded with $3,000 or more within 30 days of account opening, and with at least 3 executed trades … [Read the rest]

Early Retirement Portfolio Income Update, November 2015

Posted on November 9, 2015 // 5 Comments

I like the idea of living off dividend and interest income. Who doesn't? The problem is that you can't just buy stocks with the highest dividend yields and junk bonds with the highest interest rates without giving up something in return. There … [Read the rest]

Early Retirement Portfolio Asset Allocation Update, November 2015

Posted on November 8, 2015 // 8 Comments

Here's a (late) Q3 2015 update on my investment portfolio holdings for 2015. This includes tax-deferred accounts like 401(k)s and taxable brokerage holdings, but excludes things like real estate and cash reserves (emergency fund). The purpose of … [Read the rest]