My Money Blog

American Express 15,000 Membership Rewards Points Bonus

Posted on October 24, 2009 // 11 Comments

American Express has a new card called the American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card, which offers these primary perks: Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months of Card membership. MR points are … [Read the rest]

Interview: A Couple Spends A Year In Asia For $9/Day Each

Posted on October 23, 2009 // 15 Comments

This is a interview/guest post with blog reader Ariel Hoffman, who recently spent a year traveling around Asia with his girlfriend Michal with a combined budget of only $10,000 - and managed to come back with $3,500 of it! I love to read nonfiction … [Read the rest]

Learning About Bonds: Interest Rate Risk, Time Horizons, and Duration

Posted on October 22, 2009 // 11 Comments

For a long time, the my knowledge of bonds could be summed up in one sentence: Bonds are an IOU where you lend money to someone and they pay you interest plus your principal back eventually. There are many risks with bonds, and just two of them are … [Read the rest]

Free Google Voice Invite Giveaway

Posted on October 20, 2009 //

I almost forgot, I'm wanted to give away my Google Voice invite to a randomly chosen reader. So if you liked the features and money-saving opportunities, you can enter for a free GV invite by leaving a comment under this post with your First name … [Read the rest]

Free Edible Arrangements Box of Chocolate Dipped Fruit

Posted on October 20, 2009 // 8 Comments

Get a free 6-piece box from Edible Arrangements via their Facebook page. I was a little skeptical, but I got my coupon in less than 24 hours. Valid for first 100,000. Delivery is not included. Get one for your significant other and be romantic … [Read the rest]

Ways To Save Money With Google Voice

Posted on October 20, 2009 // 36 Comments

The telecom service Google Voice has been giving now new accounts faster recently, as well as now letting some current users invite others. I already have an account from back when it was GrandCentral, but I just requested an invite from Google … [Read the rest]

Will Replacing 401(k) Plans With Portable Pensions Fix Retirement Planning?

Posted on October 19, 2009 // 19 Comments

Traditional Three Legged Stool of Retirement (post, image via Michigan.gov) Over the weekend, I finally got around to reading this Time magazine article about Why It's Time to Retire the 401(k) which has been getting some buzz. The author … [Read the rest]

Thoughts About Bailouts and Bonuses

Posted on October 18, 2009 // 31 Comments

There seems to be a lot of noise about previously struggling financial companies who were begging for bailouts but now are paying out billions of dollars in bonuses to employees. I'm not trying to be political here at all, just thinking out loud. … [Read the rest]

Chase Freedom Credit Card

Posted on October 16, 2009 // 48 Comments

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Savings I-Bonds Update: September 2009 CPU-I Data Announced

Posted on October 15, 2009 // 5 Comments

New inflation numbers are out, so it's time for another semi-annual update: New Inflation Rate March 2009 CPI-U was 212.709. September 2009 CPI-U was 215.969, for a semi-annual increase of 1.53%. Using this official formula, the variable … [Read the rest]

PineCone Research Application Link (Paid Online Surveys)

Posted on October 15, 2009 // 9 Comments

Here is an updated application link at Pinecone Research, which is again accepting new members. (May expire at any time, so apply now if you're interested!) Looks open to all, but certain demographics will get more surveys. Only one person per … [Read the rest]

Existing Sprint SERO Plan Upgrade Tips & Tricks

Posted on October 14, 2009 // 263 Comments

This post is targeted for those who have the grandfathered cell phone plan called the Sprint Employee Referral Offer (SERO) plan. This plan is no longer available to the general public, but for $30 a month it gave us 500 minutes per month, … [Read the rest]