My Money Blog

Wall Street Journal, New York Times Becoming Totally Free?

Posted on September 19, 2007 // 18 Comments

You may have noticed that the Wall Street Journal website is free right now not free anymore. Rupert Murdoch wants to switch from a subscription-based site to an advertising-based model, and I am totally for it! It was always a pain to have … [Read the rest]

Fed Rate Cut: Affect On Mortgages and Savings Accounts?

Posted on September 19, 2007 // 50 Comments

I'm sure you've heard by now, Bernanke and Friends cut the Fed Funds rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%. It was the first rate reduction in 4 years, which then spawned the biggest one-day gain in the Dow in about the same time. It seems like everyone … [Read the rest]

Deals & Offers Updates: 25,000 Points From AmEx Gold, $25 From TextPayMe/OboPay, and $50 From TradeKing Received

Posted on September 18, 2007 // 27 Comments

Here are some updates on my list of Deals & Offers that I chose to participate in: 25,000 Points (25,000 Miles/Free Ticket or $250 Gift Cards) From AmEx (Update: Now expired) The New Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express is … [Read the rest]

September 2007 Investment Portfolio Snapshot

Posted on September 18, 2007 // 24 Comments

Retirement Portfolio Fund $ % FSTMX - Fidelity Total Stock Market Index Fund $23,971 28% VIVAX - Vanguard [Large-Cap] Value Index $14,273 16% VISVX - V. Small-Cap Value Index $13,230 15% VGSIX - … [Read the rest]

Bank of America Money Market Savings, now 4.65-5.01% APY

Posted on September 17, 2007 // 44 Comments

Bank of America now has their own high-yield savings account, though with a minimum balance. You won't find it advertised though, it's tucked away in their new My Expressions banking section. If you click around the various organizations, you'll see … [Read the rest]

The Widening Gap Between The Rich And… The Super-Rich

Posted on September 16, 2007 // 8 Comments

Forget the gap between the poor and the rich, what we really should be concerned with the growing gap between the rich and the super-rich. I mean, some people out there can only afford one yacht! The Onion explains: "[When I grew up,] my … [Read the rest]

Hedging Against The Dollar: Opening A Foreign Currency Bank Account vs. Buying A Currency ETF

Posted on September 16, 2007 // 65 Comments

Lot's of people have been asking me how to open up a bank account denominated in a foreign currency. The main reason appears to be a desire to hedge against future declines of the dollar. For example, right now the US dollar is trading at all-time … [Read the rest]

401k Lump Sum Contribution: Dollar Cost Averaging Looking Good Right Now

Posted on September 15, 2007 // 37 Comments

I've been really bad at regularly making contributions to my Self-Employed 401k from Fidelity. I had only planned to put $500 a month into it for the first part of the year, since I wanted to keep as much liquid cash as possible in case I bought a … [Read the rest]

401k to IRA Rollover Decision Process, Prosper Lending Review

Posted on September 14, 2007 // 13 Comments

I'm swamped today, so here are some posts from the past that fill requests from my suggestion box: My 401k to IRA Rollover Decision Process Part 1 - Stay put with old 401k? Part 2 - Roll over into Fidelity? Part 3 - What about Vanguard? Part 4 … [Read the rest]

Cash Back On All Purchases With Citibank CashReturns MasterCard

Posted on September 13, 2007 // 67 Comments

There is yet another rewards card variation out there - the Citibank CashReturns MasterCard. What's special about this card is the promotional offer. It offers 5% back on all purchases for 3 months.(Update: as of 4/20, it only offers a 20% bonus … [Read the rest]

Make Money From Your Own Videos With Revver

Posted on September 13, 2007 // 12 Comments

You've heard of YouTube, but what about Revver? It's a video-sharing site that also shares advertising revenue with either people who upload their own videos, or simply share existing ones. The creator gets 40%, Revver gets 40%, and the sharer … [Read the rest]

Our Wedding: What We Spent, Who Paid For It, and How It Went

Posted on September 12, 2007 // 27 Comments

First, even though it could have been executed better, to the right are the results of my informal wedding cost survey. While there was a big spread, over 30% of people said they spent less than $5,000 on their weddings. Impressive! The median … [Read the rest]