My Money Blog

WaMu Free Checking and 4.00% APY Savings Account Review

Posted on October 15, 2006 // 211 Comments

Speaking of good local bank account combos, if you have Washington Mutual banks in your area, combining their Free Checking and their new 4.00% APY Savings account (updated rate 8/08, only available online) also makes a great option. You get the … [Read the rest]

Citibank Checking and E-Savings Account $100 Bonus

Posted on October 15, 2006 // 7 Comments

Citibank is offering a $100 bonus for opening both a Regular Checking and a 4.75% APY e-Savings account online with at least $5,000. Note that you will get a hard credit inquiry. This bonus is bit time-intensive (you have to wait for an entire … [Read the rest]

Trade Execution: Why It Matters, and Broker Comparison

Posted on October 14, 2006 // 5 Comments

The SEC has a nicely-written article about how your stock trades are actually executed, and how it may affect the price you buy or sell at. This stems from the fact that usually your broker has to send your order to a market maker to actually do the … [Read the rest]

Book Review: The Big Money – Seven Steps to Picking Great Stocks and Finding Financial Security

Posted on October 13, 2006 // 6 Comments

The Big Money by Frederick R. Kobrick, was also sent to me for review. It was good timing because I was looking for books on stockpicking to expand my reading horizons. One can only read so many books on the wonders of index funds before monotony … [Read the rest]

SumoLounge Omni and Otto Chair Review

Posted on October 12, 2006 // 9 Comments

I'm tired of reviewing stuffy bank products. How about some cool urban furniture instead? I was sent both a Fiery Red Omni and Otto Chair courtesy of Andrew of SumoLounge for review, and here it is! At first glance, it just seems like a bean bag … [Read the rest]

Scottrade Referral Swap List

Posted on October 12, 2006 // 4 Comments

People are still asking me for Scottrade referrals, but I'm not allowed to give them out anymore. Instead, I'm going to start a list of My Money Blog readers who already have accounts that are willing to give out referrals. If you are interested, … [Read the rest]

10 Wacky Ways To Eat Cheap In College

Posted on October 12, 2006 // 23 Comments

As a counterpoint to outrageously expensive meals, how about some stupid, unethical, and somewhat scary stories about how I ate on the cheap while in school? Note that I don't do any of these anymore. (Unless left alone for more than a month, then … [Read the rest]

Bank of America Offers Free Online Trades Too

Posted on October 11, 2006 // 4 Comments

Maybe new broker Zecco (my review) was right and stock trades really are a commodity now. Today, Bank of America announced that they will be offering 30 free online trades a month for customers with at least $25,000 in combined deposits. Not … [Read the rest]

Back To Basics: Track Your Spending

Posted on October 10, 2006 // 34 Comments

Pop Quiz: How much money did you spend on food last month? I've been blogging about money now for almost two years, and I've been wanting to put together a kind of distillation of all the things that I've learned. All these posts are the … [Read the rest]

October 2006 Financial Status / Net Worth Update

Posted on October 10, 2006 // 13 Comments

… [Read the rest]

Zecco Feature Review and Free Trades Details

Posted on October 8, 2006 // 135 Comments

Update: Please see my new and updated Zecco Broker Review. Zecco.com has revealed more details about its promise of free stock trades, and is causing a lot of talk for us investors looking for cheap trades. Details » Stock Trades - Yes, it's … [Read the rest]

My Business Credit Card of Choice (For Now)

Posted on October 8, 2006 // 20 Comments

Update: The below promotion is now expired. The New Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN now offers 3X points on airfare, 2X points on advertising, gas, and shipping and 1X point on everything else. The annual fee for this card is … [Read the rest]