A tipster told me that if you join the Ben & Jerry’s fan club newsletter, called ChunkMail, they will email you a printable coupon good for a free single scoop at your local Ben & Jerry’s shop. I was skeptical, but it did indeed come for me. Kinda cold, but free ice cream is free ice cream!
Sharebuilder has a new promotion offering free window trades for all of 2010 if you open an IRA with them before April 15th (1,500 max). These usually cost $4 each, $12/month for 6, or $20/month for 20. Thanks to reader Ron for the tip.
Open an IRA before 4/15/10 to receive 1,500 Automatic Investment Plan credits. The trade credits will be posted to your account the next business day and will expire on 12/31/10. This offer applies to Individual Retirement Accounts only. AIP credits for mutual fund purchases apply only after the minimum investment has been met.
It is important to note that these Automatic Investments are not real-time market/limit trades that most brokerages offer, but market orders that only execute in batches once a week on Tuesdays. In most cases, this is best suited for people gradually dollar-cost-averaging into ETFs or widely-traded stocks. If you want to do an ACAT transfer out, it will cost you $75.
For taxable accounts, Sharebuilder is offering a $50 cash bonus as long as you open a new account with $50 by April 16th with promo code 50WCFA. It doesn’t appear that you even need to make a trade.
You must open a new account with ShareBuilder and deposit at least $50 to be eligible for this promotion. Initial deposit must be completed by 4/16/10. ShareBuilder will deposit a $50 bonus approximately 4-6 weeks after your first $50 deposit. The $50 bonus offer is available for Individual, Joint and Custodial accounts only.
For more background, you can see my slightly-dated Sharebuilder review as well as a follow-up post on a possibly better way to invest with them.
Here’s one for the skiers and snowboarders out there. Until 1/15, grab a free 2009/10 Basic Tahoe Card from Snowbomb.com, which offers free discount lift tickets (electronic only). You can also get a free subscription to Snowboard or FreeSkier magazine. Usually costs $25.
Simply create a new account at SnowBomb.com with the promo bode snow1970. You should receive immediate confirmation, with the magazine sub option on the bottom of the page. Credit to FW user FatMattE.
Account Activated
You have completed the activation process. You now have access to the cheapest prices in the SnowBomb online store for the 2009/10 season.
The discounts aren’t awesome, but sometimes it can be the best deal available. For more ski deals, check out SlidingOnTheCheap.
American Express is promoting a new charge card called the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express®, which is different from their other Gold/Gold Rewards/Platinum/Precious Metal cards.
Since this is the new card being pushed, it has the best sign-up incentives for new cardholders:
Update: This offer has expired, but there is a coupon code CABIN-20D good for an additional $20 off their $49 dollar LLC or Incorporation filing package. Net price under 30 bucks!
In case your plans include formalizing your business ventures, MyCorporation is offering their LLC formation and incorporation filing services for free until 1/31 with the coupon code MYFREE. You must still pay shipping fees and the filing fees charged by each state.
Free Corps & LLCs: Regular price of $149 is being waived when coupon MYFREE is used to obtain discount. Document shipping, state fees, publication fees, and additional product fees are additional. Discount valid for orders placed for a new corporation or limited liability company only. Prices subject to change without notice. Limit one discount or coupon per order. Coupon is not valid on any other product or service. You must enter/mention the coupon code at the time your order is placed. Coupon or discount is not valid on previous orders. Refunds/credits/adjustments will not be issued on prior orders.
MyCorporation is owned by Intuit, makers of TurboTax and Quicken. I view such online incorporation services as similar to TurboTax for taxes. Yes, you could fill out your 1040 tax forms manually, but it’s much easier to go through a question-and-answer software that walks you through it and explains the steps. However, if you’re talking about a huge business or something that is complex, then you should hire a professional to handle it (accountant for taxes, lawyer for incorporation).
When I formed my S-Corporation, I used one of their primary competitors LegalZoom and paid about $150 for the service – not including the state filing fees and shipping – so having it done for free seems to be a great deal. (I’m sure they’ll try to upsell you some additional services.) It was good to have someone look over the forms before submitting, while avoiding thousand of dollars of fees from a lawyer for our little venture.
The decision between staying a sole proprietor/partnership or forming an LLC/corporation is not always simple. If you’d like to dig into the details, I recommend the book LLC or Corporation? How to Choose the Right Form for Your Business from Nolo Press. I chose to go the S-Corp route primarily for the payroll tax savings.
(You can even have a LLC and chose to have it taxed as an S-Corp, as if things weren’t confusing enough!)
This is just a reminder that as of 1/1/10, Sprint is changing their contracts to add a “Regulatory Charge” of 20 cents per month. Despite the name, this is nothing but an increase in your monthly plan cost, as it is not a consumer tax nor is it required by law. Because of this voluntary fee hike, you can now cancel your Sprint contract without an early termination fee (ETF). You must do this within 30 days of notification (check your billing statement).
After some early pushback, it appears that most Sprint reps are now aware of this legitimate out. Commenter Stephan also shared a handy script that has been used successfully by several readers:
“Hello. I’m calling about my current contract with Sprint and the new 40 cents per line regulatory charge that Sprint will be introducing this January. The latest Terms & Conditions contract I signed with Sprint was in [year], and under that contract, it specifically states that as a Sprint customer, I have the right to terminate my contract without paying an early termination fee in the event that Sprint makes a material change to its agreement with me, and so long as I notify Sprint of my desire to do so within 30 days of such a change. This new 40 cent per line regulatory charge constitutes a material change to the Terms & Conditions agreement I signed, and therefore, I would like to exercise my right under the agreement to terminate my contract without any early termination fee.”
A few testimonials:
I called today read the script that Stephan wrote and it was like magic.. she didn’t argue just said.. ok sir.. but you will need to wait to cancel till Jan 1st 2010 and forward me to her managers voicemail to state thats what I want to do.
The beauty of information on the Internet! I ordered two Iphones with At&t last week and placed my call today with Sprint. The call took maybe 35 seconds. All I mentioned was “I want to terminate my contract and port both of my numbers to another carrier because of the 2010 regulatory charge”. The sprint rep said “you’re certainly entitled to do that sir”. Then, he gave me a confirmation number which waived the EFTS on both lines. The end. I already ported one Iphone today, working great.
I gave the spiel that Stephan scripted out above, and it worked like a charm:) I was put on hold for about 10 minutes and when the rep came back on the line she told me that I was set up to terminate on January 26th. (This is because my billing cycle starts and ends on the 26th. They cannot prorate, they set the termination at the end of your current billing cycle so keep this in mind.)
If pressed, you should always focus on the fact that they made a material change to your contract and by law you are allowed to cancel without a ETF. Don’t get sidetracked by your satisfaction with your phone, coverage, etc. If you don’t get satisfaction immediately, either ask for a supervisor or simply hang up and talk to another customer service representative. Good luck!
Update: Instead of *2, you may find it faster to call Sprint’s Cancellation (formally called “Retentions”) department directly if you run into long hold times. Try 888-567-5528, 800-235-1185, or 888-211-4727.
Reader Bill offered a helpful comment about the promotional site FeedItForward.restaurant.com where you can give and receive free $10 certificates from Restaurant.com until Christmas.
However, I wanted to point out this offer is tricky in that you have to weigh the benefit of getting a $10 certificate for free or simply buying a $25 certificate for $2, since most restaurants have a minimum purchase requirement and you can only use one certificate per visit.
The way the math works out, if the restaurant requires the same minimum purchase of anything over $12, you’re better off buying the $25 certificate for $2. Let’s say you want to spend just $15. With the $10 certificate, the final net cost is $5. With the $25 certificate for $2, the final net cost is only $2.
A common scenario is a $20 minimum purchase for the $10 certificate, and a $35 minimum purchase for the $25 certificate. As long as you plan on spending at least $35, then you’re much better off buying the $25 certificate for $2. Getting $20 worth of food would end up with a net cost of $10. But getting $35 worth of food would only end up with a net cost of $12 ($2 for the $25 certificate + $10).
Run a search at Restaurant.com first to find a place you like and carefully note their specific restrictions.
Restaurant.com is offering a 80% off with the coupon code SANTA until 12/25 , resulting in a $25 “certificate” for just $2. (Update: Promo code CHEER is good until December 31st, 2009.)
Despite my initial skepticism about these things, many readers responded that they indeed found these certificates very useful in savings some money.
Here’s how the savings math might work out. You find a restaurant on the list that you like that usually runs around $20 + tip per person (~$48 for a couple). You buy a $25 certificate for $2, which usually comes with a $35 minimum purchase + 18% required gratuity on full price.
$12 including tip is pretty good for a dine-in restaurant, with the primary caveat being that you find one on their list that you like (or the gift recipient likes).
Visit any page inside the Amazon.com Video on Demand store (such as Transformers 2) and click on the link below the preview that says “Have a promotion code? Redeem a gift card or promotion code” and enter AVODGIFT.
While intended to be towards a VoD rental purchase, when I tried basically just increased my gift certificate balance by $4 and you can use it for anything. Credit expires 1/3/10. Enjoy!
Promotional offer valid for a limited time only and subject to change. Promotional offer is valid from 12/23/2009 through 01/03/2010. Your code must be used by 01/03/2010 11:59 PM PST and may be redeemed only for purchase (on ownership or rental basis) of digitally-formatted movies or TV shows then available at Amazon Video On Demand.
For those that missed out, I just got an e-mail that the CollegeAdvantage 529 $25/$50 referral offer deadline has been extended to December 18th, 2009.
Deadline for Refer a Friend program is extended to December 18, 2009! Earn $50 for you and $25 for your friends and family!
You now have a few more days to earn a $50 referral bonus for your CollegeAdvantage account. You can earn a referral bonus when your friends and family open a CollegeAdvantage direct account by December 18, 2009. And they’ll earn $25 just for opening the account! All they need is your CollegeAdvantage referral number (which is your account number) and they can easily enroll online at www.collegeadvantage.com to receive the bonus. New accounts must be opened by December 18, 2009 in order to receive the referral bonus.
Under this promotion, college savers can get $25 for signing up (w/ my review), $50 for referring others, and $25 for starting up automatic deposits. Altogether, a couple could earn $150 free for their kid’s education this way. If you need it, my CollegeAdvantage referral code is 2439350.
Been thinking about that perfect website idea? GoDaddy.com is offering a 1-year domain name registration for only 99 cents with coupon code BUYCOM99. This is valid for new domain registrations and transfers from other registars only, and not renewals of domains already at GoDaddy.
Register or transfer any available .COM, .US, .MOBI, .BIZ, .NET, .ORG, .CA, .CO.UK and .IN domain for just $0.99!*
Applies to the first year only of new or transfer registrations. This offer may not be used for renewals, bulk registrations, premium domains or Sunrise/Landrush domain registrations. Limited to one order per customer, expiring after 7,500 redemptions or on December 29, 2009 (whichever comes first).
With the holiday flying season underway and me flying out today as well, and wanted to see if I could try out some internet at 30,000 feet. Gogo Inflight Internet is now offering WiFi internet on select Air Canada, Airtran, American, Delta, United, and Virgin America flights. See here for participating aircraft.
Here are some promotional codes that will provide you with one free session of GoGo. They are good once per account. However, supposedly you can sign up with any name and any e-mail address with no confirmation system (no credit card needed either with the code), it seems like they are pretty much offering unlimited free internet until these expire. I hope I can get it to work! Via FlyerTalk.
Expire 12/31/2009
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AIRTRANTRYGOGO
AATRYGOGO
Expire 1/7/2010
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