My Money Blog

Best Cash Back Rewards Credit Cards

Posted on October 13, 2011 //

Citi Double Cash 2% cash back. Specifically 1% cash back when you buy + 1% cash back when you pay. No annual fee. Bank of America Travel Rewards Card Up to 2.625% cash back when redeemed towards travel. This requires Platinum … [Read the rest]

TripAlertz $1 Bonus For Easily Referring Others – Like Groupon For Travel

Posted on October 13, 2011 // 15 Comments

TripAlertz.com is a new site that is basically like Groupon for travel, even though Groupon already does travel. The refer-a-friend program works in that the referring person gets $10 for referring a new user. Here is my TripAlertz sign-up link. … [Read the rest]

Michael Lewis’s New Book – Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World – Free Copy Online

Posted on October 12, 2011 // 23 Comments

I've enjoyed every Michael Lewis book that I've read, from Liar's Poker to Moneyball to The Blind Side. Reading his writing is as easy as listening to a great storyteller, making the most mundane subjects interesting. I've been hearing about his … [Read the rest]

Percentage of New Mortgages Backed By US Government = 90%+

Posted on October 12, 2011 // 8 Comments

Last week, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below 4% for the first time in recorded history. Why? The Federal Reserve and the US Government. Check out this chart that breaks down the source of new mortgage originations … [Read the rest]

CollegeInvest Smart Choice 529 College Savings Plan: $50 Opening Bonus

Posted on October 11, 2011 // 6 Comments

Here's another 529 bonus that's pretty easy to grab. (See Ohio 529 $50 bonus.) The FDIC-insured version of the CollegeInvest College Savings plan is currently offering a $50 bonus if you deposit $50 of your own money and set up automatic transfers. … [Read the rest]

Southwest Airlines Promotional Game: 100 Points Per Week

Posted on October 9, 2011 // 11 Comments

Southwest is running a 30 Million Point Giveaway, where you can register and get up to 100 free Rapid Rewards points per week for answering trivia questions and playing online games. It's not terribly exciting, but if you do all six weeks then 600 … [Read the rest]

Cheapest iPhone 4S Plan = $69.99 Sprint Everything Plus Referral Program (EPRP) with Unlimited Data and Text

Posted on October 8, 2011 // 48 Comments

If you're looking for the cheapest plan that offers the iPhone 4S (or iPhone 4), with unlimited data and text included, then check out the Sprint Everything Plus Referral Program. This is meant for friends of employees, but a Sprint executive has … [Read the rest]

Sprint SERO Premium + iPhone 4S = $50 a month

Posted on October 8, 2011 // 41 Comments

This post is an update for fellow stubborn folks still clinging to the Sprint SERO plan. This grandfathered plan gave us individual plans with 500 minutes, nights starting at 7pm, unlimited text, and unlimited data for $30 a month. However, this … [Read the rest]

What If Time Was Currency? Don’t Waste Your Time

Posted on October 7, 2011 // 13 Comments

In Time is a new sci-fi movie about a future where science has figured out how to stop the aging process. To prevent overpopulation, the solution was to allow everyone to live to age 25, and then give them one year to live. Time has replaced … [Read the rest]

Is Costco Worth Paying The 2011 Annual Membership Fee Hike? A Business Model Analysis

Posted on October 6, 2011 // 35 Comments

Costco just announced that they are raising their annual membership fee 10% in the US and Canada as of November 1st, 2011. This makes the Gold Star and Business memberships $55 and the Executive membership $110 per year. The maximum 2% cashback … [Read the rest]

Best Citi ThankYou Point Redemption Option: Amazon.com Gift Certificates

Posted on October 6, 2011 // 26 Comments

If you've been sitting on some ThankYou points, you should know that Citi likes to put certain redemption options on "sale" from time to time. Right now, you can get a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate for 4,900 points.* That's even better than the 1 … [Read the rest]