Too much saving?

I signed up for the HSBC online savings account the other day to get the $25 bonus. I didn't really want to since I have enough savings accounts already, but 25 bucks is 25 bucks. I signed over a week ago, but it seems like it's taking for ever to get access to my account. I did get my user number, but have yet to receive my password. I remember GMAC being faster with all of that, I think they actually let me pick all that stuff so I got to sign-in and look at my account the same day I signed up. So I got the HSBC account for the free money for than the rate (4.8%), and I've heard a lot about HSBC being slow.

Now, if your not like me, and most people aren't and you only want to have one Savings account I would recommend GMAC Bank. Why? Well, I know from experience. I have accounts with INGDirect, EmigrantDirect, GMAC Bank, and now HSBC Direct. Far and away GMAC is the quickest setup, and the easiest to transfer money with. To be fair I haven't even seen the inside of my HSBC account but I've heard plenty of people describe it. With GMAC to add a linked account all you have to do is enter the name on the account, the account number and the routing number. That's it. Then move some money. ING requires sending in checks and Emigrant doesn't even have instructions on their website, at least not where I could find them. Plus GMAC is consistently in the high rates(4.6% right now). Of the above accounts GMAC is the highest regular rate (ING has a promo rate until 4/15, and HSBC as well until 4/30) I'm willing to bet that after the promo rates are done GMAC will be the highest, but we'll see.

I've heard a lot of people say that GMAC requires a minimum balance while the others do not. That balance is only $500 dollars and if you can't keep that much then your not really saving, are you? So go with GMAC if you want the best all around account. GMAC is not paying me for this, it is my honest opinion, in fact HSBC and ING did pay me, too bad for them.

Extra Bonus

So, I haven't posted in a while. I'm more of a slacker than a blogger, but I figured I owe it to my fans (the whole two of you.) Anyway, I got my Citi Diamond preferred Rewards American Express card the other day and I've already made my first purchase. So by the time I get my bill in a month I should have my free 10,000 bonus points to cash in for a $100 gift card. Plus I got an extra bonus that I didn't know about. Apparently with the Citi Amex cards all of the special offers that Amex has in the American Express Offer Zone are available to you. I new I could get these offers with my Amex Blue Cash card but I had no idea I could use my Citi Card to get them. So an extra bonus for me, since my Citi card has a better points/cash back award and I still get the Amex offers.

So what did I buy you ask, well, the same thing any red blooded American would buy, STEAK. Amex offers a deal on Omaha Steaks for 6 sirloins at over 50% off plus 12 quarter pound burgers for free. To be honest I'm really buying it for the burgers. I've had them before and they are awesome. Yes they are expensive but I deserve it. So all in all Citibank and Amex paid me $50.02(minus the beef), six 6 oz. sirloin steaks, and 12 quarter-pound burgers all for giving them the privilege of floating me money whenever I chose. God bless America.

Gold

So I bought my first stock every today. Well, not really today, it won't be purchased until Tuesday, and its not really a stock, it's an exchange traded fund. I'm purchasing $46 dollars + $4 commission of GLD, STREETTRACKS GOLD TR, with my Share Builder account. I've heard a lot about gold lately so I though t I'd give it a try. Since I've been hearing about it it's probably too late. Oh, well, I'm still getting $50 free from Share Builder for opening my account. I would really like to purchase some actually gold bullion as well, but I'm still looking into that. I've read some interesting articles that say gold is about to enter phase 2 of a 10 year bullish cycle. Whether they are right or not is to be determined, but for my purposes it doesn't much matter. I would like to own gold simply as a hedge against inflation. If something were to happen to the dollar, which looks likely with world markets switching to the Euro, gold is a universally accepted currency and it will never really lose much purchasing power, sure it will have its ups and downs. Unless of course they discover a huge gold vein and flood the market. Who knows, after all, what will happen. I guess I'd rather have my money split between real commodities, assets, and cash. Everyone says diversify so I say diverse stocks are not diversified enough. So DON'T BUY GOLD, stay away, let the price drop out so that I can get a good deal, thanks.

Share Builder $50 bonus still good!

I opened my ShareBuilder account today using the promo code IPLANGIFT. Thanks to flexo at Consumerism Commentary. I wasn't sure if the code was still good since the website has a 2004 copyright on it and I called ShareBuilder to ask and no one could confirm that it was active. So I took my chances and went to the link for the IPLANGIFT promo code. I signed up and deposited $50 to start. Just a few minutes ago I received an email stating that my promotional code had been accepted. So if you want 50 bucks do it while you still can.

Selling America

I woke up this morning and realized something, America is in debt. No foolin'. I didn't just realize that but I was thinking about the debt reduction act. I don't know all the specifics but what it boils down to, for me anyway, is Americas yard sale, literally.

Our country and it's people have a debt problem. When a family goes through debt they sell whatever they can to stay afloat. Well that's exactly what the US is doing right now. We are going to sell thousands of acres of national lands to help pay down the debt. We're also trying to sell a number of seaports to Dubai Ports World Wide. The President has taken a lot of heat over this, and I don't like the idea myself. But really, what are we going to do? The only way to keep America in the hands of Americans is to stop spending other people's money. It's a hard lesson for an individual to learn and an even harder lesson for a nation.

We can keep spending and selling, keep the cycle going, and remain blissfully ignorant, or we can snap out of it and take responsibility for our country, our lives, and our finances. We need to end this entitlement mentality. America didn't become what it is today because it was given to us, it became the greatest nation in the history of the earth because we earned it by working hard. We need to get the point across to congress and to the rest of the people in the country that we can't do it anymore. There are no free rides in America.

I for one don't want to wake up tomorrow and see that my city, my state, or any part of my country was sold to foreign investors because the people here couldn't make it work.

Money Saving Tip from GMAC Bank

Be sure to cover liquids and wrap foods you store in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture which makes the compressor work harder costing you money. -Courtesy of GMAC Bank

I wish I had $10,000

EverBank is offering 3 month Icelandic Krona CD accounts at an interest rate of 8.24%. Holy expletive Batman! The catch is there is a $10,000 minimum to open the account. As you know I'm opening a Roth IRA and dumping the vast majority of my savings into that to cover my 2005 and a $1,000 of my 2006 contribution. The CD is FDIC insured but not against currency fluctuations. I checked the chart of dollar to Krona and it appears as though it is pretty stable in recent history. I'm no expert but it looks like a sure bet to me. If I had an extra 10k I'd go fishing in Iceland.

Persistence Pays Off

About a year ago I bought some DVD-R's because they had a full rebate. I did everything I had to do, sent in the forms and then nothing. I waited a few months and then emailed the company asking what happened to my rebate. No reply. So I gave up, so much for persistence. I completely forgot about the rebate until just a few days ago. So I sent another email asking where my rebate was, 'It's been a whole year!' Alas, a response. A lovely young woman (at least I like to think that she was) asked me to send all the information about the product, my name, etc. and she would see what she could do. So I did, and then she told me that she couldn't find my info. Well I suspected as much. (I hate rebates) So I went to the website I ordered from and got my original order confirmation and sent it to her along with a copy of the rebate form I used and the original unanswered email I had sent way back when. To my disbelief she replied that she would forward my information to the accounting department to have my rebate sent out and apologized for the delay. Before today I had given up, but it just goes to show you that to actually get a rebate you must be persistent. (well, to some extent anyway)

Becoming a Bank

I've always said that I wanted to start my own bank. Who wouldn't want to, you loan out money at exorbitant rates and other people just give you their money for nothing in return. Except that I've never been able to since I don't have millions laying around to lend.

Well, in my blog surfing I found a unique site that can make all of us our own bank. The site is called Prosper. It is amazing. The site matches up lenders and borrowers. Borrowers enter their information and how much they want to borrow and the max rate they will pay. Then lenders place bids for the amount they will loan and the rate they will charge. Amazing. I was actually thinking about something like this earlier today before I stumbled onto the site.

If you've ever wanted to start a bank check this site out, or if you need a cheap loan. It is not free from risks, of course, but what is. Who knows perhaps tomorrow I will have my very own First National Bank of Easy E.

Citi Thank You Network

So I told you that I was thinking about getting the Citibank Dividend Rewards Amex card. I went over to the thank you network to check out the rewards and they offer quit a variety of gift cards. I don't think I'd be interested in much else and I'll probably go with a JCPenny $100 gift card. I shop there sometimes and I do need some new clothes. The only thing is, I don't really want to have to get gift cards all the time, I'd much rather just get cash. So I wrote Citi a letter asking if I could switch my type of card to something else. If they say yes I will get the rewards card, pocket the $100 gift card and then switch it over to a dividend card. I might try getting an extra 10,000 points out of them first though.

American Express CitiCards

So Citicards came out with their Amex branded cards not too long ago, and I was thinking of getting one. I already have a Citi Dividend MasterCard, which is awesome. I get 5% cash back at gas stations, drug stores, and grocery, and 1% everywhere else.

So why get a new Amex card? Well I've heard alot of good things about the Amex benefits that Mastercard doesn't have, like price protection, trip cancelation insurance, and world wide travel assistance. I was hoping to do some traveling in the future so this could come in handy. The new Amex cards come in all the same flavors as the Mastercards do. But I was thinking of getting the Rewards card instead of the Dividend card. Why? Because with the first purchase they give you 10,000 points that can be redeemed for a $100. One point per dollar spent equates to 1% so I can still use the card for my everything else purchases, and feel secure that within 60 days if I see a cheaper price I can get refunded by Amex.

So I say yea to $100.

The Mathematically Perfected Economy

A comment to my last post suggested that I visit www.perfecteconomy.com, People for Mathematically Perfected Economy. So I did. It is a very interesting topic and I agree with the premise that the Federal Reserve is not completely constitutional and that our monetary system has some flaws. But the system that is suggests doesn't seem to me to be any more sustainable than or current system. I'm not an economics major or anything, but I did minor in mathematics, so I do know a thing or two about numbers.

In section 4 of the site, WHAT IS MATHEMATICALLY PERFECTED ECONOMY?, the rules of the system are outlined. The key to it is the elimination of interest. Interest is simply the profit that a lending institution receives from it debtors. They then give an example of the system for purchasing a house.

For example, we might purchase a $100,000 home with a hundred-year lifespan — the price of which includes a one time credit worthiness certification fee of $50, and transaction processing fees of $0.25 per month for 100 years, or $300.

In mathematically perfected economy, the $100,000 is loaned into circulation, and the $99,650 cost of the home is paid to the producers of the home, who therefore receive immediately for their doings. Out of the $100,000 debt, the certification and processing fees are paid to the entities performing these services, as the services are rendered.

To maintain a related circulation equal to the current value of this production, we pay for this home at the rate of $1,000 per year, or $83.33 per month — which is the rate at which we consume it. Everyone pays for exactly what they get from the system, and no more. There is no inflation or deflation. The value of money is not corrupted. A constant relationship between the circulation and remaining value of financed assets is maintained. There is no multiplication of debt by interest. There is no depression or recession. The system is perpetually sustainable. We can prosper perpetually to our full capabilities, without obstruction or impediment. Moreover, we have far more to spend, to support far greater prosperity.

Now it seems to me that sure the processor gets his processing fee and the builder gets his money, the owner gets his house, but what does the lender get for parting with his money for A HUNDRED YEARS?!?

This system is not sustainable, no lender would loan money without the promise of a profit.

I also disagree that it is the Fed that causes this whole interest/inflation problem in the first place. Private banks have been lending money for centuries. These loans come from the money that we as depositors place with the institutions. We didn't make the loan the bank did. If I have $1,000 in the bank and the bank then loans that money to my neighbor he now has $1,000. Now there is $2,000. I still have my $1,000 and now he has $1,000. When he pays off the loan, plus interest, that new $1,000 is effectively wiped out and the bank gets a profit. The bank isn't going to loan money just for fun; they need a profit, so they charge interest. In any event even if my neighbor wanted a $1,000 from me I'd charge him for the use of it(depends on the neighbor).

The whole even trade system doesn't work. I have money today, he needs money today, I loan it, I no longer have use of it, I must charge for the use of it. After all I could use it if I didn't loan it out.

Perhaps I'm missing the point or something, I don't know. I didn't read the entire thing it is quite lengthy and confusing (in my opinion unnecessarily almost purposefully), but I do suggest that you look it over and post your comments. Thanks to phi50 for giving me something to write about.

Roth IRA

I've been researching Roth IRA accounts lately. I think I've found the best deal with Vangaurd. They have the lowest expense ratios of all the mutual fund companies that I've checked out. You can open a Roth through many sources, but mutual fund companies seem to be the best choice since they aren't actively trying to sell you on something and they don't charge sales loads.

A couple things about Vangaurd to watch out for:
They have a minimum fund balance for any fund you have in your account, and for most it is $3,000. Plus they charge a $10 per year fee for all funds with a balance below $5,000. (By the way, these are still cheaper than the fees you'll get at most other places, like banks.) To get around this I've decided to make an initial deposit of $5,000 by contributing $4,000 for tax year 2005 and $1,000 for tax year 2006. This will save me the ten bucks. YES!

Tax day, April 17th, is the last day you can make a contribution towards 2005, and since contribution limits are currently $4,000 per year contributing now is the only way to get the $5,000 balance needed to avoid the $10 fee.

I'm always looking for a better deal so let me know if I've missed something out there.

Happy Birthday Money Tree

Welcome to The Money Tree! The tree has just been planted and over the course of this blog I will be watering it often to make it grow.

This is my first blog of any kind, and I suppose that my goal is to use this blog to learn more about personal finance and grow my knowledge of money, and hopefully to teach someone else at the same time.

I've been inspired by a number of other blogs about personal finance. Some great places to get started learning are Bankrate.com and TheMoneyBlogNetwork.

I'll be sharing my own personal finance experiences, questions, goals, successes, and insights. Feel free to share your own as well, and thanks for helping to grow The Money Tree.