Just Another Money Blog

Get up to 30% cash back on your online purchases

2011-06-08T00:35:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to make sure you are aware of Bigcrumbs.com that allows you to earn cash back on your everyday online shopping.

Tiny sample of some sites that offer cash back:

Walmart - 1.8%

The Container Store - 4.8%

Staples.com - 3.2%

Skype - 20%

Magazines.com - 28%

Here I'll explain how it works and how to sign up. In my next post, I'll talk about some advance techniques so you can double dip and get cash back twice!

How it works:

Sign up at Bigcrumbs.com
Then before you shop, sign in to Bigcrumbs.com, and find the retailer you want to shop at, and click through.
Shop as usual!
In about 2 months, you will get a paypal deposit with any cash back you earned! Payments take about 8 weeks, so purchases made throughout the month of June will be paid on Aug 15. (Always the 15th)
That's it!

Note, please go through my referral link, I do receive a small commission if you sign up through my account. If you go on to refer others, you will end up earning a little cash on your referral's shopping also!

NYC transit saving tips over at NYC Money!

2009-04-07T13:12:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to let you know I've updated my NYCMoney blog with a new post detailing how one can save money on NYC transit. Go check it out!

NYC Money blog relaunched!

2009-02-25T12:00:00.002-05:00

Today, I'm relaunching my other blog (nycmoney.blogspot.com) to be a more NYC specific deal finding and money saving blog!

Times are tough and I know everyone would not mind saving some money - especially on things they purchase already. So, if you live in NYC (or don't, it doesnt' matter) - head on over and check out my new blog!

There, I expect to have links to specific NYC related deals including fresh direct coupon codes, ways to save extra money at local stores, transit related deals, and more!

More Friends and Family coupons

2008-11-20T15:13:00.002-05:00

Here's some more friends and family coupons for both online and in store.

Credit to slickdeals.net.

Online coupons

Aeropostale 30% off coupon FRIENDS08. Expires: 11/23/08
Alternative Apparel 40% Off coupon CEF183. Expires: 11/26/08
Ann Taylor 30% off coupon FRIENDS08. Expires: 11/23/08
Ann Taylor Loft 30% off coupon FRIENDS08. Expires: 11/23/08
Art.com 30% off coupon FF2008. Expires: 11/21/08
Eddie Buaer 20% Off Coupon FRNDSAVE. Expires 11/24/08
Land's End: 20% Off Coupon SHARE with pin 00008692.
New York & Co 30% Off coupon 9815. Expires: 11/26/08
QuickSilver 40% off Coupon FFN8 or FFN81. Expires: 11/23/08
Ralph Lauren 30% off coupon HOL2008. Expires: 12/8/08
Roxy.com 40% off Coupon FFN8 or FFN81. Expires: 11/23/08
Rugby 30% off coupon HOL2008. Expires: 12/8/08
Sports Authoriity 25% off coupon TSAFEPL. Expires: 11/23/08
Shop Ecko 30% off coupon FRIENDS. Expires: 11/23/08

Printable/in-store coupons

Aeropostale printable 30% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
Ann Taylor printable 30% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
Ann Taylor Loft printable 30% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
New York & Co printable 30% Off coupon. Expires: 11/26/08
QuikSilver Stores printable 40% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
Roxy Stores printable 40% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08
Sports Authority printable 25% off coupon. Expires: 11/23/08

It's that time of the year again, except...

2008-11-14T14:52:00.003-05:00

It's almost holiday shopping season again! The one time of the year where everyone is almost expected to spend spend and spend. Except, given what's going on with the economy, I don't think most of us can afford it. But if you have the cash, there are plenty of deals to be had.

Keep an eye on this space as I'll be posting any deals I find worthwhile.

For now, here's a 20% Bloomingdales friends and family offer. Use that in store or combine that with their online sale and you could be potentially saving up to 60% off.

Freshdirect : Free Delivery Pass

2008-03-01T13:22:00.001-05:00

Got this from Fresh Direct in my email just now:

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR TWO-MONTH FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP:
1.Click here for Unlimited DeliveryPass
2.Add the membership (a $29.99 value) to your cart.
3.Shop as usual and enter the code FDDELIVERSFT1 at checkout.

The fine print:
If you enjoy your free trial, your membership will be automatically renewed at the $59 Six-Month Membership fee. There's no obligation — cancel anytime before your free trial ends.
This limited-time invitation is good through April 1, 2008.* Shop today to claim your FREE Two-Month Unlimited DeliveryPass!

"The Mother of all Holiday Discount Codes list!"

2007-11-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

Well, the shopping season is upon us. With the economy turning and recession coming (it is, ignore the optimistic press), I hope you decide to save your money instead of splurging and buying the latest useless gifts. However, I know everyone has to do a little gift shopping, and I hope this helps.

Got this via email, although it seems to have originated from fatwallet. I have not checked if they work, so leave a comment if something is wrong. Enjoy!

ps. Sorry no fresh direct codes, I'm keeping an eye on them though!

Online Discounts:

Alloy Coupon Code: ALYGIFT (20% off entire order til Dec. 3, 2007)
American Eagle Outfitters Coupon Code: 64152219 (15% off from Nov. 27 - Dec. 11, 2007)Armani Exchange Coupon Code: STYLE20 ($20 off $100 from ? - ? )
Banana Republic Coupon Code: BRHOLIDAY (20% off from Nov 27 – Dec 24, 2007)
Bare Escentuals Coupon Code: BEFAMILY (20% off from Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Barnes & Noble Coupon Code: T4N3B6W (25% off Single Item on Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2007)
Bath and Bodyworks Coupon Code: VELVET10 ($10 off $30 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Bed Bath Store Coupon Code: holiday07 ($15 off $75 from Nov. 28 - Dec. 10, 2007)
BeBe Sport Coupon Code: FAMILY25 (25% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
CCO - Closeout Catalog Outlet Coupon Code: CC10040 (extra 30% off your most expensive item - ends midnight Thursday, 11/29/07)
CCO - Closeout Catalog Outlet Coupon Code: CC10042 (extra 30% off your most expensive item - ends midnight Tuesday, 12/04/07)
Children's Place Coupon Code: FFTAHPVAC7 (30% off from Dec. 2 & Dec. 3, 2007)
Cloud Veil Coupon Code: 7LJ400 (45% off from ? - ? )
Crazy8 Coupon Code: C8ONLINE (20% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Designer Linens Outlet Coupon Code: FRIENDS77 (50% off from Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007)
Disney Store Coupon Code: HOLIDAY25 (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 2, 2007)
***Eastbay Coupon Code: EMEB72GC (20% off Giftcards from Nov 17 – Dec 20, 2007)
GameStop Coupon Code: AFF25 (25% off Used Games from ? – ? )
Golf Smith Coupon Code: FFD07 (UP TO 30% off from Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2007)
Exclusions, here's the original post
Guess Factory Stores Coupon Code: FNF30F (30% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Hasbro Toy Shop Coupon Code: FRIENDS20 (20% off from Dec 2 - Dec. 9, 2007)
Illuminations Coupon Code: 999201329 (20% off from Nov. 27 - Nov. 30, 2007)
J. Jill Coupon Code: FFNV25 (25% off on Nov 27 – Dec 2, 2007)
JC Penny Coupon Code: CHAMPION (20% off from Dec. 9, 2007)
Joann.com Coupon Code: NOVA740 (40% off 1 Regularly-Priced Item from Nov. 28 - Nov. 30, 2007)
Levis Store Coupon Code: LOJVWYJ9 (20% off $75 from Nov 30 – Dec 2, 2007)
Limited Too Just click link for savings (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 9, 2007)
Linen & Things Coupon Code: 223823997733 (20% off from Nov 30 – Dec 31, 2007)
Liz Claiborne Coupon Code: FRIEND40 (40% off from Nov. 30 - Dec. 3, 2007)
Macy's Coupon Code: MACYSFRIEND or MACYSFF or CFF117 (20% off from Nov 28 – Dec 03, 2007)
MetroStyle Coupon Code: MSTYLE50 (50% off Single Item from Nov. 28 - Dec. 31, 2007)
New York & Company Coupon Code: 9897 ($30 off $75 from Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007)
Nike Coupon Code: 2PCTH7A (20% off $125 from Nov 27 – Dec 24, 2007)
***Overstock Coupon Code: 73989 (10% off $45 from ? - ? )
***Ralph Lauren Coupon Code: HOL2007 (30% off 11/10 - 12/10)
Red Envelope Coupon Code: AMX25WISH ($50 off $200 from ? – ? )
restaurant.com Coupon Code: THANKS (60% off from Nov. 28 - Nov. 30, 2007)
Sephora Coupon Code: FF2007 (20% off from Nov. 28 - Dec 31, 2007)
***Sharper Image Just cick link for savings ($10 off $100 from Nov 27 – Jan 31, 2008)
Snap Fish Coupon Code: FRIENDS07 (25% off on Nov 27 – Dec 25, 2007)
Speedo Coupon Code: FRIENDS4 (25% off on Nov 27 – Nov 30, 2007)
Sports Authority Coupon Code: TSASAVE25 (25% off on 11/29-12/2)
Timberland Coupon Code: 3421273 (40% off from Nov 30 – Dec 2, 2007)
Toys 'r' us Coupon Code: TRUFRIENDFAMILY (15% off $150 from Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2007)
Ulta Coupon Code: 84447 (20% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2007)
Victoria's Secret Coupon Code: FA78113 or FA78449 ($15 off $100, $30 off $150, $75 off $250, & $150 off $500 from Nov. 28 - Dec. 20, 2007)
Victoria's Secret Coupon Code: WARM25 (25% off Single Sweater from Nov. 28 - Dec. 1, 2007)Warner Bros Coupon Code: HGFFWB (20% off from Nov 27 – Nov 30, 2007 )
WinkFlash Coupon Code: G3F8E7W4 (40% off from Nov 28 – Dec 15, 2007 )
Yankee Candle Just cick link for savings ($10 off $25 from Nov 27 - Dec. 22, 2007)
Zales Coupon Code: SAVE50FRIEND ($50 off $200 [works on 199.99] from Nov 28 & Nov 29, 2007 )

Printable instore coupons:

Barnes & Noble (10% off on Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007)
Bath and Bodyworks ($10 off $30 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2007)
BeBe Sport (25% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
BestBuy ($20 off $175 from Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2007)
Borders or Waldenbooks (20% off from Nov 27 – Dec 6, 2007)
Crazy8/Gymboree (20% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Foot Locker (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Champs (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
FootAction (30% up to $100 or 30% + 10% over $100 from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
Gordmans (20% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 9, 2007)
Guess Factory Stores (30% off from Nov. 29 - Dec. 2, 2007)
H&M (25% off from Dec. 7 - Dec. 9, 2007)
J. Jill (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 2, 2007)
JC Penny (20% off on Dec. 9, 2007)
Kirklands (25% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 31, 2007)
The Limited ($30 off $100 from Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2007)
Limited Too (25% off from Nov 27 – Dec 9, 2007)
Linen & Things (20% off from Nov. 27 - Dec. 31, 2007)
Loehmanns (15% off Reduced Item & 20% off Clearance Item from Nov 27 – Dec 31, 2007)
Lord & Taylor (15% off from Nov. 9 - Dec. 24, 2007)
Macy's (pdf)(20% off from Nov 28 – Dec 03, 2007)
New York & Company ($30 off $75 from Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007)
Niketown, Nike Women, Nike Outlet - Front / Back 30% off 11/29 - 12/2 YMMV
oshKosh ($10 off $50 from Nov 26 – Dec 11, 2007)
Radio Shack (Various Deals Dec 1, 2007 from 7am - 9am)
Sharper Image ($10 off $100 from Nov 27 – Jan 31, 2008)
Staples (12% off from Dec. 2 - Dec. 8, 2007)
Ulta (20% off Single Item from Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2007)
Yankee Candle ($10 off $25 from Nov 27 - Dec. 22, 2007)

Another Fresh Direct $50 free food offer

2007-10-31T16:17:00.000-04:00

Here's another Fresh Direct offer for new customers.

The code to use is "DJ50A". The terms say that you must place your order by 11/2/2007 and your second order by 11/16/2007.

Hope this helps!

The secret iPhone subsidy that ATT doesn't want you to know about (buy a new iPhone for $200)

2007-10-01T14:18:00.000-04:00

Update 10/2/2007: Answered some concerns at the end. Added ATT/Cingular terms.

It's no surprise that the Apple Iphone is a big hit. It looks not only looks great, but functions well also. The press and public are infatuated with it (notice all the iphone related news). The one problem is its price. At $400 (down from $600 after the recent $200 price cut), it's a pricey phone. Many would-be buyers have to ask themselves, why spend $400 when you can get a subsidized phone for free?

The problem is that ATT/Cingular does not subsidize the Apple iPhone in any way. Normally they subsidize the price of your phone to entice you the sign up and lock you into a lengthy 2 year contract. This way, over the course of 2 years, they can recuperate the cost of that initial subsidy (usually around $200). This is why you see all those "free phone" commercials and advertisements.

So how do you take advantage of this subsidy if ATT/Cingular isn't offering one?

Here's a step by step method on how to do it.

Assumptions first: You aren't currently locked into any contract with any carrier. And you are comfortable with using ebay/craigslist.

1. Go online at amazon.com, newegg.com, or where ever you prefer, buy a new phone and sign up for a new 2 year contract with ATT/Cingular. For example, the Sony Ericsson W580i is currently selling for $0.01 on amazon.com.

2. After your contract becomes valid and activated (a couple days after you place your order), go buy your new iPhone from Apple. At this point you are locked into a 2 year contract with ATT/Cingular.

3. Once you get your new iPhone, activate it normally. Your new plan (the one with the unlimited wireless) will also require you to sign a 2 year contract. This is the key to this method. The new 2 year contract UPDATES the contract you signed when you bought your phone from amazon.com. Your contract is still 2 years from the date you activated your iPhone. It is not four years.

4. When you receive your phone from amazon, sell it on ebay or craigslist! Ignore all the junk you get from amazon about how to set up and activate your new phone, you don't need to do that anymore. If you get $200 for it, great - your iPhone was effectively $200 cheaper! Enjoy your new iPhone.

The end result is that you have your iPhone, the contract you would have signed if you had gotten your iPhone right away, and about $200 extra in your pocket.

Any comments or questions? Leave a comment. Remember to bookmark my site! Thanks.

Questions and Answers:

Jonathan from My Money Blog asks: Are you sure that the new iPhone contract simply shifts the contract date a couple of weeks, and does not tack on two years on the end? You would think both phones (subsidized or not) require two-year contracts. Otherwise you could just keeping buying iPhones and selling them with no contract (and only extending your current one by a few days).

Yes, I am positive that you do not end up with a 4 year contract. You are merely adding the $20 wireless data plan and that will restart your 2 year contract commitment. In fact, the Cingular website even has a FAQ on this same question. I'll copy and paste it here for clarity. From Cingular's iPhone FAQ:

Q. I just upgraded my phone recently. Are there any penalties or restrictions for upgrading to iPhone right away?
A. No. Everyone can upgrade to iPhone right away, you just need to add an iPhone Data Plan (this may replace your current data plan but your voice plan will stay the same) and sign a new 2-year service contract. Discount eligibility for other devices will continue from the time of your current contract.

As for keeping on buying iPhones, you are more than welcome to do that. However, I think each subsequent iPhone you activate will deactivate the earlier ones, making the whole process moot. Furthermore, you DO NOT get another free cell phone (or subsidy) if you are already locked into a contract. This is the key point. This whole method only works if you are not in a contract with Cingular currently.

Updates and tips on exchanging money overseas.

2007-09-24T17:11:00.000-04:00

The last deal I posted about the unlimited Blockbuster renewals doesn't work anymore unfortunately. It was a good 6 months of free movies and video games. You can still sign up for new accounts using new email addresses + credit card combinations, but that's a bigger hassle.

Some thoughts about exchanging money overseas.

On my recent trip to Europe, I experimented with different ways of obtaining cash and paying for items. Now that all my credit card and bank statements have posted, I can do some analysis and share with you what were the best ways to pay when travelling.

The best way by far was to get money directly via an ATM. Bank of America does not charge you any ATM fees if you use any of these banks's ATMs overseas: Barclays (United Kingdom), BNP Paribas (France), China Construction Bank (China), Deutsche Bank (Germany), Santander Serfin (Mexico), Scotiabank (Canada), Westpac (Australia and New Zealand). After returning back from my trip, I noticed that with each ATM withdrawal I made, there was a ATM charge of exactly 1%. After calling BofA and learning that this was a currency conversion charge, the friendly customer rep even waived it for me, resulting in absolutely no fees.

The end cost (over the prevailing rate) of using ATMs to withdraw money was essentially zero (comparing my daily ATM withdraws to x-rate.com's historical data)*. If you have access to free ATMs, this is definitely the way to go, even if you can't get the 1% currency conversion fee waived.

Other options that I used or noticed were paying with a credit card, letting the store charge it in USD, exchanging it at the hotel, or exchanging it at a currency exchange location. They all offered worse rates, some really bad. Without going into too much detail, I'll briefly explain why.

Credit cards will tack on a 3% fee if you charge in a foreign currency, unless there are no ATMs, this is your 2nd best option. Some credit cards don't have this foreign transaction fee (or charge a smaller %, amex for example), but they are a little less common.

Other options are all rip offs.

* if anyone knows of a site that has historic hourly breakdowns of the exchange rate, that would allow me to compare more precisely. Thanks.

Free Blockbuster total access, over and over again.

2007-03-23T11:17:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've last posted - almost 8 months. It's been so long that the last item I posted about doesn't even really work anymore. Ebay prices for fandango.com movie codes have jumped and the listings have dwindled.

Recently, I've been toying around and trying Blockbuster's total access. There is a blockbuster store near my work place so returning and renting movies is a snap. If you aren't sure how it works, you can read more on the blockbuster page. Basically, it's like netflix + convenience of returning and exchanging for movies in store + free movie/games coupons.

Sound interesting? Well, I haven't even mentioned the best part: I've been using it for months so far... completely free. Here's how you do it. Sign up using the code "morevalue32" and you'll get your first month (or 2 weeks if you've been a previous subscriber) free.

Make a note of when the next billing date is (in your manage account section) and remember to cancel 1 day or 2 before that date. After canceling, wait a couple of days and log back in, there should be a link saying "upgrade" or "try a 2 week free trial". Click on it to sign up for another 2 week free trial. Cancel and repeat!

It's really quite simple. However, this may or may not work for you and I have no clue when they will fix this loophole. Remember to return your store movies on time to avoid fees, etc.

UPDATE 9/24/2007: Deal is dead. Was fun while it lasted!

How to save over 64% on movie tickets!

2006-08-15T10:10:00.000-04:00

I've been saving at least 50% off my movie tickets for the past year or so and I assumed most people knew about this "trick". But after reading the comments over on MyMoneyBlog's post about saving $100, it occured to me to share this little gem.

To save money, I buy fandango gift codes on ebay. Here is an example, $8.70 for 2 tickets. In NYC, it costs me $12.25 for a movie ticket (including the $1.50 convenience charge). Paying $8.70 for TWO tickets means I end up paying only $4.35 per ticket - saving me 64.5%! Even if you don't have to pay $12+ for a ticket (consider yourself lucky), $4.35 per ticket should still reflect some substantial savings.

Some words of caution however. You have to make sure that fandango.com sells tickets to your favorite theatre. You also have to double check the restrictions on the gift codes. Some of them expire soon, and some of them are only for "R" rated movies. In my experience, the sellers tend to email you the codes within a couple of hours; buy them in advance if you can't wait.

FYI, here's the search terms I use on ebay: fandango tickets.

I hope this helps! If you know any other ways to save, feel free to share!

United profitable

2006-07-31T16:59:00.000-04:00

United Airlines reported it's first profit today since... quite a while ago (it just came out of bankruptcy). This is interesting to me because it represents a successful turnaround and restructuring process during bankruptcy. United cut a lot of capacity and lowered costs (dumping their pension liability helped of course) during the past few years and it's good to the results of that.

Another reason why I care is because I blogged about United's hiring as a leading indicator of better times ahead way back in my 2nd blog post. This is also a sign that my United Mileage plus miles won't become worthless after all.

One other interesting point mentioned in the article is that United hedged 28% of its third quarter oil costs at $69.84 a barrel. I wonder how that compares to other airlines?

Carnival of Personal Finance, right here! (week #57)

2006-07-15T15:28:00.000-04:00

Welcome! This is the 57th week of the carnival of personal finance! If you're new here, feel free to browse around and look at some of my older posts - I like to write about many topics beyond personal finance (including a recent post about life in North Korea).

Now on with the carnival! I received 42 submissions this week and here they are. They are ordered by primarily by the time of submission. Bolded and italicized articles are the best in my opinion, while some submissions will be penalized for being incoherent or being a general waste of time.

Praveen Puri from My Simple Trading System introduces us to the technique of constant value investing.

Emmanuel Oluwatosin gives some advice on how much money one needs to be their own boss.

Blogtrepreneur discusses how he uses ebay to make money on the internet.

Pacesetter Mortgage Blog helps answer the problem of revealing your income to your mortgage broker.

We're In Debt rambles on until he gets to his point about a system for keeping receipts. (574 words)

Penny Foolish shares a well organized and written guide on how to start a blog. (2921 words)

FMF at Free Money Finance presents some Alternatives to Retiring. Some work, most don't. (ie. working is the opposite of retiring, not an alternative!)

Consumerism Commentary, like many others before him, tries to decide between ING direct or HSBC direct.

Frugal Wisdom from Wenchypoo's Warehouse submits a LONG article about "Inflation". (1439 words)

frugal underground shares with us tips on how to find an affordable vacation rental.

jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity presents Spread Your Savings Across Multiple Online Banks

AboutPMI at About Private Mortgage Insurance shares a Sample Letter to Cancel Private Mortgage Insurance

Ian Anderson from Myquo.com shows us why your house might not be your biggest investment.

Insureblog wonders why people purposely ignore and don't care about how much their medicinal care costs.

Amanda at Young and Broke explores the creation of an emergency fund.

Free The Drones Blog shares hints and instructions on how to improve your credit score by fixing common mistakes in your credit report.

Dan Melson at Searchlight Crusade presents Agents Refusing to Make an Offer on Real Estate.

mimi from Pocket Change discovers the joy of Books on CD and offers a tip on how to listen for free.

Jeff Howard rehashes the boring Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA comparison. I swear every single money blog has done one of these articles, we don't need anymore!

Stock Market Beat has a short post on Data Point Investors.

Paul's Tips shares an excellent article on tackling the question of to rent or to buy?

Nick from Trading Winner helps us choose an online stock broker.

2million gives us an interesting and inside look at negotiating a property price. I had to look this up, but FSBO apparently stands for For Sale By Owner. Unique article.

Queercents shares some thoughts and facts about owning a vacation home.

Single Ma's Fabulous Financials highlights why she likes credit cards and high limits. Common knowledge for most money bloggers, but well presented. Worth a read for those that are new.

My 1st Million At 33 gives some solid advice on accumulating wealth from the 20's to the 50's. One hint: it involves saving.

Getting Out of Debt shares a story and advice on shopping and credit card debt addictions.

Nick from Punny Money wants to help you marry your wife, not her lawyer.

Jonathan from MyMoneyBlog analyzes a credit card rewards program and figures out how to get a free set of tires.

It's Just Money talks about how Southwest's in-flight magazine "sells out." A post about him not reading the first thing on the page.

The MotherLoad shares her first experience using ebates.

Accumulating Money gives us some faulty retirement assumptions.

Journey To Financial Freedom explains how to set your personal level of financial freedom.

InvestorGeeks presents a well written article detailing your options if the USD declines and inflation rises. In error, they also submitted another article analyzing CD laddering. I'm including both because they are excellent, well thought out articles.

My Financial Awareness writes about tithing and how the law of tithing does not merely apply to finances. The Dali Lama, Dilbert, and Mother Teresa are all mentioned in this unique post.

Money and Values ponders how much money one should keep in a checking account.

Pragmatic Finance explores and compares some target retirement funds.

The Prince of Thrift wants to share his financial mission statement with us.

StopBuyingCrap.com reminds us not to let the boring nature of personal finance stop us from caring.

nickel at fivecentnickel.com dissects and analyzes Bank of America's "Out of State" Check Policy

NCN submits some basic and sound advice for the financially out of shape.

Business Opportunities Blog compiles 10 questions to help you figure out if buying a business is right for you.

Okay, and that's it! I hope you all enjoyed the wide variety of topics and posts. The carnival next week will be held at AllThingsFinancial. Take care.

North Korea - what is it really like??

2006-07-12T18:54:00.000-04:00

With their recent test missile launch, stories about North Korea are dominating the media again. We know North Korea is ruled by a dictator by the name of Kim Jong-Il (remember him from Team America World Police?). We know North Korea has nuclear ambitions and capabilities. We know it's a dangerous place, etc etc.

But have you noticed, all the reports are just based off of how crazy and dangerous Kim Jong-Il is, and how his people are starving and suffering as a result of his lunacy? Think about it, we really don't know what North Korea is like. How do North Koreans live? What do their cities look like? Is everyone really starving and living off their fields?

I recently stumbled upon two photo essays that I'd like to share with you. One is by Time Magazine, cleverly titled "Exposing North Korea". This one is very professional, every picture seems to be perfectly thought out and choreographed.

The other one is a less professional, and is taken by a Russian web designer by the name of Artemii Lebedev. These pictures are simply stunning and candid, as they are forbidden pictures (the North Korean Government apparently tries to control what pictures you can take). The pictures are here, and the translated version is here.

I hope you enjoyed those pictures as much as I did. It certainly makes the secret North Korean society a little more human.

Reminder:
I will be hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance on Monday, July 17th. Please feel free to submit any articles to me at my email address (in my profile).

Congrats Italy! Vacation time for me.

2006-07-04T18:14:00.000-04:00

Wow what a finish for the Italy Germany game. I hope you guys got to see it. I'm still cheering for Portugal though.

On a completely unrelated note, I'll be going on vacation for a week or so. So posting will be sparse. Enjoy the summer weather!

Do you Ebay snipe?

2006-06-26T15:47:00.000-04:00

"Sniping" on ebay is to bid during the closing seconds of an auction in an attempt to win the auction by denying others time to out bid you. This method is extremely popular and I personally see it happen with most of my auctions. In fact, there are many programs that will even do the last minute bidding for you.

But just how effective is this method? USAToday has an article that shows, mathematically, that "it pays to snipe." Apparently a bunch of South Korean physicists did some research on this matter and concluded that:

...the probability of submitting a winning bid on an item indeed drops with each bid. "Our analysis explicitly shows that the winning strategy is to bid at the last moment as the first attempt rather than incremental bidding from the start."

So, the question is, do you ebay snipe to win auctions? I personally don't. If I see an item I want, I just bid the price I'm willing to pay and see what happens. However, since I hardly win any auctions, maybe my bidding strategy is severly flawed.

I'm curious, do any of you guys have a particular ebay bidding strategy you use? AND on the flip side, what about any particular selling strategies to counter ebay sniping?

Stuck at work and want updates on the World Cup?

2006-06-13T10:36:00.000-04:00

I've been pleasantly surprised by how well the underdog teams have played so far. Trinidad and Tobago held out for an emotional undermanned draw. Togo (the lowest FIFA ranked team) managed to score, something France couldn't do in THREE games four years ago. Overall, it's been fun to watch.

However, since most of us are going to be at work while the World Cup matches are being played, watching the games on tv live will be tough. Instead I'll share some of the sites that I use to follow along with the live matches.

FIFA World Cup site
Duh.

New York Times World Cup Blog
A live blog as the matches are being played. Well written with fast and frequent updates. Interesting comments also.

BigBadBobby writes that you can get text message updates from this site:
"Check out 4INFO's World Cup Text Alerts. Send "world cup" or "usa" to 44636, or visit their World Cup page. At least you can get a text message after every goal."

Soccernet, espn, sportsline, etc, also have their own match commentaries.

One more thing, Fanuch shares a site with great downloadable spreadsheets and charts to keep track of all the results.

The two remaining games this afternoon are going to be interesting. I want to see if France can break free from their poor performance of last World Cup and if Brazil is as good as everyone thinks they are.

World Cup time!

2006-06-09T15:15:00.000-04:00

Now that my CFA tests are done with (for now at least), I can focus my time and energy on important things like the World Cup. I'm very excited about this upcoming month of football and I think you should be too.

I spent my lunch break watching the second half of the Germany and Costa Rica game, and it was certainly time well spent. There were six goals scored, and Costa Rica managed to keep the game close.

I'll post again with some interesting articles I had saved about the World Cup. In case you were wondering, I'm cheering for England and Portugal!

Who doesn't want free food?

2006-05-26T11:07:00.000-04:00

Today's the last day for the $50 Freshdirect.com promotion I posted about a couple of weeks ago. Be sure to place your order by today!

Once you're done with your first order, remember to place your second order by 6/16 to get your second $25 off!

Here are the codes once again: FIRSTFREE for $50 off first two orders (new customers) and FREEDELTRY for free delivery (existing customers).

Oh and one more way to save on food: using fatwallet cash back and restaurant.com

The latest restaurant.com code is on the right hand column!

Baby boomers will lead to stock crash?

2006-05-18T11:48:00.000-04:00

Two weekend trips to California and the CFA test coming up on June 3rd means there won't be much time for me to post.

However, here's an article that interested me:

Will the stock market crash from baby boomers pulling their money out?

This Economist article presents two competing arguments. I personally side with Mr. Milken. From my personal observation, it seems that baby boomers are now expecting to live longer than they originally thought. Maybe it's the better health care or maybe it's the increasing social participation and acceptance of the elderly (as older people constitute a larger proportion of the population, the stigma and negative connotations of being "old" is reduced); whatever it is, to me it seems like there's a general sense of optimism as older people continue on with the rest of their lives. As such, I don't foresee any mass exodus from the stock market - baby boomers will still need to invest and grow their retirement porfolios, especially since retirement will now last longer than before.

Mr. Siegal's "great hope" of developing countries offsetting any shortfall in domestic demand in assets is a key point that needs reiterating. As developing countries get richer, their investors will soon need to put their money somewhere (developing countries might not have a robust stock market). This growing global pool of investors could more than offset any outflow created by baby boomers - the question is, would foreign investors put their money into US assets? Consider: transparent, well regulated markets and well managed companies vs. declining dollar, huge foreign debt, and negative foreign image. All this remains to be seen.

$50 free food! From freshdirect.com!

2006-05-10T20:59:00.003-04:00

UPDATE again (2/25/2009): I have just launched my new NYC specific money saving website that talks specifically about Fresh Direct coupon codes and NYC related deals! Visit and bookmark NYC Money! There you will find the latest Fresh Direct coupon codes (and there are many right now since the economy is tanking).

UPDATE: This is an old post. Newer freshdirect.com deals will be contained in newer posts. Bookmark justanothermoneyblog.blogspot.com to stay notified!

This is for us living in NYC. Walking out of Circuit City the other day, I picked up one of these little business cards indicating two promotions that freshdirect.com is offering.

Freshdirect.com is offering $50 in free food for first time customers! Use the code "FIRSTFREE" at the checkout screen, and get $25 off each of your first and second orders. The minimum purchase required is $40 per order. Even after the $5 delivery fee, you are still getting your groceries for almost 50% off.

I personally just ordered a lot of drinks. You can't beat the fact that someone will deliver heavy (and heavily discounted) drinks right up to my apartment!

And for those that are existing customers, you can use the code "FREEDELTRY" for free delivery. Not bad if you use freshdirect.com anyways!

Carnival time. 46.

2006-05-02T16:33:00.000-04:00

The latest Carnival of Personal Finance is up!

Only one post stood out to me this week and it was a post about porfolio allocation.

The Real Returns and his analogy of singles and home runs to stocks. Especially fascinating to me was the calculation that showed how $8000 invested at 10% is equivalent to $1000 invested at 16% (both over 40 years). Unfortunately, he doesn't have the answer as to how to properly allocate one's porfolio with those numbers in mind.

One more thing, I'm going to visit Ninja New York as a follow up to my earlier post about unique dining experiences this weekend. I'll post about it sometime next week!

Just who is an active blogger?

2006-04-24T20:20:00.000-04:00

This is an uncharacteristic post. I normally try to keep my posts longer and more substantial, and bring light to things that my readers may not usually think about or analyse. However, apparently in some people's minds, that means I am not an active blogger and therefore, I am not deserving of hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance.

While I understand why Flexo would propose and enforce a rule of two posts per week - some upcoming hosts are clearly not "active", in any definition of the word, the reality is that not every blogger has the time to post like he does (He has FIVE posts for today, April 24th). Furthermore, not everyone WANTS to adopt a posting schedule like he has. I honestly don't think anyone cares if I posted two sentences about how I received my tax refund today.

Should a blogger who updates regularly and consistently (whether that be weekly, bi weekly) be considered inactive? And should carnival hosts be prevented from hosting just because they have different posting schedules? Any thoughts?

Every time I spend, I get 5% cash back.

2006-04-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

Well not every time I spend, but pretty close. Most of my expenses tend to be in the groceries, drugstore, and dining out categories. And through the clever use of certain credit cards, I get 5% back!

The two main credit cards I use are the Citi Dividend Platinum Select and the Citi MTVu. Both of these cards give 5% back in certain categories. Granted my spending habits are going to be vastly different from yours, applying for these cards should still be a good move (especially since gas prices are high).

The Citi Dividend Platinum Select gives 5% cash back on "Everyday purchases." These are purchases at:

Gas stations
Supermarkets
Drugstores

The MTVu card gives 5% rewards (in the form of Thankyou points redeemable for gift certs, etc.) at these locations:

Restaurants (including fast food)
Book stores
Record stores
Movie theatres
Movie rental stores

One caveat, the MTVu card is for students only. However, I graduated and applied and still got approved.

I hope this helps! One more card that I noticed, but don't have, is the Hilton HHonors Platinum Amex card. It gives 5% back on restaurants, everyday purchases, the USPS, and cell phone bills. Too bad it is in the form of HHonor points. One more thing, be sure to apply for these cards through cardoffers.com. You can get some extra money if you go through them.

Credit goes to fatwallet for some of the info.