Southwest Airlines is offering 500 Rapid Rewards points if you sign up for their e-mail subscriptions for a monthly statement and deals newsletters. Relatively easy, and if you're already signed up, try unsubscribing for a day or two and then signing … [Read the rest]
Free Southwest Airlines Points For Email Sign-Up, Watching Video
Posted on September 30, 2011 // 9 Comments
Pay Your Mortgage, Insurance, and Utility Bills With Credit Cards – Western Union Speedpay
Posted on September 29, 2011 // 25 Comments
I was paying some bills online and noticed that my electricity bill had a new option for paying via a credit card through something called Western Union Speedpay. I'm not sure if this is universal, but for my utility company it accepted MasterCard, … [Read the rest]
Why Emergency Funds Can Provide The Best Return On Investment
Posted on September 28, 2011 // 21 Comments
Many recent articles and surveys have illustrated how many American are basically living paycheck-to-paycheck, with no significant savings cushion: Most Americans can't afford a $1,000 emergency expense - "A majority, or 64%, of Americans don't … [Read the rest]
Build A Complete Stock Portfolio With Just Two ETFs: Vanguard Total US (VTI) and Total International (VXUS)
Posted on September 27, 2011 // 18 Comments
If you are constructing your own portfolio and like the idea of low-cost, passively-managed index funds, you should definitely be aware that just two ETFs that can provide you diversified exposure to stocks worldwide and all at rock-bottom fees. … [Read the rest]
15-Year Mortgage Refinance Experience and Thoughts 2011
Posted on September 26, 2011 // 30 Comments
Over the weekend, we signed the closing documents for our refinancing into a 15-year fixed rate loan. It's hard to believe that less than four years ago we bought our first house with a 30-year loan at around 6%. Thanks to additional principal … [Read the rest]
Vanguard Allows Same-Day Trades With Bank Transfer Funding
Posted on September 22, 2011 // 11 Comments
If you have an account with Vanguard, you may have noticed them rolling out improvements to their online interface this month. If not, try logging in and see if you notice anything different. Today, I received an e-mail that they are also … [Read the rest]
CreditSesame: Would You Like Me More If I Showed You My Credit Score?
Posted on September 21, 2011 // 11 Comments
CreditSesame just launched a "credit badge" that is intended for random folks on the internet to show how big their... I mean how high their credit score is. Instead of wearing Armani or driving a Porsche, I can show off my CreditSesame badge. It's … [Read the rest]
Free 9/20 Only: Incorporation & LLC Formation Service From MyCorporation
Posted on September 20, 2011 // 3 Comments
If you've been considering making your side venture a formal separate entity, MyCorporation is offering their LLC formation and incorporation filing services for free for one day only 9/20/11 until 11:59 PST with the coupon code MYFREE (regular price … [Read the rest]
Rising Rents, Flat Home Prices, and Owning REITs In My Portfolio
Posted on September 19, 2011 // 4 Comments
The NYT Economix blog points out that rents are rising again according to inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The chart included doesn't have zero on the y-scale, but a value of 100 corresponds to rent from 1982-1984. Rents … [Read the rest]
Social Security, Ponzi Schemes, and Realistic Expectations
Posted on September 16, 2011 // 56 Comments
Recent political debates have brought up comparisons between Social Security and Ponzi schemes. (Have you read the book about the real Ponzi?) Even though seemingly every single economist on Earth has weighed in, this discussion has been around … [Read the rest]
Jack Bogle Makes Market Prediction For Next Decade
Posted on September 15, 2011 // 12 Comments
I don't usually post market forecasts, but I just wanted to jot this one down for posterity. Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard, is interviewed in a WSJ article Why a Legendary Market Skeptic Is Upbeat About Stocks where he makes a prediction of 7% … [Read the rest]
Vanguard Target Retirement Income Fund vs. Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund
Posted on September 14, 2011 // 17 Comments
There's a ways to go, but we're still aiming to retire within the next 10 years. As such, I've been thinking about what happens when we want to live off of withdrawals from our retirement portfolio. According to the passively-managed Target Date … [Read the rest]
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