Archive for the ‘Bargainengineer’ Category
Everbank $75 Money Market & Checking Promotion Bonus
I’ve written about Everbank in the past because of their high rates and their unique CDs, especially the market-safe CDs. They’ve consistently been among the best rates on any listing of high yield savings accounts and I’ve been using them for quite some time.
As far as I can recall, this is the first time they’ve offered a deposit bonus for as long as I’ve known they existed.
Promotion Details
The promotion is split up into two parts:
- $50 bonus: First, you get $50 for depositing at least $20,000 into a Yield Pledge Money Market Account.
- $25 bonus: Then, you can get an additional $25 for depositing at least $10,000 into a FreeNet Checking Account.
You must maintain that balance for four consecutive statement periods (months) and you will receive the bonus in the 5th statement. All the while, you’ll earn a 2.25% three-month bonus rate followed by a lower normal rate (1.51% 1-st year APY up to $50k on the MMA, 1.46% 1-st year APY $50-100k on the checking account). There is no listed expiration date for this offer.
New Financial Management Suite
In addition to this bonus, I was also treated to a walkthrough of their new financial account management suite of tools powered by Yodlee. It gives you similar functionality to an online personal finance tool like Mint but the added assurance that an FDIC insured bank stands behind it and their security protocols. So if you wanted a personal finance tool but needed a bank’s support, this is your first and, at the moment, only chance.
If you’ve wanted an Everbank account and were merely waiting for a promotion, now’s your chance. The balance requirements for a bonus are pretty high but the minimums to avoid fees are much lower ($5,000 for the MMA, no minimum for the checking).
Everbank $75 Money Market & Checking Promotion Bonus from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.
New ING Direct Electric Orange Checking Promo Code
ING Direct has been working hard to promote their checking accounts and their sweet $50 checking account bonus has returned once again.
The promotion is very simple, just go to the Electric Orange information page and click the orange “Apply Now” button. On the next page, click on “Continue” and put in E7NSTND into the reference code box. Complete the rest of the application.
When your account is opened, you’ll receive an Electric Orange Debit MasterCard. You need to use it in “3 signature-based purchases within 45 days of account opening” to qualify for the $50 bonus. On the 50th day, the bonus will be desposited. A signature-based purchase is one where you need to sign for the purchase, rather than use a PIN. In most cases, it means you need to select “Credit” (instead of debit) when asked.
If you want to add a little more juice to the promotion and you aren’t already an ING Direct customer, you can apply for a savings account first using an ING Direct referral first. That’ll get you $25 to start, then another $50 with this checking account bonus.
There’s no published expiration date.
New ING Direct Electric Orange Checking Promo Code from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.
$250,000 FDIC and NCUA Insurance Limits Permanent
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) has gotten a lot of press lately because it represents the biggest reform of Wall Street in quite some time. While the pundits will surely be debating the strengths and weaknesses of the bill, what it went too far on and what it erroneously avoided, one part of the bill touches each and every one of us in a meaningful way – deposit insurance limits.
For years, the FDIC and NCUA insurance limits were set at $100,000. During the economic crisis, this protection limit was raised to $250,000 (in October 2008) to help assuage the fears of many Americans who “ran” on their banks, not realizing in many cases it was the run itself that killed the bank. The limit was raised to $250,000 temporarily, set to expire by 2013, but the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed on July 21st, 2010, has made this limit permanent.
In fact, the act made the limit retroactive to January 1st, 2008 to the benefit of 9,000 depositors who had more than $100,000 at banks that failed between January and October 2008.
It will be interesting to see how the other parts of the bill play out in the wild.
$250,000 FDIC and NCUA Insurance Limits Permanent from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.
Beware the Rules of Thumb
The other day, I was explaining the Rule of 72 to my lovely wife. It’s a simple little mathematical trick that almost epitomizes the advantages and disadvantages of rules of thumb. If you want to know how long it takes to double a sum of money, divide 72 by its interest rate.
At 10% a year, the rule says a balance doubles ever 7.2 years. It’s really closer slightly less than 7.275 years. At 5% a year, the rule says a balance doubles ever 14.4 years. It’s closer to 14.21. It’s a pretty good rule of thumb and good when you have nothing on the line. If it makes a difference whether it doubles in 14.4 years or 14.21 years, then the rule fails. (Incidentally, it’s obviously an estimate because if you have an interest rate of 100%, you don’t double it in 0.72 years, you double it in 1 year)
Should you have (120-Your Age)% of your investments in the stock market? Which stock market? Domestic? Emerging markets? Small cap? Blue chips?
Should you really be paying 30% of your income towards housing? Is this towards rent or a mortgage? Does it count utilities or is it just towards the mortgage or the rent bill? What about insurance?
As you can see, rules of thumb are good when you’re just talking about it around the room. They’re good for when there’s nothing on the line and you’re happy with a “good enough.” If you want to know with 100% certainty, you need to roll up your sleeves, grab a calculator, and do some work.
Beware the Rules of Thumb from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.
Beware the Rules of Thumb
The other day, I was explaining the Rule of 72 to my lovely wife. It’s a simple little mathematical trick that almost epitomizes the advantages and disadvantages of rules of thumb. If you want to know how long it takes to double a sum of money, divide 72 by its interest rate.
At 10% a year, the rule says a balance doubles ever 7.2 years. It’s really closer slightly less than 7.275 years. At 5% a year, the rule says a balance doubles ever 14.4 years. It’s closer to 14.21. It’s a pretty good rule of thumb and good when you have nothing on the line. If it makes a difference whether it doubles in 14.4 years or 14.21 years, then the rule fails. (Incidentally, it’s obviously an estimate because if you have an interest rate of 100%, you don’t double it in 0.72 years, you double it in 1 year)
Should you have (120-Your Age)% of your investments in the stock market? Which stock market? Domestic? Emerging markets? Small cap? Blue chips?
Should you really be paying 30% of your income towards housing? Is this towards rent or a mortgage? Does it count utilities or is it just towards the mortgage or the rent bill? What about insurance?
As you can see, rules of thumb are good when you’re just talking about it around the room. They’re good for when there’s nothing on the line and you’re happy with a “good enough.” If you want to know with 100% certainty, you need to roll up your sleeves, grab a calculator, and do some work.
Beware the Rules of Thumb from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.