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 $99). Also included is a copy of Quickbooks Simple Start (though I think this is always free…) and a free domain name registration. You must still pay shipping and the applicable filing fees charged by each state. I’m sure they’ll also try to upsell you some additional services, but you can decline them.

MyCorporation is owned by Intuit, makers of TurboTax and Quicken. Accordingly, you can view such online incorporation services as similar to TurboTax for taxes. Yes, you could fill out your 1040 tax forms all by yourself, but it’s much easier to go through a question-and-answer software that walks you through it and explains the steps. You could also incorporate yourself as well, may prefer some guidance. However, if you’re doing something complex or out of the ordinary, then you should hire a professional to handle it (accountant for taxes, lawyer for incorporation).

When I formed my S-Corporation years ago, I used one of their primary competitors LegalZoom and paid about $150 for the service – not including the state filing fees and shipping. It was good to have someone look over the forms before submitting, while avoiding the $1,000+ fees from a lawyer.

The decision between staying a sole proprietor/partnership or forming an LLC/corporation is not always simple. If you’d like to dig into the details on your own, I recommend the book LLC or Corporation? How to Choose the Right Form for Your Business from Nolo Press. I chose to go the S-Corp route primarily for the income tax savings. You can even have a LLC and chose to have it taxed as an S-Corp, as if things weren’t confusing enough!

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Entrepreneurial //

LivingSocial: $20 Whole Foods Market Gift Card For $10

Posted on September 13, 2011 // 9 Comments

LivingSocial, the group-buying deal-a-day website trying to go IPO like Groupon, is offering national deal today of a $20 value voucher to Whole Foods Market for only $10. Limit one per person. 5% of the sale price goes to the Whole Kids Foundation. I don’t shop there very often, but my sister says the organic chicken tastes much better than the standard stuff. Selected portion of way-too-long fine print below:

Limit one voucher per person • Whole Foods Market code shall not be deemed purchased by the purchaser until claimed • If code is not claimed within 90 days following offer period, code will be deemed forfeited, and purchasers will be refunded the full paid value ($10) of the Whole Foods Market code in Deal Bucks to be used on livingsocial.com • Whole Foods Market code claimed by purchaser may be used over multiple purchases • Entire value of World Foods Market code claimed by a customer does not expire • PAID VALUE EXPIRES ON September 13, 2016 • PROMOTIONAL VALUE EXPIRES ON December 13, 2011

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

American Express Electronic eGift Card Fee Waiver Code

Posted on September 9, 2011 // 10 Comments

I’ve mentioned American Express Gift Cards are being useful for shifting your purchases forward, in case you’re still working on satisfying spending requirements for big bonuses like the $400 cash bonus from the Chase Sapphire Preferred(SM) Card or $500 in gift cards  from the Citi ThankYou Preferred Card. This way you get the purchases counted and out of the way first, and then you spend them down gradually.

I just got another e-mail from American Express that they now have an electronic version called eGift cards, which can only be used online at websites that take AMEX, but you don’t have to pay any shipping fees. There is a $2.95 purchase fee, but you can get it waived with the promotional code EMGIFTWL, valid through 10/31/2011. Useful if you regularly buy stuff online anyway.

You can try to use a cashback shopping portals, but the e-mail they sent me says that you have to go through the provided link above to get the fee waived. When buying larger amounts, it may simply be better just to pay the fee and go for the 1.6% cash back.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

Sharebuilder $50 Bonus For Existing Customers, Promo Code

Posted on September 8, 2011 // 25 Comments

Got a Sharebuilder.com brokerage account? Current customers can get an extra $50 by making transferring over at least $100 each month from September 2011 through December 2011. Log into your account, and navigate the following tabs: Accounts > Overview > Profile & Settings > Enter Promotion. Enter the promotional code OLRCDP50, and you should see the following message:

Your promotion code has been accepted. Congratulations! Now all you need to do is make a deposit of $100 or more every month from September 2011 through December 2011. Click the Transfer Money link above to get started. You can expect your $50 credit before the end of January 2012. Enjoy!

Via NihmRodd of FW. I haven’t used my account in years, but this worked on my account even with a zero balance. Not a bad idea to spur on some activity, and $50 return on $400 within 3 months is a really good return on investment, better than any savings account. Note that if you make any withdrawal from your account during the promotion timeframe (September – December), you won’t be eligible to receive the bonus.

Don’t have an account yet? Check out this $50 bonus when you open an new Sharebuilder account and deposit $50 before 12/31/11. After you open the account, try and apply the promo code above to get both bonuses.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Free 2,500 Chase Sapphire Rewards Points + $5 Free Postage With Stamps.com

Posted on September 6, 2011 // 21 Comments

If you signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card recently (most likely for their $625 travel bonus offer, like me), here’s how to get another $25 out of the deal. As cardholders, log into the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping mall, which is one of those shopping portals where you get rebated points for buying stuff at online merchants. Right now, you can get 2,500 points (worth $25 or 2500 miles) and $5 in free printable postage just for signing up for a free 4-week trial at Stamps.com.

Chase Saphire Preferred Card Screenshot

This comes via Infamousdx via Flyertalk. Not bad for a few minutes and one phone call. I still have a Stamps.com weight scale from way back when they were giving away $50+ in printed postage with a free membership trial. (Although don’t order the scale with this offer, as they charge shipping.) I don’t remember any hassles and printed the postage on my old inkjet with no issues.

“Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program.  “The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.”

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

TradeKing $100 New Account Bonus Via Referral (September 2011)

Posted on September 3, 2011 // 3 Comments

Online stock brokerage firm TradeKing.com has a $100 bonus via referral promo for September 2011. If you get a referral from an existing account holder, open a new account with at least $1,000, and make a trade, both people will get $100. TradeKing offers $4.95 trades (market & limit) with no minimum balance requirement. I’ve had an account for years now, and they’ve gotten the job done without issues. They’ve recently added some social community features (which I don’t use), and were rated #1 in customer service by SmartMoney magazine in 2010. The details:

  • New customer must fund new non-IRA account with a minimum of $1,000 within 30 days of new account opening, and must execute one trade within 180 days of new account opening.
  • The minimum funds of $1,000 must remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of 180 days of new account opening or the credit may be surrendered.

A new feature is that they allow referrals by Twitter, so you should just be able to simply click on this link and be done with it. There is no promotion code, but the page does show:

Thanks for taking your friend’s suggestion to open a TradeKing account — we think you’ve made a great decision. We’ll treat you like a best friend should, we promise, and as a bonus, we’ll put $100 in your account.**

If you’d like an official referral just contact me, and I’ll be happy to send you one. I only need your e-mail address, please allow 24 hours. Offer expires Septmeber 30th, 2011.

Also, if you transfer an account of $2,500 value or greater from another broker over to TradeKing, they will also refund up to $150 in account transfer fees charged by your old broker. Both promotions are able to be combined.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers, Investing //

150 Delta Skymiles For Watching 1-Minute Video

Posted on August 30, 2011 // 7 Comments

You can grab an easy 150 Delta Airlines Skymiles by visiting this website and watching a quick video about $300 Bose QuietComfort 15 noise-canceling headphones. Earn another 350 miles if you stop by a Bose store and do a live demo. Delta miles no longer expire, but hey it’s free. “Offers valid August 29, 2011, through September 12, 2011, while miles supplies last.”

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

$300 in Gift Cards or $399 towards Airfare or Hotel from Citi ThankYou Premier Card

Posted on August 13, 2011 // 17 Comments

Citi Thank You Premier CardThe Citi ThankYou Premier Card currently offers 30,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $2,000 in purchases within 3 months of account opening. That is enough to redeem for $300 in gift cards at stores including Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and CVS Pharmacy. Alternatively, you can get $399 in airfare or hotels when you redeem through their ThankYou Travel Center (prices match Expedia.com). If you redeemed for Walmart gift cards and exchanged them online at a site like PlasticJungle.com, you would net $270 in cash.

This is their new travel-oriented card, with no foreign transaction fee on purchases and you can also earn points based on the amount of miles you actually fly. The annual fee is free the first year, $125 in later years if you keep it. Alternatively, if you want a card with no annual fee period, the Citi ThankYouSM Preferred Card is offering a $250 gift card when you redeem the 25,000 bonus ThankYou® Points received after $2,000 in purchases within 4 months of account opening.

Also compare with other $500+ top credit card bonuses currently available, although you can apply for more than one.

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Deals & Offers //

TradeKing Broker: Free Stock Trades on 8/12

Posted on August 11, 2011 // Leave a Comment

Discount stock broker TradeKing.com will be offering their customers free trades for all of Friday, 8/12/11:

In appreciation of your business, this Friday we’ll be offering a special free trade day for all clients. Any trades placed throughout the day on August 12 will be absolutely free of commissions. How it works is simple. If you trade on Friday 8/12, you’ll see the commission charged as usual. As of Saturday, 8/13, you’ll still see the trade in your Account Activity page with all commissions waived.

Trades are regularly priced at $4.95, so it’s mainly just a nice gesture. New clients should grab the $100 bonus they have for August 2011 and also the transfer fee rebate if moving money from another broker.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

3.25% APY Savings Account – Deposit Limits, Ohio Residents Only

Posted on August 11, 2011 // 5 Comments

Reader Alison shares a unique savings account program for residents of Ohio. The SaveNOW program is a higher interest savings account supported by the state in order to encourage savings. The maximum balance on this account is $5,000 and pays 3.25% APY. The fine print regarding deposit limits is a bit confusing. It says:

Limits single deposits to $500 at a time with the exception of lump sum payments such as; a tax return, insurance settlement or inheritance payment

If I read this to mean that each resident to deposit a maximum of $500, every other year, then it would take nearly 20 years to reach the maximum? Otherwise, you might overpay taxes to max out the benefit. In any case, this is not going to make anyone rich, but can be a nice incentive given the program’s goals. A couple could deposit $1,000 every other year up to $10,000 combined.

Does anyone know of similar programs for other states?

Filed Under: Banking, Deals & Offers //

Two Movie Tickets For $4 Each – Sprint Promo

Posted on August 9, 2011 // 2 Comments

Sprint has some sort of group-buying promotion called Sprint Ticket Takedown (expired) where the more people register their e-mail and cell number, the lower the price of a movie ticket you can get from either Fandango or MovieTickets.com. You can register any time before 8/14, but you must come back on 8/15 to buy the tickets. One day only.

According to the fine print, only 100,000 tickets will be available, and each registrant can buy two. As of 8/9, there are already over 87,000 registrants. If that number reaches 95,001 then the ticket price will reach the lowest possible $4. I think that’s a pretty safe bet, so you’ll probably want to come back pretty early on 8/15 (opens 12:01am Eastern, so even late Sunday night for some). (Update: It worked, I got two tickets for $4 each at Fandango.com. Sweet!)

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //

Can An Amazon Kindle with Ads Pay For Itself With Coupons?

Posted on August 8, 2011 // 17 Comments

This is the story of how I ended up buying an Amazon Kindle with Special Offers (WiFi) today for $114. I am one of those guys that loves the feel of traditional books and really didn’t know much about eReaders. I figured the Kindle with Special Offers basically meant it came with ads. How annoying! But it turns out the ads never show up when you’re actually reading an book, and the “Special Offers” include some pretty good deals (mostly coupons good at Amazon). Past offers include a $20 Amazon gift certificate for $10, or any mp3 album for $1.

Right now, if you have a Kindle with Special Offers and “claim” it by 11:59pm Pacific August 8th, you can get 20% off select laptops at Amazon. The list actually includes laptops from Apple, Dell, and HP. Thus, if you were going to buy any laptop $570 or higher, this Kindle would essentially be free (plus more deals in the future). Apple laptops rarely go on sale, and you could be getting a $1000 Macbook Air for $800. The highly-motivated could probably buy/resell a higher-end Apple laptop on eBay and make some decent profit. (This is how I paid down a lot of student loan debt during the dot-com boom.) Some folks have been buying just the unique coupon code itself from owners for up to $50.

Of course, today is already August 8th, so to participate you’d have to buy a Kindle today from a retail outlet like Best Buy or Target. Some Apple laptops on Amazon have been going in and out of stock, but you have until September 8th to redeem your coupon.

(Update 8/9: The 20% off laptops is now over. The current offer I see is $15 of $30 in School Supplies at Amazon and $5 off Kindle lights.)

In any case, with some discipline hopefully this Kindle thing will continue pay for itself and my travel bag will be lighter. eBooks are only slightly cheaper than paper ones, especially if you consider resale value, but I do buy around a book a month. I’ve also thought about writing some cheap 99 cent eBooks for the Kindle bookstore. I haven’t even started reading about ways to hack this thing…

Here’s a question I couldn’t get a clear answer to… If you have a US Kindle with 3G, can you use their included web browser internationally? It seems to promise that you can buy and download eBooks over 3G abroad in 100 countries, but I’ve read conflicting reports about web browsing. If I can, I would be very tempted to upgrade to the WiFi+3G version with Special Offers. I know that with 3G coverage across the US you can do simple tasks like check your email on the road, which can be useful for the non-smartphone-with-data-plan crowd.

Filed Under: Deals & Offers //
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