Straight Talk is a prepaid MVNO that offers the ability to buy SIM cards that you can pop into any AT&T-compatible, T-Mobile-compatible, or unlocked GSM phone. This includes many Samsung Galaxys and iPhones that you can buy refurbished or on the used market. For $45 a month you get unlimited minutes, unlimited text, and 5 GB of high-speed data with no contracts and no credit checks. You also avoid the usual cell phone taxes that can add $5 to $10 per line. Unlimited data means 3G/4G data speeds for 5 GB per month (recently improved from 2.5 GB) and then 2G data speeds after that.

$45 a month is the everyday price. Last year, there was a nice promo that let you buy 4 months of the Straight Talk unlimited plan for $26 a month, a significant 42% savings off the regular price. I’m actually just updating that old post here and pruning stale comments.

Right now, you can buy 8 months of the Straight Talk unlimited plan for $22.50 a month. To access this promo, either try clicking on this promo deep link or entering your info at this promo intro page. You should see the following offer text in red:

For Limited Time only get a FREE SIM + FREE Service Plan Card with the Purchase of a 30 Day Service Plan Card

• Each package includes 2 monthly plan cards, and you can buy 4 packages for a total of 8 months for $180 + taxes and shipping where applicable.
• While the link only let you buy a T-Mobile SIM card as part of the package, the actual monthly plan cards can be activated with any provider SIM. They also sell AT&T SIM cards on the same website, if you prefer that.
• You can also try to stack with cashback shopping portal. For example, BeFrugal.com normally offers $30 cashback for airtime + SIM purchase. BeFrugal also has $10 bonus for new customers that earn $25 in cashback. See reader Shoe’s comment.
• If your desired SIM size is sold out, know that you can buy a simple $4 SIM cutter which can cut any SIM card into a micro SIM or nano SIM. (Or a $4 SIM adapter will make a nano into micro or regular SIM.) You may have to use a bit of sandpaper as well for the nano SIM as they are a little thinner than regular SIMs. Read the reviews, they work.
• You can also check back later to see if they restock, but I’d rather just lock in the savings with whatever SIM is in stock.
• Finally, the $60 international cards are also buy 1 get 1 free, making them $30 and still cheaper than the $45 plan. The $60 plan has the features of the $45 plan plus unlimited calling to Mobile in Mexico, China, India and Canada and some other features. So it’s still a pretty good discount (33% off) if the rest are out of stock.

It’s back! Wow, haven’t posted a Groupon deal in a while. I really should have shorted the stock when even I unsubscribed from their daily newsletter, but I didn’t have the guts. Now I’m just mad because they deleted my account after not using it for a while, even though I still had unused credit (and I’ll have to open a new one for this deal).

Anyway! Groupon is selling a $15 Starbucks Gift Card for $10. Limited quantities, ends in a week or so otherwise . Why is free coffee so appealing? Over 100,000 sold already. Limit 1 per person.

Remember that you can save even more on your Groupon with cashback shopping sites:

• TopCashBack ($10 bonus after $10 earned in cashback rewards, expires 11/16).
• eBates ($10 new user bonus after any $25+ purchase, $5 mininum cash-out)
• Mr. Rebates ($5 new user bonus, $10 minimum cash-out)
• BeFrugal.com ($5 new user bonus)

There was previous promo with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, but now there is a another separate promo with the Chase Freedom. Earn a $15 statement credit after you spend $15 or more with your Chase Freedom® card using Visa Checkout. Valid for new or existing Visa Checkout accountholders. Read on, it’s an easy $15 if you have this card.

More people out there probably have the Chase Freedom card. No annual fee and 5% cash back in rotating categories every quarter.

Visa Checkout is a way to pay for things online without have to give a merchant your credit card number. You use a login and password instead. Think Paypal, but Visa-branded. Participating merchants include Pizzahut.com, Shutterfly, Newegg, Staples, Fandango, Orbitz, Gap, and more.

Since these are all online websites, you can also use a cashback shopping portal for many merchants and get a little bit extra back. Some suggestions for a small online purchase:

• Order a pizza from PizzaHut.com. You must get it delivered, not carry out. I can usually get 2 pizzas for around $20, so a $15 credit would cover most of dinner that day.
• Buy some movie tickets from Fandango.
• Go to NewEgg.com and buy a $15 to $20 gift card to a place you like.
• Buy a gift card from Staples.com

Selected fine print:

This offer is valid from 11/2/2015 through 12/31/2015. To qualify for this offer, you must make a single purchase of $15 or more using your Chase Freedom Visa credit card with your Visa Checkout account during checkout. Limit (1) $15 statement credit per customer or card account. Allow 1 to 2 billing cycles from Visa Checkout purchase for delivery of the statement credit to the Chase Freedom account added to the Visa Checkout account; your card account must remain open and not be in default to receive the statement credit.

Promo extended. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, stock brokerage TradeKing is offering a $200 cash bonus for new accounts opened by 12/31/2015, funded with $3,000 or more within 30 days of account opening, and with at least 3 executed trades within 90 days of account opening. You must keep the $3,000 in account equity (minus any trading losses) for at least 6 months.

This is probably the biggest bonus I’ve seen for this account, the standard offer is $50. TradeKing charges a flat $4.95 for online stock trades; so $200 would cover 40 trades. Option trades are also $4.95 + 65 cents per option contract.

Updated October 2015. I’ll try to keep this post updated with any current discount on Consumer Reports subscriptions. Send me a message if you have a tip.

• Groupon has Consumer Reports digital edition for $15 a year (50% off). You can also pay $29.50 for 1-year of print + online. Not valid for current online or print members or renewal memberships. Limit 1 per person, may buy 3 additional as gifts. If you see this by 10/27/15 you can try code SCREAM3 for an additional 20% off. Otherwise just look for a banner with any current promo code and try to stack them.
• Reader Ryan comments that you should also check you local library to see if you can get free online access to Consumer Reports articles.

 
I seem to always go in waves with Consumer Reports. I don’t use them for a year, and then I find myself constantly checking out stroller reviews, appliances, used cars for a friend, etc.

If you like to listen to podcasts, or are thinking of starting, the full version of the Overcast app (iOS only) is now completely free while remaining ad-free. (There is a patronage option and much accompanying drama that I’ll ignore here.) All of the premium features that used to cost $5 to unlock are now free. Here are the best bits:

• Smart Speed – skips the silences, saving time.
• Variable Speed – can play back podcasts a little faster, also potentially saving time if you don’t find it annoying.
• Voice Boost – adjust the sound so that you don’t have to keep adjusting your volume, saving annoyance.
• Cellular Downloads – the free version previously only allowed you to download on WiFi.
• Fast, timely downloads – this app always seems to download new podcasts right after they are available, unlike the default app. It does this using their own servers to help you use less data and battery life.
• Sync – the app synchronizes across multiple devices.

The bottom line is that the Overcast app is significantly better than the default Apple Podcasts app, and now it’s free both to try and to keep. All upside. You can then decide whether it is worth supporting via the “tip jar” after considering its time-savings benefits. If you previously downloaded the stripped-down version, you may not have noticed that an update will unlock all the features. I do not consider myself a podcast enthusiast, but this app makes listening to them easy enough that now I do it.

I’m afraid I don’t listen to any financial podcasts at this time and thus have no personal recommendations to make. I’m sure there are plenty of good ones out there. For me, podcasts are for the lighter stuff like food and sports. My mainstay is the sports talk show Pardon The Interruption, and that one thing may allow me to drop ESPN TV completely (although I haven’t).

Related: Successful iPhone App Developer Actual Income Numbers

Here’s another class action settlement involving a popular food which may affect you. Kashi and Kelloggs settled a lawsuit claiming that they mislabeled products as “all natural” or “nothing artificial”. As usual, they don’t admit wrongdoing but they are removing “all natural” claims from their products that contain GMO ingredients.

• You qualify if you purchased any one of the Kashi products listed here [pdf] between May 3, 2008 and Sept. 4, 2015 (for personal or household use). Kashi makes a lot of stuff besides cereal (GoLean bars, TLC bars, Kashi pizza, Heart to Heart).
• You must be a resident of the United States, but you can’t be from California (separate lawsuit).
• If you DO NOT have receipts proving your purchase, you can still file a claim for 55 cents per item, for up to 50 items ($27.50 max total).
• If you DO have store receipts, you can get back your purchase price with no limit. If you bought Kashi online, definitely search your e-mails or Amazon/store accounts.
• You must certify under oath that your claim is truthful.

Here is the online claim form, which you must submit by January 19, 2016.

Ting.com has a limited-time promotion offering AT&T customers a free cup of coffee (in the form of a free $5 Starbuck gift card) if they check their phone compatibility with Ting. You’ll need your AT&T phone’s IMEI and your phone number. Limit of one $5 coffee gift card per email address and per active AT&T device checked. Says you should enter by 10/22 but it could end earlier.

Ting mobile service is a simple idea that is saving people a lot of money on their monthly cell phone bills. Check your AT&T phone to see if it will work on Ting and we’ll give you a $5 Starbucks gift card,
no strings attached.

I’ve reviewed Ting before, so you may know they are an MVNO for both Sprint and T-Mobile that works on a pay-only-for-what-you-use basis. With a referral link (that’s my parents phone), new customers can get free $25 in Ting credit towards your phone bill.

But hey, if you have an AT&T phone, why not pick up that cup of coffee? Smartphone users can usually find their IMEI under phone settings very quickly.

$10 refer-a-friend bonus is back. BeFrugal.com is yet another cashback shopping portal that gives a percentage back on online shopping purchases made through their links. Right now it’s also offering a $10 sign-up bonus for a limited-time to get you started. You’ll need to accrue $25 total in cash back within 90 days to withdraw your rewards. This is more restrictive than previous promos, but if you have enough purchases coming up (holidays?) it might be worth a shot. Promotion expires 11/30/15.

To qualify for a $10 Refer-a-Friend bonus, a) new referrals must click on your unique Refer-a-Friend link and sign up as a BeFrugal.com member through that click-through; b) new members must also confirm their BeFrugal.com account and earn $25 or more in Cash Back (not including bonuses and earnings from non-purchase activity) within 90 days of account creation.

Other sites that I have successfully cashed out from are eBates ($10 new user bonus after any purchase of $25+), Mr. Rebates ($5 new user bonus – minimum cash-out balance is $10), and Chase Ultimate Rewards (no bonus, but can be good value if you use these points).

Updated. Here are some quick deals for some free Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) points. I’ll try to update this post instead of making new ones in the future. These are handy for extending the expiration of all your points, which otherwise may be lost after 12 months of inactivity. Also, they’ll get me a tiny bit closer to a Heavenly Bed in some foreign country. 😉

• 150 SPG Points for Security Questions. Starwood wants to improve their security with a set of questions. The questions try to be clever and I had trouble answering them, but I’ll do it for the free points (and then copy the answers in my password manager). Visit this link, answer the four questions before 10/31/15, and you’ll get 150 points. Don’t use Chrome browser for iOS.
   
  There is no indication of promo on the page. See this FT thread by an official Starwood representative for proof this is legit. Selected fine print:

  *Bonus offer: Member can earn a onetime bonus of 150 Starpoints after selecting and answering four (4) security questions on spg.com from October 8, 2015, through October 31, 2015 (the “promotion period”). This promotion is not transferable. Offer available to existing SPG members only (as of 10/8/15). Bonus Starpoints will be credited to the member’s account within 2–4 weeks of the close of the promotion on October 31, 2015.

• 200 SPG Points for E-Statements. First, make sure you are not signed up for Starwood Preferred Guest E-statements. Log into your online account and go to Manage My Account > My Profile > Communications Preferences and make sure the box is unchecked. You should get an e-mail confirmation of any saved changes.

  

  Next, either make sure you are logged out of your account or open a new Incognito window. Now visit this SPG Dashboard link and look for this offer at the bottom of the page. Click both checkboxes and Update Your Account. You should probably also register for the promo on the right as well.

  

  Don’t unsubscribe from these e-mail newsletters until your points post in 2-4 weeks. See selected fine print:

  An eligible member can earn 200 bonus Starpoints for opting in to the email subscription(s) in the form field on the SPG Dashboard and clicking “Update Your Account.” A member can only earn the bonus once during the offer earn window, which ends Nov-24-2015. A member must subscribe to all of the displayed email subscription(s) using the form field on the SPG Dashboard for the Starpoints to be earned.  Bonus Starpoints can take up to 2 to 4 weeks to post to your account after confirmation that you have successfully subscribed.

I always make sure my wife’s SPG account also does these deals, as it extends her account activity and you can transfer points over within the same household (with same physical address).

Update October 2015. CEO Marc Lore just announced that Jet is dropping its membership fee for everyone. They’ve only been live for a few months, so most customers are still on a free trial anyway.

This was surprising for many because Jet was supposed to be following the “Costco model” – sell you things at thin profit margins and make their money on the $50 annual membership fee. However, recall that Costco also makes a lot of money on Executive members who earn 2% back on all purchases. If you spend over $5,500 a year at Costco, you effectively don’t pay any membership fee. The margins are thin, but the numbers still work for Costco if you spend enough.

Jet has a “Smart Cart” feature that lowers your unit pricing based on volume and shipping efficiency, so the goal appears to be to encourage high-volume shopping. I’ve read reports that the average Amazon Prime customer spends about $1,000 a year at Amazon. Is that enough? Shrug, I’ll leave the profitability issue to their management and investors.

Jet does have good prices on some things, so depending on what you like to buy they may save you some money. Get $10 off your first order of $35+ with code TENBUCKSNOW. Even better, the competition is forcing Amazon to lower their prices, so you can benefit without ever shopping at Jet. Let some of that venture capital flow into your wallet. 🙂

Original post from July 2015:

Jet.com has officially launched its attempt to bring the Costco model to online shopping. That is, they plan on selling you things at near-zero profit margins and make their money on the annual $49.99 membership fee. The more stuff you add your cart, the lower the total cost. The more you buy from the same warehouse, the lower your total cost. Free shipping on orders of $35 or more.

This supposedly means prices that are 10% to 15% lower than Amazon on average, even listing the Amazon price right on their page for instant comparisons. How they show savings is a little confusing… things make more sense after adding it to your cart.

For example, this pack of toilet paper shows $21.05, the same price as Amazon. But I can save $9.06 by actually adding it to my cart, which brings the actual price to $11.99, much cheaper than Amazon. If I buy *two* packs, then my sub total is $42.10 which breaks the $35 barrier and gets me free shipping. But my actual total due is only $22.74, less than $35. Confusing, but hey it works out in my favor so I’m cool with it.

However, this model only works at a certain scale, and this WSJ article points out that they are often buying stuff from other competitors when they don’t have the item in their own inventory:

The Hoboken, N.J., company is absorbing steep losses on many orders filled as part of a trial run that began in March, largely because Jet hasn’t signed up enough partner merchants or opened enough warehouses to directly sell much of the merchandise shown on its website.

When a Jet customer buys items that aren’t in its inventory or available from partner merchants, a Jet employee buys the items from another website and has them shipped directly to the customer. That is expensive for Jet because the company often pays high shipping costs plus any difference between its advertised price and the amount charged by the outside website.

For example, The Wall Street Journal recently bought 22 items from Jet. Twelve were shipped to the Journal by retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and Nordstrom Inc., according to sales receipts.

Jet’s prices for the same 12 items added up to $275.55, an average discount of about 11% from the prices Jet paid for those items on other retailers’ websites. Jet’s total cost, which also includes estimated shipping and taxes, was $518.46.

So in other words, the 11% pricing discount above is not due to an awesome business model yet. They are being artificially suppressed with investor money. Now, spending venture capital funds in the search for rapid growth is common for internet start-ups, but I don’t remember any of my early Amazon orders coming in a Barnes & Noble box.

As a consumer, I suppose the best thing to do is simply enjoy the loss-leader savings during your free trial and then decide if it’s worth $50 a year. Costco is highly profitable but even they offer their $4.99 rotisserie chickens as a loss-leader, missing out on $40 million a year in order to keep people coming in the door.