My Money Blog

PineCone Application Links + Other Paid Surveys

Posted on September 16, 2010 // 6 Comments

PineCone Research remains one of the better paying and reliable survey companies, with a payout of $3 (check or PayPal) for each 15-minute online survey. The annoying part is that they only take applications intermittently. Here is the current … [Read the rest]

LendingClub Investment Criteria – What Loans To Avoid?

Posted on September 14, 2010 // 22 Comments

LendingClub.com (LC) is a website that securitizes person-to-person loans so that you can lend money to other people in as little as $25 increments, and you earn the interest. The idea is to replace banks and credit cards as the major middlemen … [Read the rest]

ING Your Number: Retirement Calculator Assumptions and Factors

Posted on September 13, 2010 // 17 Comments

I was watching TV this weekend and kept seeing commercials about ING's Your Number, which is an online calculator that supposedly helps you plan for retirement by telling you how much you need to save. Here's one of them if you haven't heard of … [Read the rest]

2010 Q3 Investment Portfolio Update – Fund Holdings

Posted on September 10, 2010 // 17 Comments

I've already posted my target asset allocation, now here's my actual portfolio holdings. Again, these are my own choices, governed by the size of my tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs/403b/401ks, the brokerage firms that I use, and my preference of … [Read the rest]

OptionsXpress Review: Application, Broker Commissions, Trading Features, $100 Bonus

Posted on September 9, 2010 // 9 Comments

OptionsXpress.com (OX) is a online brokerage site that specialized in options and futures trading, but has since expanded their offering to be one-stop-shop - offering stocks, bonds, brokered CDs, and mutual funds. Like some of you, I signed up a … [Read the rest]

Target Asset Allocation for Investment Portfolio

Posted on September 8, 2010 // 21 Comments

Asset allocation (AA) is an important part of portfolio design, and I like pinning down a target asset allocation for personal reference. This helps keep me focused as my portfolio shifts over time and makes it easy to re-balance back. For some … [Read the rest]

Amazon Mom: Free 3 Months of Amazon Prime + Diaper Discounts

Posted on September 7, 2010 // 5 Comments

Amazon is promoting their new Amazon Mom service, which is aimed at all moms, dads, and primary caregivers. (They don't make you send in a picture of your kid or anything.) It's free to join, and here are the benefits: 30% off select diapers … [Read the rest]

My First Shares Of Stock Ever Purchased

Posted on September 3, 2010 // 25 Comments

I was going through some old financial files and came across an old E-Trade statement which was my first brokerage account and found my first shares of stocks ever purchased in August of 2001. This was after the dot-com bubble burst, and I was still … [Read the rest]

Continental OnePass Plus Card: Free 25,000 Miles, Free Checked Bag, Primary Rental Car Insurance

Posted on September 2, 2010 // 13 Comments

Now that I'm flying a lot more again, I'm back in the hunt for some frequent flier perks. I just came across the new Continental Airlines OnePass Plus Card from Chase, which has a pretty nice mix of perks for travelers. Sign-Up Bonus: Free … [Read the rest]

Updated 529 College Savings Asset Allocation: Added Stocks, 10-Year 5% APY CD

Posted on September 1, 2010 // 19 Comments

Since we're on the topic of college tuitions, I have recently adjusted the investment mix in my Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan. As I've mentioned before, I choose a very conservative mix because I think a 20-year or less horizon with a 4-year or … [Read the rest]

Charts: College Tuition vs. Housing Bubble

Posted on August 31, 2010 // 55 Comments

This chart from Clusterstock (via Carpe Diem) shows the cost of college tuition comparison to historical housing prices and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the same period. The CPI is designed to track our cost of living by estimating the … [Read the rest]

How To Sue a Telemarketer (Book Summary)

Posted on August 30, 2010 // 15 Comments

I've been getting an increasing number of telemarketing calls recently, so I readily agreed to a review copy of How To Sue a Telemarketer by Stephen Ostrow, lawyer and judge. I had a vague recollection that you can get $500 every time a … [Read the rest]