My Money Blog

Fidelity Portfolio Advisory Service Review w/ Actual Holdings

Posted on February 16, 2010 // 76 Comments

Have you seen those "follow the green line" ads from Fidelity? Well, they reminded that a reader sent me their retirement account holdings for review which was managed through the Fidelity Portfolio Advisory Service (PAS). This is a managed … [Read the rest]

Cheap Baseball Tickets Now on StubHub

Posted on February 15, 2010 // 7 Comments

Walletpop had a good article last week about cheap major league baseball tickets being available on StubHub.com. The season hasn't started yet, so planning ahead and grabbing $2-$10 tickets can make for some reasonably cheap fun. I also found an … [Read the rest]

Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Indexes

Posted on February 15, 2010 // 6 Comments

Morningstar recently started publishing their Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Indexes, which are designed as benchmarks for mutual funds that shift their asset allocation as a target retirement date nears. An example is the Vanguard Target … [Read the rest]

Emerging Markets ETFs: EEM vs. VWO Comparison

Posted on February 12, 2010 // 23 Comments

One of the hottest asset classes in 2009 by far was Emerging Markets, which includes stocks from developing markets like China, Brazil, Korea, Taiwan, India, and South Africa. Two of the most popular ETFs in this category are the iShares MSCI … [Read the rest]

American Express Extended Warranty Review

Posted on February 10, 2010 // 35 Comments

If you're like me, you're vaguely aware that you can get some sort of additional warranty coverage from your credit card, but not interested enough to carefully read those little brochures with the tiny print that come in the mail. Today a fellow … [Read the rest]

ETrade Bank Savings Accounts now by Discover Bank?

Posted on February 9, 2010 // 40 Comments

Just got this e-mail from regarding my ETrade Bank online savings account: We are writing to let you know that your E*TRADE Bank account referenced above will soon be transferred to Discover Bank, and become a Discover Online Savings Account. This … [Read the rest]

31% Off FICO Scores at myFICO.com

Posted on February 9, 2010 // 5 Comments

Still got a few resolutions left to do? Here's a current coupon for real FICO scores and all other credit products at myFICO.com. Use the promotional code MYPOINTS30 to get a FICO score for only $11 (~31% off), the best discount I could find right … [Read the rest]

OptionsXpress $100 New Account Bonus

Posted on February 8, 2010 // 1 Comment

Online broker OptionsXpress is offering new customers a $100 bonus if they open an account with at least $500 and make 3 trades. You can also transfer in at least $500 of securities from another broker. Stock trades cost $14.95 if you makes less … [Read the rest]

Capital One 360 Business Savings Reference Code: $100 Bonus

Posted on February 6, 2010 // 2 Comments

Capital One 360 has an business version of their popular online savings account, called 360 Savings for Business. It has no minimum balance requirements and no maintenance fees, while currently paying 1.05% APY. As with their personal account, you'll … [Read the rest]

Chase Business Checking Coupon: $100 Bonus

Posted on February 6, 2010 // 13 Comments

Chase has an online coupon for a $100 cash bonus for people opening a new Chase Free Business Checking account with a least $500. Offers expires 3/15/10. Thanks to reader Tom. Selected fine print below: Offer valid 2/1/10- 3/15/10. To qualify … [Read the rest]

Selling Back Really Old Textbooks Online

Posted on February 4, 2010 // 29 Comments

In the process of trying to minimize junk, I sold off some pretty old textbooks this week. It's been over ten years since I first bought any of these books, and the last time I used them was probably about 7 years ago. I had saved them initially … [Read the rest]

Fidelity Offers Free Commissions on iShares ETFs, Make Your Own Free Portfolio

Posted on February 2, 2010 // 19 Comments

In addition to their new $7.95 per trade price structure, Fidelity is also waiving commissions completely for 25 iShares ETFs. This appears to be a partnership where iShares partially compensates Fidelity themselves for promoting their … [Read the rest]