Review of Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Card Agreements Searchable Database FAIL
On Monday, the Federal Reserve introduced its new online database of credit card agreements under the guise of strides in consumer protection. This, of course, comes as the result of all the recent credit card legislation. So, let’s click on over there and see if we feel any safer.
Ta-Da!
OK, fine I’ll be the one to point out the pink elephant in the room. What you can search for here is the credit card agreements themselves (yeah, those really dense pieces of paper in 5pt type that come along with any card and get recycled immediately), not say a summary of the APR, fees, credit score needed to get the card, and any associated rewards. Here’s a hint. Consumers care nothing about the former and everything about the latter. That’s the first problem. Read more
US Mint Circulating $1 Coin Direct Ship Program Update
Last September I detailed the process of buying coins from the US Mint using a rewards credit card and their free direct shipping program. You take the coins and put them in your money market account where you gain interest on the float while you wait for your credit card statement then pay off the balance in full using the coins you bought. Eight months have passed, and it’s time for an update.
First, it’s been a pretty lucrative endeavor. Aside from a few strange looks from the tellers, I never have any problems with the deposits. I don’t think they necessarily appreciate 40lbs worth of coins, but at least they come wrapped. Here’s a table of my purchases:
| Month | Purchase Size | Rewards | Est. Interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| September | $1,000 | $20.00 | $2.00 |
| October | $1,000 | $20.00 | $2.00 |
| November | $1,000 | $20.00 | $2.00 |
| December | $1,500 | $30.00 | $3.03 |
| January | $0 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| February | $1,500 | $30.00 | $3.03 |
| March | $1,500 | $30.00 | $3.03 |
| April | $2,000 | $40.00 | $4.06 |
| May | $2,000 | $40.00 | $4.06 |
| Total | $11,500 | $230 | $23 |
So, in 8 months I’ve made about $250 through this program. Not bad. That’s a lot of groceries.
However, there has been a recent change in the program. Read more
Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express Card 2% Cashback Credit Card Review
On April 16th, I learned from Buck's Blog that Charles Schwab had decided to stop offering the Invest First VISA card that I use to get back 2% on all transactions. Uh-oh, time for a new card? Although the Schwab program has not (yet) been taken away from existing customers, the writing is on the wall – they're not making enough money off of this card, and the program could dissappear at their whim. Apparently, it attracted a sophisticated customer who used it often and paid their balances off every month. This should come as no surprise given the required credit score to be eligible for the account and the associated hoops you must jump through to set up the account. So, what's a cashback craving guy like me going to do? I'm going to have a backup plan, and it's the Fidelity Retirement Rewards American Express Card 2% Cashback Credit Card. This card is very similar to my Charles Schwab Invest First VISA in many ways. Read more
Stocks For Your Kids: How to Choose
Thanks to a generous donation from my mother and a nice bonus from ShareBuilder.com, today I had $1500 to buy stocks for my soon-to-be 4 year old. A nice problem to have, but what do you buy for a 4 year old that will get him excited about the stock market?
Lots of sites (Kramer, The Motley Fool, CEO World Magazine) talk about stocks for kids that you could buy and why they might be the right ones, but it basically comes down to buying stocks that on some level your child can relate to and get excited about.
Here’s an overview of the stocks I chose:
| Symbol | Cost/Shr. | Shares | Total Cost | Allocation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRK.B | $74.68 | 3 | $233.99 | 16% |
| DIS | $33.31 | 3 | $109.88 | 7% |
| RDK | $34.00 | 3 | $111.95 | 7% |
| HAS | $41.00 | 3 | $132.95 | 9% |
| DUK | $16.50 | 6 | $108.95 | 7% |
| AAPL | $247.00 | 1 | $256.95 | 17% |
| MCD | $69.35 | 2 | $148.65 | 10% |
| XOM | $62.25 | 2 | $134.45 | 9% |
| AMZN | $125.50 | 2 | $260.95 | 17% |
| Total | $703.59 | 25 | $1,498.72 | 100% |
My thinking behind the selections vary. Read more
Ready for TAX Season?
Subscription Options
-
Affiliations
Advertisers
FairTax
