Archive for January 2008

By MoneyBlueBook

When I read about the crazy sums of money football fans have been plunking down for a chance to watch the New York Giants play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII (42nd), I was shocked, but not surprised. Just for the record, no - I didn't pay more than $4,000 for a pair of Super Bowl tickets to watch the two best football teams in the nation play this coming weekend. But I understand why feverish and passionate football fans would pay that kind of money to support their team (I've done it before, although not nearly to that level of degree).

If I were a Giants or Pats fan, I would have given some serious thought to shelling out the high scalper-driven prices to secure the coveted tickets and necessary hotel rooms for the chance to experience the event of a lifetime. Looking back at my earlier days, I wish I had jumped on the exciting opportunities when I had the chance. When my college alma mater made it to the men's NCAA basketball championship game I was still in graduate school and didn't have the financial means or the ability to take time off from classes to attend. Looking back I wish I had dug down deep and made the effort, because ultimately my school went on to win that national title game. I missed an opportunity that may not happen again for some time. Afterwards, I promised myself - never again would I give

By MoneyBlueBook

Updated Compilation Of All The Best 0% Intro APR Balance Transfer Offers Below

If you are searching for a promotional balance transfer card, or if you are looking to eliminate some high interest debt by shifting your balance over to versatile credit cards that offer zero to low interest rates, then you've definitely come to the right place. The following list is a good starting point for credit card arbitrage and 0% intro APR balance transfer seekers looking to borrow interest free money or to make a profit. Below is my compilation list of the best no interest balance transfer offers available from all issuers. I am always on the lookout for new and better balance transfer credit cards so do check back for future updates.

As a general matter, taking on a 0% balance transfer goes beyond just requesting your balance transfer check. Getting the 0% credit card loan is relatively easy - the trickier part is learning to properly micro manage the transferred balance details from credit card application to promo expiration. But once you familiarize yourself with how to make a 0% intro balance transfer and understand the benefits and risks of balance transfer cards, you will find the procedure rather straight forward. As with all financial vehicles, the key is to understand the ins and outs before taking on the responsibility and assuming the inherent, but controllable risks involved.

Balance transfer offers are uniquely versatile in that they can serve numerous functions including balance transfer arbitrage and high interest debt reduction. For those struggling with high

By MoneyBlueBook

As I mentioned in an earlier entry posted a few months ago about myself, I own an African Grey Parrot as a pet. I've had him for several years now and although I wish he were better trained with more docile tendencies, he's still a pretty adorable little guy. When he's not hanging from his bird gym or busy grinding his wooden chew toys into grated wood chips, he enjoys whistling and mimicking speech.

He's also a voracious eater, consuming and tossing around quiet a few scoopfuls of his favorite brand of nutritious Kaytee brand pellets everyday. Every 1-2 months I used to buy a new bag of somewhat pricey bird food to replace his dwindling supply, but lately I've chosen to do a different approach. Rather than buying smaller bags of food from Petsmart or Petco each time and paying a higher cost per serving unit, I've decided to go for bulk and order online.

Finding Deals and Purchasing Pet Food Online

Initially I considered buying bulk bird pellet sacks from my neighborhood pet stores but after browsing around I noticed that their selections were pretty limited as most mainstream brick and mortar stores catered to more popular animal breeds such as cats and dogs. Even dedicated bird stores seemed to not have in stock the bulk pallets that I wanted. Thankfully, there is much more one can find on the internet as the online selection is much more broad. After doing some price comparison shopping among the popular online pet stores, I finally settled

By MoneyBlueBook

Drum roll please...presenting my very first edition of Money Blue Book's Weekend Roundup, where I showcase some of the interesting personal finance blog articles I've come across during the week and days before. I always appreciate frequent commentators so I will try to make an extra effort to share some of the interesting tips they have to offer. I encourage readers to browse around the blogosphere. There's a lot of good financial, frugality, and investment advice out there!

• One of my favorite personal finance bloggers, My Money Blog, shares some short, easy to understand insights into what the planned federal economic stimulus package will mean for you and I.

• If you're addicted to coffee and think the new Starbucks unlimited refill $1 coffee is a great deal, the Mighty Bargain Hunter will show you why an inexpensive habit is still a habit that deserves to be kicked.

• Money Ning shares how his valiant fiance saved them money by speaking up and standing for what's right regarding a botched wedding fee. He's a lucky man.

• A favorite personal finance blogger of mine, Mrs. Micah discusses practical and realistic ways to view your tax rebate check. She's right - it's not really a windfall since the money was yours all along. The government was just holding onto it for you interest-free.

• If you're into investing in China and the Asian stock market boom as I am, then check out Sun's Financial Diary as he writes about ways to short the recent Chinese
  

By MoneyBlueBook

In response to heightened concerns surrounding recent plunges in world stock markets and fears of an imminent economic recession, the U.S. Federal Reserve made a surprising rate cut on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, days before its next official meeting when it is expected to cut rates further. In the daring move, the Fed slashed the federal funds rate from 4.25% to 3.50%, an astonishingly huge drop. In response, numerous online banks have already dropped their interest rate offerings to match - Take a look at my updated list of the top High Yield Savings Accounts.

Countrywide Bank continues to reign at the top with a tiered rate offering of (3.92% - 5.00% APY). I hope a few of my long time saving favorites like Washington Mutual and Etrade Bank will hold rates steady and high but they are likely to be influenced by the trend as well. Among the online banks, a few more major interest rate reshufflings are likely to occur again in the next few weeks.

By MoneyBlueBook

Note: If you wish to understand more about the the 2008 Economic Stimulus Package, please read my entry regarding the tax stimulus rebate payments. I have also updated the subject with an entry discussing the possibilities of a 2009 economic stimulus check as well.

In response to the dramatic drag on the economy caused by the developing housing crisis and mortgage meltdown, the federal government has finally stopped dragging its knuckles on the ground and sprung to action - proposing to send taxpayers rebate checks in an effort to jump start the economy. Under the current bipartisan proposal, most taxpayers would be eligible, with $600 checks going towards individuals who pay taxes, $1,200 going towards working couples with an additional $300 for each children, and even $300 going towards anyone who earned a paycheck even if they made too little to pay income taxes. Many details in the package have yet to be hammered out including the business stimulus portion that provides additional tax breaks for businesses that purchase capital equipment as well as the housing assistance portion that helps riskier borrowers, who have been shut out of the tanking subprime mortgage market, qualify for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans.

The current tentative proposal still needs to be be rammed through the House of Representatives, the Senate, and ultimately approved by the President to be made official, but so far the likelihood of it happening looks very promising. There is great congressional and presidential pressure to speed this through the system and