Archive for January, 2009


TradeKing Review

Posted by Madison on January 29, 2009

The search continues for my new brokerage account. This week I opened a new account at TradeKing. My TradeKing Review I’ve written about TradeKing before, because they offered a great sign up bonus in the past. I didn’t get a chance to open an account then, but I figured now was a great time, since […]

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Winter Utility Bills, Jim Cramer, and Interest Rate Changes

Posted by Madison on January 28, 2009

Ouch! We just got our gas and electric bill for December. It was $470! It’s usually around $180, but the highest it has ever been is about $220. And the freezing cold days we’ve had in the last few weeks weren’t even included. I’m going to have to do some digging to find out what […]

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Use Your Credit Cards to Avoid Cancellation

Posted by Madison on January 27, 2009

With credit card companies cracking down on unused accounts, it’s a good time to review our credit card accounts. We’ve gotten a few letters lately of closed accounts, from Chase and Citibank, for unused cards. Usually, I’m pretty diligent about using each card once per year, but I guess I got a little lazy! Sometimes […]

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ShareBuilder $50 Sign Up Bonus

Posted by Madison on January 23, 2009

Perfect timing! Just after I wrote the ShareBuilder Review yesterday, I saw an offer for Free Money to open a new account. ShareBuilder is offering a $50 sign up bonus for first time account holders! How to Get Your Sign up Bonus Open a new ShareBuilder account here. Purchase one security. The $50 credit will […]

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ShareBuilder Review: My New Account

Posted by Madison on January 22, 2009

My search for a new brokerage account is on… first stop ShareBuilder. My ShareBuilder Review I had an old account at ShareBuilder that I haven’t used in 6 years, so I had to open a new one. Although, they wanted me to remember my user name and password from back then… and the name of […]

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I Refuse to Pay Fees to Change My Name!

Posted by Madison on January 20, 2009

Even though I didn’t get my donations dropped off in December, I actually did have plans to drop off some stock certificates at my local broker. I planned to sell them in time to take the tax loss. Unfortunately, I hit a road block. I got married. Five years ago. Changing Your Name on Financial […]

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Amboy Direct $25 Sign Up Bonus

Posted by Madison on January 16, 2009

Amboy Direct is offering a $25 sign up bonus. You know the deal, Free Money Friday is all about bonus money! How to Get Your Sign up Bonus Open a new Amboy Direct savings account and use the Reference Code: 102417 on the application. Keep a minimum balance of $3,000 or more for 90 days. […]

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Time to Refinance?

Posted by Madison on January 15, 2009

It’s a good thing I don’t have a job! Or else I’d be refinancing again… I think in the past 7 years, we’ve had 3 houses, and at least 8 mortgages! It seems like every time I turn around there is a lower rate, or a better loan. I turned into a refinance junkie. I […]

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Free Suze Orman Book, Business Tax Software, and More!

Posted by Madison on January 14, 2009

I’m always looking at monthly services that we have and finding ways to pay a little less. My favorite article this week is how to Save Money on Your Landline Phone. Lazy compares various phone options including Vonage (what we use), Skype, and MagicJack. It’s nice to pay less than $20 per month for something […]

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Making Our First Estimated Tax Payment

Posted by Madison on January 13, 2009

After running our projections for the prior tax year, I found we were slightly short of the minimum withholding for our state taxes. Luckily, there’s an easy way to avoid a penalty for our state, you just send in an estimated tax payment, due on January 15. In addition, because I quit my job last […]

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