Let's Be Curious

HSBC Direct Drops to 1.20% APY

2010-02-09T10:48:00.002-05:00

While I was getting the feeling that market has started to do better and jobs are opening up, HSBC's Online Savings Account dropped its APY to 1.20%. While I prefer Ally these days for my savings funds but I keep a sufficient amount in HSBC for quick and flexible access which is not available with Ally. Let's hope the continued sinking stops sometime soon.

One Free Grand Slam at Denny's Today

2010-02-09T07:41:00.003-05:00

Denny's is doing it again!Yes, you can get a free Original Grand Slam at Denny's from 9AM to 2PM today. It's my favorite, so if you have never tried it before, today is the day. Select four of your favorite items from a list of ten exciting breakfast items.

Ally Introduces High Yield CD

2010-01-31T10:24:00.006-05:00

After introducing the concept of No Penalty CD, Ally Bank has recently introduced High Yield CD. Also widely being recognized as Bump-Up CD, this product offers one of the top CD rates in the market today.So what is Ally's High Yield CD: If you have some savings left to be invested into a 2 year CD then this may be a good place to consider. It is a 24 month CD featuring 2.10% APY, and Ally allows

Restaurant.com Update: $25 Certificate For Just $1

2009-09-09T12:42:00.005-04:00

Hey people, I know it's a long long time but I am here with a great news. I wrote a post about how you can save money and enjoy your favorite eat-out times at the same time by purchasing gift certificates from Restaurant.com.If you have not noticed already, today is September 9, 2009 or 9/9/09 ;) so the good people at Restaurant.com might have thought of this magical number and spread out a

A Phone Call And HSBC Waived My Late Fee

2009-08-04T04:00:00.001-04:00

I could not imagine a late credit card payment, but nothing is impossible as they say. And when I was enjoying in Albany, NY with friends I forgot my due date was also passing-by, the next day I check my HSBC credit card account and I see a $20 late penalty. Believe me I am not that irresponsible, get this: my statement balance was $3 and I was just 1 day late. Well yeah I know thier policy is

Grocery Shopping: Thinking Of Total Bill The Moment You Enter A Store Helps

2009-08-03T03:30:00.002-04:00

With nothing much left to do on weekends, grocery shopping is one of my favorite activities. While I suffice the shopper in me, I also fill-up the items for the week to come and thus many of my posts deal with grocery shopping. In Quicken Reveals - II I discussed how I escalated my grocery bills by misjudging the actual needs and this time it's something different.I usually shop with my friends

My Monetary Snapshot - July '09

2009-07-31T04:00:00.001-04:00

Here's what it looks like at the end of this month:Emergency Funds (High Interest Savings): $7663Checking Accounts (Non-Interest Earning): $254401K: $707.72CD: $2000Interest + Other Earnings: $73.59(amazed how come it's $73.59 ;) all added up by paid surveys and free money)Car Loan Balance: $11,838Credit Card Balance: $206July 2009: Total Assets: $10,624 Total Debt: $12,044

You Gotta Try Restaurant.com !!!

2009-07-27T04:00:00.009-04:00

For two weeks under the work load that wasn't all I was left to do. One of my colleagues had guests and it spurred another eat-out plan. It wasn't the first time I used Restaurant.com nor I do any kind of advertising for them but the continued feeling of pleasure, fun, taste and savings altogether prompted me to pen this article.To start with, I like their tag line: "EAT. DRINK. SAVE MONEY."What

A Long Lull And I'm Back ;)

2009-07-22T03:00:00.000-04:00

Yeah I know, it was July 8th then and it is July 22nd today, but guess what I'm Back :)As many of you might know I work full-time and if you follow me on twitter then you might be aware that for the past two weeks or so I was heavily loaded with office work. Sometimes it doesn't make complete sense to overkill the 'quest to perfection' syndrome, and that is what happened to me.While I started to

Facebook + Starbucks + Friend => A Free Icecream Pint

2009-07-08T04:00:00.011-04:00

Free stuff never ceases to pop :)Here's another people! If you are on Facebook and love ice cream then this deal is for you. Visit Starbuck Icecream's Share app page on Facebook and share coupon for a free ice cream pint with one of your friends. Remember you can share just one coupon so decide it before hand.This is how it works:Starbucks is giving away 20,000 free icecream pint coupons

... And So Copying Isn't Worth It!

2009-07-08T03:30:00.002-04:00

Well I don't usually post funny/non-PF stuff but it's second today itself .... and actually I don't need to write a word, just to let you know that I'm a big Alizee fan and Tabata Jalil is considered Mexican Alizee ;)Alizee's PerformanceTabata's Performance, same song(Tabata Jalil is a known name in South America and has a good earned position in media through various TV shows)

I'm Sorry Blogger - But What To Do

2009-07-08T03:00:00.013-04:00

I have been dealing with Blogger's painful editing and formatting support for more than three months now, it's only my love for my existing 40+ posts at blogger keeps me from migrating to Wordpress :(While Google remains in the front row for developing cool and innovative products all the time ... we all are error prone ... aren't we?I included a video for the first time in my post on

How Banks Calculate Average Daily Available Balance

2009-07-06T04:00:00.010-04:00

With interest rates going a sharp downward path, High Yielding Online Savings Accounts and Rewards Checking Accounts are getting very much attention these days. Both these accounts (and several other bank products) pay us interest based on the Average Daily Available Balance (ADAB) on our accounts.I had been playing with my online savings statements to find out how financial institutions

Happy 233rd Independence Day America !!!

2009-07-04T04:00:00.010-04:00

A Very Happy Independence Day to all :)As it has always been about curiosity ;), I'd like to share something I just found out. It was on July 4, 1776 when the Congress adopted United States' Declaration of Independence. Actually the legal separation of American colonies from Britain happened on July 2, 1776 but it took two days for the Congress to sign and adopt the Declaration of

How I Trimmed My Dining Bills by 59% - "No Eat-Out Experiment" Result

2009-07-02T04:00:00.000-04:00

With the inception of June '09 I halted my eat-out habits for a month. Today that 1 month period is over and I would like to share with you the savings I witnessed over the past one month.What was the experiment I coined it a "No Eat-Out Month" Experiment when I pledged to not spend at all eating out. Food is my weakness and so I couldn't stop myself from wandering away from the seemingly pledge

My Monetary Snapshot - June '09

2009-07-01T07:00:00.003-04:00

Let's Be Curious is more than two months old today :)Here's what it looks like at the end of this month:Emergency Funds (High Interest Savings): $5578Checking Accounts (Non-Interest Earning): $917401K: $608CD: $2000Interest + Other Earnings: $97.66(amazed how come it's $97 ;) all added up by paid surveys and free money)Car Loan Balance: $13,512Credit Card Balance: $71June 2009: Total Assets:

Extra Paycheck Month - July '09

2009-06-30T07:00:00.008-04:00

There are 52 weeks in a regular year and 4 weeks in a month. Ohhhh did I miss something, because 4 weeks a month makes it 48 weeks a year? No people, I am correct here! So where are the (52-48=) 4 weeks?When we talk of "4 weeks a month", we are actually talking about the "complete weeks". In the months having 30 or 31 days, the number of weeks are a little more above 4. The extra days

Tips For Saving On Traffic Fines: Handling Traffic Stops

2009-06-29T07:00:00.013-04:00

With the Independence Long Weekend around the corner, I thought of writing something about road-trips. I just love them!Recently I went to Wilmington, DE on my first longest road-trip since I bought my car. Though it was (only?) 5 hours drive but driving alone all-the-way down and coming back isn't that exciting! (driving pleasures apart) It was a Saturday morning when I started, drove through

Free: Nescafe Taster's Choice Samples, 6 Flavors

2009-06-25T07:00:00.010-04:00

Love coffee? Get this! Nescafe is sending out stick pack samples of 6 Taster's Choice Flavors absolutely free. All you have to do is click here to register on the website and fill-in your name and mailing details. Only conditions are: 1 sample per person2 sample per householdOK we can be that content, can't we?Nescafe believes it will "make a believer out of you", let's se how much weight their

Quicken Reveals - II: Harms Of Misjudging Grocery Needs

2009-06-22T07:00:00.003-04:00

According to my Quicken analysis, Groceries make up 4% of my total expenses. Yeah this is one of the advantages to single-never-married individuals. I believe groceries eat up a huge share of family's total income every week or every month. Some Grocery Shopping Facts Let me share some of the things I know about grocery shopping. I am certain there are a bevy of experienced people than me so

McAfee Virus Scan Plus 2009: Free After Main-In Rebate From Amazon

2009-06-18T07:00:00.007-04:00

You must be accessing your bank records and other important details daily from your computer, then why take chances? If already don't have any latest security software then here's the deal. Amazon is selling McAfee's Virus Scan Plus 2009 for $50. After filling-in the $50 mail-in rebate form the brand anti-virus and anti-spyware with firewall and website safety ratings is all yours for absolutely

Update: "No Eat-Out Month" Experiment

2009-06-16T07:30:00.001-04:00

So how am I doing? Almost half of June has gone since I started my No Eat-Out Month Experiment, I thought why not share my eat-out details with you. When it comes to food I can't be as honest as otherwise, I know but that's .... my weakness! So let's see where have I spent in the last 15 days: * Coffee: $17.79 * Panera Bread: $7.89 ------

Journey From On-Campus Job to Full-Time Job

2009-06-15T08:00:00.003-04:00

As we drive through our lives we take some valuable turns that remain scored onto the milestones of our living avenues. Getting into graduate school, going through the rigorous program and now getting accustomed to full-time job routine was one such turn for me. Being a student has taught me million things and so will the employee life but this transition left me pondering over few clouds of

Welcome BargainBabe Readers

2009-06-09T07:05:00.000-04:00

A warm Welcome to Bargain Babe's readers at Let's Be Curious!I feel admired by your pleasant presence on my blog and wish to create a continued relationship with you as a reader of Let's Be Curious. Consider subscribing to my RSS Feed.Feel free to browse through my posts, however, to save your time here are the best of Let's Be Curious:Haggling Works: Try It Save Money4 Simple Steps To Start

Quicken Reveals - I: "No Eat-Out Month" Experiment

2009-06-05T15:27:00.014-04:00

I was looking at my Quicken view of spendings and was amazed at my eat-out habits. Above is the screenshot of how my expenses looked like in the last six months of 2009. I am single and a BIG foodie but still I consider above figures as holes in my pocket!AnalysisI spent $124 on eat-outs in May 09 making up 10% of my spendings. If sweet little February 09 is ignored then almost every month I am