Save money on travel by downloading free apps.

source: Das Telefonbuch

Free Travel Apps

1. GasBuddy. Ideal for road trips, this app lists all the gas stations near you, the current price per gallon, and directs you how to get there. With gas prices soaring, you can’t afford not to give this app a try.

2. Hotels.com. Whether it’s a last minute deal or something planned in advance, the hotels.com app is a great choice. It finds the cheapest hotel rates near you and helps keep track of your reservations.
3. Happy Hour. Looking for a great happy hour special? Regardless of the time of day, the app lists all restaurants and bars near you that are offering deals right now. Grab drink specials, half off appetizers, and other great dining bargains.
4. TripAdvisor. The TripAdvisor app helps you find hotels, restaurants, and things to do near you and helpful reviews from fellow travelers so you’re not wasting your money on something that leaves something to be desired.
5. Beat the Traffic. Whether traveling across the country or simply to work every morning, this traffic fighting app is a must. The app highlights the area around you either in green, yellow, or red depending on the current traffic volume. It alerts you to accidents, construction, and even predicts how the traffic will be in the future. Avoiding the delays will save money on gas and not waste your precious time.
6. Kayak. This handy app compares all of the great deals from other sites so you don’t have to search them all individually. Find the low price on flights, hotels, car rentals and also manage your trip.
7. Groupon. Choose any city you’re planning on traveling to to view fantastic deals. Grab bargains on restaurants, bars, spas, entertainment, attractions, and more. The company also teamed up with Expedia to offer great Groupon getaway offers such as hotel stays and fabulous resort packages.
8. Coupons. The Coupons App finds coupons for everything around you. When you’re on the road, you’ll be able to find coupons for places to grab a bite or a huge variety of stores to shop in.
9. Mint.com. It’s easy to lose track of your budget when you’re on vacation. The Mint.com app allows you to be organized and keep track of all of your finances, budget accordingly, and manage your money so you don’t come home from your trip broke.
10. Currency Converter. Anytime you’re traveling abroad, this currency calculator app is a must. The app ensures you know exactly how your money converts so you’re paying the correct amount and not being taken advantage of.
11. MapQuest. Saying the MapQuest app gives you great directions is an understatement. Whether you’re walking or driving, you can pick if you’d like the fastest or shortest route. Choose if you’d like to avoid highways, toll roads, seasonal closures, and unpaved roads. Besides the distance and time in between each direction, you’ll also get specific instructions on how to know if you’ve went too far It also shows highlights areas of interest like hospitals, coffee shops, movie theatres, schools, parking, hotels, gas stations, and restaurants.

Happy travels!

More Travel Tips

• Budget Travel Tips
• Best Travel & Hotel Rewards Credit Cards
• How to Save Money on Purchases While Traveling Abroad
• Get the Most Bang for Your Frequent Flyer Miles

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Employer Options

At my work, however, we have a new option. I have a 457b plan (much like a 401k, but you can begin withdrawals when you stop working, rather than waiting until the magical age of 59 1/2). I chose this over the 401k because of the ability to withdraw, without tax penalty, your balance if you ever leave service. You don’t have to wait until the full 401k age. And, you have the same contribution limits as the 401k, much higher than the Roth IRA.

My employer has offered a Roth version of the 401k, but again, I didn’t want the age limitation. Now they have the Roth option for 457b accounts. I’m certainly taking advantage of that by putting future contributions into a Roth 457b plan instead of the traditional 457b plan.

Should I Convert My Account into a Roth?

Here’s the weary query I put to you; should I convert my current 457b balance into a new Roth 457b account? Just like converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you have to pay taxes on the entire balance. On the plus side, there is no penalty to be paid.

So what do you think? Here are my options.

Option 1: Leave the account as is.

I could leave the money I have in my 457b, and just put future contributions into the new Roth 457b. The pro is that I don’t have to worry about paying a tax on a rollover; on the other hand, the money in the old 457b account will be taxable when I withdraw the funds in the future.

Option 2: Make the rollover, and pay the piper his due.

This is the option I’m leaning towards, but it’s definitely going to cost me. With a total of about $20,000 in the account, my employer will withhold about $7,500 for taxes (about 35%). After I do my taxes next year, the actual taxable amount will be closer to $3,000. Still, that’s a huge chunk of change. On the other hand, when I retire I won’t have any taxes to pay on withdrawals.

What would you do?

So I leave this question for you, readers: Which option would you choose? This is definitely an open question, with many variables missing, so I will give you a little more info. I’m 30-35 years old, and will be able to retire from my government job at 2/3 of my salary at the age of 55-60. I do not plan on working after retirement, and I plan on travelling a lot afterwards. I shouldn’t have any debt at retirement, except for a possible car payment. Any other government workers out there with this option?

More Retirement Planning Options

• Roth IRA Conversion Strategy to Avoid Taxes
• Should You Do a Roth Conversion?
• Can You Have a 401k and an IRA at the Same Time?
• Unconventional Roth IRA Strategy to Lower Tax Bill

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

While not all CD rates are currently worth it (for instance I’m not advocating using a CD when you’re getting a better rate on your on-line saving account) some are and it helps to do the math. For an example I’ll use actual rates and penalties that I chose when moving some money to a 5 year CD last year. (rates and penalties are real – dollar amounts fictional for nice roundness) I’m also using straight interest rather than compound for simplicity.

My CD Story

Last year I had $10,000 in a savings account earning 1%. This is $100 / year. My local credit union was offering a 5 year CD at 2.5%. This is $250 / year. The penalties for this CD are 3 months of interest if you’ve held it for a year or less and 6 months of interest if you’ve held it for more than a year. For current rates, you can check out the CIT Bank CD Rates to achieve your goal.

The Breakeven Point

What I look for in CDs is my breakeven point. This is the point at which if I hold on to the CD long enough it will have been worth taking out because it would equal what I was making in the savings account. Anything beyond the breakeven point is extra $.

How It Works

For example if I held onto it for 3 months I would have $0 in interest (3 months interest – 3 months interest penalty). This obviously would not have been worth it because I’d have been making money if I left it in savings. If I held onto it for 5 months I would get 2 months worth of interest (5 months interest – 3 months penalty). 2 months interest = $10,000 * .025 * 2/12 = $41.67

What would I get if I’d kept the money in my savings account for 5 months? $10,000 * .01 * 5/12 = $41.67. This is the same as the CD. So as long as I kept the CD for 5 months I would breakeven. If I kept it for longer I would come out ahead.

But wait – what about the increased penalties after 1 year? We need to check this out as well so we’ll look at the worst case – 13 months. If I cashed out the CD after 13 months I would get 7 months of interest (13 months interest – 6 months penalty). 7 months interest = $10,000 * .025 * 7/12 = $ 145.83.

What would I get if I’d kept the money in my savings account for 13 months? $10,000 * .01 * 13/12 = $108.33. So I’d still come out ahead with the CD even when the penalty increased.

I knew I could hold the money in the CD for at least 5 months (though probably not 5 years) so I made the move. But you might be thinking to yourself “Why bother? It’s only a point and a half difference. 2.5% is still low.” If you keep $10,000 at 2.5% for 5 years you’ll have $1,250 vs. $500 at 1% savings ($750 more). I know that I can move out of the CD anytime if interest rates move up because I’ve already crossed the breakeven point. So don’t be scared about the long term commitment of CDs. Your only real commitment is the breakeven point. Everything after that is just extra money.

Epilogue

What has happened in the 8 months since I’ve moved my money? My savings account interest has moved down 2 times. It’s now at 0.8%.

More Information about CDs

• Create CD Ladders for Short Term Money Needs
• Unique CD Strategy to Lock in Higher Rate
• Are CDs Obsolete?

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Of course, since it’s Free Money Friday, we’re rolling out the loyalty program with free Amazon gift cards!

How to Earn Amazon Gift Cards

1. Sign up for the My Dollar Plan rewards program by clicking the Earn Points Now! banner below. Email readers will need to visit the article to sign up.
2. Earn points for various activities at My Dollar Plan.
3. Redeem your points for Amazon Gift cards.

How to Earn Points

Earning points is easy and we set it up so that you’ll earn points for the things you already do as a reader. And we threw in some extra things too for those of you who are ambitious and strive to overachieve. You can look for the red ribbon next to point earning opportunities throughout the site. Here’s how to earn points:

• Become a fan of My Dollar Plan on Facebook: 100 points.
• Visiting My Dollar Plan: 100 points per day.
• Liking an article on My Dollar Plan on Facebook: 100 points per day.
• Tweeting about an article: 100 points per day.
• Sharing an article on Google+: 100 points per day.
• Commenting on an article: 100 points per day.

Rewards

Once you earn points you can redeem them for Amazon gift cards.

• 100,000 points – $100 Amazon Gift Card
• 30,000 points – $25 Amazon Gift Card
• 8,500 points – $5 Amazon Gift Card

Terms and Conditions

• The rewards program is powered by PunchTab.
• You will need a Facebook account to connect with the PunchTab app.
• One account per person.
• One reward per person at each point level.
• We reserve the right to disqualify accounts if not using the loyalty program as intended.

More on My Dollar Plan Rewards

Gift Cards Available. There are limited quantities of gift cards available. To start out, we’re offering 25 $5 gift cards, 5 $25 gift cards, and 1 $100 gift card. I know reader love Amazon gift cards, which is why I decided to give away all of those instead of different gift cards.

Length of Program. We’re planning to run the rewards program for all of 2012 to make sure readers get a chance to earn the Amazon gift cards. If it’s successful we’ll consider extending it and adding more gift cards. If you have requests for other gift cards, just let me know! I figure the most overambitious readers should be able to hit the first point level before Memorial Day!

Redemption Levels. I don’t have to tell you that it’ll be in your best interest to save up points to redeem for the bigger gift cards. It’s always fun to have a goal to maximize your earning power… hence the better reward values at the top! Once you sign up, you’ll be able to see a leaderboard to see how you stack up against other readers.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Today, inflation is 2.2%. Some will argue however, that the real inflation rate is higher than this. This is because there are two measures to inflation, the Core CPI and the CPI.

How CPI is Measured

The CPI takes into account the price changes of food, beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education, communications, and energy. Core CPI backs out food and energy to come to its number. Why is this important? It is important because in the economic environment we are in today, food and energy prices are rising quickly. This causes the CPI number to be higher than the Core CPI number, as seen in the chart below.

So why are these two factors removed? Because of their high volatility, they are removed from the Core CPI figure. Realize that the information in the inflation reports are used by the Federal Reserve to help control future inflation. The Fed is trying to limit the growth of inflation. They are not worried about what inflation is today. Because history has taught us that the more reliable measure of inflation is the Core CPI (the inflation measure that removes energy and food prices), we tend to focus on that.

When is Inflation Bad?

Inflation is bad when it is not controlled. As consumers, we can deal with the cost of goods rising at a rate of 4% per year. But if prices rise too fast, businesses react by hiring more workers to produce more goods. More workers means that wages have to rise because there are fewer unemployed people. When wages quickly rise, workers have more money to spend. Spending money increases demand and the cycle repeats itself. Why is this bad? Because you eventually get to a point where money isn’t worth the paper it is printed on. For example, look at Zimbabwe. The inflation rate there a few years ago was 231 million percent. You read that right. If a pack of gum in Zimbabwe cost $1 last year, this year it costs $231 million. When this inflationary bubble bursts, billions of dollars will be lost.

Is Anything Worse than Inflation?

It isn’t much fun knowing that an item today is going to cost you more to buy it next year. But there is something worse than that and it is called deflation. Deflation is the exact opposite of inflation. Instead of prices going up, they go down. Before you start telling me how great that would be, read on.

To begin, in order to have deflation, the economy needs to have a greater supply of goods and services than there is demand for. When this happens, prices at every level drop. A greater supply than demand means that businesses are over-producing goods. They will cut back on production, meaning they will lay off workers. With fewer people earning wages, fewer people will by buying goods, meaning prices will continue to drop.

What’s worse is that banks won’t loan any money because with falling prices, they will be losing money. Who wants to loan $100,000 to someone and in 30 years only get back $25,000? Because of that, everyone hordes cash and doesn’t use it. Those that can buy stop because again, why pay $3 for a gallon of milk today when you can pay $2 for it next week? The entire economy grinds to a halt.

A modern day example is the housing market. For the past few years, supply has outweighed demand. This has caused prices to drop. With dropping prices, no one is buying a home because it will be cheaper in six months. As a result, prices continue to drop. Now apply that to the entire economy.

As you can see, inflation is a necessary evil in our economy. While it causes the prices of goods and services to rise over time, as long as it is kept in check, it does more good than harm.

More Inflation Topics

• Is Inflation Impacting Your Spending Habits?
• Comparing Different Types of Treasury Securities
• Are Municipal Bonds the Next Bubble?
• New I-Bonds Rates

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Then another world seemed to open up for me. I taught my 72-year old grandmother how to play Words with Friends on her own Smartphone (way to be with the times Mom-mom!), and the device became this great tool that brought me closer to my friends and family who live hundreds of miles away. I downloaded Google SkyMap for free and was just blown away at being able to see the constellations and stars at any time of day. My phone began to serve me as an alarm clock, a way for me to not have to open up my laptop to check something at night, my communication tool, and a great entertainer when in line waiting. Oh, and did I mention I sporadically use it as a telephone as well?

Free Smartphone Apps for Business

Now that I feel I have a handle on my Smartphone (as opposed to it having a handle on me), I am starting to see its value for business employees as well as small and startup business owners. Here are a few free apps to show you what I mean:   

1. Squareup, free: While at a charitable event the other day someone whipped out their Smartphone and in passing stated, “I am in charge of selling the drinks and we want to cater to people with credit cards.” I had to ask—was it possible to take credit card transactions over a phone? Well, it is. This would be a great tool for small business owners at conventions, craft fairs, farmer’s markets, and the like. Instead of purchasing a cash register, you could just use this app.
2. Expensify, free for individuals: My husband travels several times a year on business and almost always loses a receipt (or several). Very frustrating! The other day he came home and showed me a cool app he had downloaded where he could take a photo of a receipt and the information will be uploaded to an account. So cool! This app also automatically imports business expenses from a credit card. And for companies the cost is $5 / submitter / month to approve expense reports (pay only for employees who submitted an expense report that month).
3. GateGuru, free: This app is good for frequent fliers who find themselves at the airport several times a year (or most of the year!). You can receive real time flight status (including push notifications), view / post airport security wait times, and see a structured list of airport food, shops and services. I guess this would stop me from having to periodically walk back to the gate for any updates (though the walking is good exercise and entertainment, especially for layovers).
4. Gist.com, free: Organize and upload/import old and new contacts with this app from social networks, inboxes, etc. On top of that, you can actually see view colleagues’ real-time Facebook and Twitter feeds while in the program.
5. ScanBizCards, free: Speaking of business contacts, this app allows you to scan in business cards as well as manually enter business card information. I wonder if you could use this app in conjunction with the gist.com app?

Please share your own free or lost-cost business apps, and how they help you.

More Finance Apps to Check Out

• 7 of the Best Free Finance Apps for the iPhone and iPad
• Top Finance Apps for Android
• 5 Helpful Android and iPhone Tax Apps
• Readers Share More Free Finance Apps

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Roth IRAs: My Views

One of the first topics that I have been asked to write about is my views on the Roth IRA. I have a Roth, and I don’t discount the benefit of a structured retirement account. However, there are some limits on the usefulness of this retirement vehicle. Growing funds tax free is definitely a benefit for those that have a need for future retirement.

There are some things which don’t make sense if you have certain situations which make a Roth IRA not as beneficial as you think. If you get the benefit of being below the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) requirements and getting the retirement savers tax credit you might make things a little better for yourself. The flip side is that if you make too much, you cannot contribute to a Roth IRA.

Who am I?

So let’s see how this applies to me. I am a 37 year old professional who is a single parent who files as head of household. I make more than $42,375 in AGI every year, thus I get no tax credit from owning a Roth. I on the flip side typically make more than the low limit for Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI – your income, minus a few things, but none of your deductions like AGI). So what does this mean for me? I cannot contribute to a Roth, and get no tax benefit from contributions to a Roth.

Roth IRAs: Why They Don’t Make Sense for Me

So what does this mean for me? I define retirement a little different than most people. I strive to work as hard as I can and then leave the corporate realm. I might go back and do something else but the reason is not for earning the paycheck, but for the fun of it. This is where the problems with structured retirement plans come into play. Yes you can take out your contributions (just the contribution amount) tax free, but you cannot take out any of the profit. Therefore part of your retirement savings is sitting and cannot be touched until you hit retirement age (unless you want to pay the fines and taxes). One of the mantras that I have heard over time is never take your principal out of an investment unless you are cashing out. Taking the principal out of the accounts will leave less money to grow on, and thus have less money in the future of your accounts. Well think of it this way, you are leaving behind the earnings that you have earned and it is sitting in your account for decades until you can touch it when you “legally” are able to retire should the government not change the official retirement age of retirement vehicles (which again they are talking about).

As with many of the government laws that are created, they use the broad brush stroke approach and apply to the lowest common denominator. This means that while IRAs are a benefit for those who are not disciplined in their retirement finances, it hurts those of us who are disciplined. Since I plan on retiring early, gaining access to my retirement accounts will be a necessity so that I can actually maintain my living standard. There are other things which will help (namely paying off all debt, mortgages, etc.) as well as having enough “money” to live off the interest/dividends that you will earn year over year.

How I Save for Retirement

So what am I doing to combat this as I have to save for retirement, but don’t use Roth or other retirement accounts (unless they make sense)?* I do a majority of my “savings” with a taxable account and therefor have a couple of different options that apply to the future. Don’t get me wrong, I have a rollover IRA (from former 401ks), a Roth IRA, and a couple regular taxable accounts. This means that I can have access to some (depending on how much is in which account) of my money, yes it is taxed, at any time I want. Should I retire at 45 or 55 or 65, I can get access to the majority of my money and go on a world cruise and not have to worry about taking the money out of my retirement accounts with tax liabilities when I retire early. There are other issues at play here, but that is for future articles.

*Such as when the tax benefits work if I don’t make too much income, or I have a company matched 401k, etc.

Do you favor Roth IRAs or taxable accounts?

More Retirement Planning Topics

• To Roth 401k or Not to Roth 401k?
• Can You Have a 401k and an IRA at the Same Time?
• How to Track Your Roth IRA Contributions… and Why You Need To!
• 2012 Roth 401k and Roth IRA Limits

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 13.

Here are some of my favorite mother’s day gifts. Some I have given and some I was very excited to receive (note lack of flowers on the list….)

10 Mother’s Day Gifts

1. Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott. My mom got me this book during my first pregnancy. I’ve read it many times since then and also given it to new moms. Lamott is a wonderful writer but what makes this book especially great is that it’s an unvarnished account of her first year of motherhood. It has the highs and the lows and is also very funny. One of the few books on motherhood that I think anyone could relate to.
2. Nail Polish Basket. This is a gift where you can either go for volume or uniqueness. I only wear polish on my toes and personally haven’t noticed a difference between $10 and $1 nail polish. You can easily find $1 / bottle at your local drug store. I like grabbing a bunch of different colors (that I think they would like). So when I bought for my niece she got some sparkly blue. My mom gets a deep red. You can also go upscale and get her favorite brand (that she rarely treats herself to). As far as luxury items go, this is a low cost one.
3. A Class. My sister and I once got my mom (an amazing cook) an Indian cooking class at a local school (completely new cuisine for her to cook but one she loved to eat). It was something she’d never done but we thought she would be interested in. She loved it and we also got to benefit by being her tasters. Yum. There are lots of one-day classes offered by local schools and adult learning centers. Look around for a unique gift to give as an inexpensive experience gift.
4. Coffee (or Tea) Basket. This is another one where you can adjust to the tastes of your mom. I’ve given coffee from a local roaster as well as a selection of teas from my town’s Chinese market.
5. Photo Mug. I love photo mugs. It’s a very personal gift both to give and to get. You don’t need to worry about having the perfect picture either. One year I wanted to give both my mother and mother-in-law photo mugs of my son. Of course he was going through a period where getting him to sit still for a photo was hard and getting him not to make a face was impossible. So instead of pulling my hair out I asked him to make a goofy face. He did and both moms laughed out loud when they got their cups.
6. Make a Meal. Chances are that your mom has cooked waaay more meals for you than the other way around. It doesn’t need to be a fancy meal – mom will appreciate the effort more than the food anyway. One of my favorite recipes for brunch is a dutch baby (baked apple pancake). It’s easy, delicious and impressive.
7. Plants. Everyone gives flowers but plants are a bit different. On my last birthday my sister gave me a bunch of little veggie plants to go in my garden. It was very appreciated now and will be again when I’m harvesting the food.
8. Baggu. I received Baggu bags as a gift when I was looking for re-usable shopping bags. I appreciate them more as time goes by. They’re washable, they don’t disintegrate like some cheaper bags, they hold a ton and can fold up into nothing. We use them all the time for just about everything. I’ve had more positive comments from grocery baggers than I can even count (and who would be a better expert on bags?).
9. Gift Card (Discounted of Course). Gift cards don’t need to be bland gifts – just keep her interests in mind. A gift card to her favorite store will be appreciated because she knew you were thinking of her (not just picking the first thing you saw). Many credit card companies offer a discount on gift cards if you get them through their rewards program or buy through Plastic Jungle.
10. Decoupage Box. Even if you’re not very crafty you can decoupage. All it takes is gluing some images to a box and then layering over with decoupage (like Mod Podge). You can make a unique one of a kind gift with images or words that are meaningful to you both. Believe me if I can do it, anyone can!

What are you planning to buy your mom for Mother’s Day?

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

How to Get Your Free Hilton Nights

1. Sign up for the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa.
2. Spend $1,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of opening the account.
3. Receive 40,000 Hilton HHonors Bonus Points!

Citi Terms and Conditions

• No annual fee.
• No cap on HHonors Points, and your Points never expire.
• Points will appear on your account 4-6 weeks after you’ve met the purchase requirements.

More on Hilton

Earning Points. Earn 6 HHonors Bonus points per $1 spent at Hilton hotels; 3 HHonors Bonus points per $1 spent at supermarkets, drugstores & gas stations; Earn 2 HHonors Bonus Points per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Redeeming Points. 40,000 HHonors Points can be redeemed for one night at a Category 6 hotel, or three nights at a Category 2 hotel.

Hilton Silver Status. Retain HHonors Silver status for as long as you remain a Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature cardmember.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

For long time readers, you know what that means; it’s time for a round of credit card applications to make some money! When I embark on a credit card application spree, I focus on just one us at a time. This one is specifically for my husband.

I figure if I’m putting hard inquiries on his credit report (which I did while shopping our mortgage), my goal is to maximize the earnings from it. In addition, if I bunch the inquiries together, they’ll all fall off at the same time in the future, which is convenient.

Here is the list of credit card applications currently in progress. They are listed in priority order, mainly to make the most money in sign up bonuses, but also to pick up some additional cards I’ve had my eye on.

Credit Card Application List

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred. $400 sign up bonus. Most of you already took advantage of this one, but I was waiting on it for my husband while we were shopping our mortgage and insurance. Still a great sign up bonus.
2. American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card. $250 sign up bonus. The annual fee is currently waived for the first year (we’ll cancel the card before the annual fee kicks in).
3. Pen Fed Platinum VISA. I have a Penfed card, but it has a balance transfer for life, so I don’t use it for the gas. I figured it was time to sign up my husband so we could get the 5% on gas. (In case you are wondering, the current balance transfer for life on the Penfed cards is 4.99% for life, with 0 fee until the end of June). Also, if you don’t want the cash rewards version, you could get the platinum rewards version which has a $250 sign up bonus.
4. Ink Cash Business Card. $250 sign up bonus. We decided to open a business credit card for one of our rentals that we’re doing some renovations with. 0% on a credit card always beats the bank rates, so I offered my husband’s credit to our partners.
5. Citi ThankYou Preferred Card. $250 sign up bonus. I’m not expecting a lot from Citi, since my husband has more Citi cards than I do, but I thought I’d give it a shot.
6. Citi Dividend. $100 sign up bonus. This card also has the 5% rotating quarters. Whenever I apply for Citi cards, I usually hit them up for two!
7. Chase Freedom MasterCard. $100 sign up bonus. Believe it or not, my husband doesn’t have this card staple. (I actually have 2, so I just removed him as an authorized user on mine before applying).
8. Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express. $100 sign up bonus. I have the preferred version of this card, which I love, but that one has the annual fee, so I wanted to get a second card without the annual fee. This card also had a $25 referral bonus so that I could refer my husband.
9. Priceline Visa. $50 sign up bonus. My husband has been struggling with his 2% cash back card since the places he shops often don’t take American Express. Our other 2% cards are in use for balance transfers so they aren’t available. My search turned up the Priceline card from Barclays as a possible 2% cash back alternative. Time to check it out.
10. NASA Cash Rewards. If the Priceline card doesn’t work out, next on my list is the Nasa card from Nasa credit union. There’s some discrepancy about their 2% card, but I’m willing to give it a shot and report back.
11. Slate from Chase. 0% for 15 months with no balance transfer fee. We already have a Slate cards, but I figured I would try my luck and see if we can pick up another one for the balance transfer option. This one is Chase application number 3 (which is pushing it with Chase), so I will hold off and make sure the first two get approved first before applying for this one.
12. Discover More Card. 18 Month 0% Balance Transfer. Discover didn’t have any great signup bonuses, so I went for the balance transfer offer on this one. As long as I’m on an application spree, I wanted to throw something in from Discover.

More on My Application Spree

Travel Cards. You’ll notice I didn’t include travel credit cards this round. I did that on purpose. We’re going to be celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary next year, so I’m thinking it will be appropriate to wait and scoop up all of the hotel and airline cards when we get a little closer to planning our trip. We haven’t decided where we’re going yet… any suggestions?

Rolling Applications. Years ago there was a benefit to applying all in one day before the inquiries showed up. That loophole doesn’t exist anymore, so I’m working through my list as he gets approved for each one. Once we start getting a few declined I’ll suspend the spree. Currently, I’m 2/3 of the way through the list, waiting on the approvals for the Chase Freedom and Blue Cash cards. Once I get those, I’ll start working on the last four in the list.

Overall Value

If we can qualify for all of the sign up bonuses, the income from the spree is: $1525! (Plus a few cheap balance transfers and some new cash back cards to try out.)

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

source:NatalieMaynor

Alternatives to Dining Out

1. Visit a Farmer’s Market. Farmer’s markets can give you more excitement and entertainment than a restaurant can for a fraction of the cost. You’ll be able to chat with the farmers who have grown the food and have access to these super fresh and local ingredients at reasonable prices. There’s a great chance that you’ll be able to score things that aren’t available at your regular, everyday grocery store. Besides fruits, vegetables, and herbs, many farmers markets have homemade cheese and other artisan foods. You may also come across cooking demonstrations, jewelry and other crafts being sold, and better yet, free samples.
2. Invite friends for a pot luck. One of my favorite things is to go out to dinner with a group of my friends. But what I soon realized, it wasn’t the overpriced drinks and menu items that I was enjoying. It’s trying new foods and sharing that experience with the people I care about. Instead of going out to dinner, organize a pot luck with your friends or family. If everyone brings a small dish, you’ll still be able to try new foods and save money in the process. To bump it up a notch, have a theme to your pot luck. Ask your friends to bring a certain ethnic cuisine, a bite size snack, a new recipe they’ve never tried, or focused around a specific ingredient, like bacon or garlic.
3. Attend a free tasting. It might sounds too good to be true, but free tastings do exist. Breweries, wineries, and liquor stores often host free tastings of wine or beer to get you in the store trying new products. Besides being able to try the new drinks, these tastings most likely come with some type of snack or food, too. At smaller food stores, there’s a good possibility they’ll offer free samples of their products as well.
4. Learn to cook. If you’re not a person that loves to cook, the task can seem daunting. It gets even more exhausting when you toss in a lack of time with work or kids or life in general. But you can make cooking fun and tailor it to your needs and abilities. Cooking will end up saving you a ton on going out to dinner. Learn to cook by simply watching cooking shows, borrow cooking books from the library, searching for tutorials online, or asking your friend that loves to cook to give you a few lessons. Check out your local community center, park districts, and farmer’s markets that can offer free cooking classes or demonstrations. Once you start cooking, make it fun. Cook with your friends, spouse, and kids.
5. Have a themed day. I love to cook, but even I will admit that sometimes it doesn’t meet the criteria of a fun filled night. But if you turn it into a theme night accompanied by activities, it becomes something more. Cooking Italian? Break out the wine and watch a movie that takes place in the scenic country, like Under the Tuscan Sun. Making Mexican? Crank salsa music and decorate the table with colorful plates or flowers. Your theme doesn’t only have to be an ethnic or cultural one. Recreate a meal from your first date or wedding and walk down memory lane with photos.
6. Skip the dinner. Cooking, tastings, and farmer’s markets are great, but something I’m eager to try a new restaurant I’ve been hearing about. With that, I’ve found you can still go to restaurants without spending a lot of money by just skipping the dinner. Instead of a full-size meal, split a few appetizers with friends or get one appetizer and a drink. Check to see if the restaurant has a happy hour special with specials on food or drink. If you have a sweet tooth, skip all of that and head straight for the dessert.

More Ways to Save on Food

• Discover More 5% Cash Back at Restaurants
• Ideas for Frugal and Easy Cooking
• Frugal Recipe: Chicken Soup
• Can Once a Month Cooking Save You Money?
• Can You Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half Shopping Only Once a Month?

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

How I Paid for College

I attended a private liberal arts college from 2001-2005. If I remember correctly, the college was priced at $32,000 per year for tuition, fees, room, and board (I just looked up what tuition is at my alma mater in 2012 and *gasped* at the $48,000 price tag for tuition, fees, room, and board).

Obviously I would never have been able to afford these costs on my own—nor would my parents have been able to. I also never would have taken out student loans totaling over $100,000 to pay for this particular college. Fortunately, I received several scholarships and grants. My father contributed $5,000 per year, and my mother gave me $200 each month for spending (as a natural saver, I accumulated over $2,000 by the time I had graduated—thanks Mom!). So, my parents contributed a combined total of $7,400 per year towards my college education.

In the end, I came out with approximately $36,000 in loans under my name.

Reasons Why Parents Should Not Pay the Entire Way

I am very grateful to my parents for their contribution towards my education. Without their funds, I would have been over $65,000 in debt instead of $36,000. Don’t get me wrong—$36,000 is a huge sum of money. However, with the proper skills and a good job market (which we are currently not experiencing) it is a manageable sum of student loan debt. I have always considered my education to be the best investment I have ever made in my life, both personally and professionally. As such, here are some reasons why parents should not pay the entire way towards their child’s education:

• Scholarships are More Likely: I think that if children know they have to pay some or all of their way through college, then they will strive harder in academic performance in high school, as well as more diligently seek scholarship opportunities. I know I did.
• Students have More of a Stake in it: Academic performance in college could also be a higher priority because the student has a stake in their education. Who wants to spend thousands of dollars of their future money for D’s and C’s?
• Take on some Financial Responsibility: Student loans may be the first loan (hopefully) that a young adult has to their name. A manageable amount of loans could help a young adult become financially responsible. I was financially responsible before college; however, I did not have any consistent and large bills. During the financial aid exit interview I suddenly had a huge weight on my shoulders which turned into a desire to get out from my student loans in as little time as possible. This helped me to become more financially responsible—a trait that will serve me the rest of my life.
• Learn to Work Towards a Financial Goal and Achieve it: There are any number of financial goals adults will have over their lifetimes. Owning a home, having children, debt freedom, traveling, etc.—there are large bills that will come due from our dreams. Manageable student loans give a student the first opportunity to chip away at the financial goal of debt freedom. In the meantime, they will potentially become more financially savvy. For instance, I consolidated my student loans the summer that I graduated due to low interest rates. I learned about the consolidation process, as well as how to lower the interest rate even more by not consolidating a smaller private loan I had with a staggering 9% interest rate. I paid the higher interest loan off quickly while making minimum payments on the consolidated loan sum and saved myself a bundle of money.
• Learn the Interest Game: Everywhere we turn there are opportunities to spend money. And not having money is no reason not to spend money in our society. Loans are everywhere: credit cards, payday lenders, banks, car dealerships, etc. Student loan interest rates are generally lower than those of other loans (though we did just lock in a 3.5% fixed mortgage rate on our home—these are different times). A student loan gives young adults the opportunity to learn about debt, interest rates, and paying money towards debt that does not come off of the principle. I have all of my forms from my financial aid exit interview, and each loan shows how much interest I will have paid if I had taken the 11 years to pay off the loans granted by the lender. This lit a fire under me to pay each loan off more quickly and save myself a lot of money over the long term. Lesson learned.

I paid my last student loan off in September 2010. This was approximately five years after graduation, and six years less than the time of the loan payoff the lender had given me (11 years). In the meantime, I learned a substantial amount about finances, debt load, cash flow, interest rates, consolidation, and how to achieve a financial goal.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Will you be paying for your child’s college education? Was your education paid for?  

More on College and Student Loans

• Will You Pay for College for Your Kids?
• Student Loans: The Effect of Extra Payments
• Student Loan Repayment Options

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Back to the Daily Tasks of Saving and Spending

So, it’s finally over. You’ve completed your 1040 (or tax software or an account has, at least!), paid your tax, or requested your refund. Now what? Well, I don’t know about you, but I for one have neglected a few things while I was working on my taxes. Those daily tasks that help keep me working on lowering my debt is one of them.

Forgotten Financial Tasks

In the past couple of months, I haven’t recorded a single transaction of my spending. Each evening, I would check my credit card online, and enter any new transactions into my money tracking software, and see how it affected my budget. Not lately! Instead, at the end of the month, I enter a large number and label it “Credit Card Charges” and pay it. I thought that would be fine.

Boy was I was wrong.

Now, I find that I am unable to pay the full balance of my “daily purchases” credit card. I have at least kept up with other, non-changing balances, but I am still greatly disturbed. (In my mind as well, but this is not the place for that discussion!)

This might not be the right path for all of you, but I like to record all transactions on my daily use credit card. At the end of the month, I can get reports on exactly how much of my, er, “our” money my wife has spent on unnecessary clothing. I, of course, only purchase essentials.

OK, that’s not entirely true, but whatever. This is my article, not hers! (Although, if that sounds familiar, see 5 Ways to Save Money When Your Spouse is a Spender.)

Getting Back on Track

So where to start? Well, first things first. As of today, I am recording my daily transactions again. I suggest for those of you who have been procrastinating on this to do the same. Join me in our battle against our debt! I challenge each of you to stick to your budget, keep track of your spending, and make sure the two jive. (I like the word “jive,” but I so rarely have the chance to use it.)

It will take time, but with all the great information available here at My Dollar Plan, I think we can all manage. I’d like to talk more about savings in the future, something we shouldn’t forget about, even during the times when our debt seems so overwhelming.

As far as the increased debt I’ve accumulated by not paying off the full balance of this card each month, I feel I have no choice but to cut some spending somewhere, and work at it until it’s manageable again. It’s certainly going to take some time, but the payoff is definitely worth it.

I’d certainly welcome any suggestions from you! If you have a similar problem, please feel free to ask me in the comments section; I’d love to help you out. Until next time, happy savings, lower that debt, and have fun doing it!

More on Debt

• 7 Ways to Payoff Credit Card Debt
• How to Use Credit Cards to Consolidate Debt
• Should You Liquidate Savings to Pay off Debt?
• Turn Your Wasted Money into a Debt Reduction Plan

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

How to Get Up to 6 Free Nights

1. Sign up for the Marriott Rewards credit card.
2. Use the card for any type of purchase – even just once!
3. Get 30,000 bonus points!

Marriott Terms and Conditions

• $45 annual fee (waived first year).
• First purchase includes purchases or balance transfers, or using any checks that access your account but does not include cash advances.
• It may take 6-8 weeks for your rewards to post.

More on Marriott Rewards

More Free Nights. With your Marriott Rewards credit card, you’ll also get two free e-certificates good for a night in Category 1-4 Marriott Hotels!

Earning Points. You’ll earn 3 points per $1 spent at Marriott locations and 1 point per $1 spent on anything else. Plus, you can earn unlimited points!

Redeeming Points. Marriott Rewards points needed for a standard reward free night range from 7,500 points for Category 1 hotels to 40,000 points for Category 8 hotels so your 30k points could get you 4 free nights + the e-certificates will get you another 2!

Marriott Elite Status. You can also earn elite Marriott status faster because as a cardholder, you’ll get 10 Nights Credit towards your next Elite membership level every year and earn an extra Elite Night Credit every time you spend $3,000.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan

Asset Allocation Highlights

My portfolio is built around the following asset allocation goals:

Stock/Bond Allocation: My updated stock/bond split is now 70/30. We were at 88/12 for awhile, but I’ve decided we no longer need to take that much risk.

International Allocation: 40% of Stocks (or 28% of the entire portfolio)

Tilts: REITs and Small cap value 5% of Stocks each (or 3.5% of the entire portfolio)

Bonds: Split into CDs, bond market, tips, money markets, and cash

Based on those goals, here is my current target asset allocation:

Target Asset Allocation

• Bonds/Fixed Income: 30%
• Bonds: 15%
• Tips: 15%
• Stocks: 70%
• International: 28%
• Small Cap Value: 3.5%
• REITs: 3.5%
• Total Market: 35%

Back to Basics

For those of you following my asset allocation, you’ll remember when I moved to 100% in stocks to account for the NPV of the phantom bonds we hold (the npv of pension plans and retirement plans which include a money purchase plan if higher than stock market returns). Then I worked on Adding Real Estate and Negative Bonds to our Asset Allocation to account for those investments.

What I ended up with was fantastic, and quite frankly… wouldn’t be of help to anyone. So I decided to scrap the phantom bonds from our pensions and future cash flows, negative bonds, business investments, and real estate, and share with you my asset allocation for just our standard investments.

While I do manage another degree of asset allocation that accounts for these, the feedback I received is that you just want to see what’s in our regular accounts.

More Conservative

Another thing you’ll notice is our shift to become more conservative. We’re in our 30s now, so from an age in bonds perspective, we’re in line. I’d love to tell you that’s where it came from, but it’s more based on backing into it from the crazy portfolio. We plan to move to 60/40 in the next few years.

Portfolio Makeup

Here’s a run through of the actual funds in our portfolio, which is originally based on the Total Market Approach.

International Holdings. To keep our expense ratio down I’ve elected to skip the Total International Index and build a similar holding with the EAFE index and emerging markets index (in at 85/15 split). I finally moved to the full international exposure I planned awhile back to include more international exposure. Our international holdings currently include:

• BlackRock EAFE Index Fund
• Spartan EAFE International Index Advantage (FSIVX)
• Vanguard Emerging Markets Admiral Index (VEMAX)
• Emerging Markets ETF (VWO)

Due to the recent elimination of the purchase and redemption fees on the emerging markets index, I’m hoping to consolidate the ETF and the index fund over time.

Total Stock Market. I have eliminated holdings of the S&P 500 index and the extended market funds needed to make the S&P 500 a total market holding. This is a common problem with 401k employer plans. Because the only good choice can often be a 500 index fund, you load up on that. Since I left my job, I rolled this holding over into an IRA and I no longer need to hold the extended market. All of our total stock market funds are in:

• Vanguard Total Stock Market Admiral Index (VTSAX)

Fixed Income/Bonds. The fixed income and bond portion, which I have been adding to lately to make our portfolio more conservative, is split between bonds and tips. However, I also lump in the cash portion of our portfolio, which I keep on hand for upcoming withdrawals that I have planned. The cash is stashed in CDs at penfed, and various (low interest) money market funds, something I plan to improve on in the near future. The remaining funds are in:

• BlackRock US Bond Index Fund with a duration just over 4 years.
• Vanguard TIPS (VIPSX). I can’t hold the admiral version of this fund since it’s in a solo 401k.

Small Cap. Ugh, the small cap value tilt. Years ago, I decided to overweight small cap value. I’ve been reading everything I can about the updated research, but I’m stuck in analysis paralysis trying to decide if I should continue to overweight it. I’m curious to hear if any of you who were tilting small cap value are still doing so. We hold:

• Small Cap Value Admiral Index (VSIAX)

REIT. And finally, our REIT holdings (I haven’t included our actual real estate rentals in this portfolio) are in:

• Vanguard Reit Admiral Index (VGSLX)

Our main portfolio doesn’t include any of our fun money type investments. The things I consider in that are my investment club, free money offers, like Lending club and Betterment, etc. In addition, I also exclude our kids 529 plans from our main portfolio.

Expense Ratio

The overall weighted expense ratio for our entire portfolio is now 0.114%.

Click here to leave a comment on this article.
© My Dollar Plan