Are there still deals out there?

Now that BlackFriday has come and gone, you are probably asking yourself "Are there still good shopping deals out there?"

The answer is yes! You just need to know where to look. My suggestion is to start with the ever popular deal sites. These sites aggregate deals from all over into one place. Here are a few that I visit often:

• TechBargains.com
  
• Ben's Bargains
  
• Fatwallet HotDeals

Ok, so you found what you are going to buy. Now why not check to see if there is a coupon out there. Many sites offer free shipping with coupons. There are many coupon sites out there, the main ones I use are:

• DealCoupon.com
  
• Coupon Cabin

So you have the place where you are going to buy the item and a coupon, now check to see if you can get a rebate back from the store you will be shopping at. Here are the rebate sites I use:

• Mr. Rebates
  
• EBates

There are many ways on the internet to shop and save much more than you would if going to an actual brick and mortar store. I know Christmas is the season of giving, but why not save a little as well!

Fidelity mySmart Cash High Yield Checking Account

Fidelity has been offering their mySmart Cash High Yield Checking account for a while now, but it still doesn't appear to be listed on their accounts page. It is possible they are still wanting to keep a small amount of customers on it while they iron out issues.

Well that won't stop me from telling you about it!

Account Details:
3.50% APY (FDIC insured up to $100,000 per depositor)
ALL ATM fees refunded (this includes ATM fees charged by the ATM owner)
No minimum balance
Free checkwriting (Free checks as well)
Free Bill Pay
Free Self-funded overdraft protection

I have had this account for 3 months now and love it. The ATM rebates alone make this the greatest account. I travel quite a bit for work and am not always near a local ATM, with this account, I can use an ATM anywhere and not have to pay any fees at all.

Throw in a better than average interest rate and Fidelity's great customer service and this account is a slam dunk.

I did leave my local checking account open so that I can deposit checks there and then use Fidelity's ACH system to move the money into my mySmart Cash account. You can also mail in your deposits to Fidelity if you feel comfortable with that.

One other important feature is the free overdraft. You can have your mySmart Cash account overdraft from a Fidelity Brokerage account anytime your balance dips below zero. Now you no longer need to worry about bouncing a check or overdraft fees.

This account completes my portfolio at Fidelity and allows me to keep all my money in one place. I am very happy with this account this far and have made it my primary checking account.

Sign Up Here

mySmart Cash Checking Account FAQ

Make $500,000 on a $20,000 Salary

Here is an intersting article from Kiplinger.com. It is about a guy who makes $20,000 per year as a parking attendent but has built a $500,000 stock portfolio over 44 years.

I think this article is the epitimy of long term investing. In today's world everyone wants to get in on the get rich quick scheme when in reality the proven way to make it rich is to save over time.

This guy saved his pennies for forty-four years by budgeting and has done well for himself. He defnielty has more discipline than me, but I also beleive he is someone I can learn from. I guess the real question is: Live life now and pay later or pay now and live life later. It is a personal choice, but I beleive most of us would pay later!!!

Free TurboTax for State Farm Customers

Last year State Farm offered free TurboTax for customers that have business with them. They offered free TurboTax basic and TurboTax deluxe which included both State and Federal filing.

It looks like they are planning on doing this again for the 2007 tax season. According to their terms, you only need to have an account that gives you access to the "My Account" page. If you have insurance or a State Farm Bank account you are all set.

But even better, if you are not a State Farm customer, all you need to do is sign up for their Visa card and you can have access to the Free TurboTax deals.

For current customers, there is a link off of the "My Account Page" that says "FREE Tax Filing"

When I logged into my account today and clicked on the "FREE Tax Filing" I noticed the following message.


I will post again with the details once the 2007 information is available. If you file your taxes using TurboTax, this is definetly worth a look since this could save you around $50 for something that you were going to do anyway.

American Express My WishList Deals Start on Nov. 27

American Express is bring back it's My WishList Deals on November 27th. If you don't know what these are, basically American Express offers a limited quantities of items and ridiculously cheap prices. The catch is that you are competing with thousands of other people for a very limited quantity, so it is all up to one mouse click to see of you have won. I have had success here before when last year I won a Slingbox for $70 that retailed for $120. So I am definitely going to try to get in on a WishList deal again this year.

Here is what is in store for this Christmas:

Panasonic 42" 1080p HD Plasma TV
WishList Price: $700
Retail Price: $1,999

BMW K 1200 R Sport Motorcycle
WishList Price: $5,000
Retail Price: $17,000

Xbox Elite Game System
WishList Price: $300
Retail Price: $649.99

2008 Volvo C70
WishList Price: $0
Retail Price $43,205

JetBlue Airways Private Flight
WishList Price: 0$
Retail Price: $171,367

I imagine that these are the highly coveted items and they will be offering others in between as well as the promotion runs from November 27th to December 13th.

Check out the details at the American Express WishList Site for dates and times and sign up for an email reminder when it kicks off on the 27th of this month. Good Luck!

Another Woot Off!

Woot.com is having another of its Woot Offs right now. If you are unfamiliar with Woot.com, they are a site that offers items at a discount. Usually only one item is listed per day starting at 12am Central Time and is listed until it is sold out or 11:59PM Central Time. A Woot Off, which happens rarely, is a number of products that are for sale on a particular day or successive days. One product follows another as soon as it has been sold out. The number of Woot-Off items, sequence, and quantity will not be announced so an item could take a while to sell out or sell out immediately. Don't miss a chance to score some items at a steal if you haven't started that Christmas Shopping yet!

Black Friday Deals

Oh, that day after Thanksgiving, dreadful for some, where people line up at 5 am outside stores trying to get their hands on a Furby.

Yes, it is Black Friday which is named for the fact that this is the day where most retailers actually start to make a profit. I stumbled across BlackFriday.info that aggregates Black Friday deals for a bunch of retailers. So if you want to plan your November 23rd shopping day you are all set. They also have an email notification feature where they will email you as Black Friday deals are added.

I hate crowds and traffic, so I will be doing my Black Friday shopping from the comfort of my own home thanks to this site. Shower and clothing optional!

20% Off at Kmart

So, with Christmas around the corner, I thought I would share something to help you with your holiday shopping. I found this Kmart coupon while browsing around this morning.

This coupon, which is good only in the store, is good for 20% off 1 item. Notice there are some restrictions on this. Some of the main ones are that it can't be used for appliances, auto service and Sears Home electronics. Even though it says "Sears Home Electronics" is excluded there have been posts that people have used the coupon for an XBox and PS3 as well as dvds and cds.

(Click image for larger version to print)

I will be the first to admit that I don't shop at Kmart, but for 20% of one item, it is definetly worth a walk through the store.

Ridiculously Cheap Sprint Wireless Service

Sprints Employee Referral Plan (SERO) is now open to everyone. Not sure how long this is going to last, but these prices beat anything out there right now.

I recently started telling my friends about this. I signed up a month ago and am loving service, especailly since I am saving around $40 / month from my previous service with Verizon.

Here are the plans:

• 500 minutes for $30.00 / month
  
• 1250 minutes for $49.99 / month
  
• 2500 minutes for $99.99 / month

Plans include:
Unlimited Nights & Weekends starting at 7pm!
Domestic long distance
Unlimited Mobile to Mobile (Sprint to Sprint calls only)
Unlimited Web/Data Access
Unlimited Picture Mail (with compatible devices)

Don't forget that data plans alone ususally cost around $20 - $30 per month, so if you currently have service with a data plan, this is a no brainer.

They also offer the Unlimited EVDO broadband plan at $49.99 / month. This service is great if you can't get Cable or DSL service at your home, or you always want to be connected.

All plans require a 2 year contract. You can also port your number over to Sprint if you would like to keep it. The phones are shipped out via FedEx 2 Day service.

All Sprints' current phone lineup is available with these plans with most at a discount.

How to sign up:

• Go to the Sprint SERO Website
  
• Enter the following email address: savings@sprintemi.com

Like I said earlier, there is no telling how long these deals will last. If you get Sprint coverage in your area, this is definetly worth a look.