Do you know the difference between “0% APR for 12 months” and “12 months same as cash”? What about “no interest, no payments for 12 months”? If you are offered all three payment plans, which one do you prefer? If you pay off the balance within 12 months, all three work pretty much the same. […]
Too Many Banks
Do you think we have too many banks in the United States? There were 8,451 FDIC-insured banks as of June 30, 2008. Canada, on the other hand, with 1/10th of the population as the U.S., only has 81 banks, which can be listed on one page. On a per capita basis, we have 10 times […]
SmartyPig Finally Got Smart
When SmartyPig first came out, I was negative about it. To recap, SmartyPig works like labeled piggy banks. You first create a goal for what you are saving for. Then you set up automatic monthly transfers from your checking account to your goal account at SmartyPig. Money in your goal account earns a competitive interest […]
Sending a Small Amount of Money Overseas
For reasons I won’t go into details, I need to send US$100 to someone in Mexico. I’m not in a big hurry. The money doesn’t have to be there in minutes or hours, but I don’t want it to take weeks or months either. Obviously I’m interested in reliability and cost, both in fees and […]
Who Really Robbed FDIC $6 billion
I asked on Monday who robbed FDIC $6 billion from the IndyMac Bank failure. Too bad more of you didn’t chime in. Come on, don’t be shy. It’s not fun if it’s just me yapping all the time. Anyway, here are my thoughts. 1. Defaulted Borrowers. IndyMac took in deposits and lent out the money […]
Who Robbed FDIC $6 billion?
On the way back from work last Friday, I heard on the radio IndyMac Bank was closed by authorities and taken over by FDIC. IndyMac Bank had $19 billion in deposits. This failure is the largest in recent history. It matched in size the Bank of New England failure in 1991. In previous bank failures, […]
If Credit Unions Are Better, Why Don’t More People Use Them?
You’ve probably read it somewhere — credit unions are better than banks. That’s what Consumer Reports, Bankrate.com, and Money magazine say. Credit unions are owned by members. They are not for profit. They pay higher interest rates on checking accounts, savings accounts and CDs. They charge lower interest rates on credit cards, car loans and […]
Never Pay a Late Fee Again
Ranking above overdraft or NSF fees from the banks, late fees from credit card companies are probably the most hated fees. If you ask them nicely, the credit card companies will sometimes reverse the late fee. It would be much nicer if you don’t have to spend the time begging them. I wrote previously about […]
Schwab AMT Tax-Free Money Market Funds
Charles Schwab started offering AMT tax-free money market funds. I read about it in the spring 2008 edition of Schwab’s On Investing magazine. AMT tax-free money market funds are good for investors who are in a higher tax bracket due to the Alternative Minimum Tax, especially those who also face high state income tax. Previously […]
Closing Oldest Credit Card Did Not Hurt My Credit Scores
I wrote about canceling my oldest credit card in July last year. At that time, I said: “I don’t see myself borrowing any money in the foreseeable future. The rate on my mortgage is fixed. I don’t think there is any chance for refinancing unless we have another recession.” Although I’m not sure whether we […]
How To Avoid Overdraft/NSF Fees
There is a long discussion on Wesabe Groups about overdraft fees. Some banks call it NSF which stands for Non-Sufficient Funds. In case you don’t know, banks apply the debits in a way that maximizes the number of instances of overdraft. They sort the debits on a given day by the amount and apply them […]
Financial Terms From the UK
I started listening to a podcast from Financial Times in the UK, The FT Money Show, because I’m interested in how people in other countries deal with their finances. I’ve heard the expression that “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” It is true. Just from listening to two recent shows, […]