A Penny Saved » Reviews

Prepaid Debit Cards

Penny Saved — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:44:47 +0000

Over the years, I’ve written quite a bit about the benefits of rewards credit cards. When used wisely and carefully, rewards credit cards are a great way to get paid to buy things that you would buy anyway. However, the trick is using them wisely, and not getting into the bad (and easy) habit of spending more than we would otherwise. After all, what’s a few extra dollars if it’s on the credit card? The bill isn’t due for another month, and besides, we get those rewards.

That’s dangerous thinking.

If you start thinking that way when shopping and using your credit cards, it’s time to consider other options. The Envelope Method is one choice, where cash only is used. But it’s quite inconvenient. Plus, online shopping is out completely, and that’s where the best deals tend to be on a lot of things. So, what’s a frugal person to do?

Consider a prepaid debit card.

With a prepaid debit card, you get (nearly) all the convenience of a credit card, with none of the pitfalls. Think about this:

Use it like you would a regular credit card – in stores or online
Accepted anywhere Visa is accepted
Safer than cash
No overdraft fees (unlike a traditional debit card)
Free Direct Deposit

There are a lot of reasons for a person to get a prepaid debit card – especially for those of us who tend to overspend on credit cards. If you’re on the edge, and need just one more reason, take a look at this: the Pink Visa Prepaid Debit Card. It’s a traditional prepaid debit card, with the added bonus that ACE Cash Express will donate a portion of the proceeds of each transaction to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Control your spending and help fight breast cancer? There are definitely some positives there. So, is there a downside?

Well, of course there is. There are positives to everything, and prepaid debit cards are no exceptions. Namely, fees. There are fees for purchases ($1 per purchase, unless you go with a monthly plan). ATM withdrawals cost about $2.50 each as well, which isn’t great, but certainly not out of the ordinary. There’s also a fee if you lose your card.

It’s up to you to weight the pros and cons.

Prepaid debit cards aren’t the best choice for everyone. They make sense for some people, and don’t make much sense for other folks. Sit down, look at your spending habits and patterns, and see if the pros outweigh the cons.

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Review of Power Saver 1200

JD — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:51:43 +0000

The Power Saver 1200 – maybe you have heard about it or visited their website (www.power-save.com). I know that I had been interested in it since I first heard about the product several months ago. It is a device that you hook up to your electric panel (by a trained electrician) that is supposed to save you up to 25% on your electric bills.

I had tried finding info and reviews on the web, but didn’t find many. Well now a local TV station, WGAL, has tested and reviewed it for me! They placed one in a local house, and they placed one in a controlled test environment at a local technology school.

At the house test, there were no apparent differences from before or after installing the product. In the controlled test, there was a 2.5% reduction in kilowatts used. So, could this save you money? Possibly. But with a $299.95 price tag (plus shipping and handling), and paying an electrician to install, the payback period will be a very long time. For me, it is not worth it.

So, with our electric bill about to increase by about 30% because of electricity deregulation in our state, I will have to find other ways to reduce my electric bill!

Bankruptcy of America – A Game Plan

JD — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:15:33 +0000

For those of you just joining us, this post is part of a series - I have been reviewing a seminar I attended put on by Jerry Robinson entitled “Bankruptcy of our Nation”. You can find out more about his seminars and books by going to www.jrmi.org.

After all the bad news that Mr Robinson delivers about the economy and our national economic condition, he then gets to the practical part, his ten recommendations on what to do. You could sum up this section with the saying “Get your mind right, than do right!”. Today I will cover the first five recommendations:

Admit that man cannot rule man. Men are going to fail, which means governments, businesses, financial institutions, etc. are going to fail. So plan accordingly. Be prepared.
Commit to Financial Education. Research and learn – don’t just believe everything you hear. There are three teachers in economics that try to tell you what to do, be careful of them: corporations trying to sell you things; media that helps them sell things; and bank and financial institutions that provide the money or debt to buy those things. Avoid the “herd” mentality (following everyone else). Study to learn how investments operate and function. Do your homework.
Create a network of family and friends. People are the greatest asset. We all need family and friends to help us, and for us to help.
Give to Charity. This is the number one tool against materialism. This current generation is 480% richer than the generation that lived during the Great Depression, and yet we give less percentage wise than they did.
Save 15% of your income. There are five factors that erode our finances, so we need to plan and save for these factors:

(a) Taxes

(b) Inflation

(d) Deferred Expenditures (things we will need to save for to get)

(e) Technological Advancements (computers, cell phones, etc.—upgrade)

If we are not saving 15%, then we will sooner or later get hit – and hit hard. We need to plan for these expenditures that will happen.

Well, those are his first five steps. How are we doing? Although I don’t agree with everything he said (the gloom and doom especially), I think these first five steps are a good beginning for anyone to do. I liked the explanation for the 15% saving rate. It is the first time someone explained in some detail how much and why. Now, I am no where near that, but on the surface it makes sense – definitely something for me to consider.

Tomorrow I will go over his other five recommendations. Trust me, some you will know, some will have a twist!

Bankruptcy of America – The Next 5 Years

JD — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:25:28 +0000

This is the third part of a four part series reviewing a financial seminar I attended put on by Jerry Robinson (his website is www.jrmi.org). So far we have covered his five dangerous economic trends (part 1), Mr. Robinson’s thoughts on the current state of the economy (part II), and now we will look at his predictions for the next five years. If you recall his views on America’s current economic state, you will remember it was pretty gloomy – well the future doesn’t look much better!

Continued bailouts of American Industry and Financial Institutions (forming a shadow socialism of the economy).
Real Estate, both commercial and residential prices will continue to deflate
Deflation (happening now) will give way to hyperinflation
American dollar will begin to lose status as the global currency
Federal government will lose its AAA credit rating – which will increase the cost to borrow
Interest rates will climb into double digits

Sounds down right cheery doesn’t it? One statistic he gave was that in 1980 America was the greatest creditor nation – by 2009 we had become the greatest debtor nation.

So if his predictions come true, there will be some bumps in the road for the U.S. economically. We don’t have to despair – but we do need to plan. Tomorrow I will share his ideas for a personal game plan for tough economic times.

Bankruptcy of America – Our Current State

JD — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:23:31 +0000

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I was at a seminar on Monday and I am reviewing the “highlights”. The speaker was Jerry Robinson, author of “Bankruptcy of our Nation”. In my previous post, I discussed what the author considers five dangerous economic trends:

Faith based currency (no tangible backing of U.S. dollar – debt instrument).
U.S. Government Debt (trillion this year alone and counting)
Energy Crisis (demand surging ahead of production)
Federal Reserve (shadow government institution)
Consumer Debt (6000 individual bankruptcies per day)

Today, I want to review what he feels is the current state of the American economy. In keeping with the title of his seminar and book, it is depressing!

Commercial Real Estate is collapsing. $83 billion in defaults and foreclosures. Many of the bank foreclosures that are happening can be tied to the deteriorating commercial real estate market.
Residential Real Estate is still bottoming out. Currently, 13% of Americans are behind in their mortgage payments. There are 10,000 foreclosures per day. Adjustable Rate Mortgages are ready to reset their rates within the next 24 months.
Bank Failures. There are 416 banks on the FDIC watch list (15 year high). There have been 106 bank failures so far this year. According to his figures, 1/4 of all banks are currently unprofitable.
Federal Reserve. Unknown strength or assets. This entity has never been audited.
FDIC. Has less than 10 billion (close to $0 by now) in assets to cover over 4.8 trillion in assets. The assets of the 416 currently troubled banks is 29 times the current FDIC insurance fund.
Federal Government. U.S. debt is currently 12 trillion. By 2010 it is estimated to climb to 20 trillion.
State Government. States are collecting 12% less in revenues. 48 out of 50 states have budget deficits.
U.S. Dollar. Currently at a 14 month low. Russia, China, U.N. are calling for a new global currency.

So, isn’t that some bright news to add cheer to your day! Tomorrow I will review his predictions for the next 5-10 years, and on Friday I will review what we can personally do in such a climate.

So as not to leave us dangling with all that bad news – things looked just as dire during the Great Depression and people survived, and some even thrived. Take each day as it comes, and do the best you can with it. Many of these macro factors we cannot control, but we can control our own outlook, our work ethic, and our saving and spending.

Bankruptcy of America

JD — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:03:25 +0000

At least that was the title of the financial seminar I went to yesterday! It was geared toward pastors, but there are a few things I found interesting that would apply to all of us.

The Speaker was Jerry Robinson. He is an economist, has a program on Worldnetdaily, and has written several books, including his latest “Bankruptcy of our Nation.” You can visit his website at www.jrmi.org.

His premise is that there are currently five dangerous economic trends that will lead to America’s collapse. Those trends are:

Faith based U.S. Dollar. America is no longer on the gold standard (1971 was the end of convertibility of U.S. dollar to gold). And soon, he believes the petrodollar system will break down (oil is currently being traded only in U.S. dollars). When this happens, the U.S. dollar will have no real backing and become worthless.
Government debt problem. Current spending is unsustainable. Eventually the U.S. will not be able to issue more debt, it will be broke.
Energy Crisis. The average U.S. citizen uses 25 barrels of oil a year to maintain their living standard. The average Chinese citizen uses 1 barrel of oil. As the rest of the world begins to use more oil, there will be conflict over resources. Energy prices will skyrocket.
Federal Reserve. Mr. Robinson believes that many of the U.S. economic woes can be traced to the Federal Reserve, which is actually a nongovernmental unit.
Consumer Debt. There are currently 6000 bankruptcies a day in the United States. Consumer debt is crippling us.

So there you have his basic thoughts. What do you think? A lot of it I can agree with (without the hype). On Thursday I will review his predictions for the United States from now through the year 2020.

Soccer, Finances, and Fun

JD — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:15:09 +0000

I found an interesting web site the other day sponsored by Visa - www.financialsoccer.com. It is just what the name says – financial soccer (they also have an NFL version).

It is roughly based on world cup soccer – you get to pick your team (country), and your opponent. You get to choose the length of the game – 5, 10, 20, or 30 minutes long. You choose whether to be an amateur (ages 11-14), semi-pro (ages 14-18) or world class (ages 18 and over). You can choose whether to do a pregame, single player or head-to-head game.

Once you start the game, you move the ball down field by answering financial questions. Each time you are given an option of either an easy, medium, or hard question. Based on the difficulty level is how far you move the ball down field. Once you have answered multiple questions correctly, you have an opportunity to try for a goal. If you miss a question, you turn the ball over. Once your “opponent” has the ball, if you answer a question correctly, you steal the ball back.

I tried a 10 minute game, U.S.A. (me) verses Italy. I won 4-0. Overall, the questions are not to hard, although they do throw some trick questions in. The graphics are good, and it was a fun way to test my knowledge. There is a little pressure as there is a timer that runs (you only have so much time to answer a question). I think this would be a great thing for kids.

Try it out and let me know how you did verses the “competition”.

Goodbye Faithful Servant

JD — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:11:52 +0000

After 25 years of reliable service, I said goodbye to my lawn mower on Saturday. It is a Honda self-propelled, and the self-propelling stopped propelling! My original intention was to go get it fixed (I am not a mechanical person), but after thinking about the cost of repair, and what they would offer as a trade-in on a new model, my wife and I (yes, we make joint decisions on “major” purchases) decided that it was time.

The dealership (they couldn’t believe I had a 25 year old mower!) gave me a good offer on the mower, considering that it needed fixed, and they had the mower I wanted – a new Honda self-propelled. The last several summers, knowing that a new mower was not to far off into the future, I have been researching different brands and models and this one was highly rated based on my situation: hillside, size of yard (1/2 acre), type of cutting, grass removal (bagging & mulching).

Since this is “A Penny Saved”, I should share my financial thoughts on this:

quality can be worth the price (several times over)
maintenance is so important- it is worth the time and money
plan ahead for future purchases – don’t wait for a “crisis” to do a little homework. Decision making tends to be poor under stress
have an emergency fund /savings – we could make a decision to purchase because we had the money.
family decisions are usually better decisions. Having your spouse involved in financial areas is important

So hello new mower – I’m hoping for another 25 years!

M&T Bank eMoney Market Account Review

Penny Saved — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:33:32 +0000

Once upon a time, cash savers had two main options. A savings account that earned a puny interest rate – but had easily accessible cash. Or, long term savers chose a Certificate of Deposit ( CD ). The rates were much better, but your cash was tied up for several months to several years at a time – not very good if you need cash quickly.

Enter Money Market Accounts. The one we’ll talk about today is the M&T Bank eMoney Market Account. Basically, this account combines the best of both worlds – easily accessible cash and a great interest rate. You don’t have to worry about not having access to your cash when you need it, but you also get to enjoy a healthy ( and safe ) return on your money.

M&T Bank offers a money market account that currently pays you 3.25% APY. They even have a nifty calculator so you can see the interest add up – the eMoney Market Account vs the average savings account. For comparison, ING Direct is currently paying 3.0% APY. Still a healthy rate, but not quite at the level of M&T Bank.

Money market accounts make the most sense out of any savings account today. Why watch inflation eat away your money while it’s making 0.2% in your current savings account? And you don’t want to risk your emergency fund in the stock market ( especially these days ). That’s where the eMoney Market Account comes in – get the rate you want, without the risk.

Money.co.uk Review

Penny Saved — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:50:34 +0000

When it comes to finance, there are a huge number of sites on the internet. Some sites focus on credit cards, some on loans, mortgages, insurance, savings, and more. That’s all great – as long as you’re only looking for one thing.

Money.co.uk takes things to another level – this site is a "one stop shop" for all things money-related. Whether you’re looking for info on mortgages, loans, Credit Cards, just about any type of insurance, utilities, money news, or just about anything else, you can find it here. That’s probably the best thing about the site – it’s extremely comprehensive. At a glance, you can get the best rates on many different kinds of loans. With another click, you can get the top rates on savings accounts. They even have a section to compare different online brokerages. Looking for a credit card? Compare rates and perks with ease.

RSS Feed Heaven

It’s 2008, and RSS is the latest and greatest. No longer do you have to visit all your favorite sites every day, in hopes that there is new content. With RSS, you know exactly which sites have new content. It’s a dream for people in a rush. Money.co.uk is unique when it comes to RSS. See, there isn’t just one feed with all the content of the site – that would be counterproductive. Since the site is so comprehensive, Money.co.uk has several different feeds. A grand total of 5, to be exact. That way, you get the updates you want, without the stuff you don’t.

What if RSS isn’t for you?

Not everyone is a big RSS fan – no worries though. Money.co.uk has a great newsletter available, with money saving tips delivered right to your inbox. And don’t worry – they won’t pass around your email address to the highest bidder. The only emails you get will be the ones you want.