How I Bought A New Computer & Sold My Old One
I needed a new computer, but I didn’t have a guy. Do you have a guy? I don’t have a guy. Then it occurred to me that my union may have the hook-up to get a computer at a discount. So I called SAG-AFTRA and voila – they’ve got a guy! Well, a website.
Step One: Buying Through Your Hook-Up
If I signed into WorkingAdvantage.com, and plugged in my union’s code, I could go to Dell and get a computer at a discount. The price was discounted 11%. That was $90 off. This brought the price down to $750.
The Takeaway: Check with your employer, union, or social organization to see if they have any such hook-up before making a large purchase.
Step Two: How To Pay For The Stuff
You can buy gift cards to stores (including Dell) at a discount. Raise, Cardpool, Gyft, GiftCardRescue, and MonsterGiftCard are companies that buy and sell gift cards. They buy your unused or partially used gift cards for less than face value, and turn around and sell them for more. It’s a profit deal. Stores will also provide cards to the discount gift card companies too. The discount gift card companies make a profit, even though they sell the gift cards to you at a discount – below face value. To you, it is an automatic discount.
A Pretty Quick $57
Freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was my William Wallace impression. Your thoughts?
The Freedom card from Chase can get you a pretty quick $57 in tax free cash. As you may know from reading this post, this quarter’s 5% category for Chase Freedom includes grocery stores. If that card is not your #1 go-to card, get the card out of your sock drawer and pop over to your grocery store’s gift card kiosk. Grab three Visa or MasterCard gift cards and head to the check out. Tell the cashier you want to put $500 on each gift card. She may think she misheard you or that you are a crazy person. Yeah, crazy like a fox who is about to have enough extra cash to graze on some organic, free-range chickens! Pay for the gift cards with your Chase Freedom card.
Just like that, you have maxed out the 5% quarterly spending on your Freedom card. The $1,500 grocery store purchase will result in 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points hitting your account when your statement drops. Those points can be redeemed for $75 cash, a statement credit on your Chase Freedom bill, or merged into another Ultimate Rewards card tally that you may have on another card (like Sapphire or Ink cards).
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The Debit Card I Use For 2 Things
As a rule, I don’t use a debit card because it gives direct access to my bank account. If someone stole my debit card info, they could access my cash. A credit card puts a firewall between hoodlums and my money.
I make an exception with the UFB Direct debit card because it gives me 1% cash back on whatever I PAY my credit card company. That means I will earn several hundred dollars a year paying off my credit card bill with this debit card instead of a check. I only use this debit card to pay off my credit card bill and one other thing.
Here’s the scoop. UFB Direct has a special VIP, double-secret, pinky-swear offer. If
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No Money To Pay Taxes? This May Help…
When I graduated from college, I got a job and spent every penny I had. Hey, those skis weren’t going to take themselves down that hill. Someone had to buy them, along with a plane ticket, lodging, and lift ticket to get them down the slopes. That person was me.
When tax time came, I wished I had that thousand bucks to pay The Man, man. Turns out the IRS doesn’t care about my Rossignol Make-A-Wish outreach program. The Taxman wants to get paid – now. Lemme tell ya. Nothing makes you feel all grows’d up like explaining to your folks that their college graduate was actually stupid and then striking a deal with them to bail you out.
If you think you may be a little short, the IRS Approved website payUSAtax.com MAY be a good option for you. Maybe.
PayUSATax allows you to “Pay personal and business taxes by credit or debit card”. There is a convenience fee of 1.87% if you use a credit card and $2.79 if you use a debit card. Generally speaking, both of those options are a waste of money. For every $1,000 paid in taxes with a credit card, they take another $18.70 scoop in convenience fees.
But… here are 5 Ways using a card can be a GOOD idea:
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Presidents’ Day & Turbo Tax
Happy Presidents’ Day! I’m dressing up as Teddy Roosevelt. Who are you going to be? Before I head out to all the parties, I’m gathering my tax info to shoot to my accountant. That’s right. I’m a chicken. I’m yella. I have a lot of plates spinning, so I have always used an accountant for my taxes. Boy, do I know how to splurge.
Some of you have a much simpler situation and can do it all yourself. Teddy Roosevelt would admire your rugged individualism. He’s also an easy costume: mustache, round glasses and crazy teeth.
Here are links to download: Turbo Tax (USA) & Turbo Tax (Canada).
Keith Partridge: “I Think I Owe You!”
David Cassidy filed for bankruptcy. According to the LA Times article, he has about $10 million in assets and about the same in debt – including $39K in credit cards, $292K in mortgage and $131K in attorney, medical and other bills.
I feel for the guy. When I’m 64, I Think I Owe You certainly ain’t the song I wanna be singing. Too on the nose? How ‘bout: I Woke Up In Debt This Morning, or one of the deeper cuts, Point Me In The Direction of a Bankruptcy. Those are the titles, Weird Al. Go nuts!
Let’s get past the fact that I know lyrics to Partridge Family songs and get to the important stuff. Whatever your profession, the rule is very simple: Spend less than you bring in. Set some aside to splurge. Save some for when you’re no longer in demand.
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Xoom – Not Just For Drug Mules
Are you a drug mule who needs to send money to the Kingpin, ASAP? Do you owe your Coyote some scratch for hitching a ride in the glove box of his ‘72 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon? Or are you going to visit a friend in a foreign land and simply want some cash to play with once you are there? I say Xoom it, baby!!
You could wire funds to accounts in other countries, but as those who have done it know, that’s kinda pricey. Wells Fargo said that an international wire is $45 plus an exchange rate.
Xoom works just like a wire transfer, but costs as little as $4.99 and has locked-in exchange rates. Check out the sending limits. You can send $2,999 – $9,999 per day, to 33 countries. Click here to open a free account.
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50% Off Quicken (Thru Monday)
Now thru Monday, February 9th, Quicken is 50% off. That’s on Quicken 2015 for Mac or any PC version starting with Deluxe. There is a 60 day money back guarantee. I’ve use it for years.
If you are serious about getting your finances in order, and want tax time to go smoothly, you should start here. If you already use Quicken, upgrade at these lower prices. It’s easy to use and simplifies your finances. Use it for two months. If you no likie, they’ll give you your money back. Click THIS link to get 50% off through Monday.
See my review of Quicken 2014 here. Quicken 2015 is pretty much the same except the PC versions give you a free FICO credit score from Equifax. For convenience, here is that post “I Feel Like Quicken Tonight (2014)”:
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It’s Southwest Companion Pass + 50,000 BONUS Time!
If you EVER fly Southwest, listen up. For you aficionados and muchachos, there’s something HUGE in the second half of this post that can save you thousands!
From time to time Southwest offers a sweet 50,000 Bonus if you get their credit card and spend $2,000 on it in the first 3 months you have the card. Now is one of those times. You’ll wanna move this up your To-Do list.
Click on Chip’s Favorite Credit Card Offers for info on these cards. Email me if you have any questions.
Those of you who fly Southwest know that 50,000 points can go a heckuvalot further than couple free round trip tickets. The deal gets sweeter when you throw in a free companion on every flight for almost two years.
To illustrate, I punched in a few trial runs on the most coveted days – on a Friday and
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The Handy-Dandy Target Prepaid REDcard
It used to be only tax cheats, illegal aliens, and regular aliens didn’t have bank accounts. Now that banks are making it more difficult to have free accounts, people are looking for less expensive alternatives. Oh, you can fund it with a credit card.
Do you pay a monthly fee to have a bank account? Even something as meager as $10 a month is $120 a year, $600 over 5 years, and so on, and so on. That’s real money. That’s money you had left after paying taxes. It adds up!
Before you choose to pay for a bank account, consider Target’s Prepaid REDcard. It’s not a credit card, but it is from American Express. It’s not unlike Bluebird or Serve from American Express. In fact, AmEx only allows you to have one of those three accounts.
You can load money onto your REDcard via cash or a credit card at a U.S. Target store, as well as by direct deposit or a linked bank account. There is no minimum
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