My Groupon Referral

Linky

Letters of great significance

Below is the link to the letters written by Mr.Warren Buffett to his stock holders. He usually writes a letter every year and i think its is fascinating to read them from 1977 until 2010 (present). Market has gone through ups and downs since 1977 but Mr.Buffett had mostly Ups than Downs, so it is worth reading to know how he responded to the bear times and bull times.


Linky

Want to make a note in bathroom?

Sometimes we receive a phone call in the middle of a shower and we know we have to take that call and the person on the other end gives you a piece of important information. You cannot rely completely on your memory and will look for piece of paper/pen and obviously you will not find one in a bathroom. For times like those, here is the solution. Please click on the link 


PS: You could lose wonderful ideas or tasks that come to your mind.

Free Credit Report and Score for AMEX members (Update: 2/16/2011- Link does not work anymore)

Link


Note: its free and not a trial 

Complete List of e-books from University of Chicago

Linky

Free e-book -- Nice Guys Finish Last

 Go to this link and get this free ebook

Tasks Application To Consider from Google

Everyone has a to-do list for a day, but there are too many applications out there to confuse us. I recently found my way of dealing with this. I downloaded an extension on google chrome called as “new tab to tasks”. After downloading this extension, all i needed was to open a new tab to find my tasks list (picture below). I repeated this step in my office computer too. Since it is a google extension, it updates itself on any computer i am logged in with my gmail account. I can make everyday list and can also apply due dates if needed. Unlike many other applications the task lists don’t get deleted upon closing the browser. I can also find the same task lists in my gmail under tasks section.

Readability

I came across this tool that makes reading on Web more enjoyable and clutter free. It is an easy tool to install on your web browser. Follow the link here to install and use. When you open a web page that you intend to read, just click on readability (in the bookmark bar). Remember this will not work on the home pages but will definitely work on the articles. Enjoy!!

You Tube - ads, pics, comments = Quiet Tube

Many of us use YouTube for watching videos, songs, movies and so on but we always are annoyed by the ads, pictures and comments (that distract our focus). There is a simple way of avoiding these distractions and it is a tool called Quiet Tube. Go to this link to drag the quiet tube tool onto your bookmark bar. Whenever you open YouTube, just click on Quiet Tube on the bookmark bar and you should be able to watch peacefully. You can also search for new videos in the search bar without going through this process again and again. 
Happy watching !!!

Some wisdom from Mr. Warren Buffett

• Stay Liquid: We will never become dependent on the kindness of strangers
• Buy when everyone else is selling
• Don’t buy when everyone is buying
• Value, Value, and Value : You are investing in a business (it has to do well, only good ones do)
• Don’t go by attractive products of the companies
• Don’t get suckered by big growth stories. (Avoid businesses whose futures we can’t evaluate, no matter how exciting their products may be)
• Understand what you own
• Defense beats offense
•  A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when  others are fearful – WF
• World will not find you deals. You have to find the best deals/bargains-WF

Interesting fact: Warren Buffett bought Gillette shares because he knows that men never stop shaving.

Other good sayings:

Wealthy people do what others don’t –Yogesh Chabria

My Investing experiences with online brokerages

After the stock market crash in February-March, 2009; I thought I should start investing in stocks. People told me that it is a good time to start investing and this will be a rare opportunity (once in every ten years or may be more). I had no idea about how stocks work and how to invest. With the help of my colleagues and others I was able to open a brokerage account with TDameritrade. My colleagues were very experienced and their invest range is in thousands. My investment capabilities were limited (In hundreds) and in addition to that I was new. After I opened my account, I studied about stocks from many sources like Google finance, smartmoney, Kiplinger, yahoo finance, Kiplinger old editions on Google reader, YouTube and others.

                          By the time I got an idea it was November, but the stocks were on the rise and it was time of thanks giving followed by December (Christmas). It was good time for businesses and so I started my first investment with starbucks. I had little idea on how to choose my stocks but had strong belief that this company will do well in long run. Ameritrade was good but not for beginners and for people who invest very less. They charge 9.99 for each trade; it’s a lot for small investors like me. I switched my brokerage account to sogotrade, which charges 3$ flat for every trade. The only problem I had with this brokerage was the stock prices are delayed by 20 minutes or so or may be less than that. Anyways, I check real time prices on Google finance before I buy on sogo. I found just2trade.com for 2.50$ per trade but I did not find their website very clear.

                         Very recently I opened an account with share trader, which charges 4$ per trade. It is a nice brokerage for people who want to invest on a biweekly or monthly basis. They have plans like basic, standard and so on. If you open an IRA account they are giving free credits to invest for a year (check restrictions). From time to time they give out promotional codes for free credits to invest (no brokerage fee). I use referral programs from these brokerages to get some money or free trades. For example, Ameritrade gives 50$ or 5 free trades for every referral, sogotrade gives 25 and sharebuilder gives 10 per referral.

                         If you have a really good credit history (say 740 or more), I would say apply for a Schwab visa card (the one with 2% unlimited cashback on everything you buy).  The cashback is directly deposited into the brokerage account which can be used to invest in the stocks/funds. I use this card alone for all my purchases to get the benefit. In my opinion, one should always choose a brokerage account based on their requirement. If you keep asking others or search Google, there will be multiple opinions about all the brokerages. Do your research and make a choice. Good luck..

US Mint 1$ Coins

I usually buy US 1$ coins from www.usmint.gov  in the amounts of 250 or 500$. The purpose of buying is to collect coins and also a good way of getting cash back on your credit card (1% to 2% depending on your CC). I use my master card to get some thank you points for the amount I spend. 
                               
The purpose of the program (“$1 Coin Direct Ship Program”) is to distribute these coins all over USA for general public. These coins come in lots of 250 and a maximum of 500 can be bought at one time (500 per president). These coins are named after the presidents of USA. I use these coins in retail stores or give them to get dollar bills. I am getting the rewards and also helping them to distribute these coins in my area. This is a good idea for those who want to build a good credit history. You can order 250$/month and pay them for your apartment rent, something like that. When you try to place an order it shows 4.99$ or so for shipping but at the checkout you will not be charged any shipping fees.

Note on their website: The immediate bank deposit of $1 Coins ordered through this Program does not result in their introduction into circulation and, therefore, does not comply with the intended purpose of the Program.

Entertainment.com Book

I am sure many of you might have heard about entertainment.com coupons. I really like them; I usually buy a couple of books every year to save some bucks. These books cost around 35$ when they come out but they gradually reduce the price and you can even get these for 7$. I buy them using cash back sites like fatwallet.com to get 7$ cash back. I wait till the books are around 15$ and buy with cash back to get it for 8$.The cool thing about it is, there are coupons in book and also online (printable). You can buy coupon book of any city in USA (especially if you are planning to visit those places). Most coupons expire in November but some run until December. One of my favorite coupons is the 6% (10% sometimes) off coupon for American airline air-ticket for up to 6 people. Of course, the main purpose of entertainment book is to get restaurant and movie deals. There are coupons that allow you to get movie tickets for 7$ and most restaurant coupons are BOGO. I really make use of these books and if you are one of those people who spend a lot outside for food and entertainment then this book is for you. 

Get 100$ cash with chase card

Chase Freedom Card
5% Cash Back offers in popular rotating categories
$100 Cash Back with $799 spend in first 3 months

chasefreedomcashback.com/fs3
1.877.461.7277 Invitation code: SS5

Citi Forward Card

100 points per billing period if you pay on time and stay under the credit limit
5 points per dollar on restaurants, books, movies, music
1 point for everything else
0.25% APR reduction when "using credit wisely"

5000 points for signing up for paperless statements w/in first 3 months
6000 points after $50 in purchases within first 3 months

Link

Sharebuilder- 5 Free Real Time Trade credits

If you don't have an account, create one with promotional code FOOL50 or BUYSTOCK to get 50$ after you deposit 50$. Once You have an account you can use below code to get 5 Free trades.

Steps on how to claim your 5 free real time trades

1. Sign in to your Sharebuilder.com account
2. Click on Accounts Overview tab - Promotions
3. Enter Promo code - HVC09NY

Bank of America Add It Up Program

This is a cash back program, if you have a checking account with bank of america, you can register your card to this. It is free and there are many retailers who offer cash back for the purchases you make through this website. The cash back amount varies depending on the retailer. Cash back amount also varies from time to time. Bank of America also has instant transfer facility between their customers.

Bing Cash Back (Update: No Longer Available)

Steps:

1. go to www.bing.com

2. Search for the product or the company you want to purchase from.

3. In the search results, find your company or the product with dollar sign next to it.

4. click on the dollar sign to go to a sign in page

5. The sign in page will display how much cash back you are going to get that day (remember it varies based on the day and the keyword used )

6. Login with your Hotmail or live.com account

7. It will take you to the product page

8. Once you make a purchase, it will take up to 72 hours for cash back to show up

9. Remember not to use any other coupon codes

10. There is a limit of 2500$ a year (This is the amount you can earn through cash back in an year)

11. Wait for 90 days from the day of purchase to get the cash back

12. Link your cash back account to pay pal if you have to get cash back faster.

Note: google or search in forums to find keywords for each company like dell, walmart and so on. 

Sometimes they have cash back anywhere from 5-30% or more.

PS: Bing does not work on gift cards but sometimes it does!!

Managing Multiple Cards

I have 6 credit cards (got one today) and two debit cards. Each of them has their benefits but it is very tedious to maintain all the cards. My wallet used to be bulky and of course heavy to carry around. So I decided to make some changes to my approach. I took off all the cards except two debit cards and two credit cards. I made it a point to have at least one card from visa, because it is accepted everywhere. The other credit card I have is from American express, I have it with me all the time because it has car rental insurance on it for rental cars.

     Then I took off all the membership cards from different stores but noted down the membership numbers on my iPhone. My wallet is at its minimum best with my driver’s license, 2 debit cards, 2 credit cards, and AAA membership card. In addition I have a blank check and couple of dollar bills. I only use my visa card for all my transactions even if I have Amex card. I pay all my bills using my debit card only (online or offline). Every month I pay off all my balance on my visa card. So just one credit card payment!!!

    I don’t want my other cards to get dormant, so I replace my visa card with any other card at home. Sometimes, I use two cards in the same month to make sure they are in use. This avoids lot of confusion and helps to have a clear picture of my financial situation. I use mint.com to see everyday transactions on my iPhone. The card I choose in a particular month is totally dependent on the benefits that particular card is offering at that particular time.

  Simplifying things at the basic level avoids confusion in day to day life.

Note: Each one of you have different situation, but the approach can be as simple as this to make right choices.

How to Organize your Gmail

Most people use Gmail, let’s accept the fact. Email is the most common way of communication these days. People even email to the person next to them; Of course, this is done not to disturb him/her. I used to have a habit of subscribing my email to every possible company out there, this is to get some coupons through email or say free scoop of ice cream from Ben and Jerry on my birth day or a free desert. Instead of coupons most of the times I used to get promotional emails that describe new products and offer that are not actually exciting. Sometimes I used to lose emails from friends in that jungle of emails from these companies. First thing I did was I kept that email account and created a new one, I informed all my friends about my new email. Now using the forwarding feature, I made sure that all my emails from my previous email account are added to this new email account. There is a feature in Gmail that allows users to receive emails from other accounts and skip inbox into a labeled folder. We can label this folder with the email address of the source. This makes it easy for me to check all my emails from both the accounts with single login. 

Imagine my first email is abc@gmail.com (forwarded account) and new account is xyz@gmail.com , I can send a reply to an email I received to abc@gmail.com with either abc@gmail.com orxyz@gmail.com . Not only Gmail, it is possible to forward emails from yahoo, AOL and other clients to Gmail and vice verse (although there are some exceptions). This, not only helps to consolidate all my emails in one place, the fear of losing an email is reduced significantly. Now, after I got my new Gmail account, I started getting emails from friends and family, after I read them I use a feature called Archive. What archive does is, it removes selected email from inbox and places it in All mail folder. 

We can always access all the emails through ALL MAIL feature, but ARCHIVE option helps us keep inbox clean. With Archive feature, my inbox always has zero messages. Once I get a new message I know it is a new message, but before it was very hard for me to remember how many unread emails were already in my inbox.Using signature feature helps save time in typing regards xyz and so on every time we compose an email. The filter feature helps to save important emails in a single place to get easy access at a later time. There are many features in Gmail that helps to keep emailing simple. These are simple basic adjustments that make a significant difference in our life style. If you have any questions on how to do these adjustments, please leave a comment or question (s).