Not often we come across banks who has rate pledges, EverBank announces at its home site that the rates for its account holders would remain in top territory. EverBank’s Yield Pledge®Promise -We promise your rates will always be in the top 5% of competitive accounts at leading banks. That means they are ensuring that you will be still a top of saving bank/Money market investor with respect to yield, even if rates go down even further in future. I liked the pledge, frankly I haven’t seen any other bank doing that. As I mentioned in my Tiaa direct Review, banks…
Product Review
Serve is the American Express reply to both PayPal and Google Wallet (Amex Serve vs. PayPal). It has been criticized for not offering anything new that PayPal was not offering one year ago, and this was last year. However, just this February 16, 2012, Serve released a statement that it would be operating with the same technology as Google Wallet – making a sale or transaction through the use of smartphones and an NFC card reader. A Competition in the Offing This makes it a potential three-way race – PayPal has been at Google Wallet right from the start, after…
First up, you should know that the AMEX Platinum card is not a typical credit card – it is a charge card. This means that at the end of every month, you will have to pay for what you spent with the card in full, and no exceptions. This makes using the card pretty convenient – you don’t have to keep track of how much you owe because at the end of every month, your debt goes back to zero. This is the reason the AMEX platinum card has no APR – you have no need of one. The payback…
Foursquare is a simple app that connects people within social networks to real places. Foursquare has certain activities or games, like for example, someone frequenting a place becomes the “mayor” of the location, and so on and so forth. It can also locate friends for you aside from locations through GPS, so you know when you are within distance of a friend. As a tool for connecting people, Foursquare functions pretty well, especially by getting people outside their rooms or habits into new places, new activities and new things. At face value, that is what Foursquare is. However, if you…
Earlier we have reviewed Turbo Tax Home Edition at FPR. Now presenting the tool that I personally use for our tax return. Taxact.com. Taxact.com is an application that helps you out in preparing and filing your taxes, both in state and federal. You can run the software from a standalone desktop without Internet connection, or you can use its online version. You can get it for free, though you have to pay for it with advertisements and nag screens all the way, or you can get the editions without the advertisements after paying a fee. With all the options, you…
I have been using MB Trading brokerage account for last 5 years. I was attracted by their professional screen layout of the trading platform. I am attaching screen shots below for you to see. During market hours when the data keep on refreshing, it gives a feeling that you are in the trading pit! With a very steep learning curve to master the software and availability of very limited educational materials, MB Trading may not be an ideal choice for a brokerage for new investors. MB Trading received “top rated online broker” award for 7 consecutive years now, including 2012….
I read the news on one of the personal finance websites. There’s someone offering 1.25% APY on saving account! Got curious and started with my investigation. The first thing that stuck out to me for Tiaa Direct saving account was a PO box for a bank’s address! I mean, are you kidding? I haven’t seen a bank’s physical address pointing to a PO box! I decided to read, experience and then write a review about TIAA Direct savings account. One good thing, this bank TIAA Direct is TIAA – CREF group company. Tiaa CREF is a reputable name in teachers’…
Mint.com is a web based financial tool that helps you put your budget in order. It consolidates all your financial data in one place, and is equipped with simple and powerful features like simple alerts for bills or payments and goal-oriented accounting that even charts your progress towards a financial objective. When used in conjunction with your credit cards, Mint.com can even advice you on which card to use in exchange for the information of how you use your credit cards, which can lead to either less cost or even savings. You can use Mint.com for anything financial, from investments,…
Debt usage determines 30% of your credit score. The better you handle your debts, the better your credit score comes out. This is the goal of Credit Karma, a company based in San Francisco, that offers free credit scores for its consumers. The information from credit scores can guide Credit Karma users into better credit health by monitoring the effects of their financial decisions on their credit scores when the change happens, and adjust their actions accordingly. To write Credit karma review, I signed up for their account. The process is extremely smooth. yes, there is a risk involved when…
The most recent card to catch my eye has been the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card, which is an improved version of the flagship Blue Cash card. It has much more generous rewards structure than other cards on the market, comparable and perhaps better than Discover More Card, the best reward card we have reviewed so far. The pitch for the card definitely looks worth dying for in this market. Which says “6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% back everywhere else“. The moment you you think that the supermarket…
