HSBC Direct Raises Savings to 4.80%

(posted @ Bankdeals.blogspot.com) It looks like HSBC Direct intends to be the online savings account leader. It just raised its Online Savings Account rate from 4.25% to 4.80% APY. As was the case in December when it raised the rate to 4.25%, not all of the website has been updated with the new rate. The new rate is currently being shown at HSBC's rates page.

It has been reported on this fatwallet that the rate has been verified by an HSBC customer service representative. Another poster reported that HSBC's phone recordings are specifying that this is a promotional rate that'll last till April 30th. So this seems to be HSBC's version of ING Direct's Winter Save Up Sale . The question now is will the 4.80% apply to all savings or just new deposits. We'll have to wait for the details to be published at HSBC.

This great rate is guaranteed at 4.80 until April 30, thus you can compare it to a 3 month Cd with the advantages that you only need $1 dollar and that you can take the money out whenever you want to.

SAVE ON GAS

GasBuddy.com can help you find cheap gas prices in your city. It is a network of more than 173+ gas price information web sites that helps you find low gasoline prices. All web sites are operated by GasBuddy and has the most comprehensive listings of gas prices anywhere.

Gasoline prices change frequently and may vary by as much as 20 percent within only a few blocks it is important to be able locate the service station with the lowest priced fuel. GasBuddy web sites allow motorists to share information about low priced fuel with others as well as target the lowest priced stations to save money when filling up at the pumps!

Woot Deal of the Day Electronic Closeout Deals

Here a consumer electronics distributor unloads excess inventory of a single item each day at a steep discount. One day it could be a home theater system, the next a digital camera. This oddball approach has generated a cult following, which keeps the community forums abuzz with product reviews and other chatter.

Woot's motto is "One Day, One Deal". Generally, Woot offers one product per day, seven days a week, until its stock of that item is sold out or the product is replaced at midnight with the next offering. If a product sells out during its run, the next item still does not appear until midnight . Products are never announced beforehand and often sell out in a few hours or even minutes of frenzied buying. In contrast to a market characterized by ever-expanding consumer choice, the Woot.com approach relies on the elements of simplicity and surprise.

Customers may buy up to three of the day's item. Woot does not reveal how many units remain available in a given sale, but animates the "I Want One" button when 10 percent or less remains. Woot does list how many products were available after they are sold out.

Shipping is a flat rate of $5.00 per order, regardless of quantity of items purchased, size and weight of purchase, or shipping destination in the USA

ING SAVE UP SALE PAYS 4.75% TILL 4/15/2006

Here's How It Works:

Deposits eligible for the Winter Save Up Sale
Only New Funds are eligible for the 4.75% APY. New Funds must:

• Be from an external source
• Be deposited into an Orange Savings Account
• Be deposited any time between January 19, 2006 to April 15, 2006 – the Sale Period
• Increase your total balances with ING DIRECT compared to your balances in all deposit accounts at the beginning of the Sale Period

4.75% Interest Calculation
To determine what portion of your Orange Savings Account balance will earn the 4.75% APY, during the Sale Period we add up all of your new deposits from an external source and then subtract all withdrawals from the account (whether internal or external) from that total. If that amount is greater than zero, it is eligible for the 4.75% APY. If an account is closed during the Sale Period, the 4.75% may not be earned for the entire period that the new funds were on deposit.

Accounts eligible for the Winter Save Up Sale

• All new Orange Savings Accounts opened by new ING DIRECT Customers
• All existing Orange Savings Accounts belonging to current
  ING DIRECT Customers

ING Direct's $25 referral sign-up bonus plan is still valid. I still have a lot referrals to give.The person joining gets $25 and the referrer gets $10. Just send an email with your first and last name to rudycoro@yahoo.com. I will send you an email with the info to sign up. It requires a minimum deposit of $250.

Top Bank Deals

Tired of receiving only .80% from your local bank, try the following online banks. They are able to offer higher rates due to the low overhead costs. I have all four accounts. Each has its advantages. The Paypal account is a money market account, not a savings account thus its not FDIC insured. HSBC, Emigrant and ING are all FDIC insured. The best web page and interface has to be ING Direct, but you pay for it with the lower rate. Ing Direct Offers mutuals funds also which you need 1000 to open but after that you can invest as often as you want with as little money as you want. HSBC and Emigrant are pretty much the same in my eyes, they are neck in neck as far as rates go. The thing I like about Emigrant Direct is that they post your money into your account the next day after you request a transfer. HSBC takes appox. a week to post to your account. I do transfer between all my account depending which rate pulls ahead.
All bank have no transfer fees, no penalties and a 1.00 min.

Bank APR Minimum Website
1.PayPal 4.30 $1 Paypal
2 HSBC Direct 4.25 $1 HSBC Direct
3 Emigrant Direct 4.00 $1 Emigrant Direct
4 ING Direct 3.80 $1 Ing Direct

Top 10 Tips to Save Money on Groceries

Tip #1-DO NOT shop without a list ! Do your best to stick to it and get out as quickly as you can!

Tip#2- Do not shop while you're hungry! You tend to buy unhealthy food( cookies, icecream, chips,etc.)

Tip#3 - Avoid last minute impulse purchases at the checkout for things like magazines and candy bars.

TIP#4- Do not be brand loyal, and try to buy only what's on sale. Sometimes a name brand can even be on sale for the same price as the store brand, or less... so read those price labels!

TIP#5 - Bigger does not always equal better! Be careful of big "value size" packages. Sometimes they are packaged for price value, but often they are simply packaged only for convenience. The store manufacturers must be thinking we'd rather save a trip to the store than save money...

TIP#5- Always check your receipt before leaving the store. Me sure to use one of your 5% rebate credit cards when you shop at supermarkets(i.e. Citi Divedend, Discover, Chase)

TIP#6 - Many people do not realize this (and the stores probably don't want everyone to know) but when a product is on sale, let's say for example "buy 2 for $5.00," you can almost always purchase just one of the items for the sale price (which in this case would be $2.50). You do NOT have to purchase 2 items to get the sale price! (However, if it's an item you use regularly it's a good idea to go ahead and purchase more than one)

TIP#7 - Ask if the store will honor both manufacture's and store coupons at the same time.

TIP#8 - One of the best ways to save money on groceries is to keep wasted food to a minimum. Use up leftovers quickly or freeze them for later use. If you’re cooking for just one or two, freeze leftovers in single-size portions, they’ll make quick and easy dinners on nights when you’re too busy or too tired to cook.

TIP#9- Buy the Sunday newspaper to get hundreds of dollars in coupons; if a certain week has a lot of great coupons for products that you use often buy two!

TIP#10- Double coupon offers are great. The double coupons are nice, but then when you buy grocery items that generally do not have coupons (such as milk, bread, meat, produce, etc...) you will more than pay for that double coupon savings. So, if your "double coupon" store is on the high-end use the coupons on their sale items when you have time and purchase everything else at a lower priced store of your choice.

Discount Gift Cards

Turn your unwanted gift cards into cash at your favorite store! Now you can swap what you've got... for what you really want! Visit swapagift.com, Gift Card Again, or cardavenue.com. That's where you'll get matched up with other folks who are looking to buy, sell or trade their unwanted gift cards. You can buy gift cards at a discount. You can also find discount gift cards at ebay. Use these discounted cards with coupons and reward cards to get extra savings.

Keep Your Cash

A lot of us are only focused on the number on our paychecks. People think that making more money is the ticket to financial freedom. Its true that this will make it easier, but it not necesarily true. The more your earn the more you want and "need". Things that were luxuries in the past become necessities such as the 3.50 daily latte or the $10 daily meals. Sometimes its not how much we make but how much we keep. I try to use coupons, savings codes and rebate cards whenever I make a purchase. I keep track of my savings and put this cash into my high yield savings account at the end of every month. Its fun to track how much you can save.

Save 50 to 60% Dinning or Eating out

I often eat out everyday so I was trying to find a way to say on my weekly eat out budget without sacrificing the quality of the food. I found this great site that offers gift cards at a 50-60% discount.

Restaurant.com serves as the community matchmaker, introducing great restaurants to great people. From appetizers to dessert, from wine to dinner, Restaurant.com helps restaurant owners promote the new and unique aspects of their restaurants while providing diners with great value in a fun, new and cost effective way. Your favorite restaurant is in your neighborhood – maybe you just don't know it yet.

Find Missing Money

Bank accounts, insurance payments, dividends, stocks, utility deposits or other intangible property usually become unclaimed assets because of a change of address. A company or government wasn't notified and was unable to locate the owner of the unclaimed property. As required by law, the unclaimed money was turned over to the state and added to the state databases. But its still your money and the states want to find you.

The states have implemented active outreach programs designed to reunite unclaimed property owners with their lost or forgotten assets. To enhance the states' outreach efforts, MissingMoney.com, a national database, was established in November 1999 and is the only database endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA). MissingMoney.com enables owners to perform comprehensive searches for lost assets required by law to be turned over to the states.

I recently did a search and found $105. Dont be fooled by sites that charge from 10 to 15 percent to do this free search. it is estimated that there are billions of unclaimed property in the hands of the states. The states earn interest on your money until its claimed. I hope you find Money.

Free Credit Report

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that U.S. consumers be entitled to a free credit report each year. The government’s goal is to make sure that consumers stay informed, fight identity theft, and get fair treatment.

In the past, not everybody was entitled to a free credit report. Instead, consumers had to pay or qualify based on certain activity within the credit report. Some states required that their residents periodically be entitled to a free credit report, but it is now nationwide.

A credit file disclosure provides you with all of the information in your credit file maintained by a consumer reporting company that could be provided by the consumer reporting company in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as a lender. A credit file disclosure also includes a record of everyone who has received a consumer report about you from the consumer reporting company within a certain period of time ("inquiries"). The credit file disclosure includes certain information that is not included in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as the inquiries of companies for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance and account reviews, and any medical account information which is suppressed for third party users of consumer reports. You are entitled to receive a disclosure copy of your credit file from a consumer reporting company under Federal law and the laws of various states.

This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This will not provide you with a FICO score. It is very useful and imformative to see what is on your report.