Fidelity mySmart Cash v. Schwab High Yield Checking

I'm currently debating moving my primary checking account - the two alternatives I am deciding between are the Schwab High Yield Checking and the Fidelity mySmart Cash account. While I'm not sure which account I'm going to go with yet, I decided to post the pros and cons (as I see them) of each for other people who may be unhappy with their current checking options.

Schwab High Yield Checking

The Schwab High Yield Checking is a relatively new offering from Schwab. The account is basically a standard FDIC insured free checking account, but offers more perks than your average local bank. The account offers no fees, zero minimum balance, ATM fee refunds, a variable APY now hovering around 3.01%, free checks, a free check card, and a free brokerage account.

Fidelity mySmart Cash

The Fidelity myCash account is similarly a fairly new offering from Fidelity. mySmart Cash is a cash management account that operates as a quasi-checking account. A client opens a mySmart cash account and links it to a current Fidelity offering (like a money market fund). The mySmart cash account has no minimum balance requirement, no fees, ATM fee reimbursement, free checks, and free self-funded overdraft protection. The client is free to withdraw funds at an ATM or write a check on the account regardless of the balance, Fidelity will then move the appropriate amount from the designated account to cover the balance if the mySmart cash accounthas insufficient funds.

Comparison

Outside of a few minor differences the offerings from Fidelity and Schwab are pretty similar. However, there are a few relatively major differences that may contribute to the decision for some people. First, Schwab currently offers a higher APY on its checking account. However, this is probably offset by the fact that the mySmart cash account can be set to automatically draw from a higher yielding account (like a money market or mutual fund). A second difference is that the Schwab account comes standard with a free brokerage account. If you aren't already set up with a brokerage account then this may be an advantage to you - especially since the brokerage account has no minimum balance or opening amount. Below I have made a quick chart to show the features of both accounts, you'll see that they are pretty similar. I have a feeling that for most people the decision to chose one of these accounts would be based on whether they currently have a Fidelity or Schwab holdings already.


Do you find either of these accounts compelling? Do you already have one? Let us know how you like it.

Link: Schwab High Yield Checking

Link: Fidelity mySmart Cash

What Are The Best Personal Finance Books?

As I was walking around the local Barnes & Noble over the weekend, I found myself in kind of a rut. Nothing seemed particularly interesting, but I haven't read a good book about money for quite awhile so that's what I was browsing for. Instead of searching through the Amazon reviews for a good book, I though it might be better to open it up to everyone out there.

So, what is your favorite book about money? The last money book I read was one of Jim Cramer's (the high strung Goldman trader turned hedgie-turned CNBC talking head), and can't say that it was something I'd recommend.

Image: Lin Pernille @ Flickr

High Yield Checking Account Interest Rates Hold Up Better Than Savings

High yield savings account interest rates took a hit again this week (Feb 16) with a majority of the major players again reducing returns. However, high yield checking account returns have held up better. Bankdeals.blogspot.com reports this week that there are still plenty of good returns to be found with high yield checking accounts. Below is a list of places that you can still get a good deal from Bankdeals. The site also has a ton of information about the highest CD, savings, credit union yields, and bank account bonuses for the rate chasers out there.

• 6.01% Reward Checking at Air Academy FCU
• 6.01% Reward Checking Account at Charter Bank
• 5.51% Reward Checking Account at Provident Credit Union
• 5.09% Reward Checking Account at Consumers Credit Union
• 5.01% Reward Checking Account at State Bank of Toledo
• 5.01% Reward Checking Account at Connexus Credit Union
• 4.44% Reward Checking at First Arkansas Bank & Trust
• 4.00% Reward Checking Account at First National Bank

PS: Before you jump to a new account for what could be a teaser rate it's a good idea to crunch the numbers with a rate chaser calculator to see how long it will take for that new rate to pay off.

Schwab Offers High Yield Checking Account

Schwab has thrown its hat into the high interest checking ring recently. For those of you with Schwab brokerage accounts their "Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking" may be a convenient addition to your portfolio. A quick look at the account's stats show the following:

Rate: 4% variable APY.
Min: No account minimum.
Fees: No service charges or fees.
ATM: Unlimited ATM fee reimbursement.
FDIC: FDIC insurance up to $100,000.

I think it looks like the high-yield checking is a solid offering from Schwab. For starters, it beats the Electric Orange account from ING in terms of interest rates and features. Additionally, the Schwab money market is paying 4.32% (7-day avg as of 1-20-08), which means that if you give up .32% interest you can gain FDIC insurance and no minimum. A checking account isn't a great place to stash money in terms of investment opportunities, but if you have short term cash or carry a larger than average checking account balance it might be a good thing to look into.

Does a high yield checking account have a place in your portfolio, do you use a money market account with check writing, or just a plain old checking account?

Image: liewcf @ Flickr

101 Best Web Freebies

While they assuredly won't help you grow your nest egg, or retire early (for the most part), there are a lot of useful free goods and services you can score online. BusinessWeek has done some of the leg work for all of us by compiling a list of the best freebies you can get on the web. It's not presented in the most reader friendly manner, but you can check the list out here. The list is almost exclusively software or web based services and I have listed a few samples of the items on the list below:

Operating Systems - Ubuntu
Anti-Virus Software - AVG
Free Phone Calls - Skype
Accounting Software - Mint
Tax Software - TaxAct
Business Cards - VistaPrint
Remodeling Software - Google Sketchup

Read the entire article BusinessWeek.

Price Drop After You Bought an Item? Get Your Money Back

I know that many stores have policies that if they drop their prices after you make a purchase you can get the difference refunded to you. Unfortunately, these policies are not particularly valuable to me because 1) I don't have the time to keep tabs on prices after I buy something and 2) usually the hassle of running to the store and claiming my refund isn't worth the $5 to me, especially if it's far away. I would guess I'm not the only person who thinks this way - precisely whey stores have this policy - they don't get taken up on it much.

I've been playing around with Price Protectr the last few days and though it might be helpful to others out there. The site supports 72 stores currently and many are the largest online retailers (like Best Buy and Amazon). You simply copy and paste the item URL into a box on the Price Protectr webpage and your email address. If the price drops during the protection period, the site will email you to let you know. Then you can take over and fire off an email or phone call to the retailer to claim your refund.

Anyone else use this service or other similar ones? Now if someone could just figure out something like this for traditional brick and mortar stores I'd be in business.

Free Websites That Help You Save Money

Mint: Think a free stripped down version of Quicken, Money or other personal finance packages delivered via the web. Mint connects to over 3,500 U.S. financial institutions and even suggests where you can get higher rates.

Rent-o-meter: Want to know if your landlord is ripping you off? Are you charging your tennants the market rate? Simply enter your address, monthly rent, number of units, and unit size. The Rent-o-meter gives you a snapshot of whether you are getting a good deal or not.

Buy-side Realty: Megadiscount (no service) broker that will give you back 75% of the commission they receive from the broker. For example if you purchased a $200,000 home and the buyer's agent typically gets 3% of the purchase price, you pocket about $4,500 out of the deal.

Trulia: Demographic information on various areas. Find homes for sale, track trends, local real estate data and more.

Zecco: This online broker has received some mixed reviews and they recently altered their business model from free trades -- to free trades if you maintain a $2,500 account balance. Still pretty good. If you don't want to keep $2,500 in the account then it will cost you $4.50 per trade.

Bankrate: Bankrate aggregates the going rates for mortgages, home loans, credit cards, cd's, and has a lot of other useful financial information too.

Zillow: Real estate valuation service. Check what homes are selling for in a particular area. There have been plenty of people who claim its data is flawed and that it can be far to high or low, but even if imperfect it still has some useful data for people that are home shopping.

Free Online File Storage With Driveway

I have been swapping a lot of pictures lately with a few of my friends from a recent trip. The problem I have run into is that a picture from a 5 mega pixel camera clocks in at over a 1 meg and my university email account has a rather small cap of attachments. I switched over to my gmail account, but was still capped at about 20 megs. Thus began my search for a better way to transfer the files. I tried a few of the online photo services like flickr but I wanted the pictures transmitted in their full resolution glory.

I read about the DriveWay.com file sharing app and gave it a shot this weekend. It's a start-up that lets you transfer files up to 500 mb (I'm not sure how much cash they will burn through offering a free service with massive bandwith requirements, but maybe they are building on the YouTube business model that is all the rage these days).

The website is really easy to use. You simply click the browse button on the front page and then navigate to the file on your computer you want to upload. You can then type in an email address that the website will "park" the file for. The interface is also really clean and simple. Very web 2.0. My only concern with the service is that there do not seem to be privacy settings available that let you shield the download from the average "Joe" online. This service would work fine if I was sharing some freeware or a stock photo (aside from the obvious copyright concerns), but I'm not so sure I want my family pictures out there for everyone to see so easily.

The Verdict: Worth a bookmark and a try, (remember its free) but won't hit the mainstream until there are stronger privacy controls (or at least they are easier to find). I'm looking forward to following the services as they add features and products.

Google Your Way to Saving Money Online

As almost every retailer has an online presence, so come the online coupons. Since I'm cheap all about saving money I typically start by Googling "[store name] coupons" before I make a purchase online. Not exactly rocket science, but then again most of the time saving money is more about luck and being persistent than it is about actually being smart.

Yeah I know, it takes an extra minute or two, but it is well worth it if you can get free shipping, $5 off, or sometimes a bit more. For example, my latest search looking for Target coupon codes let me to find $5 off a purchase of $50 and free shipping.

If you aren't into sifting through Google sites for coupons you can always start at places like CouponChief. Check it out.

Link
Coupon Chief - Online Coupons

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A SPONSORED POST

The Rich Don't Save Either

Market Watch has an article this week claiming the lower and middle class aren't the only ones finding it difficult to put money away. The article cites a study conducted by HSBC bank that surveyed people making over $250,000 per year. Over a third of respondents said they had difficulty saving money because of a "need to pay everyday bills".

You won't find a shoulder to cry on here. If you are pulling down a quarter million a year, even if you are getting eaten alive by taxes, you should be able to at least max out your retirement savings accounts. You might not get that beach house on Florida or that new Porsche you had your eye on last year, but sometimes life just isn't fair.

Link
Sophisticated Investor @ MarketWatch
Image James & Vilija @ Flickr

Cool (Inexpensive) Projects to Do With Your Kids

If you are looking for interactive things to do with your kids or other children you may have in the family that don't involve a TV or XBox you might want to check out GeekDad. It's a pretty neat website. I'm all about activities that encourage creativity and cleverly disguise learning as fun.

For the most part these activities can be completed with a few inexpensive items and some reading material for the adult supervision. Here's a small sample of the type of projects available on the site.

• Model trains
• Painting with a 6 point perspective
• Ant farms
• Kite launched skydivers
• Electric model airplanes
• Build your own radio

The site is only a few months old, but they have a few more contributors now so I expect there to be a steadily increasing number of posts.

Review: E*Trade Complete Savings Account

Now that I have been using E*Trade's Complete Savings Account for a couple months the time has come to give a little review of the service.

For a little background, E*Trade introduced the Complete Savings Account in the not-so-distant past and it operates VERY similar to the other online savings account providers out there like HSBCDirect, INGDirect, or Emigrant. The account offers a 5.05% APY compounded monthly and can be linked to outside bank accounts or any account you may already have with E*Trade. I have had, or currently have, accounts with HSBC and ING so I will compare them to E*Trade as I go in this post.

Opening an Account

It took about two weeks for me to open an account. I filled out the online form and about a week or week and a half later had the registration forms. You sign the form and mail it back to the bank within 7 days and you are all set. Not as sleek and fast as ING, but a lot better than HSBC.

The Interface

(click the picture to enlarge)

E*Trade's Complete Savings Account has a nice clean interface. Things are easy to find and it is painless to add linked accounts. Those of you who have or have had E*Trade accounts in the past (regardless of how unhappy you were with customer service) will likely enjoy it.

Transferring Funds

(click to enlarge)

This is where the E*Trade Savings Account really shines. The company has chosen not to nickel and dime people by putting a hold on transferring money. While companies that hold transfers don't really cost you anything in real terms, the are profiting off the float on your money that could be going to you. The transfers I have made are done within 1 business day! Zero days of lost interest. ING is usually pretty good around 2 business days, and HSBC is pretty terrible taking substantially longer.

It's also really easy to add linked accounts. I should be with any service, but you can instantly validate accounts with E*Trade if you are willing to divulge your online user name and password for the account.

The Rate

E*Trade is paying 5.05% APY which isn't terrible, but there are plenty of other players in the mix now. ELOAN is consistently above 5% (5.25% right now) and many of the traditional banks like WaMu are offering similar services with competitive rates. The company has been offering a $25 sign-up bonus which as far as I can tell is still effective. Check out my former post on the bonus and try some of those codes to see if you can still snag the $25. UPDATE *I found a link to the bonus and it is now at the end of this post*

Fees

None, just keep at least $1 in the account.

Overall

I have had some bad experiences with E*Trade as a brokerage which I will write about some other time. However, I'm happy to say my experience with E*Trade's Savings Account has been good so positive. Of course I haven't had to use the customer service for much which has been the brokerage's main downfall.

Pros:

• No minimum, $1 to open, no fees, sign-up bonus of $25, FDIC insured.
  
• No hard credit pull to open the account.
  
• 5.05% APY is good but not the best.
• Blows competition away when it comes to transferring funds in an out of the account.
• Links to other E*Trade accounts if you choose
• If you have $5,000 or more in deposits you can get a checking account with ATM card as well.
  

Cons:

• Variable rate (but it is with any of the online savings accounts so far as I can tell).
• You can get a better rate other places if you look around, especially if you have more money to park in one of these accounts.
• When dealing with E*Trade brokerage I have run into some of the worst customer service experiences I have had anywhere. I'm not sure if they share customer service departments, but keep this in mind. With HSBC I have had decent customer service and INGDirect has some of the best I have ever had when I have contacted them.
• You might be able to get a comparable rate at a local banking branch where you already do business, especially if you have a significant amount to invest.

Link: E*Trade Complete Savings w/ $25

10 Ways to Save on Gas This Summer

With gasoline rising by the day and major media spreading rumors of $4 gas on the horizon. Here's a few things you can do to make the most out of the car you have and stretch your gas dollar.

1. Drive cautiously and avoid unnecessary acceleration and breaking: Common sense here.
   
   
2. Check your tire pressure and don't over or under inflate your tires. This can rob you of 1% fuel efficiency for every 2 psi your tires are under inflated.
   
   
3. Check your air filter and replace if dirty. This can save you 1/2 to 1 mpg.
   
   
4. Keep your car maintained and tuned up: This can save you 4% according to my car owner's manual, but varies between makes and models.
   
   
5. Avoid idling and turn your car off if you will be sitting for an extended period of time.
   
   
6. Remove excess weight from your car and avoid transporting items on top of your car on the roof rack or roof top carrier if possible. Extra wind resistance cuts down on fuel efficiency.
   
   
7. Keep the outside of your car clean to save on air resistance.
   

Fuel consumption myths

1. Buy bigger tires: Bigger tires weigh more and don't necessarily buy you any fuel efficiency. Wider tires can create more drag as well.
   
   
2. Run your air conditioner less: Depending on your car make and model, you may actually create more drag and use more fuel by driving with your windows rolled down.

If all else fails you can always start shopping for a hybrid or learn about "hypermiling" (@ Washington Post)

Sources:
K&N Air Filters
Summer Gas Tips @ LifeHacker
Gas, Money & the Environment @ Carnegie Mellon

Buying a House? Here's a Way to Save a Fistfull of Cash

Hot on the heels of Iggy's House (previous post Iggy's House) trying to shake up the real estate market on the seller's side, it's sister company BuySide Realty is trying to mix it up on the buyer's side. It's a pretty radical approach and something that I can guarantee will be fought tooth and nail by brokers everywhere.

Here's how it works. John is selling his house, he hires an agent, Bob, to show his house to people, list it on the MLS and negotiate. John's paying the broker a commission of probably around 5 or 6% for his services. What a lot of people don't know is that commission gets cut in half if another agent comes along representing a seller in the transaction. No so good for Bob, but John doesn't care because his house is getting sold at the same price and the more people out there looking for buyers the better. This buyer's agent commission fee is the reason why real estate agents love for you to sign that form that says they are representing you looking for a home.

BuySide Realty (and I'm sure as I write this other people are drawing up similar business plans), lets you keep the majority of the buyer's agent commission fee, 75% to be exact. Let's do a hypothetical. Say you are in the market for John's home which is selling for $250,000 and he is paying his broker a 5% commission. The total commission John pays is $12,500 and Bob will keep that if you aren't represented by an agent yourself. If you were represented, your agent would get around $6,250 for their services. If you do a little more legwork and find the home yourself then you can keep 75% of the buy side commission or $4,687.50. I don't know about you, but sounds good to me.

I know that I will get at least a few emails about the indispensable services that real estate agents provide and how buyers using the service will be left unprotected. I don't dispute the fact that agents offer valuable services, but the market has changed. I think the service and others like it are valuable because 1) there is a lot of market research out there now even if imperfect like Zillow (previous post Zillow) 2) real estate agents can't warrant the habitability of homes or conduct inspections for the buyer 3) the buyer is doing the leg work finding properties 4) BuySide provides an agent for the process even if the agent provides reduced services.

Link

BuySide Realty
Image: Creative Commons Karen Apricot

Crash Course In Personal Finance: The Basics

I recently was reading an article over at The Blueprint For Financial Prosperity that lists 10 basic personal finance concepts everyone should know. I think it is a great list. I will list the first 10 here and add a couple of my own. Of course I encourage you to check out the whole list here.

1. Spend less than you earn.
2. Thinking about money sucks, but it can be easy.
3. You don't have to follow the crowd.
4. Retirement savings order: 401k with match, Roth, 401k, everything else.
5. Avoid debt unless it is for a house, car, or education.
6. Showing off either breeds either jealousy or annoyance.
7. Scrap the latte factor.
8. If it's too good to be true, it is.
9. Life is about enjoyment, not money.
10. Always act morally, ethically, truthfully, and legally.

I generally like everything on the list (although as many comments said on the blog, I too am not into taking on much debt for a car purchase). Here is what I would add aside from modifying #5 slightly.

• Make a will and health care power of attorney:
• It doesn't matter how much you dislike attorneys, these documents save your family lots of hassle and potentially money in the long run. Your state may even have fill in the blank forms you can do yourself.

• Save young & retire early
• Compounding is a wonderful thing
  
  
• Pay debts in this order:
  
• credit cards, other high interest short term debt (payday loans etc), financing company loans (i.e. cars), private student loans, mortgages & federal student loans.
  
  
• Owning a home is not always better than renting
• A large portion of the time it is, but if you are taking on more mortgage than you can afford or will only be in the home a short time the transaction costs will eat up your equity.
  
  
• Keep your paperwork in order
• If you have some sort of filing system or at least can keep tabs on your bills, statements, and other important paper you will be in much better shape.

Link
Blueprint For Financial Prosperity - Basic Personal Finance Concepts

Teaching Your Kids About Money By NOT Giving Them Allowance

I don't have kids, but recently read a conversation over at No Limit Ladies, between an entrepreneur and the blogger who runs the site, regarding whether it is good or bad to give your kids an allowance. It got me thinking about where I stand on the issue. For those of you who haven't had a chance to read the article it brings up some good points, but the gist of the article is that it is better to teach your how to sell items and earn money than give them handouts.

I generally agree with the entrepreneur's point of view on the site, but maybe not to the extreme he does. I really value entrepreneurship, people who work hard, and don't want my kids sitting around looking for handouts. But, I'm not sure I want them pawning their toys to buy the newest Nintendo Wii game.

I think my take on the issue is I think that kids shouldn't get an allowance by default. My view is that kids should learn to pull their own weight and have certain set duties as well as other things that they may be asked to help with. If they want to make some extra money to go out to the movies or buy some new clothes they can ask me to help out around the house with other chores which each have an assigned dollar value. I think that is the easiest way to show kids the direct correlation between work and purchasing things. I might not each them how they have to hustle to sell things and how difficult it is to start a business - but it will teach them the value of money and how hard savings can be.

I'm also a big fan of matching money that kids invest. I don't know how well it works since I don't know anyone who personally does it with their kids, but it seems like a way to encourage savings if nothing else.

Link
No Limit Ladies - Why I don't give my kids allowance

Never Pay a 411 Charge Again!

Sometimes the a Yellow Pages or the internet aren't handy to find the phone number or address of a business or person you desperately need to get a hold of. Enter 411 the call service that provided an operator to look up that information (often incorrectly) and charge you a dollar or two for conducting the search. Google quietly released a new product in GoogleLabs a few weeks ago that provides 411 services... in typical Google fashion... for free. I don't know how the company plans to make money on it or if it does at all, but it's surely worth a try if you are a 411 service user.

Details: Google Voice Local Search
Price: FREE!
How it works: Just call 800-GOOG-411 or 800-466-4411. The service lets you search for the proper name of a business or just a category (like Chinese food). You can also get the information delivered via SMS message to your phone which is nifty when you are driving or can't write it down.