This week, I blasted through the remaining ING Direct Orange Savings Account $25 bonus codes and thanks to Consumerism Commentary readers, I have many more to give away. I sent out emails to everyone on the waiting list and I’m posting links in the order I receive them, two from every volunteer at first. These referrals offer a new customer $25 for signing up, while the owner of the link receives a $10 bonus. I have no more left to give of my own, so I am posting codes provided by readers. View the links here.
Here are some articles I’ve enjoyed this past week from the members of the MoneyBlogNetwork.
“A buyer’s agent is supposed to negotiate for the best price for the client, but the dangling carrot of the commission probably tempts some of them to hype up the property price as high as possible.” On the other hand, a seller’s agent only sees a benefit of 3% (half the total commission), so the incentive to push for a higher price is usually not very large. Is it the End of 6% Real Estate Commissions? [Wise Bread]
Do You Save More Than 10% of Your Salary? Yes. So far this year, I’ve managed to “not spend” almost 54% of my total income. Since my salary is a small portion of my income, I’ve saved 190% of my salary. Neat. I’ll have the details in my monthly financial reports, “due” tomorrow.
“Every single one of my friends and peers it seems, are people who couldn’t explain compound interest if they had to, ignore the 401k matches offered by their employers (despite my pleas), are comfortable having debt, and spend like they all have huge inheritances coming to them.” My policy is to never offer financial advice to my friends without being asked and without verifying whether they are absolutely sure they’re interested in hearing what I have to say. I’m not a professional, and I’d rather maintain a non-professional relationship with my friends. The End of the World As We Know It [AllFinancialMatters]
How Many Bank Accounts Do You Have? FiveCentNickel (and his family) have seven. I have fourteen just for myself, but that includes eight ING Direct “sub-accounts.” When my set of ING savings accounts are counted as one, I match FiveCentNickel with seven.
“I believe that in most cases it’s not possible to pursue a degree while saving money. Most people are going to accumulate debt.” I agree with J.D. here. True, diligent matriculation towards the completion of a degree, particularly if the goal is to graduate in a reasonable amount of time, generally requires focus on coursework. Trying to earn a living at the same time gets in the way. Scholarships, grants, and loans, are my preferred methods of paying for an undergraduate degree, but that’s not possible for everyone. Trading your time for money is the last resort for paying for a college degree, because your time at this age is probably much more valuable than anyone will be willing to pay you. If you must get a job, get one where you can study while you work. Can College Students Save Money? [Get Rich Slowly]
How Will My Decision to Stop Drinking Soda Affect Our Finances? Excising soda from the diet is a good decision, not just financially but in terms of health as well. Sprite is the only soda I drink, and I try to do so infrequently. At first, I replaced soda with fruit juice, but most juice has so much sugar added that it doesn’t have that much of a health benefit. Additionally, juice is often more expensive than soda. The real answer is that we should all just stick with water. Not bottled water, but the water provided by municipalities which is usually good and contains only as much fluoride necessary to keep us all obedient citizens.
Just kidding, there’s no proven link between fluoride and mind control.
“Predictably, car dealers are getting a lot of SUVs and trucks as trade-ins, and some of them are saying that they have enough.” When no one wants large cars or small trucks, the price you can get when selling one drops. Just like houses, people assumed that we Americans would keep wanting bigger and bigger cars, so no one was concerned with the fear that things could get rough when it comes time to sell. Car Dealers are Refusing Gas-Guzzlers as Trade-Ins [Mighty Bargain Hunter]
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