If you’re a long-time reader of Consumerism Commentary, you may remember that I earned over $175 in bonuses over a year ago by using a number of promotional offers for opening accounts at ShareBuilder. I used the bonus money to invest in IYZ, MSFT and AKAM, all of which have not performed particularly well.

Now that ING Direct has acquired ShareBuilder, they’re bringing back the $50 bonus. Simply open a new account. When you are prompted for a promotion code, use SHARE50. As always, there is fine print:

You must open a new ShareBuilder Account and purchase at least one security to receive this offer. Please note the $50 credit will post to your account approximately 4 weeks after the first transaction executes. Not valid with IRA or Education Savings Accounts. Not valid with any other offers. Valid only for first time account holders with ShareBuilder. ShareBuilder reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time.

Note the bold print above. In the past, current account holders could open multiple accounts and apply bonuses to each, but this type of activity seems to be curtailed by New Management.

If you take the approach I did, this bonus is basically free money for purchasing a stock or ETF. For each bonus I received, I picked one of the three investments I mentioned above, and invested my own money to start, but not more than the bonus amount. Once I received the bonus in my ShareBuilder account, I withdrew the amount and deposited it back into savings.

I’m willing to bet that if you’re reading this website, you are connected to the Internet at a speed faster than a dial-up connection. Perhaps you’re reading from work on a T-3 or you’re reading from home on a cable or DSL connection. Perhaps you’re at school and you’re sharing your college’s OC-12.

If that’s the case, let your grandparents know about this deal. Some customers might qualify for AT&T DSL service for $10 per month for a year. To find out if you or your luddite relatives qualify, fill out this form. If you qualify and DSL is available in your area, the $10 plan will be listed among the other plans offered.

Thanks to Consumerist for the heads-up, where they also mention that DSL will soon be offered to those without a phone line.

I saw what I thought was a great price for a hard drive: a 500 GB disk, 7,200 RPM and a 3 year warranty for $99 at Fry’s. Then I realized I was looking at a Maxtor brand drive. In the last several years, I’ve found Maxtor drives to always be available for less money than their competitors’ drives, usually including a manufacturer’s rebate. I’ve realized since then why these drives are less expensive: they fail a lot more often.

In my desktop computer at this very moment, which houses a Maxtor 200 GB drive and a Maxtor 250 GB drive, the boot disk failed first, and then it seems the second drive died from loneliness and depression. By the time this happened, I had already acquired my new notebook computer and made it my primary machine, transferring all my important documents and data.

A few years ago, Seagate, a competitor, acquired Maxtor. I don’t believe I’ve purchased a Maxtor drive since then, so I’m wondering if the quality of the drives has improved. Based only on price, it looks like they’re still the low-cost option, and I’m willing to bet they’re still the low-quality option as well.

Help me out: please take this quick survey so I can learn about you and improve Consumerism Commentary.

According to USA Today, Bank of America will soon begin offering no-fee mortgages. That means they won’t charge for applications, appraisals, loan originations, title insurance, flood certifications, and even private mortgage insurance.

I was thinking about this last night, and it occurred to me that this is simply the next step in a pyramid scheme. Lenders have to attract an increasing number of buyers as foreclosures increase. While the lenders assumed the risk of the first batch of risky mortgages, they want to be bailed out by attracting more customers.

Don’t be fooled, the bank is not doing this out of the goodness of its heart. Bank of America admitted they won’t be offering the lowest rates for these mortgages. What they’re losing in fees (about $3,250 for each $200,000 loan) will be made up for in interest payments.

For people who are responsible with managing money, sometimes it makes sense to pay for large purchases with a 0% APR loan or credit card. The reasoning is fairly simple. If you have a card that is offering an introductory rate of 0% on purchases, and if inflation for the year is running 3% to 4%, then the value of the $100 you’re paying by the time the full amount of debt is paid off is 3% to 4% less than the $100 you were paying at the beginning of the term.

Also, smart purchasers only buy what they can afford. Assuming you have the cash, you can get a significant effective discount by depositing the cash you would normally use to make this large purchase into a high-yield savings or money market account, like the one offered by HSBC Direct, and pay off the credit card directly from this account. This way you can benefit from both the earned interest and inflation.

There are always tight rules when cards offer 0% introductory rates, and the companies would prefer to make money off of you. They will wait for you to fall into one of the many traps, one of which is a late payment. If you miss the payment deadline, the credit card issuer will charge you all accrued interest at the regular, non-introductory rate. In addition to the interest, you’ll have to pay late penalties.

An annual fee would also reduce the benefit of leverage. The cards listed below are all no-fee credit cards.

Be careful. If you have revolving debt, this technique is not for you. Pay off your debt, curb your spending, alter your mindset, then start thinking about using leverage for large purchases. If you’re ready now, feel free to check out these good deals.

Discover Business Miles Card or Discover Business Card.

These are “business” cards, but you do not have to be a business owner to apply and use these cards. Both cards are offering 0% interest on purchases for one year. With the miles card, you can earn “double miles” on gas and travel expenses. The miles can be redeemed for travel credit (any airline, any date) and gift cards.

The non-miles card gives you cash back, to the tune of 5% on office supplies, 2% on gas and up to 1% on all other purchases. There is no yearly limit to rewards, and if you use the rewards for purchases from retailers within Discover’s network, they count double.

American Express Platinum Business FreedomPass Card.

The FreedomPass card offers a 0% interest rate on purchases for one year. Each dollar you spend earns one point. These points are like Discover’s miles; they can be redeemed for travel expenses like flights, hotels, and rental cars, with no restrictions or black-out dates. The card offers a nice bonus, as well. You’ll receive 5,000 bonus points with your first purchase.

GM Business Card.

The GM Business Card also offers 0% on purchases for 12 months, but it also offers the same interest rate on balance transfers. Don’t get carried away, though. While this card is good for basic leverage, if you’re looking to earn cash back, use this card only if you know you’ll be purchasing a vehicle from the GM family of brands. Every purchase earns 1% cash back except for fuel, restaurants, office supplies, and GM parts and service, which earn 3%. That cash back must be used to purchase the latest Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, Saturn or Hummer vehicles within 5 years.

Chase Platinum Visa Business Card.

The Chase Platinum Visa Business Card, like the GM card, offers 0% interest on both purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. This card doesn’t offer cash back or miles, but by being a customer with the Chase Platinum Visa Business Card, you qualify for discounts of up to 20% at retailers, in addition to special offers on computer equipment and business supplies.

Update: The CitiBank Diamond Preferred Card is also offering 0% APR on purchases for up to 12 months.

While the above cards are technically “business” cards, which explains the discounts and perks on office supples and travel, you do not have to be self-employed or a business owner to apply for and use these cards. The important point is that the card you choose should be used just for one major purchase, after which the card should not be closed but remain unused except for periodic, on-time payments to pay down the balance within a year.

Thanks to a vicious nor’easter, I was flooded in today and found myself working from home for the first time since taking this new position about a year ago. Our remote desktop access technology requires that Internet Explorer be the employee’s default internet browser on their home computer.

Obviously, this was not going to fly with me.

Microsoft actually has free software that helped me out when setting up my remote access. With Virtual PC 2007, I can set up an isolated computer “within” my computer. I can set aside 1GB of memory, 10GB of hard drive space, and install and run a new instance of Windows XP in that virtual space. When I need to connect to my office computer, I fire up the Virtual PC with the settings the way my company requires. In the meantime, my computer is running my applications the way I like.

For once, kudos to Microsoft for offering good software for free.

I also set up a virtual instance to run Fedora, but I haven’t gotten it to work correctly yet.

Spring is obviously not the best time to shop for shorts, swimwear, and sandals. Retailers know that they can sell these items for much more than they could other times of the year. Other items can be found at great prices, according to Smart Money Magazine. These products aren’t for everyone, and some seem to be a little odd to be included in a list of best deals, but you take what you get.

1. All-Weather Clothing. Black suits and heavy jackets and coats hit low-selling points in May, so prices drop to compensate.

2. Boats. I’m probably hanging with the wrong crowd, but no one I know well owns a boat. No one I know well would even consider buying a boat. But there must be people in the world who buy boats, and for those who do, spring is apparently the best time to do so. “You’ll find sales on the unsold new models at shows, plus plenty of previously owned boats on the market.”

3. Children’s Formalwear. I don’t have children so this category doesn’t interest me at this point in my life. The article says: “If you have a wedding or other fancy event to attend with baby before November, now’s your best chance of picking up a suit or dress for a fraction of the regular retail price.”

4. Condiments. When it comes to ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, pickles, and other picnic foods, you should pick these up well before Memorial Day.

5. Designer “Resort” Clothing. Starting in January, designers put out “resort wear” for wealthy customers who migrate to a second, warmer location for a portion of the year. By spring, these items can be found at reduced sales prices. If you’re really looking for bargains, I don’t think “designer” clothing is the best bet, no matter what time of year it is.

6. Ham and Pork Products. The article suggests shopping for pork chops around Easter, when there is a huge volume of ham on the market. Stock up and freeze your hot dogs for Memorial Day.

7. Lost Property. “Both the airlines and the Post Office hold unclaimed or lost items for a minimum of 90 days, then sell them off. That means bags and packages lost around the holidays are just making their way back to the public in late March, early April—and for a fraction of the price.” Here’s how to get a piece of that action.

8. Pearls. Again, here’s an item that’s not the first choice for frugal shoppers. During the spring, retailers will push pearls as gifts for graduations, weddings, and Mother’s Day.

9. Real Estate. While prices are lower in the winter according to the business, in the spring, there is more selection and more competition in real estate on the market. As families with children like to move between school years, there is often extra motivation for sellers during the tail end of the spring.

10. Strollers. The article says that 2007 stroller models come out in April. I didn’t realize there were yearly models for strollers, like cars. There are only cosmetic differences from year to year, so you can find good prices on the discontinued models starting in the spring.

11. Vacuums. As households take on the challenge of “spring cleaning,” vacuum makers want to compete for your business.

If you are a student, the New York Times will now allow you to have access to their premium content (TimesSelect) for free. Technically, you don’t have to be a student. All that is required is an email address with the “edu” top level domain.

Some universities offer “edu” email addresses to their alumni as well, so if you’re lucky enough to have one of these addresses, you can still access TimesSelect for free. Visitors to Freakonomics have noted that many current students located outside the United States do not have “edu” email addresses. Unfortunately, they will miss out on this offer.