So I finally made the switch to FNBO Direct’s 6% APY from Emigrant Direct’s 5.05% APY that I was considering in this post.

Here’s how the money moved from ED to FNBO Direct.

Emigrant Direct(5.05%) -> ING Direct Electric Orange(4%) -> FNBO Direct (6%)

I don’t think there was any days of lost interest from ED to my ING Electric Orange account as the funds showed up immediately there.

The sign-up process at FNBO Direct was extremely easy and I didn’t have any problems. I definitely recommend it to anyone that’s looking for a higher yield. So now my emergency fund yields a nifty 6%.

The anniversary date was officially May 5th and we’re celebrating a little bit late because I’ve been busy with school and whatnot. Some events that have occurred on this blog:

• Undergone numerous cosmetic and backend changes. This blog use to be powered by blogger but I’ve since then moved over to wordpress. I’m glad I moved sooner rather than later as importing all the old posts was a big mess.
• Blog name and address change. This blog use to be called HJL Money Blog and was located at the subdomain pf.endlessgibberish.com. I figured I was going to use the main domain for other purposes but I decided that wasn’t going to happen.
• I blog about anything now. I blog about anything that I think is worth sharing, not just personal finance topics. There will still be personal finance posts as that’s one of the areas that I have the most interest in.

I’ve learned a lot in the process while blogging. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that every dollar you save is every dollar that works to earn you more money. At this point in my life when I have no real expenses (mortgage, kids, etc.) it’s a lot easier to save 50% of my money and spend the other 50% on whatever I please. I’m not saying saving 50% is feasible for everyone but I’m pretty sure almost everybody can make even 10% work if they take it off the top.

I found Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings interview with Fortune Magazine interesting. A lot of the questions were reader submitted. The question I was most interested in was:

I was a recent customer of yours but defected to Blockbuster. Can you explain why your company is the better choice when Blockbuster matches your turnaround time, allows customers to drop off DVDs at branches, and adds the value of free in-store rentals? Ric Watts, Bristol, Tenn.

To which Hastings replied:

It depends on the customer. For a customer who enjoys Blockbuster stores, the Blockbuster [Total Access] online program may be a better solution. For people who’d love to never go into a Blockbuster store ever again, then we offer better selection, better tools for choosing movies, and more consistent overnight delivery.

So I mean, even if there’s a remote chance I might want instant gratification in the future and there’s a Blockbuster nearby, I should switch to Total Access?

Find the rest of the interview here.

One of the rentals I received from Blockbuster Online didn’t have the usual return address of my nearest distribution center. Instead it had the address of a Blockbuster Video store in Union, NJ. There was also an actual stamp instead of the usual “No Postage Necessary…” wording.

So this is pretty ingenious on Blockbuster’s part to use existing DVD inventory at their stores to fufill their online obligations. Part of the reason I believed a video store fulfilled this rental was because it’s the foreign movie Nine Queens which might not be readily available at the local distribution center. I wonder if Blockbuster would’ve been better off modifying their existing locations and scrapping the distribution centers. The savings would be tremendous but the ability to get everything running smoothly would be extremely difficult… not to mention they’d need one hell of a inventory system.

I applied for a Discover card last week and I received it yesterday. I activated the card and then tried it out for some purchase and found out the purchases were getting declined. I decided to call the number on the back of the card. After sitting through the several automated pitches for their identity theft protections and finally getting the “PLEASE HOLD FOR THE NEXT AVAILABLE REPRESENTATIVE”. Then I get a message saying that if I got my credit card stolen call another number (which is given)… for all other assistance please call back 7 AM through 12 midnight eastern standard time. What gives? I don’t even get anyone in India?

Edit: It turns out that customer service is limited for this card since it’s handled by HSBC (It’s a cobranded HSBC card apparently).

If you’re a financially savvy person, chances are you’ll have more than one savings account as rates move around. I started off at ING Direct when they were paying 4% or so. I then left them and moved to HSBC Direct for 5.05% and then now I’m considering moving to FNBO Direct for 6% (guaranteed until sept 28th).

Of course I could keep $1 in all the accounts I’m not using but I’ve heard that some banks like ING Direct will close inactive accounts with extremely low amounts in them. Rather I’m a OCD type person that likes to leave just enough money in the account so that I earn exactly $0.01 each month.

To figure out how much you’ll need to earn exactly $0.01 in interest every month we have to do some math. First we need to figure out the APR, since the APY is calculated with compounding. We then use the APR to figure out what amounts are exactly needed to earn $0.01 in your dormant savings accounts. The APR is based on interest being compounded monthly, not daily. According the Terms & Agreement of banks such as ING Direct, they use monthly compounding.

ING Direct
APY 4.5%, APR 4.409771280524222%
Amount needed: $2.72

HSBC Direct and Emigrant Direct
APY 5.05% APR 4.936751161676423%
Amount needed: $2.43

You can download APY to APR software for free at OCC website. You can also use Jonathan’s calculator at My Money Blog.

I’m considering moving my emergency funds to FNBO Direct for the 6% APY (rate is guaranteed until September 28th).

FNBO is another one of the no fees, no minimum banks, which obviously makes it a great place to store an emergency fund as you don’t have to worry about maintaining any minimum balances should the need ever arise.

http://www.fnbodirect.com/

I hope you guys are taking advantage of Bank of America’s “Museums on Us” promotion. Yesterday I went to the NY Aquarium in Coney Island with some friends.

Other places I want to check out are the Guggenheim and the Bronx Zoo.

I just got this in an e-mail from Amex:

Introducing The Members Project, an exciting new initiative that brings American Express® Cardmembers together to do something good for our world.
Join Cardmembers to dream up, and ultimately unite behind, one incredible idea. American Express will bring it to life with up to $5 million.
So where does the money come from? It’s all about power in numbers. For every Cardmember that registers, American Express contributes $1 — up to $5 million for that one winning idea.*
Will you send meningitis vaccines to Africa? Rebuild a school in New Orleans? Or support small organic farmers? The possibilities are endless. The decision is yours. Join The Members Project today.
Get involved at membersproject.com.

Basically on the website you can contribute an idea and rate other ideas. Amex will give $1 to charity for each member that registers and it takes about 20 seconds, so do it and feel slightly better about yourself for 10 minutes.

I decided to try the the carrier pickup and I waited until 4:00 pm and then realized they were never coming. The online postage you print is only suppose to be used for the day it’s printed so I had to rush over to the post office, walk past the usual huge lines and drop off my packages at the counter. I’ll give the carrier pickup one more chance next week but this is idiotic beyond belief.