1.00%
0.50%
I have received numerous phone calls from this phone number from someone claiming to be from Bank of America. They want to speak to me about my Bank of America Account. Of course I never provide any additional information and simply take down the number and a message but they never want to leave a message.
So what’s going on here? I do occasionally receive legitimate phone calls from credit card companies and banks in the event of potential fraud on my account. Sometimes I will get a phone call to verify that large charges (especially outside of my local area) are valid.
Protecting your personal information is very important these days, so I decided to contact BofA to inquire about this mysterious phone number. This is the email I received back:
Dear [],
Thank you for your inquiry dated 6/22/09 regarding the calls you are
receiving. We will be able to assist you.Our records do not show that the number in question is a registered Bank
of America phone number. However, if you may require more information if
there was a recent call made by Bank of America, please contact us at
1.800.622.8731. We are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through
Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Pacific Time.We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. If we may be of
further assistance, please contact us again by e-mail. Thank you for
contacting Bank of America.Sincerely,
[bofa rep]
Bank of America
To sum up, phone calls from 800-4570-3732 are NOT coming from any bank or financial institution. These people are trying to steal your information which leads to IDENTITY THEFT. Tell them to put you on the do not call list and never provide any more information to these criminals.
Ally Bank has the highest CD rates on 1 year CDs at 2.49% Annual Percentage Yield. No minimum deposit is required.
Here’s a bank rate comparison for 12 month certificates of deposit:
- Etrade CD Rates: 0.70% APY
- Eloan CD Rates 1.60% APY
- ING Direct CD Rates: 1.50% APY
The hottest new VOIP system out there has to be Ooma Phone System. Ooma works just like most other Voice Over IP phone systems since it uses the Internet to provide telephone service for your home (like a landline). Ooma is better than the competitors since there are no more monthly phone bills to pay! Vonage Voice Over IP Phone service costs 25 bucks a month.
Unlike normal landline telephone service, VOIP phone service does not work when the power is out since it requires AC power as well as an active internet connection. But that’s about it for the negatives. Let’s get on to the positives:
- 1. no more monthly phone bills (with the basic Ooma service)
- 2. ability to port your old number over or get an entirely new phone number at no additional charge
- 3. choice of area codes if new phone number is chosen
- 4. free domestic calling and low rate international calling
- 5. voicemail included
- 6. easy installation
- 7. ability to add on additional Ooma Scout units at any time to expand your phone network
The Ooma core system comes with a base station and an Ooma scout. The Ooma base station connects to your internet router and phone line. It can also connect an existing phone to the Ooma phone service. The Ooma scout is module that plugs into any existing phone line and allows you to add an additional normal telephone to your Ooma system. The Scout also requires AC power. Additional Ooma scouts can be purchased as needed however it is possible to split the Ooma phone signal to multiple phones from any of the units.
Ooma VOIP Review
A “landline” phone was necessary for us since we needed the ability to let people into our place remotely. We don’t ever use “landline” phones for any other purpose so the Ooma seemed to fit the bill. Cheap, easy to install and use, and good sound. It’s not exactly the same as a normal landline phone since conversations through the Ooma system sound a little muffled. Since it is only used to answer the door it definitely meets our needs and will save tons of money in the long run. Go Ooma and save some money! It’s only about 200 bucks for the Ooma core system with 1 Ooma scout included.
With the stock market looking up these days, the thrill of trading is back. Open a new Sharebuilder account and buy stocks the same day when you use funds from your Orange Savings Account or Electric Orange checking. To get you started, ING Direct is offering a $25 bonus when you open your new account and make a trade before 7/15. Use ING Direct promotion code 25RT. Invest in stocks, mutual funds and ETFs with no account minimums or no inactivity fees. Who doesn’t love free money?
First State Community Bank has great long term bank CD rates for large deposit jumbo CDs that require at least $100,000 to open. The FDIC will insure your money up to $250k per depositor for a total of up to $500,000 at any single financial institution. It is definitely wise to diversify risk by spreading out extremely large investments across several banks to get the maximum protection from the government. Current fscb.com jumbo certificate of deposit rates:
| Jumbo Bank CD Rates ($100,000 minimum opening deposit) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jumbo CD Term | APR Interest Rate | APY Interest Rate |
| 30 Day | 0.60% | 0.60% |
| 90 Day | 0.60% | 0.60% |
| 6 Month | 1.15% | 1.15% |
| 12 Month | 1.40% | 1.41% |
| 18 Month | 1.40% | 1.41% |
| 24 Month | 1.90% | 1.96% |
| 30 Month | 1.90% | 1.96% |
| 36 Month | 2.40% | 2.42% |
| 48 Month | 3.00% | 3.03% |
| 60 Month | 3.25% | 3.29% |
Nationwide Bank has highest IRA rates on a tiered basis with a $500 minimum. The interest rates go up as the deposit increases.
| IRA Term | $500.00 – $9,999.99 | $10,000.00 – $99,999.99 | $100,000.00 + |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Month | 1.20% | 1.20% | 1.25% |
| 6 Month | 1.60% | 1.60% | 1.65% |
| 12 Month | 1.90% | 1.90% | 1.95% |
| 24 Month | 2.25% | 2.25% | 2.30% |
| 36 Month | 2.70% | 2.70% | 2.75% |
| 48 Month | 3.00% | 3.00% | 3.05% |
| 60 Month | 3.30% | 3.30% | 3.35% |
Nationwide also offers:
- auto insurance
- life insurance
- health insurance (accident medical insurance)
- credit cards
- home mortgage loans
- mutual funds
Many companies give their employees the option to engage in ESPP (employee stock purchase program/plan). The specific details vary by employer.
If your company offers ESPP at a discount then it makes sense to take advantage of it as long as you can live with the impact on cash flow. The profit from the ESPP plan can be pretty good and well worth the wait if stocks are purchased at a discount.
Here’s an example of how participating in ESPP can be beneficial. Your company may offer a discount on the purchase of stocks as part of the ESPP. If the discount is 15%, then you get a discount on your lock price (the first of a set of offering periods) or the value of the stock at closing of the last day of the ESPP period, whichever one is lower. So if you sell all of the stock immediately then a gain of 15% can be made on this investment. You’ll have to pay income tax on this gain so you won’t pocket the whole 15% but it is a great return on investment with no risk.
401k and similar employer provided retirement investment plans can be a great asset for those that want to put some money away for their future. 
Benefits of contributing to retirement funds
- Free money: If your employer matches any portion of your contribution then not electing to go with a 401k or similar plan is just throwing money away. At a minimum it’s best to contribute the maximum that your employer will match. For example your employer may match 50 cents to every dollar that you contribute to the plan up to 6% of your salary. This means that if your paycheck is 1000 and you contributed 6% of your salary to 401k then the amount deducted from each paycheck would be $60. Since this is a tax deferred investment it really won’t hurt much. Now add in $30 (free money!) for the 50% employer matching and that is $90 per paycheck.
- Take advantage of compounding interest: This This reoccurring investment along with the power of compounding interest will really add up over time. The earlier you can start a 401k plan the better since there will be more time to compound interest.
- Tax Deferred Investment: The money elected to go into this type of retirement account does not get taxed by the government at the time of deposit. You will end up paying taxes on this money however it will be when you are retired and potentially in a lower income bracket.
401k investments not guaranteed and can lose value. The best way to keep this investment as safe as possible is to diversify risk by diversifying your investment portfolio. Some investment retirement plans allow a wide variety of choices while others offer very few. Spreading out the investment through different types of funds will help to absorb the effects of constantly fluctuating market. This is also called changing the asset mix. Right now I own about 6 or so different types of funds but I only contribute to two or three of them at a time since I change them around a few times a year. This is not a suggestion, just an example of how I have spread out my 401k investments.
Many people that can afford it will simply max out this pre tax investment (around $16k per year currently.)
Metlife Bank has the best 9 month jumbo certificate of deposit rates (CD’s with an initial deposit of over $100,000) at 2.00% Annual Percentage Yield. Here’s a full list of Met Life Bank’s current CD rates:
| CD Term | $2,000- $14,999 | $15,000- $24,999 | $25,000- $49,999 | $50,000- $99,999 | $100,000+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Months | 0.15% | 0.95% | 1.60% | 1.70% | 1.80% |
| 6 Months | 0.25% | 0.95% | 1.70% | 1.80% | 1.90% |
| 9 Months | 0.25% | 1.40% | 1.80% | 1.90% | 2.00% |
| 12 Months | 0.65% | 1.75% | 1.90% | 1.95% | 2.00% |
| 18 Months | 0.65% | 1.85% | 2.00% | 2.10% | 2.15% |
| 24 Months | 0.70% | 2.00% | 2.10% | 2.20% | 2.25% |
| 36 Months | 0.80% | 2.10% | 2.20% | 2.30% | 2.35% |
| 48 Months | 1.00% | 2.10% | 2.20% | 2.30% | 2.35% |
| 60 Months | 1.15% | 2.10% | 2.20% | 2.30% | 2.35% |
The minimum deposit for any new bank CD is $2,000 and the interest rates earned have a direct positive correlation with the amount deposited. Larger deposits can earn higher rates.
Apply online, call them at 1-866-BankMet (1-866-226-5638) or download an application and send it in to get started.
evantage bank rates
Evantagebank.com has great money market rates at a high interest rate of 3.10% APY. It’s called the Mega Money Market account which earns a high yield interest rate without any minimum balance requirement. This high rate only applies to balances up to $35,000. Account balance in excess of $35000 only earns 1.65% APY. Key features of this money mkt acct:
- electronic delivery of monthly statement
- up to 6 free withdrawals each month (there is a $5 charge for additional withdrawals, and the month cycle resets on the 3rd Wednesday of every month)
- Evantage MasterCard CheckCard provided for easy instant ATM access
- No minimum balance requirement
INGDirect is giving out a $25 bonus for opening a new ShareBuilder investment account. The Share Builder account can be used to trade stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. Normal real time trades are $9.95 and there is no minimum account balance that must be maintained for this low price. There are many different rates including discount rates for Automatic Investments (scheduled investments).
To get the $25 bonus punch in promotion code 4BUCKS when signing up and make a trade before May 1, 2009. ING Direct will automatically deposit the bonus into the new acct within 4-6 weeks.
CapitalOne Direct Banking has top online savings rates at a very high rate of 1.99% APR / 2.01% APY. This is a very competitive interest rate for online savings accounts which don’t have the same early withdrawal penalties that bank certificates of deposit have.
The savings rates are tiered based on the average daily account balance:
| Account Balance | APR | APY |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 – $99.99 | 1.00% | 1.01% |
| $100.00 – $4,999.99 | 1.00% | 1.01% |
| $5,000.00 – $9,999.99 | 1.00% | 1.01% |
| $10,000.00 – $24,999.99 | 1.99% | 2.01% |
| $25,000.00 – $49,999.99 | 1.99% | 2.01% |
| $50,000.00 – $99,999.99 | 1.99% | 2.01% |
| $100,000.00+ | 1.99% | 2.01% |
These rates are better than current short term Jumbo CD rates.
UmbrellaBank.com has highest money market account rates on a tiered basis. Here are the current MMA rates for UmbrellaBank’s online Pot O’Gold Money Market Accounts:
| Daily Balance | Annual Percentage Yield |
|---|---|
| <$1,000 | 2.24% APY |
| $1,000-$4,999 | 2.24% APY |
| $5,000-$9,999 | 2.24% APY |
| $10,000-$24,999 | 2.41% APY |
| $25,000-$49,999 | 2.60% APY |
| $50,000+ | 2.65% APY |
There’s a $1,000 minimum balance requirement to open a new money mkt account. Interest earned from this bank account is compounded daily for the maximum benefit to the account holder and deposited into the MMA account on the 10th of every month.
Money market accounts differ from fixed rate certificate of deposit investments since the interest rate varies over time. Money market rates have been lower than CD rates in recent months however UmbrellaBank has some of the highest interest rates today. There is no guaranteed rate of return since money market account interest rates are based on current market conditions and subject to the same fluctuations that the market is prone to.
Money deposited in an Umbrella Bank money market account can be accessed in several ways:
- Standard electronic transfers (typical of any online banking account)
- Check writing
- ATM withdrawals
Service fees, penalties, and other limits of this MMA:
- Monthly service fee for accounts with less than $1,000 average daily minimum balance
- Only 6 non ATM transactions are allowed per month
Discover Bank is offering $50 for opening a new Certificate of Deposit account online. Open a new CD account at DiscoverBank.com with a minimum of $10,000 by 2/28/2009 and and Discover Bank will credit your certificate of deposit account with an additional $50 dollars.
You must use Offer Code D100743 on the online form in order to qualify (the above link will automatically fill it in for you). You are welcome to share this code with friends but they’ll need to either come to this site and click the link or enter the offer code on the application form in order to get the free $50.
Discover Bank CD Rates are very high CD rates indeed. Here’s a quick snapshot of their long term CD rates (jumbo CD rates are the same):
- 5 years CD: 3.51% APY
- 7 years CD: 3.75% APY
- 10 years CD: 4.00% APY
This promotional offer is good through February 28, 2009. To earn the cash offer, a minimum deposit of $10,000 in new funds must be received by March 15, 2009 and those funds must remain on deposit for at least 90 days. The cash offer will be credited to your Discover Bank account 4 to 6 weeks after the 90-day period. Offer limited to one per customer and not applicable for accounts opened via phone or mail.