Saving Everything

Get Bonus Cash Back or Points at Credit Cards' Malls

2010-05-23T11:08:00.007-05:00

Shopping online has always been great for comparative shopping. Sometimes, you can find great deals by shopping online at your credit cards' online shopping mall. Of course, you must start your shopping experience at your credit cards' online mall, sign on, make your qualifying purchase through their site, and meet their terms and conditions and be aware of any restrictions or exclusions. If you meet everything, then within 3 months you will see the bonus points or cashback on your credit card statement, in addition to your current cashback rewards or points. You could potentially earn 3% for your normal Chase Freedom card rotating category (or even 5% depending on your card), and earn another 5% with that merchant online. Please note: sometimes the online merchant will not be categorized the same as the brick-and-mortar merchant. Here is a look at most of the major credit card issuers' shopping malls:

American Express BonuspointsMall. http://www.bonuspointsmall.com

Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall. http://public.ultimaterewards.com/demo/ur-earn/Shop & earn points faster/Shop & earn points faster.html

Bank of America AddItUp Program. http://additup.bankofamerica.com (you have to pre-register your bankofamerica qualified card)

FIA (bankofamerica) WorldPointsMall. https://rewardsshoppingmall.bankofamerica.com/worldpoints/jsp/home.jsp

Citibank ThankYou Network. https://shopping.thankyou.com/shop--earn.aspx

Discover Card ShopDiscover. http://www.discovercard.com/customer-service/rewards/browse-all-partners-cb.html

unfortunately, i do not know anything about CapitalOne No Hassle Rewards.
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Sovereign Bank Sovereign Cash Rewards for Debit Card only. http://www.rewards.sovereignbank.com

New Credit CARD Act In Force

2010-02-28T13:11:00.004-05:00

It's official. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 is in law and fully required as of February 22, 2010.
What does this mean:

End Late Fee Traps: No more late fees if they receive it after 2pm; and due dates that change each month
Monthly bills must be mailed out at least 21 days before payment is due, and must have a consistent due date each month.
Each bill must have information about how long it will take you to pay off your balance if you only make minimum payments, and how much you would need each month to pay balance in 3 years.
Fair Interest Calculations: No more "double-cycle" billing, an unfair practice where issuers use the balance in previous month to calculate interest charges for the current month. The Minimum payment amount are applied to lowest interest balance. However, any payment you make over the minimum payment will finally be applied to the highest interest rate balance first.
Require Opt-In for going over-the-limit: Issuers need our permission to allow us to charge any amount and go over the limit and charge us an over-the-limit fee, if the issuer applies such fee. And, they can only apply the fee once per billing cycle. Finally, if I buy jewlery with credit card and it's over my limit, then it will get denied! (I will not opt-in.)
45-Day Notice for Changes: Issuers must give us 45 days notice for any changes to the terms of our cards, including interest rate increases and changes to fees like annual or late fees. In addition, they must give us an option to cancel the card before such changes take effect if we don't like it.
Limits Fees on Gift and Stored Value Cards: Finally it requires better disclosure of fees for these cards, and restricts inactivity fees unless the card has been inactive for at least 12 months.
Annual and/or application fees cannot total more than 25% of the initial credit limit.
Clear disclosures for New Credit card applications: Finally, they clearly show the fees, interest rates, and terms in plain sight and not in tiny font.
Grace period on interest rate increases for new accounts: The 1st year after you open an account, issuer cannot generally increase your interest rate. After the 1st year, rate increases can apply only to new charges. (If you have a variable interest rate tied to an index, then it can vary based only on the index.) (If you are more than 60 days late paying your bill or if you signed up for a limited-time intro rate, then it can change.)
Disclose agreements between credit card issuers and universities: We get to see the agreements that the issuer makes with universities in respect to the marketing or distribution of credit cards to students.
If you are under the age of 21, then to open a credit account, you will now need either a co-signer or evidence that you have enough income to make monthly payments.
Credit card issuers cannot market their cards on college campuses, with promotions like get a free towel or shirt or chair or other marketing promotions.

Here's something exciting; for bank accounts with overdraft services:
-For existing bank accounts, if you do not opt-in, then beginning August 15, 2010, your bank's standard overdraft services won't apply to your everyday debit card and ATM transactions...they should be declined when you don't have enought money in your account and you will not be charged overdraft fees.
-If you open a new account on or after July 1, 2010, your bank cannot charge you overdraft fees for everyday debit card and ATM transactions unless you opt in.
-Unfortunately, checks and automatic bill payments are not covered. Therefore, banks may opt- you in automatically in their overdraft services for checks and auto bill payments; unless you request to be opt-out.

Credit Card Reward Program Review

2009-06-13T11:34:00.009-05:00

Reward Programs offered by the major credit card issuers:

Chase: Ultimate Rewards; Freedom (rotates 3% different categories quarterly, with no earnings cap or expiration date); Chase Continental OnePass (credit card has $85 annual fee; 2 debits: $35 or 65 annual fee)

Citibank: ThankYou Network points program

Discover: Discover cashback; 5% cashback quarterly in different categories, plus sporadic monthly bonus 5% category; otherwise, purchases are tiered $1-3000 at 0.25%; >$3000 at 1.0%)

American Express: Membership Rewards; Different cards have different programs but usually 1 point/mile per dollar spent (ie. Delta SkyMiles, Starwood Preferred, HHilton Honors,; some offer 20,000 or 25,000 bonus points for first year with spend $500 or more...or higher, but have annual fees; Starwood=45;).

Capital One: The NoHassle Miles or Rewards

FIA (Bank of America): WorldPoints 1%

HSBC: Rewards Program (1%) They also have the Weekend Card that gave 2% cashback on Weekends, 1% on every other day.

* Depending on your FIA/BoA credit card, WorldPoints can be redeemed for different amounts. (For example, $100 gift card may cost 12,500 points with one FIA card, and 13,500 points with another FIA card.)
* Most reward programs that I have seen: $25 gift card for 3000-3500 points; $50 giftcard for 5000-6000 points; $100 gift card for 10,000-13,500 points.

FIA-SchwabSignatureVisa & FIA-FidelityAMEX: 2% cashback rewards; but requires a brokerage account, and you to link it. JPMChase-OptionsXpress: 1% cashback rewards, requires OptionsXpress account; has intro 12m, 0%, $75BT max.

Credit Card Issuers increase their Balance Transfer Fees

2009-06-07T15:07:00.011-05:00

It looks like using your credit card may be more pricier for balance transfers (BT), cash advances, and making purchases in foreign currency-transactions. By going to BankofAmerica.com/creditcards, you will see the changes:

WorldPoints^® Platinum Plus^® MasterCard^® Credit Card

Earn points with the freedom to redeem for cash back or other rewards^§
Introductory 0%^† APR only for Balance Transfers* and Direct Deposits for your first 12 billing cycles
No Annual Fee and Rewards Start at 2,500 points

^†Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for Purchases	Standard Variable APR: between 11.99% and 19.99%. The APR you receive is determined based on your creditworthiness.
Other APRs	Balance Transfers: 0% Introductory APR for the first 12 statement Closing Dates following the opening of your account for all Balance Transfers and Direct Deposits. The Introductory APR will end sooner if your payment is late or the account balance is over the credit limit. After that, the Variable APR for any balances that were subject to the Introductory APR is between 11.99% and 19.99%, based on creditworthiness. The Standard Variable APR for Balance Transfers is between 11.99% and 19.99%, based on creditworthiness. See ¹ and ⁶ below for explanation. Cash Advances: Standard Variable APR is 24.24% for all Direct Deposits, Check Cash Advances, ATM Cash Advances, Bank Cash Advances, Overdraft Protection and Cash Equivalent transactions. See ⁷ below for explanation. Default APR: Variable APR is 27.24% for all Purchase, Balance Transfer, and Cash Advance Balances if late or overlimit. See ² below for explanation.
Variable-Rate Information	Your APRs may vary. For each billing cycle, we determine each APR by adding a margin to the prevailing U.S. Prime Rate. The margin for the Standard Variable APR for Purchases and Balance Transfers is between 8.74% and 16.74%. The margin for the Standard Variable APR for Cash Advances is 20.99%. The margin for the Default APR is up to 23.99%. See ³ below for explanation.
Grace Period for repayment of balance for Purchases	At least 20 days from the statement Closing Date (provided you fully paid your New Balance Total from the previous statement by its Payment Due Date). See ⁴ below for explanation.
Method of computing the balance for Purchases	Average Daily Balance (including new purchases).
Minimum Finance Charge	$1.50
Annual Fee	None
Transaction fee for Purchases	Transaction fee for the purchase of wire transfers from a non-financial institution: 5% of each such transaction (minimum $15).
Foreign Transactions	Transaction Fee for any transaction made in a foreign currency and any transaction made in U.S. Dollars that is processed outside the United States: 3% of the U.S. Dollar amount of each such transaction. This fee will be in addition to any other applicable fee.

Fee for Balance Transfers and Direct Deposits that are subject to the Introductory APR: 3% of each such transaction (minimum $10). See ⁵ and ⁶ below for explanation.
Standard Balance Transfer Fee: 4% of each such transaction (minimum $10).
Standard Cash Advance Fees:
Direct Deposits and Check Cash Advances: 4% of each such transaction (minimum $10).
ATM Cash Advances, Bank Cash Advances, and Cash Equivalent transactions: 5% of each such transaction (minimum $15).
Overdraft Protection Cash Advances (if enrolled): 3% of each such transaction (minimum $10).
Late Fee: Based on your balance as of the day the fee is assessed - $15 if $0 - $100; $29 if between $100.01 - $250; $39 if $250.01 or over.
Overlimit Fee: $39.
¹ The Introductory APR is effective upon the opening of your account and does not apply to Purchases or Cash Advances, other than Direct Deposits. When the Introductory APR ends, the Standard (non-introductory) Variable APR is calculated using the Variable-Rate Information and is applied to new and outstanding balances (consisting of Balance Transfers). If your payment is late or the account balance is over the credit limit, the Standard Variable APR will be applied to those balances as of the first day of the billing cycle in which the payment was late or the balance exceeded the credit limit. We reserve the right to change the APRs in our discretion including, for example, the margins.

² When your minimum payment is either late (i.e., not received by 5 p.m., ET, on its Payment Due Date), or the account balance is over the credit limit, on any two occasions within 12 consecutive months, we may increase each of your account's Standard Variable APRs up to the Variable Default APR. The Variable Default APR will be applied to all new and outstanding balances. APRs will be reduced a minimum of two percentage points, possibly as low as the previously applicable Standard Variable APR(s), after six consecutive months of making payments on time and not exceeding your credit limit.

³ The U.S. Prime Rate used to determine your APRs for each billing cycle is the highest rate appearing in The Wall Street Journal at any time within the immediately preceding three months. On May 29, 2009, the U.S. Prime Rate applicable using this formula was 3.25%.

******************************************************

These changes were effective June 1, 2009. And, here are those from Discover Card:

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) For Purchases	0.0% until the last day of the billing period ending during December 2009;* then the standard APR, a rate between 10.99% variable and 18.99% variable
Other APRs	Balance Transfers: 0.0% until the last day of the billing period ending during March 2010;* then the standard APR for purchases Cash Advances: 23.99% variable Default Rate: Up to 29.99%* variable
Variable Rate Information	The standard purchase APR may vary monthly and equals the Prime Rate plus an amount between 7.74% and 15.74%. The cash advance APR may vary monthly and equals the Prime Rate +20.74%.^† The default APR may vary monthly and equals the Prime Rate + up to 27.99%, but such rate will never exceed 29.99%.
Grace Period for Repayment of the Balance of Purchases	At least 25 days when you pay your balance in full each month
Method of Computing the Balance for Purchases	Average Daily Balance (including new purchases)
Foreign Currency Transaction Fee	2% of the U.S. dollar amount of each purchase made in a foreign currency
Annual Fee	$0.00
Minimum Finance Charge	$0.50
Other Fees	BALANCE TRANSFER TRANSACTION FEES: 4.0% for each balance transfer made under this offer, with a minimum of $0. CASH ADVANCE TRANSACTION FEE: 3% for each cash advance, with a minimum of $5 and no maximum. LATE FEE: $19 on balances up to $250 and $39 on balances over $250. OVERLIMIT FEE: $15 on balances up to $500, and $39 on balances over $500.

It looks like credit card companies are raising there fees, as well as their APR+Prime before the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 becomes in effect in 2010. I know Capital One still charges 3% with no max for Balance Transfers and cash advances (they'll charge 3% fee if you transfer a balance to their card with a 0% APR for 11 months; or, you can choose 0% fee to the card with a 12.9% transfer APR). They're sneaky; they have some cards with annual fee, some without, some with rewards, and it different APR depending on if your credit is excellent, good, fair, or poor.

Linens and mervyns victims of the credit and economic crisis

2008-10-20T20:36:00.008-05:00

I've been gone for some time. While the closing of stores such as CrazyEddies, TwoGuys, Rickels, Herman's Sporting Goods, Caldors, Bradlees, Nobody Beats the Wiz, to name a few, are old news, the more recent news (okay a few years) was Ames and KitchenEtc. Also, a Kmart close to me was closed; but there was another one still nearby. In addition, a signficant number of CompUSA stores closed doors. Now there are only just a few CompUSA around the US. As a result of the recent economic downturn in 3rd quarter 2008, slumping sales, decline in real estate market, downturn in consumer spending and frozen credit markets, both Linens-N-Things and mervyns have announced the closings of all their stores. LNT filed Ch.11 in May'08, but since they had problems to meet needs of creditors, decided to pull the plug on all US stores. LNT closeout sales began Oct. 16, 2008 Thursday. Mervyns (CA-based) is expected to close its stores after the holiday shopping season. Today, CircuitCity announced it will close ~150 stores (including those poor performing ones) to prevent itself from filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I'm not sure which stores will be closing, and what happens to their current inventories--will it be liquified at reduced prices (compared to their most popular competitors BestBuy, RadioShack, PC Richards, Target, Expo). Of course, sometimes those warehouse wholesale stores of Sam's Club, Costco, and BJ's sell electronics too. It's sad for these stores to go; as it also means several hundreds of jobs will be lost, and eventually vacant lots and less business taxes to local economies. Unfortunately, I dont need anything at LNT; but, when they start offering great buys, I may just browse their store to see things that I would like to have for my future home. At that time, usually the junk is left or the most expensive items that people just dont buy even at reduced prices.

What has happened recently

2008-10-19T22:46:00.007-05:00

It's October 19, 2008 Sunday night.
Dow @8852.22; Nasdaq @1711.29; S&P500 @940.55; 10Yr Treasury Note=3.938%; 30-Yr Treasury Bond=4.312%; DJ Utility average=345.6; DowTransportation=3692.73; Nasdaq Biotech=700.74; S&P Smallcap600=282.33; S&P400MidCap=550.01; Russell2000=526.43; Worldwide: Nikkei225=8739.70; TSE Reit idx=818.84; Topix500 TSE Idx=719.20; TopixMid400 TseIdx=871.88; Seoul Composite=1176.79; KRX Index=1171.87; KRX100=2469.54; KOSDAQ Idx=344.20(south korea); BSE30 india=9975.35; Bombay stock ex500 idx=3771.68; HangSeng=14899.24; HangSeng China Ent Idx=7224.56; Dhaka SE Idx=2881.70; HangSeng Mainland25 Ix=4750.07; Shanghai Composite=1913.18; CSI 300 Idx=1828.66; KLSE composite=905.23; Singapore Strait Times=1899.74; Taiwan Taiex Indx=4832.88; Dax=4781.33; CAC40=3329.92; Thai Set50 Idx=327.35; BEL-20=2015.30; PSEi-Philippine SE Idx=2057.84; HO Chi Minh Stock Idx=370.80; FTSE100=4063.01; SwissMarket=6099.62; S&P/ASX=4086.20; NZX 15 Gross Idx=5156.82; NZX ALL Idx=741.66; Karachi100 Idx=9184.24; Karachi ALL Share Idx=6641.45; Mexico Bolsa Index=20312.83; Mexico INMEX Idx=1106.33; Brazil Bovespa Stock Idx=36399.09; DJ Euro TOXX50=2532.17; IBEX35=9655.20; S&P/TSX Composite (Canada)=9562.49; S&P/MIB=21645.00; AEX=252.26; OMX Stockholm30=632.24; Arentina Merval Idx=1216.02; Chile StockMkt Select=2433.04; Venezuela Stock MkIdx=36161.29; Peru General Idx=7906.32; BCT Corp Costa Rica Idx=27312.41; Bermuda StkExch=3717.34; JSE Market Idx (Jamaica)=94727.02;.
Commodities: Brent Crude future=70.57/bbl; Natural Gas Fut=6.9/MMBtu; WTI Crude fut=73.01/bbl; Cocoa future=2122/MT; coffee C future=115.60/lb; corn future=417.25/bu; cotton #2 future=52.57/lb; soybeans=940.00/bu; sugar #11 world=11.58/lb; wheat future CBT=573.00/bu.; Gold 100oz fut=784.00/t oz; silver fut=9.75/t oz. Cattle feeders=98.05/lb; live cattle future=92.80/lb.; nymex crude=73.01; NYC Gate natural gas spot=7.11;
Silver is moving at 9.39; Platinum=876; Gold=784 (down 20 from weekend).
Things have changed alot since my last post in 2006. ING savings is @2.75%. Average 12-month CD's 4.10%. WaMu is now JPM-Chase; as well as Bear Sterns. Wachovia is now WellsFargo. Countrywide is with Bank of America, as well as Merrill Lynch. Lehman Brothers gone! GoldmanSachs gets $5bill from Buffett! Banco Santander acquires northeast Sovereign Bank. AIG gets $85bill from US government. Alot has changed. Credit crisis now. Debt obligations and investment of debt has gone wild. Foreclosures have increased dramatically in 2007 and 2008!

Where Have I Been

2006-12-28T17:26:00.000-05:00

OK. The story: I havent been blogging for the past 4 months. Why? I've been just too busy at work; too busy reading other blogs; too busy posting comments on blogs; and just overall busy with other things to spend time writing here. For some reason I thought I would be writing everyday, about a topic. However, that gets tedious and sometimes useless for both me and you. I've seen many blog posts daily that are just boring; they are daily comments on something they read in their local newspaper, magazine, tv, or online. For me, doing that everyday is not useful for both me and the reader. To me, that's just a filler. Sure, I'll do it. But, to do it everyday, and in rare cases a good topic from the blogger. That's uncalled for. So, maybe that's why I dont post alot; i dont want to fall into the class of posting daily just to post and keep readers. In addition, I do not subscribe to any of the blogger feeds, even though they're free and easy to sign up.

So, what has happened over the last few months. Overall, things have been quite expensive. Food. Housing. Oil. Utilities. Car. Health insurance (greater employee contributions). My income has not increased with regular living expenses. So, I had to devise ways to save money, but still have some money for entertainment. I followed my advise on saving electricity costs. Always turned off computer when not in use. Luckily, the fall-winter season has been quite mild with only 1 time that required heating. So far that's good. I try to take care of errands that are on-the-way home instead of making an extra special trip. As a no-brainer, I signed up for my local grocery stores' cards for sale prices. Unfortunately, luxury entertainment such as online radio service (ie.Rhapsody), satellite radio (ie.Sirius) are not part of my expenses. No netflix since my local video store has cheaper rates, and are walking distance from my place.

In general: gas (87) is $2.3399/gal; milk $2.5/gal; 8oz yogurt $0.59; 18oz bread $1.59; electricity is ~15c/kWh. Mortgage rates for 30yr-fixed are about the same from early on; around 6.50-6.75% with no points, not including closing and loan fees. CD rates for most 6-12month have dropped since afew months ago. Savings accounts are about the same for high-yielding, online banks: HSBCdirect, Emigrantdirect, and new E-trade Complete Savings are at 5.05%apy; INGdirect at 4.50%. Newcomers, to name a few only: AmTrustDirect at 5.30%,$1kmin; AmboyDirect 5.25%; GMACbank 5.20%,$500min; TheAppleBank.com/grandyielddirect at 5.27% (with $25bonus code 789-expires unknown).

Prices for condos in my surrounding area have dropped since the first half of 2006. But, still, homes are pricey. I noticed the new condo that i was thinking about has dropped its price to around 230-235k; but that was when rates were 6.875-7%. There were one disadvantage to that condo; it's in a flood zone area, which requires flood insurance. Plus, the main drag to get to the highway is difficult to get on, especially when making a left. No traffic lights; no 4-way stop signs. Renting is still better for me; since I'm not planning to be where I am in 5 years, and my job is very insecure. ...Rents in my area are still high; 1-br is $950-$1100, with or without heat. If i moved to a town further away from the city, the rent drops ~$0-$50. Further away, I could potentially save ~$100-125/month; which is something I may consider.

No Liquids Beyond Airport Security Checkpoints -- The Confiscated Items Should be donated

2006-08-12T06:21:00.000-05:00

I was on a short vacation trip -- . I packed all my clothes and stuff in one carry-on luggage. I flew home Saturday morning, and was glad that I got at the airport 2.5 hours before my flight time. After I got at the airport and checked in at a kiosk, the lines at the security checkpoint were long. Very long. Luckily, I had my bagel and drink to eat while waiting.

Some people in line told me that their friends had to give up their unopened wines, as well as the common household goods: toothpaste, shaving cream, perfume, colgne, shampoos, lotions, body washes. You name it; anything liquid was not allowed on you or in your carry-on luggage after the news broke out on Thursday August 10th of several people were arrested in Britain airport carrying weapons in these household goods. Frightening, but relieved on their security. It made me think; I wonder if the US airport security firm wouldve picked it up? In any case, since i'm into savingeverything, where should all the confiscated household goods, liquids and bottle wines go? It disturbed me to see that it was placed in large dumpster bins, along with normal trash found at airports. Are they going to throw it all away? Are the TSA security people going to save the wine bottles as their own personal gift after their shifts? In my opinion, the airports should donate these goods to the local charities -- of course, after making sure it's safe. I'm sure alot of poor people who would really appreciate these items; it's a waste for all these items to go to waste! There were unopened soda and water bottles, moisturizers, shampoos, wines, and other alcohols (mainly from international flights with tax free duties.) Hmmm. I guess all the sales at the duty-free airport stores (for international flights only) will be dried up. No more buying duty-free alcohol from international flights! Darn! Sometimes you can get really good deals on the alcohols. No more. No more sales for them. Oh well, maybe that's a good thing that you cant bring alcohol liquids in your carry-ons.

Either way, I felt bad that lots of things were being thrown away. And, these large dumpster bins in the airport checkpoint were used for all the banned items on airplanes, along with regular airport waste. That's aweful. It means that all of these items, whether they were opened or unopened, will just sit wastefully at a nearby landfill. Unless, all the airport staff will go throught the stuff and take whatever they want at the end of their shifts. Do you think they will do that? Probably not. But, if they confiscated unopened alcohols (wines), maybe. It's sad. I'm sure many poor people are hoping that they can get their hands on these items. I think all of these items should be donated to local charity programs or city human services departments. All safe items should be given to the local charities; and they will greatly appreciate receiving all the shaving creams, shampoos, moisturizers, perfumes, colgnes, lotions, contact eye solutions, toothpastes, bottled waters and juices and sodas; everything--you name it. While it would frustrate us travelers, it would be a nice gesture to realize that it would help others. It is more irritating to see it go to waste and literally in the waste bins, then to see it be given to poor people.

I also took a loss at the checkpoint. I donated my remnants of my liquid stuff to some stranger on the street before I got in the car service to the airport. But, here is the rest of the stuff that the airport security took from my carry-on luggage: deodorant (it was a small size that I received as a free trial sample), the tiny toothpaste tube (which my dentist gave at my cleaning), body lotion and shampoo (which I took from the hotel), another hotel shampoo I mustv'e had in one of the pockets of my bag that i was unaware of. They asked me to throw away the bottled juice that I was almost finished with. At first I was like "You gotta be kiding me. We both can see what's in it and my receipt was in my hand with my boarding pass." But, I took a last gulp of it and threw the rest in the trash bin. I think i was the only one that probably didnt lose too much. The lady behind me lost her perfume, lipstick, deodorant, and a tiny toothpaste like mine. She was really friendly and we talked some more as we departed to our gates. I told her about how all this stuff should be donated instead of thrown away. She said that's a good idea, but was annoyed that her stuff was taken away.

OO. Another idea. Maybe I will just hang out at the airport and periodically go through the bins to take unopened items, bag it, and take it to my car. Hmm? Actually, the short-term parking rates doesnt pay to do this. But, if in the city and the airport is accessed through public transportation, then I'd make several trips with large trash bags in hopes to find wines and many expensive perfumes, colognes, and other items for my personal keeps. Would I be asked to leaev?

AOL --Release of Search Histories; Was It a Publicity Stunt?

2006-08-10T20:13:00.000-05:00

According to various Internet sources, AOL's research.aol/pmwiki website had information regarding all of AOL's keyword searches history for the past 3 months. It was available online for serveral hours before AOL finally noticed and took it off, on Sunday August 6, '06. Approximately 658,000 of its users' search terms were published online. While AOL removed it and eventually released a statement of apology, that information may still be on the Internet (of course not aol anymore.) The actual user names were not posted; only a unique, random number id for each user. However, depending on what their keyword searches were, it may be possible to identify the user, or at least find out what h/she likes. That's scary! Recently, NYTimes identified one of the users, No. 4417749, and wrote up a story on Aug.9th. The person behind that number in the NYTimes said "In response, she plans to drop her AOL subscription. 'We all have a right to privacy', she said, 'Nobody should have found this all out.'" Unfortunately, all AOL can do is apologize. But, damage is done. Maybe in her case, they will offer her 6 months of free internet plus free credit monitoring just to show that they (AOL) cares for the privacy and protecting their users. Either way, I'm upset at AOL.

Actually, i think the release and timing was funny. AOL has been suffering quarter after quarter of AOL dial-up subscribers cancelling memberships. So, they recently decided that they will offer many of their premium services for free. Now you can open up an aol-dotcom webmail address. However, after the disclosure of the keyword searches intentially? or by accident? Would you use their free services? I wouldnt. But, maybe they did it purposefully so that people would go to their website to search the info.... and while the people are at AOL, they will be exposed to the ads and multi-media that AOL-TimeWarner has to offer. This drives traffic, more ad dollars, and hopefully more clicks and more exposure to aol sites, and more aol ads. And, maybe, people will buy music, videos, TimeWarner shows, or subscribe to one of TimeWarner's magazines. Or, maybe that's wishful thinking. I actually used a non-aol search engine to find information about the story. I never went to aol's or timewarner's websites. If i were the lady from the NYTimes story, I would try to get a hold of various internet privacy protection groups and push for legal protection of user information online.

Housing Foreclosures Are On The Rise

2006-08-10T08:28:00.000-05:00

This post describes what's going on nowadays. Home foreclosures are rising throughout the US, and most experts are predicting more. Why? I thought people who bought homes and condos have fully prepared their budgets for home ownership. I also thought most people considered fixed rate mortgages, especially at a time of low interest rates... in order to lock in the rate so that when rates go up or stay the same, they'll be safe. However, it seems that there are several factors that play in becoming default of your mortgage. First, source of income. If you lose your job, then you have no income for the month or few months to pay your mortgage. Second, I've learnt that alot of people bought homes with the alternate mortgage plans: ARMS. ARM loans are tightly linked with the current interest rates; after the first fixed-rate term ends, the interest rate gets readjusted accordingly to the current mortgage interest rates. Ok, that's obvious... because back in 2003-4, interest rates were around 5-6%, and today, they are between 6.5-7%. Third, slower appreciation for homes. As interest rates have rose during the past 18 months, the cost to borrow a large sum of money for a home gets more expensive. It hinders several buyers such as myself. This causes an increase in supply of houses on the market, and eventually, the owners have been (or will be) forced to lower the price of their homes to sell it.

The lessons: alway financially plan your budgets; dont take risky loans that will fluctuate with current interest rates after a defined term; dont buy anything if you can not save some money for emergencies (and maybe just an extra 100 is not enough for saving for you liquid emergency cash fund.)

The articles that inspired me to write this post on savingeverything: Bay Area foreclosures spike, even though historically low, Houston foreclosures highest since 1989 (wasnt this the same time house prices dropped?), Massachusetts foreclosures skyrocketed, and an article that says National Foreclosures decreased in the recent quarter but are up 25% since 2005.

Credit Cards: Using the 0% Balance Transfer Offers To Get Free Money

2006-08-09T06:54:00.006-05:00

If you are very conscientious, very good with paying bills on time, and a responsible credit card user, then this is something to consider if you have the time, patience, and due diligence to pay on time and keep track of dates and money. The general idea: open a new credit card with 1 of those mail-in offers (or online) (of course, making sure the terms of conditions are favorable with 0% interest for 1 year, no balance transfer fees for the term of the new offer, and then do the balance transfer, transfer the balance to another credit card; then, get the money in a check from the other credit card, and put the money into your checking account, and transfer it to a high-yielding savings account or 3-,6-,9-month CD to earn the current interest rates (of ~5%+). Pay the minimum payments due each month, and maybe a few extra dollars to show willingness to payback credit debt (which may favor credit reports.) Do not use the credit card for anything else! During the last month of your 0% interest offer, move money out of savings into checking, and pay off the full balance due by the due date (or else you will be charged the current interest rate for your card, which may vary from 10-18%, not including any default rates for late payment or other.)

A good blogger on personal finance at mymoneyblog described this process in great detail with very nice examples. He does say you have to be very careful with what the offer reads; because some cards, even during promotional period may charge a balance transfer fee.

Interestingly, this is not new. Almost 10 years ago, my sister did the same thing. However, during that time, balance transfers and some convenient checks actually had grace periods similar to purchases and had no transaction fees. Only cash advances had transaction fees (which were 2% then) and no grace period. She told me that she used one of those checks and simply wrote it to herself. There were no fees or finance charges on it for several months. She invested in the stock market and money market mutual funds with the money, while maintaining the minimum payments due each month. Of course, those days there were no online, high-yielding saving accounts.... not even NetBank (which started around 1997-8). She did quite well, probably earned more than interest rates of that time.... but she stopped doing it once the terms of her credit cards changed to make balance transfers and convenience checks have no grace period, and started charging transaction fees for using balance transfers (at 2%, upto $25-50 during that time.) Unfortunately, most credit card companies charge 3% for balance transfers, with a maximum between $60-75 (MBNA cards do not state any maximums for balance transfer fees. That's scary!) Almost everything has no grace periods, with the exception of purchases, which generally now only has 20 day grace. It used to be like 28 days. Cash advances are now 3% with $10min, no max, and no grace periods.

So, if you want to learn about the details and fine prints on how to take advantage of getting some free money from zero percent balance transfer offers from your credit cards, then go over to mymoneyblog. Note of caution: I think it only works if you are responsible and good with credit cards and payments. Have a great day!

Getting Into MBA School Is More Difficult, But Pay Is Great!

2006-08-07T07:54:00.003-05:00

Getting a MBA degree has been on my mind recently. While I'm a bit scared to go back to school again, especially in an area where I have no prior education in, it can definitely provide more opportunities and career growth. Recently, there was an article describing how MBA programs see an increase in applications. This means it's going to be more difficult to get accepted; probably similar to the med school application process. Interestingly, there seems to be more international students applying to American MBA programs than ever before. No matter what, the admission process is going to be more competitive; which means I'll need a better GMAT score, and have good references and strong application (essays).

Why go to MBA school?
I dont know. I took micro- & macro-economics as an undergrad; but didn't do well. I took a MIS course and did okay; but, never had a sincere interest. After working for few years, I have become interested in how businesses operate. I have discussed my interest with the CFO of my company (very friendly guy who likes to joke around alot). He said having the MBA gives you more responsibility at work, and sometimes very long hours of work. Some of his duties include the quarterly and annual reports, doing taxes, producing several models and projections of the financials, assisting payroll, and signing all checks. Hmmmm. I dont know. I would like the idea of participating in business development and building business relationships. That's fun. But, the real reason: the fatt paycheck each month!

The Salary of MBA's:
MBA's starting salaries impressed me: from surveys by the GMAC, it says graduates who completed a MBA in 2006 and accepted job offers are expected to earn an average $92,300 (up 4.2% from 2005). But, the article also notes: less than 3yrs experience: $68,399 +$10,700 bonus; 3-6years experience earn $81,700 with signing $16,000; 6+ years, earn $100k+ and signing $17,500 (averages). The industry you are in also plays a factor: healthcare/pharmaceuticals $85.4k; Energy/utilities $79.2k; Manufacturing $82k; High tech $87.6k; Finance/accounting $78.3k; Products/services $77.1k; Nonprofit/government $63.2k. Graduates with a BA in business management administration earn on average $41,976 (based on surveys for 2006). Other times, I ask, do I need be an entrepeneur? I hope not, because I dont think I have that ability. I'll have to consider all this. Another report, based on Carnegie Mellon's graduates' survey, says that the average starting salary of MBA is $94,900. The average student loan debt for MBA is $59,340. University of Pittsburgh has preliminary data of graduates starting earning at $71,000 (September they will know what it is.) One article I read said that while 2/3 respondents earn more than $75,000, they work 4 hours more than other individuals in professional field. At UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School, MBA graduates heading into financial services earned on average $92,000 in 2005 (from only $78,600 in 2004). Hearsay told me that a Harvard MBA graduate will earn about $100k, but in debt for a 9-month term of $66,000 (mutliplied by 2.3 since for the full 2-year program.) According to Forbes' M.B.A. reality check, real estate and development MBAs make $112.9k; consultant MBA $108.9k; financial services $94.4k (all with average signing bonus of $10,000.)

Nobel Laureate Tonegawa at MIT Stirred Up Controversy

2006-08-07T07:13:00.000-05:00

Trying to get a job? Dr. Alla Karpova seriously wanted to start her career and research program at MIT. However, Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, Nobel-famed and Biology Professor who studies the molecular, cellular, and neuronal mechanisms of hippocampus-dependent (brain) memory, has been described as a strong leader who has shown fierce competition in the science world, which others say may be harmful to the university in advancing science and recruiting the best, young talent, and women. The major accusation: He sabotaged Karpova's appointment at MIT. She got an offer from MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research as an assistant professor position. But, he sent emails to her and colleagues about so-called problems she would face if she came to MIT, and problems about the uneasy atmosphere between the interdisciplinary institutes at MIT (McGovern, Biology, and Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, which Tonegawa heads.) Furthermore, Karpova wanted Tonegawa to serve as mentor and collaborator in research--something that MIT tries to support in their efforts to expand interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Tonegawa declined. So, Karpova took a job in Virginia at a new Howard Hughs Medical Institute. And, MIT is now investigating their recruiting process.

Work as a Price Checker of Goods and Services for the Labor Department

2006-08-06T15:20:00.000-05:00

The monthly consumer price index (CPI) reported by the Department of Labor is computed by determining the average of prices of specified set of goods and services purchased by thos who earn wages in urban areas. The CPI is used as an economic indicator, especially for the Federal Reserve in deciding about interest rates. I found a recent article on price checkers assemble the inflation report. This means that the prices of the monthly CPI are determined by old-fashioned techniques of people going to stores and finding all sorts of products, and recording their prices. It sounds like a fun job; maybe a bit tedious and stressful, since you have to cover many merchants and products within your region within a specific time every month. Plus, you have to carry a computer system for entering information. I actually saw one at my local grocery store on the 14th in the evening. She was professionally dressed; maybe she had another job/career during the day. She quickly scanned various products; it looked as if she was randomnly selecting anything she can get a her hands on. But, maybe it's because the products were on her list, and she's been doing it for a while. I was gonna stop her and talk about her job since it looks easy and probably pays decently. However, she quickly moved away onto another aisle. At one point, she was reading the labels of a product, made some notation on her computer, scanned the product, and left to another section of the store.

Another story from July2006 where the job as "economic assistant" is decribed in more detail: Mrs. Murphey's morning activity to check prices as "inflation detective". During busy times, all of the ~450 Bureau of Statistics (Department of Labor) employees throughout the US visit about 45 stores in a 10-day period to get prices on 150 items. And I'm sure they have more. Every month they do this; travel same stores, obtain prices on the same products; and send the data to their employer. I wonder if the job requires a business or math/statistics degree. I also wonder if there is more data crunching that must be done at home prior to reporting the info to the Dept of Labor? In any case, from the 2 articles, this type of job is part-time job.

So, the next time you go shopping and see someone carrying a BlueTooth, Palm or small computer, and with a scanner, you'll now know that they're probably working for the government.

Ways To Save Money and Save Electricity During The Summer

2006-08-05T21:00:00.001-05:00

With the summer heat, higher energy demands, and higher costs for electricity, it would be nice to save as much electricity as you possibly can. The reward, of course, is saving money, saving electricity, and saving resources. Here are some useful, some common sense, tips for saving energy and money: :)

Use ENERGY STAR air conditioners, since they are the most energy efficient models on the market [of course, all ENERGY STAR appliances are more expensive than one without; but, it may be well worth the initial cost compared to the added energy savings!]
For central air conditioning systems, the more energy efficient the system is, the more cooling you get for your dollar. All central AC units with a SEER value (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) of 13 or better are considered ENERGY STAR compliant. I helped my parents get a SEER 14 unit last year; and they do notice the house gets cooler much faster than their old system. They also got a new heating unit; but my parents say the bill was about the same as the year before (primarily because electric companies rose their rates!)
For wall/window air conditioner units, the higher the EER value is, the more savings. Again, ENERGY STAR and higher EER units cost more at the store; but the energy savings may be well worth it! Most units are between 8.0-11.5. (Note: BTU has nothing to do with efficiency; it is the British Thermal Unit, which is the amount of heat the AC can remove from a room. A small room of ~150 sqft would be sufficient with a 5,000 BTU unit. A 400-450 sqft room would need 10,000 BTU/hr. Matching Btu requirements to room size is important.)
Note about ENERGY STAR appliances: Check with your electric company for special rebate offers. They periodically have special offers for mail-in rebates on new purchases of ENERGY STAR products.
If you have central AC, keep the thermostat at 78 degrees. It is estimated you can save an additional 5-7% off your cooling costs for each degree above 78. However, I think this is uncomfortable. When home, I prefer around 74-76. When not home, I would increase it to 79-80... so that I dont cool the house when no one is there to use it.
Close all windows, curtains, blinds, shades, covers (especially windows facing the south and west). Limit as much of daylight sun as possible, since this causes rooms to be warmer. (At nights, you may want to open the windows to allow the summer cool breezes enter the room. If you have allergies, then this is not an option. You can use the fan setting at night when the air outside is cool.)
Consider installing a whole house fan, or ceiling fan to create a cool breeze and keep the air circulating.
Check the AC filter at least 2x's furing the warm season, and clean it.
If AC has a timer, set it to turn on no more than 20 minutes before you expect to return home. Or, just wait 'till you get home to turn on the fan and AC.
When you are not home, it is best to either set the temperature high enough to keep the AC off, or just have the AC unit off. It's wasteful to have the AC continuously on when no one is using it. Even at night, you dont need the AC on full-blast at a cold temperature.
Using portable fans are much cheaper than using your AC.
On humid days, if your refrigerator has a switch for "power saver", use it. When the switch is on, small heaters keep the outside from condensation. On other days, turn this off. For efficient energy saving tip, make sure the fan vent is clean and the coils in the back are clear from dust. Dusty coils make the compressor harder to work and uses more electricity.
Try to postpone doing laundry and dishwashing until nighttime to avoid generating the extra heat they give off. Better yet, after the wash and rinse cycles, take your dishes out and allow them to air dry. This will save energy to dry off your dishes, and prevent the hot air and steam that would enter the kitchen. For laundry, if it's possible, do not use the dryer. Air dry your clothes on a clothes line or drying rack-- put the drying rack in a room that is the warmest, or put it on an enclosed porch or somewhere outside (backyard).
Use your microwave or countertop appliances for cooking instead of the oven or stove. Better yet, try to limit all indoor cooking. A grill is a great investment for the spring, summer, fall, and sometimes winter cooking. Plus, grilling and eating outside will lessen your need to have the AC on in the house!
If possible, keep your air conditioner out of the sun; but do not block the vents!
Turn your water heater down to 115-120 degrees will save you money. It's comfortable!
Replace all incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs (Energy Star bulbs too). "For each bulb you replace, you can save from $10 or more on your electric costs over the life of the bulb." That's what my electric company says. Plus, the bulbs' life expectancy is 10,000 hours, compared to ~750-950 hours for standard bulbs. 75W is replaced with 20W. 100W is replaced with 26 or 27W. 150W replaced with 30W.
Turn off appliances when not in use, such as the TV, DVD/VCR, computer, printer. Better yet, if they're connected to a powerstrip, turn off the power strip when not in use.
T
Planting trees or shrubs (especially ones with leaves that fall during the winter) provide an extra shade to the house and windows, depending on where they are located. You want to block the strong daylight sun during the summer. (In winter, the leaves have fallen off, and will provide sunlight to enter for heat.)
Double pane windows are better (energy efficient windows are good!)
Weatherize, caulk and weatherstip. Prevent air leaks, drafts from doors and windows.
Add insulation around the AC ducts when they are located in non-cooling spaces like the garage, attics.
The fireplace damper should be tightly closed, if available.

The 70,000 Beer Cans In An Ogden Townhouse

2006-08-05T14:11:00.000-05:00

This blog is all about savingeverything. So, in the photos below, I show the extreme to savingeverything. While this is old news, I thought I had to show something that represents the central theme of this blog: to save everything. Ok, maybe not everything. I recycle all of my used cans once a month.

70,000 beer cans in an apartment-townhouse in Ogden, UT were discovered in 2005. Plus, just trash... as you can see there's papertowels and cups throughout the piles of cans. After removing all of the cans from the townhouse (including bottles; there's a Pepsi bottle in 1 picture), the landlord recovered $800. Accordingly, the man living in the apartment was good with paying rent on time and vacating himself out of the apartment. The landlord probably also sold the furniture at a garage sale or something? Yuk. Do you think the tenant (a man) (and maybe some of his friends) rinsed out all of the cans and bottles after drinking?

Music Downloads and the RIAA

2006-08-04T20:23:00.001-05:00

It's amazing how times have changes over the few years. During the Internet boom of 1999, I thought downloading music for free will be cherished and would hurt the music industry. The way most people downloaded music was by sharing music on to computer networks and using early 1st generation peer-to-peer (p2p) networks. They required software, such as Aimster, Madster, old-defunct Napster, Morpheus, Kazaa, and the like. Well, the music industry definitely felt greedy and started a revenge to sue against its listeners. The RIAA started filing lawsuits against those who uploaded music to such networks; the RIAA even got on these networks and got usernames of those wanting RIAA-label music. Then, they headed to media and the courts; it made news that "downloading music is illegal". Or, did they really mean, uploading music on shared network is illegal. I think the recording industry are a bunch of greedy businessmen and lawyers. Various surveys suggest that the music downloading is here to stay; and whether the music is free, 50c, 85c, 99c, people need to hear the music free before plunging the bucks for the albums. I know some music artists, who would never enlist themselves with the greed and contracts of the labels associated with the RIAA. There's stories where artists get screwd with their contracts; and some want to get out. So, I hail to the independent labels (indies) and their music. Heck, most of the music on radio stations (such as those owned by Clear Channel) are all just RIAA music; they give radio stations music for free to promote music and eventually sales. RIAA has pushed all online music stores to place restrictions on how many copies, rips, etc. on the downloaded music. It was ridiculous; you cant put music on a second computer, blah blah. However, in 2008, various outlets have now began selling music without those DRM (digital right management-which placed restrictions on the music files). This is a drastic change by the music industry, and cheer them on (finally!) Of course, there's the Apple iPods and then there's.... the rest (Zen? Zune? ??) No matter what, since I save everything, I will still listen to music for free; I refuse to buy any music or artist that is associated with a RIAA-label. There's a website that can tell you if an artist is RIAA-label; or you could just look at the list of all labels at the riaa's website. So, most of music taste has changed because of the John Doe lawsuits the RIAA has pursued in 2004 and beyond. My music is mostly independent labels, where artists provide their music for free. Why for free? Because I like some of their music, and when I hear they're touring near my area, I will be happy to pay to go see them. That's where the artists get some income; in addition to album sales. Plus, most indie labels sell their music at various music download stores, like emusic.

Question of the Day Marathon for Aug4th

2006-08-04T19:57:00.000-05:00

Blogger Ricemutt at Experiments in Finance had Day #4 Question: How many credit card do you have, and what's their combined credit limits? Kind of neat to see what the average # of cards and limits readers and other pfbloggers have (it depends of course if they are including husband-n-wife, business credit cards; and their ages... since a 19yr old will probably have less than a 30 yr old.)

No Sales Tax HoliDays in some states

2006-08-03T08:33:00.001-05:00

It's that time of the year! School season is approaching soon. Several states have decided to offer a "sales tax holiday" for certain shopping days in August. These are great since you will pay no sales tax during the period. Here's a list of the ceilings placed by the states where sales tax is exempt (sales tax free) upto these prices per item (for 2006):

AL: Aug4-6 clothing 100; computers 750; school stuff 50; books 30
CT: Aug 20-26 clothing $300
D.C.: Aug 5-14 clothing
FL: July 22-30 clothing 50, school stuff 10; May21-June1 hurricane stuff; Oct5-11,energy-efficient appliances
GA: Aug 3-6 clothing 100; school stuff 20; computers $1000; energy-efficient stuff $1500
IA: Aug 4-5 clothing 100
MD: Aug 23-27 clothing 100
MA: Aug 12-13 all retail items 2500
MO: Aug 4-6 clothing 100, school stuff 50, computers 3500
NM: Aug 4-6 clothing 100, school stuff 15, computers 1000
NC: Aug 4-6 clothing 100, computers 3500;
SC: Aug 4-6 clothing, school stuff, computers, check http://www.sctax.org
TN: Aug 4-6 clothing 100, school stuff 100, computers 1500
TX: Aug4-6 clothing 100
VA: Aug 4-6 clothing 100, school stuff 20
NY: the first state to institute the "no-sales-tax holiday" in 1997-thru 2005; This year, none!
(NY had temporary sales and use tax exemption of clothing, footwear, and items used to make or repair exempt clothing that cost less than $110 per item or pair the week of Jan 30-Feb 5, 2006)

AL, DE, NH : year-round, no sales tax
NJ, PA: no sales tax on clothing (there are other states that have this too.)

It's best to check with your own state's government websites or Department of Taxation/Finance for more details about state sales tax for purchases or services.

Numbers for mortgages at different rates

2006-08-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

House: 1-BR condo, 1st level of 3-story multi-dwelling condo, ~630-730 sq ft., has central air!
Buy: 162,500 Down: 32,500 Loan: 130,000 Type: 1-BR condo, ~630 or 730 sq ft
Monthly Tax: 125 Condo Fee: 175 (utilities not included; water included in condo fee)

As of August 1, 2006:
based on Loan of 130k, 30 yr loan, the mortgage payments are estimated to be the following:
130,000 7.25%,30y, 886.82
130,000 7.00%,30y, 864.89
130,000 6.875%,30y, 854.00
130,000 6.75%,30y, 843.17
ING @4.35%; GMACbank & Emigrant @5.15%; HSBCdirect @5.05%

In March 2006:
130,000 6.50%,30y, 821.68
130,000 6.25%,30y, 800.43
130,000 6.00%,30y, 779.41
130,000 5.75%,30y, 758.64
ING @4.00%, Emigrant @4.50%, HSBCdirect @4.80%
-of course, prices from Summer 2005 to March2006 has dropped a little for condos
-ie. Late 2005, similar condos in this building were being sold at 170k and 180.5k; now, 162.5k
-ie. A 2-br, new condo unit in a 40-unit complex in pbd, was asking $250-255-260k in Nov '05 (mortgage rates were ~6.0-6.5%); in March, price dropped only by 5k; BUT, as of August 1, 2006, the price has dropped 15-20k!

The Federal Reserve meets August 8, 2006 Tuesday to decide about interest rates: a hike, or not? A week earlier, inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose 0.2% in June06, and consumer prices are up 2.4% year over year; and a big increase in Institute for Supply Managment's manufacturing index to 54.7; crude oil at $74.91 per barrel!

Work and Getting A Free Lunch

2006-07-30T11:56:00.000-05:00

The New York Times 7/28/06 posted an article about the drug makers pay for lunch as they do their sales pitch. While the office staff at medical and doctor offices must love the free lunches, the doctors dont like it. Some medical institutions like UPenn and UMich barred industry-paid lunches from reps. Having a lunch budget from $500-2000 is pretty nice! Better yet, my friend who works as rep, says that she's loving the experiences and interactions with the doctors (plus, the work benefits are enormous and pays well.-- but, she did say it is demanding, since she has a quota to see 50 doctors per week!) I wish i got a free lunch. Maybe i should switch careers?

Eye Problem and Finally Got An Eye Exam

2006-07-23T07:11:00.009-05:00

My eyes were giving me problems the last few weeks. They were itchy, red, red when i rub them, and always producing discharges (that gooy stuff, and have made opening my eyes in the morning literally hard.) When my eyes began to be very teary, and almost constant, I decided to see my general PCP doctor. They were able to see me the same day I called, and he said it's bacterial infection, and that it's very contagious. He gave me a prescription for an antibiotic ointment to use for several days, and said that i should see an ophthalmologist to get my eyes thoroughly examined (plus, he seemed very concerned when i answered to him that i saw an optometerist 7 years ago.)
After a few days later, I called an eye doctor. Choosing the eye doctor was difficult. The guy my PCP suggested was a single practice, and my insurance wouldnt cover it. So, I looked at my health insurance's website to see which doctors accept my insurance plan. I decided to go with an eye doctor that has several physicians working in the practice. I also looked for location, education, residency fellowships to get the best doc. (Another source was to ask friends and collegues; but most saw optometrists.) --I wanted to see an ophthalmologist; since I feel more comfortable with someone (a MD) who has had more specialized training (plus general medicine training) than an OD. Both can diagnose vision problems and eye diseases, prescribe eye glasses and contact lenses, and prescribe drugs to treat eye problems. However, if there was a problem that requires surgery, only the MD can do this. Degree wise...OD school is 4 years, and after graduation, they take written and clinical state boards. Then, usually at least a 2 year clinical residency for those wanting to specialize in certain areas of optometry, such as contact lenses, family practice, geriatric, hospital-based, ocular disease, vision therapy. The MD ophthalmologist attend 4 years medical school, complete 1 year internship and 3 years residency, and then they can enroll in specialized training, such as corneal disease, retina/vitreous disease, glaucoma, pediatric eye problems, plastic surgery. Surprisingly, the practice that I chose has 5 MD's, 2 OD's, opthalmic technician, and opticians.

My exam was scheduled in the morning. Ideally, I wanted a late afternoon appointment so that i can leave work early and go home afterwards (especially since most MD's perform dilated eye exams.) Did you know: If you wear glasses or contacts, the eye professionals recommend having your eyes checked at least every 2 years. (if you dont wear glasses or contacts, age between 20-29, you should have eyes checked once; twice between 30-39, and every 2-4 years between 40-65; thereafter, every 1-2 years; And, if there's any family history of eye disease or you notice a problem, they recommend you see eye doctor asap, and regularly.) I have contacts and glasses, and as I mentioned earlier, am very long-overdue for a complete eye exam and prescription check. While I'm okay with my current contacts and glasses, at times I do feel I could use a slight increase in prescription to see things abit clearer. (So, I knew that my prescription probably needs an increase of .25 or .50 in prescription. I just delayed it because I never thought of it as problematic.) Well, my eye exam was very different since my last visit with an optometrist 7 years ago. The whole thing was shorter than what I thought it would be. I arrived a few minutes early than my scheduled time. There was only another patient there; and the office did not have a waiting room. It was open to chairs in the middle, a side room with vision acuity machines; another side room where their optician and eyeglasses store was; and a hallway with few patient rooms. When I was called by the technician, we introduced ourselves and she began by having me sit in front of a machine. "Put your chin in the chin-rest, and your forehead against the support, and keep still and eyes open. Try not to blink." I dont know how many times I was told to do this during that hour. The machine was dark and I didnt know where to look at. "Just look straight into the machine, keeping your head and face still, and dont blink." I tried to do that; mind you, my eyes were somewhat teary and itchy. After a few seconds of seeing darkness and hearing something from the machine, I saw a picture of a long street in a desert with a tiny scarecrow standing in the center, kind of far away, with a background of that looked fuzzy. Within a millisecond or so, it was focused. This was repeated in my left eye. An autorefractor, was used; it provided her with my refraction measurements instantly. She also measured the strengths of my lenses (to my glasses and contacts). Afterwards, she had me sit down in the exam room with the lights dimmed, and gave me the standard Snellen eye chart test with contacts/glasses off. She also had me read a card at arms distance away to test my near vision. To make a better prescription, she used the photopter-- the mask that goes over my face and eyes with tons of lenses, and asked "is 1 better than 2", "is 2 better than 3", and so forth. I hate this part because it's too subjective and I felt that most were about the same or no difference. And this was repeated with the other eye. She wrote down the new lenses and positions, and said that my vision is relatively okay, with just a minor correction in both eyes. That was good to hear. (just like what I thought). Next, she tested my eye movements, my eye's response to light and dark, and their ability to converge on a fixed point. She had me sit in front of another machine, with the chin on the rest and the head on the forehead support, and tested my peripheral vision with the computer. I was told to stare at the center point, which was very easy. Whenever I saw a tiny light flash within my field of view, I pressed a button. It was like playing war games; without moving the eyes. This took a minute. When finished, she had me sit again on the exam chair, and then placed yellow drops into my eyes that made me see kind of yellow glares in the dimmed-light room. She placed about 2 drops into each eye, since my eyes blinked really quick as the drops were dropping from bottle. The blinking-reflex is fascinating; the body doesn't like drops of anything being splashed into the opened eyes. And, you can imagine my head moved slightly to try to avoid the drops. But, she managed to get drops in. I wiped some excess liquid with a tissue and the tissue was orange. She placed the slit-lamp binocularscope towards me and sat in front of me. She shined light individually to my eyes. It was a general exam of the exterior of the eye. As I was told to stare toward a corner of room, my eyes started feeling kind of heavy, full and tired. It was wierd...they were getting numbed! Plus, the light in the dimmed room was very bright. The reason for the numbing of the eyes was to actually to perform the "golden standard" exam in eye medicine: measure pressure of the eye to determine the risk of glaucoma using applanation tonometry

(plus it gives a better of the internal eye structures and getting a "wet" refraction test, to see how my vision acuity is without accomodation. A probe, connected to the slit-lamp, was aligned to my eye by the technician and shined a blue-light. She positioned the probe by also making sure none of my eye lashes get in the way. Once it touched my cornea, it measured the intraoccular pressure (IOP) or the force required to flatten the cornea apex. I only felt the probe touching my eyelashes or the perimeter of my eye. ALso, the tech had to hold my eye open with 1 hand while aligning the probe with the other. So, maybe a slight pressure touch on eye; but, not bad; probably due to numbness of eye. This was repeated with the other eye. This was definitely much better than the non-contact tonometer used on my eyes by optometrist (7yrs ago). The small puff of air that gets blown on my cornea was definitely "felt" by me; and that scary, direct-air wind on eye made it feel dry. Usually after the first eye gets air blown in, I occassionally move my whole head away from the machine for the next eye. It usually takes several attempts by the eye doctor/technician to get the air in my 2nd eye; since I then knew what to expect. Maybe this is why MD's in the office use applanation technique with eyes numbed. Moreover, it is considered more accurate. She said the pressure was normal in both eyes. She also had me sit in front of another machine that takes many measurements of my cornea and provided a detailed colored map of the contour and shape of my cornea, by using a keratometry measurer.

They had a corneal topographer, which is used for fitting contact lenses and mapping the curvatures of the cornea for astigmatism, corneal disease, or irregular shapes.

I do remember getting another set of eye drops; eye drops for dilation. She then discussed with me my eyes, and said based on the prior tests, my prescription will only be 50 stronger in each eye and less stronger cylindrical lens. No astigmatism. She said the eye doctor will be with me in about 10 minutes. So, I was sitting in a partially dimmed-lit room waiting for the eye doctor. My eyes felt normal, but the full/heavy feeling of eyes was still around. After the eye doctor came in and we discussed my medical and eye history, she performed slit-lamp eye exam where she examines the interior of my eye in more detail...and took a digital picture of both eyes. All I remembered was that the light was much more intense than when the eye technician was looking at my eyes. (This is because there was ample time for the dilating eye drops to fully open-wide my eyes and made my pupils very large.) The doc said numerous times to try to keep my chin and head in place, and keep the eyes open. I said that the light was too bright and bothering me. She said it's normal; but it's necessary for accurate exam and to see what's causing your eye problems. The doc spent more time looking at my left eye than my right eye. Look to the far right, far left, up, down, corners, straight out. She repeated the same thing with my left eye. (This was my first eye exam where my eyes were numbed and dilated.) I remember that 7 years ago at the optometrist, I had an option to get a dilated exam for "a comprehensive eye exam". I declined because the office charged an extra $30 or $35 and it would not be covered by my health insurance plan at the time. Since my current health insurance plan covered the ophthalmologist's visit as a new patient doctor's visit (referred also from my PCP), I got the full works of a comprehensive eye exam. Another thing I noticed differently this time: this doctor's office takes digital pictures of patients' eyes, and keeps digital records from all of the various exam procedures. The slit-lamp scope had a digital camera. She took a few photos of both eyes. She said the slit-lamp pictures, the interior retinal photos (aka dilated fundus photographs) , along with the cornea topography, visual field, tonometry assessments, and refraction measurements will become a permanent record of my eye health. She also discussed her findings. Besides a slight adjustment to my corrective lenses, I have bacterial conjuctivitis and dry eyes. She gave me a prescription for a stronger antibacterial ointment to put in the lower eyelids twice a day for several days. In addition, she said i should do warm compressions to the left and right eyes with a cloth, to break up and remove the discharges. (she said try to do it 4x's a day.) Also, i should take some lubricating eye drops, such as TheraTears or Systain, without preservatives, 3x's a day to keep the eye well balanced. Of course, a follow-up visit was required. And, she said always get your eyes checked once every 2 years for good health. I said ok. Then, paid my $20 copay. The receptionist gave me these cheap shades that slide over my glasses. When I went outside, which was bright and sunny! Boy was it really sunny with them off! I went in my car and saw my eyes! I never saw my eyes so dark! Those mydriatic agents (dilation drops) really work on my pupils! When I looked in a mirror, my eyes were very large... the black spot was big, roundy. I followed-up 2 weeks later, and much better condition of eyes. No dilation needed! After a month later, I got new glasses from an online company; all you have to enter is the details from the prescription, selection of glasses and lens, and then pay and wait in the mail. It costed much less than if i went to Lenscrafter, Pearle Express, Walmart, Target, or local optician.

I love wasting time, especially at work

2006-07-23T06:43:00.000-05:00

How often do you browse the internet for news, shopping, IM, check sports or the stock market during work hours? Have you ever spaced out? Ran errands off-premises? Make personal phone calls? Gosh, i'm guilty of these too. According to salary.com, the average worker admits to wasting away 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and scheduled break-time. The article Wasted time at work costing companies billions describes their recent survey of top time-wasting activities (surfing internet for personal use), excuses for it (dont have enough work to do; followed by underpaid for amount of work), HR assumes 0.94hrs wasted/ suspected by HR is 1.6hrs; the older you are, the less you waste time; industries of insurance, public sector, R&D, education and software/internet companies waste the most of work time; the time-conserving industries were shipping and receiving, manufacturing, healthcare, finance/banking/marketing communications. The only thing is that most people I know work more than the "normal" 8 hour day (9-to5).

My introduction and welcome

2006-07-23T06:11:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I finally did it! My first blog. It really feels like i'm just talking/typing to the wall and no one is going to read this or care what i have to say. I'm okay with that. Either case, the main purpose of this blog is to save everything. Yes, savingeverything. SavingEverything is the theme of this blog. I will save everything here that effects me in some way in the real world. I envision this as my open, personal, anonymous journal, and also an open wallet with some thoughts along the way. If I see something that I like online and have an interest, I'll blog it. If I experienced something and want to share it with you, I'll blog it. (Even though it may not apply to you, there is someone who is reading this blog that cares. In addition, remember, this blog is about me, SavingEverything.) Several topics that I may include blog posts are: saving money, making money, ways to get more for the dollar, the housing market, my decision-making process, interest rates, shopping, news, mp3's, stamps, books, beer and wine, vacations, trips, adventures, and pretty much anything. The best part of blogging, as I see it, is a way to enlighten others and also have open communications between you and me through the comments so that I can be enlightened by you. SavingEverything here will allow me to share my experiences and things that I came across, and hopefully, will benefit you the readers. So here begins my new journey into saving everything!

One topic that I am more inclined to discuss is money. Saving money is easy to say than do. I will admit that I try to save when and if I can. When working, I automatically save some money by having a % of my paycheck go directly into my 401k retirement. However, even with 401k savings, it's important to try to save some extra money from your net salary, for either emergencies, big purchases, or just for long-term savings. I live paycheck by paycheck. I think we all live paycheck by paycheck. Without the paycheck, how will you pay for your living costs? Most people probably spend about 67-90% of their gross salary [includes FICA/est fed-state-local taxes/est company health-dental insurance/living costs/utilities (regular cable $50, cell phone, landline, electric, gas, oil, water)/gym]. Note: does not include any deductions for 401k or other plans; and it's my crude estimate. The median is around 75-80%. If you earn more and are careful with your spendings, you would spend around 50-67%. If you earn less and live singly, you spend alot and cannot save as much. If you live with a roommate, you definitely save a few hundred, and it brings your spending down with shared utilities expenses. Either way, living on your own is not easy and way different than college years. I remember when rent in my college years was $310(x2) in a 2-br apartment, plus utilities. During that time, rents in the big cities were still big....at least 4x's it. Well, now, i dont know the rents in my college town. I'd guess it's almost double. But, where i live now, rent is high....and at times, i feel like i'm throwing money away (vs. buying a condo). Other times, i think buying is similarly throwing money away to banks and throwing away savings. I just dont know; buying would definitely make me save more, but the actual dollar amount would be less than renting. Oh well... that's 1 thing that i'm unsure what to do. Then, other times, i think my investments are just bad and also just like throwing money out the window. I have a high risk tolerance, i guess. But, for some reason, if i buy a house, i feel that's a higher risk... especially since it's linked to income. And, who knows, i dont know what's going to happen 2-3 years from now. I may be working somewhere else in a different state. Or, i may be working at the same place. It's the uncertainty, and buying property (to me, more riskier because if I would ever run a problem with income and unable to pay mortgage, i'm in more trouble... plus the fact that the loan is much bigger compared to say, a margin loan in a brokerage account.) OK. Enough for now. I rent, and will continue renting and saving along the way.

A little about me... i'm in my late 20's approaching 30 shortly, single, in northeast, currently work not in the business or computers field, educated, not well-paid, but am happy with work and life. (if i were to buy a property, it would be this new development i've been eyeballing, that is ~1000 sqft, $230-249k (as of july06), plus taxes, condo fees, and a few miles further away from work,. but, that price would make me live very tightly with money, and I'm not sure I would be able to really saveeverything.)