So, my second account I ever had was a Bank of America Student Checking Account (Well, technically, Fleet, but they merged with BofA after a week), mostly because it was very convenient for a bicoastal student. Now, I have a ton more options, but at the time, Bank of America was your best bet if you wanted to do banking on both coasts.

Anyways, I WISH I had this deal when I did open my account! Bankvibe.com is reporting that  Bank of America is giving a $50.00 bonus for opening a new checking account. All you have to do is deposit $100 dollars into your newly opened checking account and you will receive a $50 bonus direct deposit in your account within 90 days. You can either open the account online or bring the promotional code, AOU26120 to a bank branch (very helpful option with paranoid, technophobic Asian dads). This offer expires Feburary 27th, 2009.

I helped my father open this checking account a couple months ago, so I can say personally that everything went very smoothly. We brought the code into our local branch, and it took about 15 minutes to open up a new account. Plus, I used the “Refer a Friend to Bank of America Checking and Receive $25 dollars Each” deal (and if you are looking for a referral, I would be happy to oblige), and what did you know, both my dad and I received $25 dollars each ON TOP of the $50 bonus.

All in all, a $100 return on a $100 checking account is not to shabby!

Info from Bank of America:

Your gift is waiting
To receive your $50, apply online or go to your nearest banking center. Use offer code AOU261208, and open a personal checking account before February 27, 2009.

Offer expires 2/27/09 and is available through our online application or in any Bank of America banking center. Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts and/or existing checking customers. Student checking accounts are not eligible for this offer. Bank of America associates are not eligible for this offer. All accounts are subject to our normal approval process.

This form must be presented at the time the account is opened if account is opened in a banking center. This minimum deposit required to open a new, personal checking account and receive the $50 offer is $100. We will make every attempt to directly deposit the $50 into your new Bank of America checking account. If for any reason we are unable to do so, a check will be issued as a replacement. We will deposit the money within 90 days of opening your new account. Limit one check per household.

To the extent required by law, Bank of America will report the value of the offer to the IRS on Form 1099. Any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the account holder. For interest-bearing personal checking accounts, the Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is 0.05% as of 11/14/08 for any account balance. The rate may change after the account is opened. Fees could reduce earnings on the account.

Please consult a Banking Center, visit bankofamerica.com or see the Personal Schedule of Fees for other account fees, rates and information.

Total Security Protection is not available on small business credit cards.

Not available in Washington or Idaho.

Click here:Open Pinecone Research Paid Surveys Signup Link (US)

What is Pinecone Research?

Pinecone Research is an exclusive online survey panel. You receive surveys a couple times a month, and receive a $3.00 payment for each survey completely, which you can either get by check or through paypal. Occasionally they also mail out products for their members to test.

Why do I Pinecone?

I am a big fan, as it is one of the better paid survey companies out there. I like knowing that when I do a survey, I will be getting a check in the mail, as opposed to “points” that take forever to accumulate or being entered into sweepstakes that I will never win.

As long as you come in with the right expectations, paid surveys can be easy source for some extra cash. You will never be able to live off of surveys, but you can definitely make an extra 10-30 dollars a month. The surveys themselves can be a bit boring, but it is really easy to do while you are watching TV or eating a snack. I did one today while watching the Niners-Jets game, and now I can feel a little less guilty about getting a latte at Starbucks.

How to Join?

It is pretty exclusive, so it is invite only. Periodically, Pinecone needs to find new members, so they open up recruitment through online banners, so keep a lookout! I’m going to try to keep an eye out, so check this blog periodically to for updates on Pinecone Signup links!

Some things to note:

1) Fill out the first survey! If you get accepted, but then don’t fill out the first survey, they will kick you out right away!

2) Fill the surveys out as soon as you get them. If they think you aren’t doing enough surveys, they’ll kick you out. If you will be temporarily unavailable to do surveys, then send them an email explaining that and they will temporarily suspend you from the panel until you are available again.

3) Please keep the info about the surveys you do confidential. You will often be asked questions about products that are not even on the market yet, so Pinecone is very adamant about protecting the content of these surveys.

4) Only one registration per family. If you try to register more than one family member, all your registrations will be invalidated.

Why is freecyle so awesome?

1. It’s free
2. It helpful to the environment, lowering people’s consumption levels
3. I tend to walk to the houses where I pick stuff up, so I get some exercise to boot!

Great idea, right? I ended up joining my local freecycle, which consisted of me joining a yahoo group. I would highly recommend either having a specific email address for freecycle or creating some sort of filter in your gmail/thunderbird/whatever account because you will get ALOT of emails.

It’s definitely fun to go through the different emails and see what people are giving away! So far, I’ve gotten hangers, computer speakers, and christmas ornaments! Plus, since I throw away less stuff, I’ve been able to downsize my garbage can, resulting in further savings! So thank you freecycle, for giving me free stuff, saving me money AND making me feel environmentally responsible!

Info from their website, The Freecycle Network:

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,643 groups with 6,205,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them’s good people). Membership is free.

So… What is Wal-mart handing out for free this week?

• Always Infiniti Pads
• Kotex Feminine Products
• Glad ForceFlex Trash Bags
• Kotex Lightdays Liners

So… a little heavy on the feminine products this week, but you really can’t complain about free!

(Quantities are limitied, so if you are interested, you should fill our the forms soon!)

EXTRA TIP: For the Firefox users out there, I always use the handy  Mozilla Firefox Autofill Forms Add-On, which believe it or not, auto-fills forms you have to fill out! It saves me a ton of time when I’m filling out these freebie requests, and is also helpful when you are online shopping. It’s faster, and you don’t have to worry about typos!

E*TRADE is offering a E*TRADE 3.30% APY online savings account with $25 bonus. Minimum balance is $1, and you need to open the account before 12/17/2008, so don’t miss out on 25 dollars and a great interest rate! (for the time being anyways…)

From E*trade:

1 Annual Percentage Yield is effective 12/5/2008 and is subject to change. A $1 minimum deposit is required to open a new account. Withdrawal limits apply. Online statements required.

2 $25 will be credited to your Complete Savings Account within 30 days of the account being funded with a minimum deposit of $1. Payments will be reported as interest income. Accounts must be opened by 12/17/2008 to quality for the $25 offer. Must be a new account opened with new funds. Offer applies to one new account per customer. Not good with any other offer. This offer is not valid for E*TRADE FINANCIAL employees.

Source: Bankaholic

Sometimes the items available for rebate are a bit silly (arthritis juice, anyone?), but Walgreens more than makes up for it with useful items like medicine, shampoo, toothbrushes and more!

This month?

Bald Guyz Moisture Gel, 4oz. or head Wipes, 16 Pack

Purchase ONE(1).

Rebate Limit up to $5.99.

Yeah, I believe I’ll be sitting out this month’s rebates…

I opened up my first account at World Savings when I was 7, and the tellers would always remark at how much I had grown. I remember every week going to the bank with my mom to either deposit or withdraw money (My mother still refuses to use an ATM machine). Most importantly, they always gave me a balloon whenever I visited! You know a bank is doing something right when it keeps my rate-hopping parents for almost two decades!

It was a sad day when World Savings switched over to Wachovia. All of a sudden, those great CD rates disappeared, and my parents, little by little, moved all their money to other banks.

Today, the last CD my mother had with Wachovia matured. My mom was all ready to switch to WT Direct Bank which is offering savings account with 3.06% APY plus a cash bonus based on how much money you put into your account. It is a nice deal but… with the bank in Delaware, it wouldn’t be terribly convenient.

After twenty minutes of going back and forth with a bank employee and his manager about how terrible the liquid CD rates were, and how we were going to take our business elsewhere, they found a way to keep my mom’s business.

Apparently, World Savings had a special exception for customers which allows them to withdraw up to $25,000 from fixed CDs once a year as long as it was for a “medical expenses.” This option was so popular among WS customers that Wachovia picked it up as well. The only requirements is a Crown Banking account, which requires a cumulative balance of $5,000 in all Wachovia accounts. It’s not a great as a liquid CD, but she gets 4% APY for a 1 year CD and knowledge that she can withdraw up to $25,000 in case of an emergency. NO documentation about the medical expense is needed, so really, she could use this $25,000 for a morgage payment or help with my tuition, though given how painful my tuition payments are, maybe I COULD qualify for medical expenses…

It goes to show that it never hurts to ask your local bank branch if there are any special rates or special accounts available! When you get people properly motivated (aka scared shitless about losing your business), amazing things can happen!

So thank you World Savings, for allowing my technophobic mom to NOT have to send her money halfway across the country. She really appreciates it!

1. My mother buy me a pizza even if I didn’t use my own money.

2. I don’t get allowance. Christmas money goes to some weird “bank” place I’ve never heard of. I’m not going to be seeing any dollar bills anytime soon.

3. Hello Kitty Red looks REALLY depressing when you do not have anything to put in it.

So yes, it was a rush to as a kid to be able to buy whatever I wanted without interference from my mom. Whatever immediate gratification I received from that freedom, however, dissappated when faced with the reality that I bought myself a PIZZA.

And thus, a five year old miser was born.

I’m now a semi-broke college student, trying to balance my obsession with consumption with my wish to spend as little money as possible. As a result, I spend an unhealthy amount of time looking for ways to feed my habit, such as getting things free after rebate. This blog is an account of my journey to become a more fiscally responsible person, despite my “quirks,” allowing me to keep track of all the crazy things I do.

And maybe, when I’m done with the “being a student” schtick, I’ll be able to get an real job and stop doing these sorts of things!

maybe not ….