Posted: April 30th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Sponsored | 1 Comment »
SeaWorld in Orlando is set to open their newest aquatic themed ride in May: The Manta Coaster!
In the spirit of festive market buzz, they’re offering a chance to win a free pass to go to the “Front-of-the-line”!
That’s the grand prize, but there are other prizes:
Prizes (5,000 each): One (1) electronic photograph via email with the completion of two (2) activities. One (1) Manta front of the line pass with completion of six (6) activities. Prizes are redeemable beginning May 22, 2009 and must be redeemed within thirty (30) days of completion of the activities. Prizes valid until December 31, 2009.
To enter, all you need to do is register on the Manta site (it’s free) and do 2 of the following activities:
Manta Quiz
Take the quiz, and you’ll learn the answers to these exciting questions – and more!
- What is Manta’s top speed?
- Sea Dragons can be found in the temperate waters of what country?
- How long is manta’s track?
Submit to Flickr
Upload a picture of yourself to Flickr displaying the phrase: “I heart Manta”.
Fill Your Row
Invite your friends to fill a virtual row on the Coaster
Submit to YouTube
Make a video detailing how excited you are about the new Manta ride, and post it on Youtube.
Make a Manta Mask
Make a Manta mask, and submit a Flickr photo of yourself wearing the mask.
Follow & Tweet
Follow the “RealShamu” on Twitter and tweet about it, using the special code of course. 
Yeah, it’s some pretty corny stuff, but you could have a lot a fun doing it. If my kids were older, we’d be doing it. I think it would be a blast to just involve the kids in the creative process of making a mask and a video. Besides, even if you don’t win any of the prizes, you still get a complimentary electronic photograph from your Manta ride experience at SeaWorld Orlando for completing just 2 of the activities.
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Posted: April 30th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Investing, Retirement | Tags: Retirement, ROTH IRA, Taxes | 1 Comment »
Many financial planners recommend that investors salt at least some of their retirement savings away in a Roth IRA – and with good reason!
Roth IRA Eligibility Rules.
Eligibility rules are simple – if you earned taxable compensation, you are eligible. If you’re eligible, you next need to see if you qualify. For 2009, if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $105,000 when filing single, or $166,000 when filing jointly then you qualify. NOTE: if you earned more than those amounts, you may still qualify for a Roth IRA, but at reduced levels of contributions.
Speaking of contribution levels, for 2009 the maximum contribution is $5,000. Like 401(k)s, there is a catch up clause, but I won’t go into that here.
Roth IRA benefits.
Any qualified distribution (withdrawal) is tax free. A “qualified” distribution is what that occurs at least five years after you first started to contribute to a Roth IRA and after you’ve reached age 59 1/2.
See http://www.money-zine.com/Financial-Planning/Retirement/Roth-IRA-Rules/ for more.
The problem.
The best selling point for most people is the tax free withdrawals, but this may be in jeopardy. Consider the following…
- Obama’s deficit is projected to be over $10 TRILLION in the next decade.
Now, deficits are not always evil and are sometimes necessary. Personally, I happen to believe that $10 trillion is excessive and dangerous. But regardless of how such deficits make us feel, one fact remains: It will need to be paid back.
The interest payments alone are set to take on a run-away snowball effect right around the time other social programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are projected to go bust.
In order to pay down this debt, the government will have two basic options: 1) Borrow the money, 2) Increase tax revenues. Borrowing the money is not going to work, not only because it will be difficult to find countries able and willing to lend that kind of cash, but because it would be pushing the deficit around without actually lowering it. This leaves option #2.
The current crop of politicians in Washington will interpret this to mean raising existing taxes and imposing new taxes. Ironically, in doing so they will stifle economic growth further, exacerbating the problem. But that’s another matter…
Higher taxes needed.
Modern Democrats have adopted the “Tax the Rich” mantra as a solution to their runaway spending, but this strategy falls short. First of all, they won’t be “Rich” after they’ve been taxed at the levels required to fund the spending projects. The whole “tax the rich” philosophy is little more than class envy and ignores the fact that most Americans do not remain fixed at any particular income bracket.
Another solution that is often proposed is to apply FICA taxes on all income. Congress has been sliding the maximum up year after year, but for 2009 only the first $106,800 of income is subject to the FICA tax. But even opening up all of a worker’s income to the FICA tax would not produce enough revenue to cover the funding gaps.
Conclusion.
Since there exists no single solution to generating the increase in revenue required to pay for the spending occurring today, and since the Federal Government is unlikely or unwilling to adopt a fiscally responsible policy the likelihood exists that we will not only see increased tax rates, but also an increase of new taxes. Already, politicians have targeted the 401(k) plan. One of their criticism of the plan is the money the Government misses out on while workers funds grow tax deferred. In this light, can we really expect that withdrawals from Roth IRA plans will remain tax free? Never mind that this would, in effect, tax workers twice (once when the earned the money to contribute, and then again when they withdraw their savings).
Well, those are my thoughts on the matter. What are yours?
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Posted: April 28th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Investing, Reviews | Tags: Investing, Stocks | 1 Comment »
I’ve been a ShareBuilder member since 2005. Before I joined, I did a mountain of research for discount brokerages that matched my criteria. I was new to investing, and didn’t want to get bogged down into a quagmire of fees. My criteria was simple:
- Member of FINRA/SIPC (like FDIC for investment companies)
I basically wanted something to buy and hold stock whenever I had the extra cash to do so… i.e. not an automated venture.
Not only did I visit each website and scour their available online info, I went trolling through forums and news groups to see what other people were saying. Eventually I had narrowed my selection down to 2 choices: ShareBuilder and FOLIOfn. I didn’t want to back a losing horse, so when I started seeing a lot of chatter about FOLIOfn being on financially unsound footing, I decided to go with ShareBuilder.
In the end, FOLIOfn did not fold, and I could have gone with them but that’s hindsight.
ShareBuilder offers 3 plans to choose from
Here’s a quick breakdown of features associated with each plan:
BASIC:
- No Account Minimums
- Automatic Investment Plan
- Real-time Trades
- Mutual Funds
- Express Funding
- Investment Guidance
- Options Trading
- Margin Borrowing
- Research Tools
- Gain & Loss Tracking
Standard:
- BASIC PLUS:
- Included Automatic Investments
- Discounted Margin Rates
- Stock Grades
Advantage:
- Standard PLUS:
- Stock Reports
- Strategy Reports
- IPO Priority Notification
Well, since the basic fit my main criteria, I chose that and haven’t looked back since. The best part is that it doesn’t cost me a dime unless I buy or sell a stock! Which brings me to the next important feature – Price!
How Much Does It Cost?
Basic:
- $4 to buy
- $9.95 to sell Market, Limit and Stop Orders
- Phone trades: $29.95
Standard: ($12/month – 1st month free)
- 6 free buys per month
- $2 to buy after the 1st 6.
- $9.95 to sell Market, Limit and Stop Orders
- Phone trades: $29.95
Advantage: ($20/month)
- 20 free buys per month
- $1 each thereafter
- $9.95 to sell Market, Limit and Stop Orders
- Phone trades: $29.95
All levels offer Margin Borrowing, with the Standard package giving a 0.25% discount and the Advantage a 0.5% discount in the margin rate. All levels also include PortfolioBuilder. PortfolioBuilder is a general guide to take the user through risk tolerance and gets them to focus on what they’re investing for. I haven’t used this feature much, since I’ve educated myself prior to joining on most of what it provides.
Since I joined ShareBuilder, they have been acquired by ING. This actually makes me very happy since I believe ING is a very stable company, and have also been a member of their Orange Savings and Electronic Checking accounts for years. Since ING owns ShareBuilder, transfers to or from ING accounts are free AND instantaneous! No waiting 3 days for the transfer to be completed.
There’s also no cost to reinvestment dividends – you can create your own DRiPS!
If you’re interested in joining ShareBuilder, you can get $25 free when you open an account using one of the promo codes below:
ing sharebuilder promotion code
ing sharebuilder promotion code
ing sharebuilder promotion code
ing sharebuilder promotion code
ing sharebuilder promotion code
NOTE: If they have stopped working, please let me know so I can get some fresh ones!
These promotional codes are similar to the ING direct savings account referral codes
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Posted: April 24th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Scam | Tags: auto warranty, Extended Warranty, Scam, U. S. Fidelis | 49 Comments »
I get A LOT of reader comments on my December post, Is us Fidelis auto warranty a scam?.
When I wrote that post, I was honestly just asking a question about Auto Warranties in general and U. S. Fidelis was my foil since they were on the television literally every time I turned around (they still are!).
Well, it seems many people are convinced that U. S. Fidelis IS a scam, and they’re not alone.
NBC’s The Today Show did a piece on Wednesday highlighting some of the dishonest practices employed by U. S. Fidelis.
Here’s the vid:
MSNBC's Today Investigates piece on U. S. Fidelis.
It’s pretty damning.
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