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September 16, 2005

free $50 from BofA

A few months ago, I opened up a Bank of America checking account just to get the $25 in sign up money. I still have the account open because of a couple of nice features I wrote about earlier (unfortunately for me, the new BofA sign up money offer is for $50, not for the $25 I got).

Last weekend, I accidentally used the BofA debit card at the gas station instead of the BofA credit card I have (they look really similar) and went over my checking account balance by $2.26 and got hit with a $19 insufficient funds fee. I asked them to reverse it in an email and the next day I had a $19 credit. I was impressed. So I guess their $25 sign up money offer worked - I'm going to keep being a BofA customer for now.

Posted by brian at 11:10 AM | Comments (2)

September 13, 2005

Cheat sheet to talk to a real person

Here's how to talk to a real person quickly when you call some businesses with automated voice systems.

Posted by brian at 08:00 PM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2005

We WANT higher gasoline prices??

A few economists think now is the time to raise the gasoline tax, to encourage people to buy more fuel-efficient cars, take mass transportation, invest in alternative fuels, and in the end, lower our dependence on foreign oil.

I've started riding my bike to work recently, but that's more to counter eating too many brownies.

Posted by brian at 02:11 PM | Comments (0)

Earn a free Treo 650

This post at SmartMoney tells you how to get a Treo 650 SmartPhone by buying a $500 or more ticket at United Airlines by the end of the year.

The thing costs $659 from Palm, so it sounds like a decent deal, but you have to sign up for a $99 monthly plan from Cingular to get it for free, or you can pay $49 - $155 for the Treo if you get a less costly monthly plan.

The SmartMoney article breaks it all down EXCEPT it forgets to give the link to the United Airlines promotion. Here it is.

If you buy the ticket with a United Mileage Plus Visa, you could get an additional 17,500 bonus miles, a $25 United discount travel certificate, and a one-way, 1,000 mile, one-class upgrade certificate.

Posted by brian at 10:35 AM | Comments (1)

September 11, 2005

Losing money in real estate

My girlfriend and I keep hearing "you need to buy a house now to build up equity" from our friends and family. With 2 BR/1 Ba, 90 year old, 1000 square foot houses going for $650,000 and up in our part of the Bay Area, we're not eager to jump in.

I've found a couple of articles to suggest how dangerous real estate can be if you're caught in a down market. Here's one about losing money mainly in rental real estate and another about the wrong reasons to buy a house. Finally, the Wall Street Journal has a few stories about seller's trying to figure out whether or not to sell right now.

If you find some more, send me an email.

Posted by brian at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

September 01, 2005

Making money with your cell phone

It didn't take long for a company to spring up willing to buy pictures you take with your camera phone. If you see something newsworthy happening, you can take a picture and sell it, according to this article.

After you're tired of your current cell phone, you can then recycle it at this website and make a few bucks. I sold my old TDMA phone and made $3. Woo hoo!

If you don't care about the money, you can also donate your old cell phone here to a good cause.

Posted by brian at 07:12 AM | Comments (0)