December 2006
Monthly Archive
Book Review: The Four Pillars of Investing
Posted by miller on 28 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Book Reviews, Investing, Retirement
I finished reading The Four Pillars of Investing by William Bernstein a good six months ago. Why write a review now? Even half a year later, I refer to this book almost weekly. That’s how good this book is.
The Underappreciated Benefits of Tax-Sheltered Accounts
Posted by miller on 25 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Investing, Personal Finance
The post isn’t going to state an amazing new loop hole in tax laws, but rather it will highlight an often underappreciated benefit of tax-sheltered accounts: the ability to rebalance your portfolio without any tax implications. This is inspired by three things: non-deductible traditional IRAs, post-tax 401Ks, and 529 accounts (I owe a big post about this… soon, I promise!). Continue Reading »
More Details about Discover Card’s Mall Holiday Promotion
Posted by miller on 24 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Philosophy, Quick Money
As the Christmas shopping has continued, I’ve racked up a number of the Discover Card $20 gift cards. The last time I picked up my cards, I chatted briefly with the Discover Card representative. I asked him how popular the promotion had been, and he said it had been quite successful. One comment led to another and soon he was telling me how they’ve changed their program over the years. Continue Reading »
Got My Credit Card Late Fee Reversed — Yay for the Holiday Spirit!
Posted by miller on 21 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Credit Cards
So my last month has been particularly busy as you might be able to tell from the low number of posts. In fact, I was so busy that one of my credit card statements slipped through the cracks. Yep, I paid it a week late. But I was able to get my big $39 late fee reversed! Continue Reading »
Got A $20 Discover Gift Card for Doing My Christmas Shopping
Posted by miller on 21 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Quick Money
I got my first $20 Discover gift card today. Easy to get, easy to spend… here are the details. Continue Reading »
Sending in My Citi $100 Gas Rebate Tomorrow… Have You?
Posted by miller on 14 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Philosophy, Quick Money
A lot of bloggers have already discussed the Citi $100 Gas Rebate program. So I’m not writing to break the news about it, but rather take this chance to rant to everyone why they should sign up for this deal. There is still time! Continue Reading »
Can We Take Advantage of 401K’s to Time the Market?
Posted by miller on 04 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Investing
Who doesn’t want to time the market? Buy low, sell high? Sounds great, but last I checked, timing the market seemed more like a “get rich quick scheme” than a reality. There are hundreds of theories, but is there any evidence? And if there were, wouldn’t everyone try to take advantage of this, and hence negate the advantage (an efficient market)? Well, what if there were a theory that had some explanable mechanism and also had some evidence? Continue Reading »
Changes to the Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards Card
Posted by miller on 02 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Credit Cards, Investing
My “catch all” credit card is the 529 College Rewards Mastercard. This is a great card that allows you to get 2% cashback on all purchases, if you are willing to put yourself through a few twists (note, this card is not available any more, though there is an Amex version that gives you 1.5%). These twists and turns to get the 2% cashback have been fairly intensive, until now… Continue Reading »
What’s in My Wallet?
Posted by miller on 02 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Credit Cards
Most PF bloggers write (and update numerous times) a post with this title at some point, so why not me? So, what’s in my wallet? The strategy here is to maximize my cashback rewards, period. Continue Reading »
