AmTrust Direct CD Rates

AmTrust Direct's e-money market account is currently paying 5.30% and their CD rates are not that bad either.
Minimum deposit to open and earn interest: $1,000.00
Compound frequency: Daily

CD Term	Interest Rate	APY
6 MONTH PROMO CD	5.317%	5.46%
9 MONTH PROMO CD	5.270%	5.41%
12 MONTH PROMO CD	5.270%	5.41%
18 MONTH PROMO CD	5.023%	5.15%
24-MONTH PROMO CD	4.927%	5.05%
30 MONTH PROMO CD	4.927%	5.05%
36-MONTH PROMO CD	4.880%	5.00%
60 MONTH PROMO CD	4.975%	5.10%

Indymac Bank CD Rates

As CD rates drop across the board, Indymac Bank has substantially better rates than most. Here is a look at their Internet CD Rates:

Term		Interest Rate		APY

3 Month		5.31%		5.45%
5 Month		5.21%		5.35%
6 Month		5.31%		5.45%
7 Month		4.93%		5.05%
9 Month		5.07%		5.20%
1 Year		5.12%		5.25%
18 Month		4.88%		5.00%
2 Year		4.69%		4.80%
3 Year		4.69%		4.80%
4 Year		4.69%		4.80%
5 Year		4.69%		4.80%

Product Features and Requirements
·	Minimum to open is $5,000 (Internet Only).
·	Terms are from 90 days to 5 years.
·	For customized terms, other than those listed above, please call our Customer Contact Center.
·	Interest is compounded daily and paid or reinvested into the account monthly or at maturity. The interest rate depends on the term of the CD.
·	A penalty will be assessed for early withdrawal.
·	For your convenience, your CD renews automatically for the same term at the current rate at that time.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all!

GMAC Bank Rate Drop

GMAC Bank's online savings account rate dropped from 5.25% to 5.20%. Their CD rates dropped as well.

E-Loan Savings Account Rate Drop

E-Loan Savings account rates dropped from 5.50% APY to 5.38% APY. As you might have noticed E-Loan has dramatically slashed down their rates on CD from 5.75% to 5.25% and below. Where CD rates depend on the balance. I personally am disappointed with E-Loan. They have had one too many glitches, other problems and rate drops. What's in store for E-Loan? Only time will tell. Tomorrow we shall see what the other online savings banks are going to do with their rates like GMAC who update their rates every Friday. They might be slashing down their rates very soon.

Are Gift Cards Worth It?

More and more people now give out gift cards as holiday gifts. May it be that the person you are shopping for is very picky, very hard to shop for or that you are just crunched for time. But are gift cards worth it? In my opinion, not most of the time. Rather than churning up a story let me list some of the problems I see.
CONS:

1. Might expire and or charge monthly, yearly or dormant fees.
2. A person is restricted to use the card at a particular place.
3. If lost or stolen can be hard and or costly to replace.
4. People forget to use them at times.

These are just some of the cons. And guess who profits? The company you bought the card from. I for one do not feel like throwing away money like this. So what should you do instead? Now personally if you are going to give some one a gift card, give the person cash or a check. Why? It's the same amount you would have spent on the gift card or maybe cheaper given some card issuers like American Express charge a fee. Feel bad about just giving cash? Many banks have fancy holiday cash envelopes, utilize those. Be creative and get like $2 bills or something. Just saying that in my opinion it is better to give out hard cash or check in a fancy way than giving plastic.

Net Worth Update: Financial Snapshot Dec 1st

This month went surprisingly well. The reason I have over $3,000 increase in my net worth is because of a bonus I got at work. But still this is huge for me! I did loose about $450 in the stock market. I cashed out a few stocks. I got checks from my mystery shops and surveys that I had done a month before that were around $200 so that was great. Now that the holiday season is here and I have a long list of friends and family to buy gifts for I am sure to make a dent in my savings. But I will try to be a little conservative on my spending. Then again, "it's the thought that counts!" Given the recent fall in CD rates I am looking desperately for a good long term CD to park some of my cash. I am also working hard towards getting another promotion at work that should give me at least a $7,000 jump in my salary. I hope! They are so stingy. I don't know whats with this companies nowadays, they make billions and can't even pay their employees appropriately. Back to saving a little more each day!

Online Savings Accounts Rates Change

Today, GMAC Bank's savings rate changed from 5.30% to 5.25%. Their CD rates fell as well. ING Direct savings accounts had a little change from 4.40% o 4.50%. They are now sending invitation for their checking accounts. More details to follow tonight.

Thinking of Buying A Gift Card This Holiday Season?

Many people will purchase gift cards this holiday season. Why not make a few bonus points on your credit card for that? There are certain credit cards that offer double to 5 points for purchases made at grocery stores, drugstores and gas stations. So when you go out to purchase gift cards remember to use the right card!

I personally buy gift cards whenever I have to go shop somewhere. For example, if I want to buying something from Home Depot, I buy the appropriate amount gift card from a local grocery store thus earning 5 points on my credit card rather than the 1 point I would have earned had I used the credit card for the purchase. Keep in mind, if you end up returning the item, you will be stuck with a gift card or store credit.

Citibank Credit Cards Thank You Network

Citibank's Thank You Network has a special holiday pricing going on right now! From Nov 2 - Dec 28 2006 you can get certain gift cards for less points. This is a pretty cool deal! Here are the details from their website:

Gift cards can be shipped in as few as 3 business days*.

	Banana Republic –	$50
	Crabtree & Evelyn® –	$50	$100
	Eddie Bauer® –	$50	$100
	Gap –	$50	$100
	Lands' End® –	$50	$100
	L.L. Bean –	$50	$100
	Macy’s –	$50	$100
	Pier 1 Imports® –	$50	$100
	Spa Finder® –		$100
	The Sharper Image® –	$50	$100
	Avis® –	$50	$100
	Carnival Cruise Lines –		$100
	Marriott® Cheque –	$50	$100	$200
	Ritz-Carlton® Currency –	$50	$100	$200
	Royal Caribbean® International –		$100
	Bennigan's® –	$50
	Legal Sea Foods –	$50	$100
	Omaha Steaks® –	$50	$100