Discover is offering 5% cash back on the following categories July through September, 2009:

• Gas Stations
• Hotels
• Theme Parks
• Zoos
• Bookstores

How to Get Your Cash Back

1. Sign up for the Discover Get More program.
2. Pay using your Discover card.
3. Earn 5% cash back on up to $300 in purchases from July through September.

Discover Get More Details

Total Cash Back. Obviously 5% of $300 is only $15. But it’s $15 you didn’t have before, so why not take advantage of it?

Sign Up Required. To be eligible for the promotion, you must sign up first. When you login to your online account at Discover, they’ll let you know if your Discover card is eligible for the promotion.

Get More Calendar. Discover changes the 5% cash back categories each quarter. I like to check it each quarter to see what the new deal is.

Discover Cards

Don’t have a Discover card? Here are some of the most popular cards with My Dollar Plan readers:

Discover® More(SM) Card

more info

Discover® Motiva(SM) Card

more info

Miles by Discover® Card

more info

Discover® Open Road(SM) Card

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Scott and I both got the same letter on the same date last month. His letter offered 1,000 bonus miles for linking his accounts; mine offered 500 bonus miles. All the other information in the letter is the same.

I did some searching in the Flyertalk forums, and it looks like the original offer was for 500 miles, but they’ve increased it to 1,000 now. Of course, since both our letters had the same date, I’m not sure.

To get the bonus miles, you need to link your accounts by July 31, 2009. Bonus miles will post to the account 4-6 weeks after the end of the promotion.

I’m pleased about the merger of the mileage accounts, since we have thousands of miles in our Worldperks accounts, but just a handful in our SkyMiles accounts. Now we just need somewhere to fly to…

Retirement

• SEP IRA: Self-Employed Retirement Plans
• Rule of 72 & Compound Interest
• Individual Pension Plan (IPP) - An RRSP for the Affluent

Credit

• I Need A New Credit Card Fast
• What Can You Expect to See on Your Credit Reports?
• Test Your Credit IQ By Taking This Quiz

By the Numbers

• 12 Common IRA Mistakes To Avoid
• 5 Money Saving Tips for Summer
• 10 Ways Being Nice Is Good For You
• 5 Step Guide to Finding The Lowest Rate For Hotel Rooms

And More!

• How To Survive Being Laid Off
• Fear of Money
• Win $2,000
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

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Here were the most popular articles that were written in June 2008. Many of them still have a lot of relevance this year!

Popular in June 2008

1. New Grads: 29 Money-Smart Tips
2. 10 Financial Tips for New Grads
3. 11 Fun & Frugal Summertime Activities
4. How to Handle Irregular Paychecks
5. We Sold My Car! What Worked and What Didn’t
6. What is Credit Card Arbitrage?
7. Small Business Problem: Advertiser Bounced a Check!
8. Free FICO Scores & Credit Reports

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Mid Year Financial Checkup

1. Check Your Credit Report. Don’t forget to use your annual free credit report. In addition, if you want to see your score, you can get your Free FICO Score and Credit Report.
2. Create a Debt Tracking System. Set up and use a debt tracking system to monitor one’s progress towards debt elimination. In many respects this is as important as updating one’s budget, especially for someone that revolves credit card balances from month to month. - DebtGoal
3. Install Solar Energy. If you plan to use the Solar Energy Tax Credits, make plans soon to get quotes on solar panel installation and purchases.
4. Evaluate Monthly Expenses. We found that we could save $14 a month by Switching from Satellite to Cable.
5. Plan Now for Furlough Days. With many companies and state governments issuing furloughs for their employees, set aside some extra cash to cover it. My husband will have a few weeks of furlough coming up in the next two years, so we’re planning ahead by putting the equivalent amount of cash in an Etrade account.
6. Buy a New House. You still have time to take advantage of the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. If you are planning to use it, don’t miss the deadline. And check out the how you can use the tax credit for closing costs too.
7. Review Your Insurance Needs. We recently switched our insurance. In addition to shopping rates, make sure that your coverage is still adequate to cover your exposure.
8. Consider a Possible Job Loss. With the economy still struggling, make sure that you could financially handle a job loss. Review the checklist in Are You Ready to Lose Your Job?
9. Evaluate Your Credit Cards. With so many changes in the credit card rewards world, it may be time to find a new card. You many want to check out the Schwab 2% Cash Back Credit Card or the Fidelity 2% Cash Back Credit Card.
10. Monitor Cash Flow. I know a lot of business owners not only budget but also monitor their cash flow statement daily to see how they are progressing. I think it’s a great idea. - Josh Moore
11. Review the Economic Stimulus Plan. Keep up with the economic stimulus plan, including various programs like the Making Home Affordable program and the Make Working Pay Tax Credit.
12. Asset Allocation Updates. As always, a quarterly or mid year check in wouldn’t be complete without a reminder to rebalance your portfolio to your target asset allocation.

In addition, you can see last year’s Mid Year Checkup which included some extra ideas like setting aside money for the holidays, using your vacation time, and updating your beneficiaries.

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I often mention the FatWallet Finance forums as one of my favorite places to hang out. But, as Simon reminded me, FatWallet also has a special place in my heart for earning cash back!

Let’s explore the FatWallet cash back program for Free Money Friday.

How to Earn Your FatWallet Cash Back

1. Sign up for a FatWallet account.
2. Shop for products using FatWallet Shopping.
3. Redeem your cash back by PayPal or a check.

FatWallet Cash Back Details

Minimum Redemption. If you want to cash out your account by check, there is a $10 minimum. Paypal doesn’t require a minimum.

Payments. Cash back payments are processed weekly; it’s one of the quickest cash back programs.

Attach a Note. My favorite feature at FatWallet is the ability to attach a note. When you click on a cashback offer, you can put the details of the purchase. I usually put a high level description of what I’m buying and who it’s for so it will jog my memory down the road.

Finding Deals

In addition to the cash back, I also find that FatWallet is a helpful place to shop and research online. Between Today’s Top Deals, the Coupon Search, and the Hot Deals forum, the savings add up!

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Here’s what the new rates will look like:

• Stafford loans in in-school or grace period status: 2.00%
• Stafford loans in repayment: 2.50%
• PLUS loans: 3.38%

This is great news for those of you who missed consolidating 5 years ago when you could get a rate as low as 2.77%. (We locked ours in at 3% with Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA) and used it for our house, which is much cheaper than any mortgage.)

You can consolidate at Federal Direct Loan Consolidation to lock in the rate, but the rates are only good if you got your loans before July 1, 2006. There are lots of other exceptions, too, so read the fine print.

In addition, on July 1, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act law will cap student loans at 15% of adjusted gross income. Loans are dropped completely with 10 years of public service.

Retirement

• Retired at 31: An Early Retirement Story
• How to Check Your Retirement Assumptions
• The Four(ty) Hour Workweek

Investing

• Converting Mutual Funds Into Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) Without Incurring Taxes
• Personal Finance Magazine Portfolio For Beginners
• Stock Investing Strategies for the Long Term

By the Numbers

• 20 Life Lessons I Learned in My 20’s
• Save Money on Groceries (20 Tips Inside!)
• The 7 People You Absolutely Need In Your Life
• Online Banking: 13 Choices for Higher Interest Rates and Increased Security

And More!

• Your Car is Making You Poor And What You Can Do About It
• American Express Online Savings Account 2% APY
• My Credit Card Account Got Closed
• Carnival of Personal Finance

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Microsoft Money Plus Home and Business is the center of my Financial Organization detailing almost 200 accounts in multiple files for all my family members and our business.

Microsoft Money Expiration Date

They didn’t give much notice on the end of the product. The last day to purchase Microsoft Money Plus is June 30, 2009. All purchased Money Plus products must be activated prior to Jan. 31, 2011.

However, even if you already have a version installed, like I do, you may need to act quickly. The online services expire two years after initial activation or Jan. 31, 2011, whichever is earlier.

I checked, and my copy will expire on December 22, 2009, which means I only have six months left. I am purchasing another copy so that I will have service until the end date in January 2011. I’m glad I checked right away since the purchase deadline is Tuesday!

To find your expiration date, look under the help menu in Money Plus, and select About MS Money. The expiration date appears by the serial number.

Expiration Information

If your product is already activated, you don’t have to quit using the product when it expires, however, online services will no longer be available. That means that online quotes won’t work anymore. Neither will direct online banking and bill pay. Microsoft says that Money will “still process bank statements imported from your bank’s Web site (if available), and quotes can be manually updated.”

I ran a version without online quotes when my old version expired two years ago. After 3 weeks, I was more than annoyed. It would take hours to update my portfolio. I won’t do that again. If you are tempted, don’t forget that support will also end. So if you encounter a problem, don’t expect it to be fixed.

More Information

I’m a big fan of the usenet group. Lots of users have very helpful information, including information on the discontinuation from the unofficial microsoft.public.money FAQ.

Alternate Tools

Switching to a new product will be the next step. Here are some of the products that people have mentioned that I’ll consider over the next year.

Quicken. Quicken, which used to be the main competitor for Money, is already offering a discount for Microsoft Money users and created a FAQ on discontinuation, but they don’t anticipate having a complete solution for a few months. I’ll wait until I see that people are having success transferring all their data; I would hate to lose years of information. (Suggested by a reader, Ross, via Facebook.)

Other Personal Finance Applications. In addition, I’ve heard of multiple personal finance applications mentioned by others in the usenet group that I’ll plan to explore. They include GnuCash, Moneydance, and AceMoney. If you’ve used any of these, I’d love to hear about it!

Online Products. In addition, I’ll see if some of the online products will be able to play a role, like Mint (suggested by reader, Nitin, via Twitter), Quicken Online, and the recently reviewed You Need a Budget. However, these applications probably aren’t robust enough yet to manage a complete financial picture, including business and tax data.

Action Plan

I made sure to purchase my next version of MS Money by the June 30 deadline so that I’ll have service until January 2011. That should give me enough time to wait and see how successful people are in migrating gigantic files. In the mean time, I’ll just wait and see how it goes.

If you use Microsoft Money… what are your plans?

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One popular program is You Need A Budget (YNAB), a tool that promises simple, easy-to-use software and a money management methodology.

I recently took a look at YNAB Pro and really liked what I saw! You Need A Budget has four main principles that it encourages as a way to financial peace:

1. Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck
2. Give Every Dollar a Job
3. Prepare for Rain
4. Roll with the Punches

YNAB Basic Versus Pro

One of the first things you’ll notice on the You Need A Budget website is that there are two versions of their product offered, Basic and Pro. The YNAB Basic version is $24.95 and the YNAB Pro is $49.95 and you can either download the software or request a hard copy. Unfortunately, Mac users will have to stick with the Basic version for now because the Pro version is not yet available.

Some advantages of the Pro version are that it allows you to import transactions from your bank and automate recurring entries, and also offers unlimited budgeting categories and auto-suggested budgeting features. It also has built-in reporting and lets you enter a single receipt and split it up among different budgeting categories which can come in very handy.

Register

The first YNAB section is the “Register,” which allows you to store all of your financial transactions from multiple accounts, including checking and savings accounts, and credit cards.

You can download data from your financial institution and import it here or you can manually add entries, which may be most effective for cash transactions. The most important part of this section is correctly categorizing your entries (i.e., Food: Groceries, Food: Restaurants, Recreation: Entertainment), which is the basis for the rest of the You Need A Budget program but unfortunately can take quite a bit of time at first.

(click on the images to expand them)

Budget

Once you have organized and categorized all of your transactions in the Register, you can click over to the Budget tab to see your total expenditures from the time frame that your data encompasses. What’s so great is that every individual transaction is now rolled up so that you see the total amount you spent in each category for each month, i.e. total “Food: Groceries” in April. Having this information from the past couple of months is a great way to form a budget that you want to stick to for the coming months.

Now, for upcoming months, you can establish a baseline budget of the amount you expect to spend in each category and mark it under the “Budgeted” column. You Need A Budget will automatically calculate the “Remaining” amount that you have left to spend in each category and overall for the month. As each future transaction is registered and categorized, your monthly surplus or deficit is clearly displayed.

Scheduler

The “Scheduler” section of You Need A Budget is a convenient way to lessen the amount of manual entries you have to make. Recurring elements of your budget, i.e. a paycheck, a mortgage payment, car insurance, etc., can be scheduled here so that you don’t have to enter them each time they actually do occur.

Reports

And now for the fun part! You Need A Budget lets you take all of this information that you’ve entered about your spending and income and make some sense of it in pictures: charts and graphs. I thought this section could use some flushing out in terms of more ways to view your data but I think the “Spending by Category” pie chart is awesome. It’s such a great way to see where your money is going each month. The “Total Spending (month-to-month)” is also a great way to see fluctuations in your monthly spending, both overall and by category.

You Need A Budget

You Need A Budget is a great tool for anyone looking to get their finances better organized. Those who are familiar with Microsoft Excel will especially like the familiar format of the “Register” and “Budget” screens.

YNAB will also appeal to those who feel uncomfortable giving a budgeting tool access into their accounts and prefer a program that sits on their desktop. However, because YNAB does not receive a feed from any financial institutions, the process of entering every single transaction can be very manual.

This provides very good encouragement for keeping track of every penny though!  I also found the “Help” menu on the left-hand side of the screen very handy.

Do you use You Need A Budget? How do you like it?

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I’m sure mathematically, it might make sense to pick the optimal program every time. For those of us who don’t wish to keep track of so many, do you recommend one over the others?

For Free Money Friday this week, let’s rank our favorite cash back programs!

I’ll publish the results soon to give Howard, and others, an idea of which programs people like the best. I’ll also tell you which programs are my favorites.

If you are reading by email or RSS feed, you’ll need to go to the article to vote.

Cash Back Poll

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It seems like every time we check, the other service is offering an incentive that’s lower than our current bill. After a year, they always seem to send a letter increasing the rates…. so we just switch back.

Since they usually waive the installation fee and send a technician to do the work, switching is relatively easy. In addition, we planned ahead by wiring our house for both cable and satellite when we built. This is the third switch we’ve made in 3 years.

Our savings this time around, is $14 per month. We’re using Charter for the TV and internet, and keeping Vonage for phone.

In addition, we’re getting DVR with the cheaper cable package. Our current DVR is an old one that doesn’t require a monthly subscription fee, so we’ve considered selling it on eBay.

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just go without? Sure. But if we’re going to use it, why not shop around for the cheapest rates?

Investing

• Joining An Investment Club? Watch Out For Groupthink
• SEP IRA: Self-Employed Retirement Plans
• Is the 401(k) Broken? I’m Not So Sure

Debt

• What Is Your Debt Philosophy?
• Get Out Of Debt For Good
• Yes, We Paid Off The Tahoe

By the Numbers

• Four Things That Are Making You Poor
• Three Quick Tips for Getting Ahead in Life
• Seven Ways to Save Money on Your Summer Family Trip
• EverBank Raises Money Market Account Bonus Rate to 3.01%

And More!

• Will People Change?
• Energy Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credits
• MBNA Smart Cash Credit Card - The New Cash Back King?
• Carnival of Personal Finance
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

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Some friends of ours are having a their first baby. They are registering soon and were looking for advice on things you couldn’t live without. She asks:

“What should I definitely register for, and what can I skip? What is worth the extra money, and what isn’t? Do you have any recommendations on strollers, cribs or car seats?”

What We Used for Our Babies

Our registry was based mostly things recommended in the Baby Bargains book. It’s the best book ever! They have a good, better, and best recommendation for each category. They also tell you about things you won’t need. Overall, I found they were pretty close.

Here were some of the specific items we used for our babies.

Baby Gear

Car seat. We use the Graco Snugride for the infant seat, then a Britax Marathon for the convertible seat. We also get Cosco Scenara’s for plane travel and for in Grandma’s car; they are very inexpensive. Just remember, car seats expire after 5 years!

Strollers. The Peg Perego Pliko 3 is my favorite, but we also have a cheap $20 umbrella stroller which comes in handy often. We have other ones too, but those two are the ones that get used the most.

High chair. We have 3, my favorite is the Fisher Price Space Saver. It straps onto a regular dining room chair, and it’s easy to take to Grandma’s house.

Pack ‘n’ Play. Our kids slept in our room for the first couple months. The Graco Pack ‘n’ Play was perfect because it has a bassinet insert to sleep in for the first few months; you can avoid a pricey bassinet. In addition, it works well for traveling to hotels and Grandma’s house.

Baby Carrier. We have a baby wrap for use with newborns and a Bjorn for once they are a little older. However, I think the Bjorn was designed for men. I borrowed a neighbor’s Ergo and it was much more comfortable.

Baby Seating. We also have a swing, bouncy seat, and a Bumbo. We use them all, but the Bumbo is my favorite!

Furniture

All the furniture we selected was gender neutral, which was a good decision, since it will be used by our third baby shortly.

Cribs. Because our kids were close in age, we have two cribs. Both are child craft cribs. They’re one of the most highly rated and have a great safety record. In addition, when we had a broken piece after a year of use, their customer service was excellent in replacing it.

Mattress. We got a Colgate Classica I crib mattress for each child. However, make sure to shop around; you can find it for about half the price at various online retailers.

Nursery Furniture. We also got a glider and dresser for the nursery. But we purchased regular brands as opposed to “baby” furniture; it saved a bunch. It was easy to match the wood finish too.

Changing Table. We got an inexpensive one in the same wood finish as the crib and dresser. Once the kids are potty trained, the changing table is pretty much useless, so we didn’t want to spend a lot on a fancy one.

Bedding. Our first set of sheets were from The Company Store; they ripped. The next set came from Land’s End. They’ve held up really well. Besides the sheets and mattress pads, we didn’t purchase any other bedding. Babies can’t use blankets, pillows or any other bedding for safety reasons, so our kids slept in sleepsacks. In addition, you can skip the bumpers because, while they look cute, you have to take them out when the baby can start to move around.

Baby Butts

Diapers. We order Pampers Swaddlers through the subscribe and save program with Amazon. Once they get a little older, we switch to the Costco brand diapers.

Diaper Pail. The diaper champ is terrific! It’s much better than the diaper genie because you can use regular garbage bags instead of special inserts.

Other Baby Items

Feeding. One of the biggest money savers is nursing a baby. The milk is free and it’s great for the baby. I got a medela pump for when I went back to work with my boys. We also used Gerber GentleFlow Bottles because they were one of the first BPA free bottles at a reasonable price. My favorite nursing accessories were glamour mom tops and the hooter hider.

Clothing. To be honest, I didn’t even need to bother with clothes until the babies were almost two. Clothes seem to be a favorite baby gift both at a shower and when the baby arrives. Wait until you’ve gone through all the gifts to see if you even need to buy some clothes.

Miscellaneous. I took a stroll around my house to see which baby items I was forgetting. I found a diaper bag, toys and books, a monitor, baby wipes, a first aid kit, hoodie towels and washcloths, a bathtub, and a first aid kit.

Babies and Financials

If you’ve finished your registry, you can move on to the money aspect of a new baby. I mentioned various financial accounts for kids in Our Family is Expanding… and Checklist: Financial Strategies for Infants and Young Children.

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Photography: Numbers in Transport by James Cridland

My boys have been busy working on letters and numbers recently, so I thought it would be fun to follow up Personal Finance A to Z with an expanded money by the numbers and my favorite find in each.

Personal Finance: By the Numbers

1 Reason Not to Store Money in your Mattress: It gets taken to the dump.

2 Kids and the Cost of Having a Second Child: Things you don’t need… a shopping cart cover.

3 Old School Lessons To Make The Best of Today’s Economy: Learn to love the struggle.

4th Rule of the Millionaire: Set up automatic savings.

5 Money Smart Decisions To Start Your Career: Avoid the big screen TV.

6 Money Skills & Habits to Teach Your Kids Before College: Understand debit, credit & interest.

7 Ways to Save Money on Your Summer Family Trip: Look for a vacation rental on Craigslist or VRBO.

8 Most Fuel Efficient Cars: 5 of the 8 most fuel efficient cars are hybrids.

9 Step Economic Action Plan: Increase your investments.

10 Things to Do When You Graduate Without a Job: Find alternative ways to make money in your field.

11 Little Steps to Better Finances: Check your money-emotion connection.

12 Frugal Wedding Ideas: Find out if friends are getting married around the same time as you and share wedding items.

13 Things Millionaires Do That You Don’t Do: Have shoes resoled or repaired.

14 Tips for Purchasing Life Insurance: Recognize that insurance is for protection — not investing.

15 Awesome Time Management Tools and Apps: Free mindmapping tool at Mind42.

16 Great Money Saving Tips: Sex up the travel mug.

17 Creative Things to Do with Phone Books: Window wipes, fire starters, or garden mulch.

18 Secrets To A Successful Yard Sale: Schedule yard sales around the first of the month.

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Bing included a cash back program! Let’s check it out.

How to Earn Your Bing Cash Back

1. Sign up for a Windows Live ID Bing Cash Back account or use your Hotmail, Messenger, or Xbox LIVE ID.
2. Shop for products using Bing Shopping.
3. Once you reach $5 in cash back, you can redeem your cash back.
4. Redeem your cash back by PayPal, direct deposit to your bank account, or a check.

Bing Cash Back Details

Maximum Cash Back. You can earn up to $2,500 in cash back savings every calendar year.

Integrated Shopping. The cash back amounts show directly on the shopping page, which is very convenient.

eBay Purchases. Cash back includes purchases at eBay.

Partner Stores. Check out the complete list of partner stores to see the percentages of cash back at each store.

Get the Highest Cash Back

As always, before making a purchase, I use ev’reward to determine the best cash back program for each store.

That way I can be sure I’m getting the biggest bang for my buck whether it’s using Ebates, Mr. Rebates, Upromise Rewards, MyPoints or other cash back programs.

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Amazon is offering their Father’s Day DVD and Blu-Ray sale with up to 60% off and other Father’s Day Deals right now. I’ve been browsing, but I can’t find anything I like.

What are you buying the dads in your life? Bonus points if it’s something frugal!

Announcements

New Email Service. For those of you who subscribe by email, hopefully you’ve noticed the new look to your daily emails. Many of you requested that the topic of the article appear in the subject. You asked…. you got it! You may have seen a welcome message notifying you of your subscription. We finalized the switch to AWeber last week. I hope you like the improvements!

Lending Club New Feature. Readers Share Lending Club Returns was a bit hit; and it just got better! Lending Club rolled out a new tool last week to see how your portfolio stacks up against all the other members. Just login and go to the “Compare” link under your net annualized return!

Investing

• This Rally is for Real
• Mutual Fund Fees for Beginners - Loads, Expense Ratios, and Share Classes
• Jim Cramer’s Stock Picks and Tips: Thoughts From A Follower

Credit Cards

• Credit Card Offers - How to Separate the Wheat from the Chaff
• Credit Card Tips for College Graduates
• Chase Introduces Ultimate Rewards

By the Numbers

• 8 Ways to Make Yourself More Valuable at Work
• 12 Things Our Grandparents Lived Without
• 8 Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy this Summer Without Going Broke

And More!

• From Homeless to Homeowner
• Debt Free
• Reader Question: Which Loan Should I Pay First?
• How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early
• Carnival of Personal Finance

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It allows buyers to use the tax credit for closing costs and additional down payments instead of waiting until you file your tax return. It’s great news for those of you who were planning to buy a home by November 30, 2009.

Tax Credit Advance

The advance on the tax credit will be for buyers who use FHA loans. Borrowers will also be required to make a 3.5% down payment. Borrowers who work with state and local housing finance agencies, government agencies and approved nonprofit groups are also eligible.

Cost of Tax Credit Advance

Being able to access the tax credit ahead of time, is a great idea, but it isn’t free. The Federal Housing Commissioner released a Mortgagee Letter 2009-15 which establishes a maximum on the interest rates and fees:

Any costs attendant to the purchase of the tax credit are to be nominal and discounting the anticipated credit to cover the costs and expenses of the transaction must be reasonable and disclosed to the home buyer.

In FHA’s view, fees and costs that total more than 2.5% of the anticipated credit are considered excessive. (Example: $6000 to be refunded, with all fees and costs discounted, borrower should receive not less than $5850.00 for sale of tax credit.)

Zero Down Payment?

Buyers will not be able to use the advance to fund their entire down payment. The FHA loans will still require that the borrower comes up with the 3.5% down payment from their own funds. The tax credit advance can then be applied for a larger down payment in addition to the 3.5%, if the buyer chooses.

First Time Home Buyer Details

For more information on the first time home buyer credit, see the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit or First Time Home Buyer Tax Questions. The credit can be claimed on IRS Form 5405.

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