Christian Finance Blog

If you’re looking for the perpetually sold out Nintendo Wii for Christmas, Amazon’s got them in stock right now for only $249.99 with no tax and free shipping! But don’t wait too long, they’re bound to sell out quick!

Get the hottest Christmas gift this year! The limit is 3 per household.

Well, guess what? Oprah loves the Amazon Kindle ebook reader. So for Oprah Show viewers or Christian Finance Blog readers like yourselves can get $50 off the Amazon Kindle reader. Just enter coupon code OPRAHWINFREY at checkout to get $50 off the $359 Kindle. Expires November 1st.

Courtesy of Engadget.

Looks like WaMu has extended their online 5.00% CD for both 12 and 13 month terms. They had briefly lowered rates to 4.50% but now they are back up to 5.00%. This is a great rate and the highest I know of for any FDIC insured CD.

You can only open it online with a minimum of $1,000. Make sure to have less than the $100,000 FDIC insurance limit.

Now through this Friday, August 29th, WaMu is offering a 13-month 5.00% APY CD available in the branches, online, or by phone. They are really pushing this hard and is a great rate. Penalty for early withdrawal is 90 days interest.

They are also offering a 12-month 5.00% CD online which might be better for you if you don’t want to lock in your money for 13 months. I’m not sure when this deal expires, though. This is only available online. Minimum is $1000 to open for both.

I’m thinking about opening one up myself. This may be a desperation move for the large bank to get some cash but I wouldn’t be worried unless you have more than $100,000 with them. The FDIC will cover everything under $100,000.

FNBO Direct is putting on a Pay Yourself First online video contest with some nice cash prizes! I had heard about the contest a while back since I’m a customer of FNBO Direct and I wanted to put together a video. I kept putting it off until fellow blogger Jonathan at My Money Blog wrote about it and put up a video for the contest. This kind of sparked a fire inside me (I always love a little competition!) and I whipped up a quick video for the contest. Go ahead and watch and rate it!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn6YhPPK0v4&hl=en]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn6YhPPK0v4

The odds of winning are really good since currently there are only 33 submitted videos and four of them are from FNBO so there are really only 29 submissions (including mine). That means almost everyone by default is winning $500! First 500 submissions get a $10 Amazon.com gift card. Top 20 videos win $500. Top five get up to $5000 in matched savings. Deadline is July 31st and unless everyone is just waiting to post their videos up before the deadline, I think you have a good chance of winning something. Let’s just hope they don’t cancel the contest for lack of participation.

FNBO Direct is currently paying 3.50% on their online savings account which is a very competitive rate right now. I currently have some money parked there. Here’s my full FNBO Direct review.

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Friday, July 11 is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A nationwide. To celebrate, nearly 1,400 Chick-fil-A restaurants will offer a free Chick-fil-A meal to anyone fully dressed as a cow (includes an entree, side item, and a drink). For those who are partially dressed in cow attire will receive a free entree.

I say we all buy a cheap cow Halloween costume and hit up all the Chick-fil-A’s in the area! That would be fun!

The cow is the unofficial icon of the restaurant chain and has helped boost sales by over 500% since its introduction from $502 million in sales in 1995 to more than $2.64 billion in 2007! And by the way, the chain is Christian-owned and operated so go ahead and support! I always love supporting Christian companies. I mean, think about the corporate tithe Chick-fil-A would pay on $2.64 billion! That’s like $264 million! Yikes!

Source: QSR Magazine

On yesterday’s episode of the Suze Orman show, Suze offered a free gift code to access the her Will & Trust Kit online. All you have to do is go to her website and enter “people first” into the gift code section of the Will & Trust Kit (normally $13.50!). This allow you to create some financial documents such as a will, revocable trust, and more. And you can’t beat free!

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Here’s a brand new $75 Bank of America checking account bonus! You must open a checking account with minimum $100 by July 31, 2008 to receive your bonus. Use code AOU260508 and apply online or go to your nearest banking center. $75 will be deposited within 90 days. Amount will be reported to the IRS as a 1099 so you will be taxed on it.

Just open an MyAccess Checking account (free with no direct deposit requirement and no minimum balance required if opened online). A savings account is not required for the bonus, but if you want to use the Keep the Change program, you’ll need to open one.

Offer only good for new customers and one per household. Not available in Washington or Idaho. Expires 7/31/08 so hurry.

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I want to give back to you! Here are some free bonuses, free cash, or free money just for opening an account of some kind.

ING Direct - Free $25 instantly if you open an Electric Orange or Orange Savings Account (currently yielding 3%) with at least $250. That’s an instant 10% return just for saving! Start your emergency fund or save up for that new toy!

This is easily my favorite online savings account and I’ve been with them since 2005. Highly recommended with great customer service and competitive rates. You can link the savings account to a checking account from another bank so you don’t even have to switch banks!

Contact me and I’ll send you a referral link. You can only get the bonus if you open through a referral link.

Prosper - Get $25 free to get started after you fund your first loan as a lender (minimum $50). This is the next revolution in finance called micro-finance where multiple people fund one loan with smaller micro-payments of as little as $50. This spreads the risk across many people and lowers the risk for you.

This is the first person-to-person lending marketplace in America with over 670,000 members and over $130 million in loans.

You can bid on eBay-style loan listings and you can view credit ratings, income information, etc. to help you make a good decision. I personally won’t lend to anyone with less than AA credit and I’m averaging a 9% return on my loans.

Email me and I’ll send you a referral link.

Zecco - Free China Shakes the World book ($15 value) PLUS I’ll personally send you $10 to your Paypal account (must have Paypal account to qualify) when you open and fund your account!

Zecco is the first online broker to offer free stock trades (up to 10 per month with minimum $2500 in equity) or only $4.50 per trade (if less than $2500). No minimums to open and it’s my main online stock broker. Highly recommended if you want to get started with stock trading. Fees are what kill returns so if you can lower fees as much as possible, it really helps your potential capital gains!

Email me and I’ll send you a referral link. Email me again when you open and fund your account and I’ll send you $10 to your Paypal account!

Scottrade - Get 3 free online trades as a sign-up bonus just for opening an account. Scottrade only charges $7 per trade, has local branches across the country and has great customer service! I have my Roth IRA with them and I can’t recommend them enough!

Contact me and I’ll send you a referral link. Your 3 free trades will be available once you open your account.

Sharebuilder - Get a $55 cash bonus (if you’re a Costco member, otherwise $25) to invest. All you have to do is open an account (no minimum) and trade.

Sharebuilder offers automatic trades at $4 a trade or $9.95 real-time trades. ING Direct recently bought them out so you can expect the same level of customer service. Although I prefer Zecco over Sharebuilder as a discount stock broker, this is a good option for anyone who doesn’t have much to invest.

Contact me and I’ll send you a referral link. Your cash bonus will be available 4-6 weeks after your first transaction.

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On February 17, 2009, television will only be broadcast in digital rather than analog signals. What does this mean for you? You will need to buy a converter box only if you currently use an antenna to receive your television signal.

If you currently use cable, satellite, or have a built-in digital TV tuner, you do not need a converter box or need to do anything else. If you still need a converter box, you can apply for two free $40 coupons per household to offset the cost of converter boxes from now until February 17, 2009 or until they run out.

You don’t need to buy a new TV like many people were saying. All you need is a converter box so don’t use this as an excuse to buy something that you might not need.

Yes, I admit it. I should be in Cheapskate’s Anonymous, although I prefer to be called frugal. But you can call me cheap if you want, I really don’t care. I’m not completely cheap, though. I’ll spend money on things I care about, but I will never try to jeopardize my financial future. I always have not only the future consequences of all of my actions in mind, but the eternal consequences as well. See, we as believers are governed by something higher than this world’s economy, rules, regulations, and government. We must answer to a higher being not only here on earth but in eternity as well. We must be held accountable to God.

That being said, I always ask for a discount. I think that it is wise and being a good steward to try and get the best value for your dollar on everything. I’m not talking about taking advantage of people. I’m talking about using the money and resources God has blessed us with to get the best deal possible without hurting anyone. Everywhere I go shopping, I ask for a discount. If you’re a student, ask for a student discount. If you’re a senior citizen, ask for the discount. If you’re in the military, ask for the military discount. Even if you don’t fit in any of those, ask for a discount. When you’re checking into a hotel, ask if there’s a better rate. My philosophy is that it doesn’t hurt to ask, and the worst that can happen is that they say no.

It doesn’t matter who’s watching or if you’re going to be embarrassed asking for a discount or for using coupons. You’re never going to see the people behind you in line again. This also applies to getting “stuff” that makes you look cool. That’s why we shouldn’t buy things to impress other people. Like that shiny, fancy, new car that you want because it will make you look successful. The people you pass up on the freeway will never see you again. And their opinion doesn’t really matter anyway. The people who matter most are your family and true friends, and especially God. Everything else doesn’t really matter except who you are in God’s eyes.

So always ask for a discount and live a life that’s pleasing to God Almighty. I try to.

Oprah and Suze Orman are giving away FREE digital copies of Suze’s newest book, Women & Money! Just go to the download page and you can download the English or Spanish version for free! But the download only lasts until February 14, 2008 at 8 pm EST so hurry!

If you’re looking for a new checking account or need to have an additional one, here’s some more incentive. Now through February 29, 2008, if you open a checking account with Bank of America, they will deposit $100 within 90 days of opening the account. The best way to do it is to open it online as then MyAccess Checking is absolutely free with no monthly maintenance fees, no minimum balance requirements, and no direct deposit requirements! That’s what I like! You must open with at least $100 to be eligible for the bonus. That’s a 100% return almost instantly.

This is not eligible for existing customers or for student checking. If you open at a local branch, use offer code AOU2612. It comes with free online banking with bill pay, Bank of America Visa debit/check card with Keep the Change program and unlimited check writing. So if you need a new checking account or even if you don’t, it’s an easy way to get a free hundred dollars! Be aware that they will 1099 you as interest income.

Just think of it as an early Christmas present from me to you! Merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season!

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Even though Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) is still several weeks away, I’m already preparing for the biggest shopping day of the year! Many of the ads have already been leaked online (check out bfads.net and click on adscans on the top) and I’m already planning everything out. This has become a tradition for myself and my friends. We’ve been going for years now and this year is no different. It’s more about having fun with friends than it is about shopping for me.

For those of you who don’t know, Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year and it got its name because it was generally the start of the holiday season when retailers would go from “being in the red” to “being in the black”. In other words, it was the day that marked profits for retailers. Stores open extra early at 5, 6, or 7 am and have many great deals. Many people line up on Thanksgiving day from 6 pm or earlier to be first in line to get the best deals.

This is a great day to get some great deals but don’t go crazy. Just because it’s Black Friday, doesn’t mean that everything is on sale. Even the things in the ads aren’t really at a great price. I always check online to make sure it’s really a good deal. I’ve seen some people on Black Friday with carts full of stuff and they just add anything into the cart that looks good. In fact, the stuff in the aisles next to the line is usually the high margin stuff that’s not even on sale and that they make the most money on.

Remember that failing to plan is planning to fail.

Here’s another $50 bank bonus! This time it’s from the well established Wells Fargo bank with nationwide branches. All you have to open a free checking account with a minimum of $100 and you’ll receive $50 within 30-45 days of opening the account. That’s an easy 50% return on your money for FREE! Free checking has no monthly service fees and no minimum balance requirements. Be aware that they do a hard credit check.

Here’s the fine print straight from the page:

Offer subject to qualification. Limit one $50 bonus per household. To qualify for your $50 bonus, you must open and fund a new personal Wells Fargo checking account with a minimum initial deposit of $100 (not including the $50 bonus) by November 30, 2007. The $50 bonus is available with all Wells Fargo checking accounts, including non interest-earning checking accounts, except for Wells Fargo College Checking®, Wells Fargo Teen CheckingSM and Wells Fargo Opportunity Checking® accounts. The $50 bonus will be deposited to your new Wells Fargo checking account within 30 to 45 days of opening. The bonus is reported as interest on your Wells Fargo checking account for IRS tax reporting purposes. Offer may not be combined with any other offer.