Poll: Do You Use AutoPay To Pay Bills Automatically?
March 29th, 2012 | Posted by Global Investors
One common recommendation for new parents is to save time wherever you can. So tonight, for the very first time, I have signed up for the AutoPay feature for my most heavily-used American Express card to have it pay the credit card bill in full each month by withdrawing money from my bank account automatically. I don’t have to do anything.
Usually, I don’t like giving any vendors the right to suck money (“pull”) from my checking account. It feel invasive, somehow. I prefer to use my bank’s online BillPay feature to send (“push”) money after I get my paper bill and verify all the charges are legit. I also like to see my electric bill to monitor our power usage, and the water bill to make sure there aren’t any leaks, etc.
However, with a newborn I can potentially imagine forgetting to pay a bill, so maybe automation is a good idea. I have never had any problem disputing a wrong charge with AmEx, and I have an overdraft buffer at Ally Bank so I won’t be dinged with overdraft fees. If it works out, after looking around it appears that almost every bill that I have can be set to AutoPay. What you do think?
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Poll: Do You Use AutoPay To Pay Bills Automatically? from My Money Blog.
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Poll: Which Tax Software Did You Use In 2011?
February 4th, 2012 | Posted by Global InvestorsJanuary 31st was the deadline for companies to mail out W-2 forms and 1099 forms involving other income and interest. Coming up is February 15th, the deadline for brokerages to send out 1099-B forms listing stock sale proceeds.
That means you early-birds out there (not me) are probably chomping at the bit to file your taxes! So here’s a question to you readers about last year:
A better question would be why you chose that software – price, convenience, trust, quality of product, or what? Would you have switched if a competitor was $25 cheaper?
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Poll: Which Tax Software Did You Use In 2011? from My Money Blog.
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Bank Poll: Where Is Your Primary Checking Account?
November 2nd, 2011 | Posted by Global Investors
There has been a lot of commotion about banks and debit card fees recently. Fees were tested, added, announced, removed, and probably soon, added back indirectly. However, megabanks still have the power of inertia and convenience. I am betting that most people did not move their accounts just yet. But maybe I’m wrong?
For this poll question, I want you to think about your current primary checking account. This is the account where the bulk of your paycheck or other income is deposited, and out of which you pay your bills on a regular basis.
I have a lot of accounts, but my primary account account is online-only Ally Bank, as previously reviewed. I do keep a megabank account for the occasional need for in-branch services like a signature guarantee, cashier’s checks, bank wires, large checks that I can’t use eDeposit, and so on.
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Bank Poll: Where Is Your Primary Checking Account? from My Money Blog.
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Poll: How Would Winning The Lottery Change Your Investment Risk Tolerance?
September 10th, 2011 | Posted by Global InvestorsIn a discussion about risk on the Bogleheads forum, member John Norstad brought up an intriguing question. Let’s say you won $1 million (net after taxes) in the lottery tomorrow. This money will get added to your existing investment portfolio, and may or may not be enough to allow you to fully “retire” as you would like to. As a result, how would you change your investment style?
Make it more aggressive. Sample reasoning: Now that I have a head start and a cushion, why not gamble a little and see what happens? I should buy more stocks, and perhaps I can retire even earlier or with a bigger nest egg. This is given the term Decreasing Relative Risk Aversion (DRRA).
Make it more conservative. Sample reasoning: I’ve just gotten much closer to my goal, and I don’t want to mess it up. I can now invest more in safer things like bonds and be more confident in reaching my goal eventually. Known as Increasing Relative Risk Aversion (IRRA).
Keep it the same. Sample reasoning: I have a set allocation set up, and I see no reason to change it. Anything I don’t spend, I will leave to my heirs. Known as Constant Relative Risk Aversion (CRRA).
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Poll: How Would Winning The Lottery Change Your Investment Risk Tolerance? from My Money Blog.
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Netflix User Poll: How to Handle The New Pricing Changes?
July 14th, 2011 | Posted by Global Investors
Netflix users around the country are abuzz about Netflix’s new pricing plans. Previously, all DVD plans included unlimited internet streaming. Late last year the prices were upped slightly to $10 a month for 1 DVD out at a time, $15 for 2 DVDs, and $20 for 3 DVDs. (I’m rounding because I think .99 pricing is annoying.) Coming September 1st, 2011, Netflix has separated the DVD and Streaming options completely. Streaming is $8 a month, and there is no discount if you add it to a DVD plan. 1 DVD at a time is $8, making the total now $16 month – a 60% price hike. 2 DVDs at a time is $12, making the new total $20 a month, a 33% price hike.
Now, that’s one way to look at it. However, I really only used Netflix streaming very lightly. Instead, I can now get my 1 DVD a month for only $8. Or, I can upgrade to 2 DVDs for month for $12. I think that streaming video is the key to Netflix avoiding becoming the next buggy-whip manufacturer, and that making things a la carte was something that had to be done sooner or later. I just think the move came too early. Their streaming quality and selection is simply not good enough for me to pay $8 a month for it.
According to a reader poll last month, 63% of you subscribe to Netflix. So think about it for a minute… what are you going to do?
Some people say that they are going to switch to Redbox or Blockbuster Express, but I’m actually probably going to go with the 2 DVDs for $12 plan, since I don’t like having to remember to return movies at the grocery store. If anything, this will push me to explore other online streaming options for the occasional “I’m bored and there’s nothing to watch” moments. I know that with a paid Amazon Prime membership ($79 annually) you can get free access to Amazon Instant Video as well as that handy 2-day shipping. Not sure how good their selection is, though. Alternatively, I could rent movies a month from iTunes at $1-$4 each, and they’d be new releases.
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Netflix User Poll: How to Handle The New Pricing Changes? from My Money Blog.
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Reader Poll: Do You Buy Entertainment Coupon Books?
June 17th, 2011 | Posted by Global Investors
You may have heard of a huge annual coupon book that is known simply as The Entertainment Book. Compiled specifically for your local area, it includes discounts for restaurants, movie tickets, movie attractions, and services like car repair or nail salons. The most common are 2-for-1 or 50% off. If you enter your zip code online, you’ll be able to see the coupons inside ahead of time. (Some people also buy books from tourist places like Orlando or Hawaii.)
The retail price varies by area, but is usually around $35 to $50, although you can usually find an addition discount on the site (they know their target demographic of bargain hunters). Currently, you can buy the 2011 book for about $5 + free shipping if you agree to pre-order the 2012 book at $5 off retail + free shipping. In addition, you can go through the shopping portal Mr. Rebates ($5 bonus) and get an additional 30% cash back.
I have never bought one myself, mostly because of my love/hate relationship with coupons. I love discounts but never seem to remember to bring coupons along, and that makes it even worse than not having it at all! However, I was recently given an Entertainment Book as a present. This thing is thick! It was a thoughtful gift, and now I can actually see if this thing will save me money.
So far, flipping through it, I’m happy to see that they do cover a lot of nearby vendors. The deals are very localized, so my preliminary advice would be to look through the deals online, and add up which ones you know you can use without changing your existing shopping habits. Then, cut your expected saving by 50% for a margin of error. If you can still save money after that, then consider purchasing.
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Reader Poll: Do You Buy Entertainment Coupon Books? from My Money Blog.
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Reader Poll: Do You Subscribe to NetFlix?
June 11th, 2011 | Posted by Global InvestorsI’ll be honest, I did not see the success of Netflix coming. I thought it was a nice, cute DVD rental business that would probably be bought out by Blockbuster eventually, leaving their founders stupendously rich. But look around today: Blockbuster is bankrupt, and Netflix now has more subscribers than any U.S. cable or satellite provider, including Comcast.
That’s more than 24 million customers and growing (9 million added last year). Since the start of 2009, shares of NFLX stock are up 828% to $260 a share. Online streaming of Netflix videos now takes up 30% of all downstream bandwidth during peak hours. All those DVDs flying back and forth make up more than $600 million a year of the US Postal Service’s revenue.
I’ve been a customer of Netflix on and off during the last few years. I don’t watch very many movies in theaters, so when I feel like I’m falling behind popular culture references, I subscribe for a few months and catch up. The good thing is that Netflix makes it incredibly easy to stop, pause, and restart subscriptions. My “wanted” queue is stored. (You can only do the free month trial once per account.) I don’t own a Wii/PS3/Xbox and rarely stream video from my laptop, but I have noticed improvement in the selection available. How about you?
Sources: BusinessInsider, Guardian
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Reader Poll: Do You Subscribe to NetFlix? from My Money Blog.
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David C. Wilson: ESPN’s Misleading Poll Results on Lebron James
May 29th, 2011 | Posted by Global InvestorsPolls are typically associated with political issues, candidates, and public behaviors, but there’s also “politics” associated with reporting poll results. If there’s one thing the public should denounce it’s bad poll reporting because it leads to false information, a potentially false consensus, and lower trust in the source of the information.
Without question, ESPN’s job is to entertain, not produce good scientific polling; but, their recent poll on the NBA and LeBron James is just plain bulls!@#t. The article and the lack of details about the poll present a classic example of biased reporting, polling on the cheap, and making what scientists call a Type I error (a.k.a., false-positive, or saying “I found something” when it’s not really there).
According to the report, ESPN conducts a monthly telephone survey gauging topics like favorite NBA player, favorite overall athlete, and interest in the league. The main finding reads: “50% fewer respondents said James was their favorite NBA player.” This entire lead rests on the following fact: LeBron James popularity fell from 9% (April 2010) to 4.5% (May 2011). The ESPN poll also found that James’ “overall athlete” favorability dropped roughly 2 points, from 3.6% to 1.8%.
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Rudy Giuliani Emerges Surprise Winner In GOP Primary Election Poll
May 28th, 2011 | Posted by Global InvestorsBOSTON (Reuters) – Rudy Giuliani came out on top of a new survey of the 2012 Republican presidential primary field, even though the former New York Mayor has not so far jumped into the race.
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More on Elections 2012
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Rudy Giuliani Emerges Surprise Winner In GOP Primary Election Poll
May 28th, 2011 | Posted by Global InvestorsBOSTON (Reuters) – Rudy Giuliani came out on top of a new survey of the 2012 Republican presidential primary field, even though the former New York Mayor has not so far jumped into the race.
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More on Elections 2012
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