Archive for category Spending

How to get the Cheapest iPhone Plan

Cell phone plans can get expensive…plain and simple. The trick is to know how much you actually use and pay for only what you need. Many people sign up for unlimited plans, and only really call about 400 minutes per month. You can save boatloads of cash by simply picking the right plan for your needs.

Next, it is essential that you tell AT&T or your wireless carrier that you have a job. Almost every employer qualifies for a 20% discount from the wireless companies. By having a job, they know you are more likely able to afford your cell phone bill each month.

Here is how to get the cheapest iPhone plan. It may not fit your needs, but you can get a sense of the costs from here:
Plan: Nationwide 450 Minutes w/Rollover – $39.99
Option: Dataplus 200MB for iPhone – $15.00
Subtotal – $54.99
Discount – $11.00
Total – $43.99

That is not a bad deal. You may also want to look at getting a text messaging plan. You can get a 200 message plan for about $5. Not a bad investment considering they usually charge about $0.20 per text without a plan! That can add up fast!

- The College Investor


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Five Things to do on Labor Day

Since most Americans have the day off, here are some great activities to boost your financial well being!  Plus, they are pretty quick!


1. Check your credit report – Every American qualifies to get a free credit report once a year.  You can go to AnnualCreditReport.com and check your credit reports.  It is quick, and if there is something amiss, you will be much better off knowing about it and getting it fixed instead of being shocked when you are not approved for a loan.

2. Check your insurance – Every person should really look at re-evaluating how much they pay for their insurance each year.  Chances are, your rate for auto insurance hasn’t changed much over the past few years.  However, the car insurance market is fierce, and there are a lot of great rates out there.  Check out: 21st Century Insurance Company, Auto Insurance, Allstate Auto Insurance, GEICO, and The AARP® Auto Insurance Program from The Hartford.

3. Balance your checkbook and other accounts – Since you most likely have the day off, it may be a great time to spend an hour and get all of your finances in order.  Balance your checkbook.  Check your credit card statements.  Setup online Bill Pay.  Or, you could make your financial life easier by checking out Mint.com, or purchasing Quicken.  These finance products are great at helping individuals keep their financial houses in order.  Mint is great because it is free, and it updates automatically.  They make their money by offering you better services than you are currently getting, but that can usually work in your favor.  Also, Quicken is great for the power finance user, but it does cost a little bit of dough.

4. Check your portfolio allocation – Another great tool to look into is Morningstar’s Portfolio X-Ray tool.  This year has seen some great gains in the stock market, and you may be surprised to see what your mutual funds and ETFs have been doing with your money.  It may also be time to think about re-balancing your portfolio all together.  Check out Unlimited Stock and Fund Insight from Morningstar. Learn More.

5. Get a better deal on your cable TV – Cable TV is having a rough time keeping subscribers, but that works out great for subscribers!  Give your local cable company a call and see what they can do to keep you as a customer.  Remind them that you are watching most of your shows online (check out Hulu), maybe you are getting your DVDs through NetFlix, and that you really don’t know why you are paying almost $100 a month.  If they refuse to bargain, maybe you should consider just watching basic, and getting everything else online!

- The College Investor


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Why I Hate FedLoan Continued…

As you may of read in my previous post about why FedLoan Servicing is the Worst Student Loan Servicer, I have a big beef with this company.  To add insult to injury, I was trying to update my accounts at Mint.com, and FedLoan is unable to be added as an account.  I was able to add my Sallie Mae student loan just fine, but not FedLoan.

This company continues to live up to its reputation as the worst student loan servicer.  Its time to invest some of the profits you are making off our student loans in to technology that will allow you to function as a responsible company!

- The College Investor


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Amazon Student

It is almost prime time for buying textbooks. Most of the semester schools are in the first weeks, and the quarter system schools are about to start. In looking for the best deals for textbooks, I can across a program called Amazon Student.

Amazon Student is a great incentive from Amazon for college students.  It gives you:

  • Unlimited FREE 2-Day Shipping on textbooks and millions of other items
  • No minimum order size
  • Upgrades to 1-Day shipping for only $3.99
  • Email alerts on exclusive deals

If you are a student, all you have to do is be currently enrolled in a college or university, and have a valid .edu email address to confirm your status.

Check it out!

- The College Investor


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The Weekly Financial Round-Up

Hope everyone had a great week in this volatile market! Here are some interesting links to get you through the weekend:

- Our post on FedLoan Servicing was the most popular topic last week. Check it out here!

- Found a great new website that is similar to Twitter for investment ideas.  Its called InvesCafe!

- Over at Consumerism Commentary, there are two great articles this week about credit cards – one about rewards and one about potential pitfalls!

- At The Digerati Life, the have some fun with currency.  Great photos!

- Finally, check out The Best Money Tips at Wise Bread!

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Amazon Video on Demand Special

Amazon.com is currently running a special for all individuals who purchase a DVD or Blu-Ray movie through their site.  If you purchase a DVD or Blu-Ray movie, you will be given a $4.00 credit that can be used towards eligible Amazon Video on Demand (VOD) movie and TV purchases.  The great thing about this offer is that many movies can be rented on Amazon.com for anywhere from $1.99 – $3.99.  So you essentially can get a free movie rental for each DVD or Blu-Ray purchase.

Check it out!

- Robert


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Never Pay For Checks Again

I was talking to a friend the other day who was complaining about having to buy more checks.  I was appalled.

For one, there are many banks who offer free checks for life.  USAA is one, but there are many others.

Second, even sites the Vista Print have free check offers all the time.  Check it out here: Vista Print Free Checks.

So, next time you feel like you need to pay for a banking product, you should really just think about switching banks.

- Rob


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College Textbook Time

Its almost that time of the year again…back to college.  It is also usually one of the most expensive, given how much textbooks cost these days.

Here are some cheap options to buy textbooks that I have discovered over the years, or have been submitted by College Investor readers:

Chegg.com

Also, make sure that you check out the used books at your college’s bookstore. Sometimes they have great deals.

Finally, there are several sites out there now that allow you to rent textbooks. One I recommend is College Book Renter:


CollegeBookRenter.com!

Check them out. Let us know!

- Robert


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FedLoan Servicing – The Worst Student Loan Servicer

I just need to vent about FedLoan Servicing.  They recently took over a student loan of mine that was purchased by the Department of Education.  Since taking over my loan, I must admit that they are absolutely horrible.  I have another loan with Sallie Mae, and the difference in customer service and usability is incredible.

FedLoan started off poorly in the fact that I had to re-sign-up for all of the direct debit and online statements that I already had setup with the Dept. of Education.  To make matters worse, there is a lag time of approximately two billing cycles before my direct debit would kick-in.  Also, my student loan qualifies for an interest rate reduction if I sign-up for online statements.  Well, I lost the reduction, and had to re-gain it after the transfer.

Next, after FedLoan confirmed to me that my direct debit was processed and I have a confirmation letter stating this, their payment system does NOT process my payment.  I log-on to my account, and there are big notices saying “DELINQUENT!”  I call FedLoan, and the clerk is completely ignorant and rude, and refuses to answer any of my questions.  I call back, and speak to another clerk, who tells me that FedLoan has all kinds of problems with their payment systems, and that this happens all the time.  I finally have to get her manager on the phone, who basically admits this without actually admitting it, and fixes all my problems.

Finally, I had a payment pending for 2 weeks before it was credited to my account.  If FedLoan is a loan servicer, then why won’t it process my payment!  Furthermore, they have a pay-ahead program, which they call a safety net, but it really makes it difficult and confusing.

For example, if you have direct debit on your account, you would expect your payment to be withdrawn each month.  Say it is $200.  Well, if you make a stand-alone payment of $200, expecting to pay down more on your loan, your direct debit will not go through, since you already paid the minimum.  Therefore, you really didn’t make an extra payment.  You then have to manually make another payment.  How ridiculous.  My mortgage debits my account the same each month.  If I make an extra payment, it makes no difference!

Fedloan’s business practices are shameful, and what makes them worse is that they are contracted by the United States Department of Education!

Note: This post was edited to clarify the payment practices.  There is a lot of misunderstanding surround this program.


Click here to find the right student loan for you


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Schwab Invest First Credit Card

Its a sad day for credit card users who are looking for the best rewards.  It appears that Schwab is no longer offering their Invest First card to new customers.  As I mentioned in my post about The Best Credit Card for Rewards, the Schwab Invest First Card was great because it offered 2% back in cash for all transactions.

However, there still are some good cards out there.  In my post about Where to Find Great Credit Card Rewards, I told you about NerdWallet.  This is a great site to find the highest returning credit card for your situation.  Right now, the best cash back cards are offering about 1% annually.  There are some specials for shorter periods of time, but I think we will all miss our wonderful 2% back from Schwab!

- Robert


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