Keys To Obtaining Benefit

Key To Obtaining Benefit

• Understand each other's plans, hopes, and dreams.
• Take time to develop a written spending plan TOGETHER - visit HERE
• Plan your spending EVERY SINGLE MONTH - ensure that you are funding at least one of your dreams at all times
• Become debt free - calculate your Debt Freedom Date HERE

Distilled Knowledge

Here are some links:

Money Writers:

• Brip Blap asks what is ROWE and how does it affect the workplace?
• Winter’s coming and Frugal Dad looks at gel fuel fireplaces: a frugal home heating alternative.
• Generation X Finance gives this advice: read the fine print before signing any loan - you might be surprised at what’s in there!
• Here’s a wealth tip: lean the art of delayed gratification from Million Dollar Journey.
• The Digerati Life presents last minute gift ideas and shopping tips for holiday procrastinators.
• Money Smart Life also in a giving spirit writes Christmas gift cards - choosing the best gift card.
• My Dollar Plan talks about opening a new Solo 401k for the self employed.
• The Sun’s Financial Diary directs you to get your free ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall today!

More Financial Posts:

• Consumer Commentary writes GM wants you to fear its collapse.
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity presents 100 money saving tips for the holiday gifting bonanza – all sorts of topics and categories and all sort of tips. Great read!
• Here are some ideas on how

The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team

I have recently finished reading The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team written by Patrick Lencioni.

A GREAT book. If you are a leader, this book will cause you to think through your team in a new way and could quite possibly take your team to a new level of performance.

Here are some key points I took from this book:

• Everything we do should be about making the company succeed
• No matter how good an individual team member is, everyone loses if the team loses
• Fear of Conflict = Artificial harmony
• Boring Meetings = Unnecessary Meetings
• It is important for a leadership team to keep walls between their teams torn down. Teams naturally tend to move toward isolation and a "Those guys over there are terrible, but we have got our act together" mentality.

Well written. I read this book in five to ten minute sections, and I found that it was very effective for me to read it this way. It allowed me to process what I read and then come back to it later having thought it through.

Information

WSJ Prime Rate: 4.00% - Difference from best liquid account: 0.00%
Next FOMC meeting: Dec. 16th
Fed Funds Rate: 1.00%
Fed Funds Rate Prediction

Savings, Checking, and Money Market Accounts:

                                          Hard         Debit    ACH

 APY  Eff.  Bank/CU/Other             Min  Inq. Checks  Card  Orig/Target FW link  Notes                          

4.00% 10/08 DollarSavingsDirect       $1K   N     N      N       Y/N*     fw link  1% < $1K, no fees, no ACH pull

4.00% 10/23 UFB Direct Traveler Svng $500   Y     N      Y       N/Y      fw link  500 AA miles; up to $4.50/stmt ATM reimb

3.80% 10/03 Venture Bank Direct        $0   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link

3.75% 11/19 CNB Bank Direct            $0   Y     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  $1 min to open

3.75% 11/06 Corus Bank Ultimate MMA  $10K   N     Y      Y       N/Y               $100 open. $10K avoid $25/mo

3.75% 10/24 GMAC Bank Online Savings   $0   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link

3.75% 07/01 Alliant CU Savings         $5   Y     Y*     Y*      Y/Y      fw link  If<$100,0% APY; *via linked acct

3.75% 10/03 OneUnited Bank Savings    $1K   N     N      Y       Y/Y      fw link  Int. quarterly. $50 open bonus.

3.75% 08/22 Provident Direct           $1   N     N      Y       Y/Y      fw link  limits on transfers. see thread.

3.75% 08/01 Union Federal Savings MM   $1   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link

3.75% 10/28 Sovereign Bank MM        $75K   N     Y      N       N/Y               <$75k=3.25%, <25k=2.75%, <$10k=2.50%, *$2k min to avoid $5 fee

3.66% 11/05 Cap One Costco Savings   $10K   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  2.75% < $10K, no fees

3.65% 07/24 Flagstar Express MMA       $0   Y     Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link

3.60% 09/29 OnBank MM Savings          $1   N     N      N       Y/Y

3.25% 11/21 Amegy Bank MMA           $10K   N     N      Y       N/Y               $12/fee<$1K

3.57% 05/05 Century Bank MM           $1K   N     Y      Y       N/Y      fw link  only 3 free withdrawals/month

3.55% 07/29 Doral Bank Direct         $1K   ?     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  >$250 to avoid fees

3.55% 09/04 Cap One Online Savings   $10K   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  2.55% < $10K, no fees

3.52% 09/12 Nationwide                $1K   N     Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link

3.21% 06/30 Everbank YieldPldge MM     $0   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  Intro. 4.76%, $4.95/mo3.51% 11/04 Virtual Bank            $100K   N     N      N       Y/Y              $10k-$25k 3.05%,$25K-$50K 3.20%, $50K-$100k 3.30

3.50% 11/12 Indymac E-Money Market   $50K   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  $7 fee< $1K, FDIC run since 7/11

3.50% 10/22 ING EO Checking         $100K   N?    Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link  1.50% <> $50K

3.50% 08/20 Wachovia MM Savings       $1K   Y?    N      N       Y/Y               $2.5K to avoid $10/month fee. Rate varies by Zip.

3.50% 06/04 ShoreBank                  $1   ?     N      N       Y/?      fw link

3.50% 11/21 E-Loan Savings Plus     $100K   N     N      N       Y/?      fw link  $5K open. no min. tiered. $100/mo deposit req.

3.46% 04/22 Bank of Internet MM        $1   ?     Y      Y       N/Y      fw link  $100 to open, no fees

3.41% 05/05 Century Bank Savings     $100   N     N      N       N/Y      fw link  Only 3 free withdrawals/month

3.41% 11/01 Zions Deseret MMA       $2500   N     Y      ?       N/Y      fw link

3.40% 04/22 Umbrella pot o gold       $1K   N     Y      Y       Y/?      fw link 

3.35% 10/16 Salem Five              $100K   N     Y      Y       N/Y      fw link

3.31% 08/23 WT Direct Savings        $10K   N     N      N       Y/Y               0.50% < $10K, no fees

3.30% 09/12 E*Trade Complete Savings   $1   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  $25 Account opening bonus

3.28% 04/01 IGObanking Savings         $1   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link

3.25% 10/22 FNBO Direct                $1   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link

3.20% 04/09 Capital One Costco       $100   N     Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link  $1K to open

3.11% 04/22 giantbank.com MMA         $1K   ?     Y      N       Y/Y               Min. 1K to open, < 1K = 0%

3.05% 05/07 Savings Square             $1   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link

3.05% 03/28 Amboy Direct Savings       $1   N     N      N       Y/N*     fw link  No ACH pull

3.00% 10/21 HSBC Direct                $1   N     N      Y       Y/Y      fw Link

3.00% 08/01 Emigrant Direct            $1   N     N      N       Y/N*     fw link  No ACH pull

3.00% 02/29 GMAC Bank Money Market   $500   N     Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link

3.00% 11/18 Citi Ultimate Savings      $0   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link 

2.90% 11/18 Countrywide SavingsLink  $50K   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  <$10K 1.75%, $10K-$50K 2.90% 

2.90% 09/12 E*Trade MaxRate Checking  $5K   Y     Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link  0.5% < $5K

2.75% 03/19 ING Direct                 $1   ?     N      N       Y/N      fw link

2.75% 05/03 Apple Bank Grand Yield     $1   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  $2500 to open

2.75% 11/18 Citi Ultimate Money        $0   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  Must have Citi checking

2.60% 05/11 Presidential Bank         $5K   Y     Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link  $5K to open,  >$35K = 2.4%

2.50% 10/16 BankMutualDirect         $25K   Y     N      N       Y/Y               $125/mo if bal < $25K!

2.45% 05/21 SECU Advantage MM       $100K   N     Y      Y       N/Y      fw link

2.25% 11/14 WaMu Online Savings        $1   N     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  Run by JP Morgan Chase since 9/25

2.01% 11/17 EverBank FreeNet Checking  $1   Y     Y      Y       Y/Y

1.50% 11/14 Schwab Checking            $0   Y*    Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link  2nd hard inq. w/ margin

1.50% 08/17 AmTrust Direct e-savings   $1   Y     N      N       Y/Y      fw link  4% for 90 days new money 

0.60% 10/31 Fidelity mySmartCash       $0   N     Y      Y       Y/Y      fw link  Higher APY with FSLXX, ATM rebates

Reward Checking Accounts:

Most Reward Checking accounts have a cap on the balance that earns their high yield. Any balance above that cap will earn a much lower yield, typically 1.01% APY. They also have stringent requirements that must be met during each statement cycle, such as 10 debit card transactions, 1 direct deposit or other ACH transaction, receiving e-statements, and logging into on-line banking at least once. Not meeting the requirements for a statement cycle usually nullifies other features that might apply, such as ATM rebates, and drops the yield drastically, typically to 0.25% APY. Click on a link below or on Reward Checking Accounts (High Yield and Available to All) for details regarding a specific account.

APY   Eff  Bank/CU/Other             Min HInq HY Cap Debits ACH  FW link   Notes

6.31% 10/01 MidWest America FCU        $0  N    25K     10    ?   fw link   25K , 0.11% APY

6.01% 00/00 Charter Bank               $0  N    25K     13    T   fw link   25K , 1.01% APY

6.01% 04/01 Golden Plains CU           $0  ?    25K     10    T   fw link   25K , 0.51% APY

6.01% 00/00 Coulee Bank                $0  ?    25K     10    ?   fw link   25K , 1.01% APY

5.15% 05/31 First New England FCU      $0  Y    25K     12    T   fw link   25K , 3.00% APY

5.06% 04/09 Heartland Community Bank   $0  ?    30K     10    T   fw link   30K , 1.31% APY

5.01% 00/00 Coastal Federal CU         $0  N    50K     12    T   fw link   50K , 0.60% APY

5.01% 04/30 West Texas National Bank   $0  ?    25K     10    T   fw link   25K , 0.85% APY

4.51% 05/15 The Bank of Fayetteville    ?  ?    50K     10    T   fw link   50K , 1.01% APY

4.44% 02/05 1st Arkansas Bank & Trust  $0  N    50K     10   O/T  fw link   50K , 1.76% APY

3.01% 03/20 State Bank of Toledo       $0  ?    70K     10    T   fw link   70K , 2.21% APY

4.01% 04/01 Provident CU               $0  ?    25K     10    T   fw link   25K , 1.01% APY

3.51% 07/20 Connexus CU                $0  ?    25K     10    T   fw link   25K , 0.75% APY

Accounts not insured by the FDIC or NCUA:

                                          Hard         Debit     ACH

APY   Eff. Product                   Min Inq. Checks  Card  Orig./Target FW link  Notes

2.20% 10/24 Russell MMF                $1   N     N      N      NA/NA              RMMXX

2.97% 10/24 Fidelity Select MMF     $2.5K   N     N      N      NA/NA              FSLXX; Min. at Fidelity

2.94% 10/24 Fidelity Cash Resrv MMF $2.5K   N     N      N      NA/NA              FDRXX; Min. at Fidelity

1.69% 10/24 Fidelity Municipal MMF  $2.5K   N     N      N      NA/NA              FTEXX; Tax-exempt.

You can invest in a Money Market Fund (designated with MMF on this list) through various brokers, including on-line discount brokers. Use this APY calculator to convert the MMF's 7-day Yield to an APY based on daily compounding for comparison with other products in this Quick Summary. The MMF APY is converted from the 7-day Yield in the ticker link in the notes column. A Tax-exempt fund is one for which proceeds are not considered taxable income by the IRS. To convert a tax-exempt yield to it's comparative taxable yield, use this calculator.