Financial Tip: Fed Rate

In case you haven't heard by now, the stock markets around the world fell badly today. Just take a look the picture on the left here (Jan. 22, 2008 from L.A. Times), and you can see that some markets fell by double digits. In my perspective, there probably was a lot of pressure on the US to respond to the sliding economy.

In the past few week, there was a speculation that the Fed will lower the rate sometimes soon. The original plan was to lower the rate around the end of January. Today, this downward spiral forced the Fed to cut 3/4 of a percent, one week ahead of the original plan. There is another rumor that the Fed might more another cut within the next two weeks.

After all the news, what does this mean for you and me? For your portfolio, the rate cut is a good thing, because it boosts market value. Although, I believed this is only temporary, and another slide will come again. For your Checking Account and Savings Account, lowering rate is a bad thing, because the bank will also lower the interest rate.

So, how do you improve your situation in this economy? The stock market is volatile, so stock market is a very risky option. The safest bet is a long term, high interest CD account. If you are not in a financial situation, put part of your money into a high interest CD in a reliable bank. I said a reliable bank, because unstable banks could go down anytime (just look at how Washington Mutual, E*Trade, and Countrywide Financial almost went bankrupt). In addition, pick FDIC insured banks, which covers $100,000 per person, per insured bank. Spreading your money into multiple banks is not a bad idea also.

However, if you choose to stay with a Savings Account, you can still get a 4% APY. Currently, ING Direct is offering a 4% Savings Account, and 3% Checking Account. However, it only through online, which can be a bit inconvenient.

Link:
* ING Direct Orange Savings Account
* FDIC Insurance
* BankRate

Google Ranking

So, how many Kittipong are there on internet? A lot. To be rank lower than a tennis player, or a film director is not a bad thing, but to be rank lower than some random people is just not cool. Just few days ago, I did a search on "Kittipong", and tada...

On 11th page of Google search engine is this website! Impressive, considering how relatively new this site really is. By the way, I dug deeper to see if my old website was there. After 50 pages of zero result, I basically called it a day.

Google's Free 411

Google just seems to have a knack for being involved with services and programs that have nothing to do with the search engine. Just a couple days ago, I came across one of them. This time it is a free 411 service from Google. Yes, Google is now competing with the 411 directory service. The number is 1-800-GOOG-411, or 1-800-466-4411. Being a free service mean, of course, that you are talking to a machine instead of a real human. So, without any hesitation, I gave it a try.

The first thing it asks me is the name of the city.

"San Gabriel, California," I said.

"San Diego, California," it repeated.

I cancel the confirmation, and repeat it again. The same sequence was played few times before I gave up. As a last resort, I ended up typing in the zip code, and at least that work well enough. I tested the system by asking for few places locations around my area, and it works about 75% of the time. It listed all 99 Ranch Markets, and found well known Thai restaurants in this area.

Google 411 service can also forward your call to the store's telephone. If you wish, you can receive the address of the business by a text message. This would work really well if you have a GPS system in your car. In conclusion, Google 411 is an impressive free service that anyone should try before dialing 411.

For more detail, look at this link:

• Goog411

Photo Journey: A New Library

There was a study showing that people are happier when good things happened to them unexpectedly or without a reason.

This week, I continued my trek to the San Marino High School, since I got side track last week. In term of an architectural design, this school has one of the worse parking lot design. There are two small parking lots on each wing of the school. The west parking lot has two entrances, both near the corner of a busy intersection. The east parking lot is linear, which mean every parents who drop their kids in the morning are forced to make a u-turn inside this linear parking lot. Fortunately, the main structure of the school is quite new, and pleasant to look at. To my surprise, there is a nice little hut near the east parking lot. If not for the constant traffic noise, it would be a very peaceful to sit and relax.

Inside the school area, there seems to be activities going on, even though it is Saturday afternoon. Behind the main build, there is a group of high school students having a baseball practice. Next to the baseball field is an auditorium, which played an undeniable dance music with a sound of students goofing around. As I was about to leave the campus, I ran into an interesting sign next to a red door. Digital Photography

Interesting... this school has a digital photography class. This is better than my college. sigh After few more snap shots, I left the area.

If you read my post from last week, the same drink store happened to be near by. I entered the store, walked passed four guys playing poker at the corner, and waited at the counter.

"Oh, hey!" the sound from the corner.

Make that three guys playing poker in the corner. I ordered a cup of honey green tea. We chit-chat a little in the ten seconds that she made the drink. As I took a sip of the drink leaving the store, I realized that there was much more green tea than the honey. Surprisingly, she was back at her chair before I even step out the door. A lesson learned, don't get between a girl and her poker game.

Continuing on, I stumble across a library. Looking from outside, the new paint and flowers made it looked very interesting. I had to walked around the building to before finding the door. Unfortunately, the library is still under construction. I took few more photos before walking another hour back to my car.

Financial Tip: Debit vs. Credit

Debit card. Credit card. If you are reading this post, then the chance is that you already what each one does, and how it differs. But, how much better is one than the other? Let's take a look at some analysis:


Deduction Method

• Debit - Deducted from your bank account. Based on how you paid, the deduction could come after three days later.
• Credit - The payment is made through a monthly statement bill. There is an interest rate on any unpaid amount.
  

Opinion: Tie. You still have to pay either way.


Spending Limitation

• Debit - The amount in the checking account linked to the debit card. Usually there is an option to link a checking account to another bank account, so any over spending can be withdrawn from the secondary account. However, if not, then any over spending will result in an overdraft fee.
• Credit - The amount of credit on the card. Over spending will result in an overdraft fee.

Opinion: Debit. Fee is never a good thing.


Transaction Fee

• Debit - The bank may charge you. It depends on the term of the card.
• Credit - The bank charges the merchant, and not the consumer.

Opinion: Credit. There is absolutely no reason to pay more.


Annual Fee

• Debit - Depend on the term. Maybe up to $30 per year.
• Credit - Depend on the term. Currently, most credit card doesn't have annual fee.

Opinion: Tie. The lesson is look at the term before signing up for anything.


Liability (Stolen)

• Debit - If the card is report stolen within the first 48 hours, the maximum liability is $50. After 48 hours, it is $500. After 60 days, it's all the money in the checking account PLUS the maximum overdraft line of credit.
• Credit - If the card has been fraudulently used, the liability is only $50.

Opinion: Credit all the way. With a debit card, the money is already deducted from your account, so you know the refund won't be any time soon. With a credit card, no money is given to the bank until it is settled.


Benefits

• Debit - Some debit cards can be used as an ATM card. Some cards offer reward program. No payment late fee.
• Credit - Offer much better reward programs.

Opinion: Tie. However, if you pay the credit card bill on time, then credit would be a better choice.


Winner: Credit card.

The only thing that required you to do with credit card is to make the payment on time every month. If you can keep this up, you open yourself to a better reward program, save yourself from some hidden transaction fee, build your credit for a new car or a house, and a better protection again a fraudulently used of your card. Especially with an online transaction, you are much better protected with a credit card than a debit card.

In addition, many major bank companies are offering an online account to your credit card with several security features. The optional features included an email alert for buying a big tag item, for having the credit above certain amount, for reviewing previous statements, etc.

In the end, maybe credit or debit is not the solution. For those who want to save money, the best solution is to use real hard cash. This way, it is guarantee that you will never over spend any money you don't have.

Links:
* MSN-BankRate: Debit cards: A good deal gets better
* Debit-Card Identity Theft on the Rise: Choose Credit, Not Debit, When Paying
* BankRate: Pay more, get more debit rewards

Photo Journey: A Past History

"They say it's 5 centimeters per second."
"Hmm... What's that?"
"The speed at which cherry blossom petals fall, 5 centimeters per second."

If you never watch the film, or understand the symbolism of cherry blossom petals falling, then you probably have no clue why I wrote that transcript, or what it means.

At any rate, I was doing another round trip around the neighborhood with my camera. This time to the San Marino city. The quiet, scenic neighborhood is very peaceful. It is a great place to own a house. However, the odd of it happening required at least one of these two conditions to happen:

• The price of the houses in this area falls by 75% of the current price.
• I become a millionaire from the Super Lotto (a definitely potential).
  

Unfortunately, these two options are not likely to happen anytime soon, so I have to settle with just watching and staring instead. After almost two hours of walking around the neighborhood, I decided to stop by a local drink store for a quick refreshment. The place is empty, except for the three teenagers that were playing card game on a table by the window. I look at the menu and waited from someone to take my order. No one. I waited for about a minute, before a young lean woman came out. At first sight, her face definitely looks familiar, but my brain did not click right away. This the effect of not seeing someone for ten years.

"Kittipong!?"

"Yeah."

"You remember me?"

A moment of thought, "Of course."

"Remember my name?" She picked up something behind the counter.

"Sandy, right?" I said instinctively.

Fortunately enough, my brain did not failed me this time. To be honest, if she didn't said my name first, I might not be able to recall her name. However, her voice just bring up the name. After ordering a cup of barley milk tea, we talked a bit about our lives after high school. About fifteen minutes later, few more customers came in. She went back to work and I decided to leave. We didn't really know each others very well back in school, but there is a good feeling when I see someone from the past. Even stranger, this store is about 100 feet from where I drove by nearly everyday. Talk about a lucky day.

Economical Car: Nano

If you haven't heard about the Nano by now, you really should. And, no, this has nothing to do with the iPod or any MP3 player. This Nano is a new generation of car. India's Tata Motors began showing their new car, Nano, which cost about $2500. In addition, this car can go upto 50 miles per gallon! A sweet deal that sure to entice a lot of people from second and third world countries, especially considering how oil price is rising. In my opinion, it is not impossible to see least two percent of the India and China population buying Nano. Compact, stylish, and economical, it just remind me of the Volkswagon's Beetle.

External Links:

• Wiki on Nano
• Los Angeles Times Article

Financial Tip: Credit Card Deal #1

One mistake I did while in college is not have a credit card in my own name. During college, I basically tag along on my sister's credit card, which should be just as good as getting my own, right? Well, not exactly. Because I was not the primary owner of the credit card, I got no credit at all. So, few years went by, I was very surprised when I got rejected for a normal credit card. A lesson learned.

Three years later, and I get a bit smarter. My credit is not at zero anymore, and getting a random credit card simply won't do. Currently, there are several credit cards that offer cash backs or rebates, and getting the right one can save yourself some money on the regular expenses. Here are some of the better cash back deals as of January 05, 2008:

1. Blue Cash from American Express - 5% on supermarkets, gas, and drugstores. 1.5% on other purchases. However, your annual spending must be at least $6,500, or you won't get the 5% cash back. This is great for any big spender. More details...
   
2. Citi Professional Cash Card - 3% on restaurants, gas, certain office supply, and certain auto rentals. 1% on all others. This is a good deal for daily usage and Citi has a good of useful online services, although it is a bit harder to get this credit card. More details...
   
3. Chase Freedom Cash Visa Signature Card - 3% on each billing cycle's top three expense categories (there are 15 categories). 1% otherwise. However, the 3% cash back is limited to only $600 of that billing cycle. Anything over would be at back at 1%. This is the best for the big savers, because the cash back coverage is wider than most other +1% cash back cards. More details...

So, there you go. Credit cards that can save you some money, especially with gasoline. But remember, if you can't pay it all off in full every months, then the cash back is not worth it.

Link:
www.AskMeCreditCard.com
www.Bankaholic.com - Best Gas Credit Cards

Photography

For some of you who may not know, I'm currently learning about photography. Over the last several weeks, I have been walking around town and taking picture on just about anything that looks interesting or unique. On the night before the 2008 New Year, I got a chance to do some night photography at Pasadena's Old Town. Many pictures turned out to be quite blurry, because my Canon Powershot doesn't have an image stabilizer. After I talking to some of my colleague today, they told me that a tripod would have make my life a whole lot easier.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to take more pictures around town and post them up on my photoblog at aminus3.