Keep reading for a little known Net Worth Booster. Many people are still not aware of the FREE OpenOffice.org suite. Per their website:
Sorry for the dramatic title, but we slashed our mortgage interest 26% by refinancing! We bought a house early 2008 at 6.25% (30 year with intention of paying off sooner) and refinanced about a year later in June 2009. Our new rate is 4.625% (30 year with intention of paying off sooner).
UPDATE 2/2/10:
I received this official email notification regarding the change:
As of January 30, 2010, HSBC Direct has been renamed HSBC Advance.
This change does not affect your banking activities. Your online deposit accounts will remain exactly the same, with the same features, benefits, and competitive rates… all without monthly fees.
Made in U.S.A!
Many of us are fed up with sending all of our American dollars overseas to China for product manufacturing, India for office workers, and the Middle East for oil. Well, we can definitely take steps to bring our dollars back to America if we make the proper choices. This post is about one of those choices – stop sending your hard-earned dollars to middle east oil sheiks.
No – by “green” I am not referring to dollar bills. Well, not entirely. Using fluorescent light bulbs will save money in the long run, although they do cost more upfront. Basic home fluorescent light bulbs have come a long way down in price. For example, on Bulb Americayou can buy ten 20 watt compact fluorescent light bulbs for $21.95 (see end of post for coupon code to save even more) which is only slightly over $2.20 per bulb and they only use a third of the electricity!
Overpaying for phone calls is a Net Worth Buster! Do you make national or international long distance calls where you need to pay for each call? Where the calls are not included in your standard home or cell phone plan? Here are some cheap national and international long distance calling plans.
Nowadays many of us manage our own stock portfolios. The ability to buy and sell stocks cheaply in any quantity we desire is a major improvement over the days of being required to use a broker, buy in rounds lots, and paying huge commissions. However, I am not a believer in day trading and place it in my category of Net Worth Buster. I think most people who attempt to day trade will not do well, but I am definitely interested to hear about your personal experiences.
UPDATE January 21, 2010: HSBC Direct Renamed – HSBC Advance is the New Name
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I have used the HSBC Direct High Yield Online Savings Account for several years now. They have always been in the top tier of interest rates, without offering unnaturally high initial rates that are unsustainable. I have signed up for other online savings accounts over the years; however, I selected HSBC due to the following reasons:
