Penny College

For those who have vacation time in September or currently unemployed with cash to travel, the best news just come from the little airline that could. JetBlue is once offering their unlimited flight ticket option for flights during Sept. 3 and Oct. 6. 2010. For $699, you can flight anywhere JetBlue flys during that time without additional charge. So if you can somehow plan out a itinerary for the month of September around JetBlue destinations, it may be a good deal. Just remember that all flights must have advance reservations. If you want to save even more, if you forgo the rights to fly Friday through Sundays during that time, you can have the pass for only $499. The passes sold out last year in record time, so if you’re interested, better get a move on.

www.jetblue.com

Well, look like the folks behind the MagicJack product is about to rock the telecom world again. MagicJack, for those keeping score, is the product that allow you to plug a USB device into your computer and make unlimited calls in the US/Canada for only $20/year. Now, the same folks is about to launch a new free product – MagicTalk.

MagicTalk doesn’t require require any device purchase, it is instead a simple piece of VOIP software that you can download to your computer. However, the difference between Skype and MagicTalk is that while Skype only allows free Skype to Skype calls, MagicTalk will issue its users a free real phone number and allow free computer to phone calls anywhere in the US. To get the same level of service on Skype, you would have to sign up for the phone number and unlimited monthly service, roughly a $60/year proposition.

The company intends to profit from International calls, which will be charged separately and from incoming calls (Interchange fees). From the user standpoint, if this service lives up to it’s promise, it may provide a good alternative free service for incoming and outgoing calls in the USA.

MagicTalk service will launch this week. Further information will probably be posted in the coming days at:

www.magicjack.com

Networking and networking events usually leaves  a bad taste in our mouths. Because the events are usually either useless in its stated goal or generally turn into a unruly meat market for a range of bizarre characters. However, after reading this book by Keith Ferrazzi, we may just have a new appreciation for the process of building relationships.

Unlike traditional networking advices, this book focus on what building relationships truly means and its ramification on your career, life, and circle of friends. We only wish we read this book during our younger days before we graduated from college. However, it’s never too late to learn. We would highly recommend this book for anyone just starting their career or perhaps in the middle of transition.

Blockbuster Online, think NetFlix but from Blockbuster, now offers games rentals in addition to their regular movies by mail service. There is no extra charges for the game rental but you’re limited by the numbers of discs in your plan. So for example, if you’re plan allows two disc at home, you can have one game disc and one movie disc or two game discs or two movie discs. The pricing is reasonable and similar to offerings by NetFlix. However, they do not have the online streaming option that is offered by NetFlix.
So is this a good deal? Well, it’s a good deal if you play both games and watch movies. We haven’t tried their service in years but with the free two week trial, you may want to experience the service for yourself and see if it’s a fit for you.

www.blockbuster.com

We’re avid readers of magazines at Penny College. Naturally, travel magazines fits into that category as well. However, we’re particularly smitten by a new travel magazine that launched within last year – Afar. Unlike traditional travel magazines like Conde Nest Travel, Afar focus on the culture and true essences of the locations instead of focusing on the linen in the hotel room.
It’s probably the best travel magazine for those who can’t physically be there, as it provides a clear sense of a location and its various elements. BusinessWeek magazine highlighted the founding of the magazine here – Who knew it was started from the ashes of real estate crisis. You can also subscribe to the magazine through their website below.

http://www.afar.com

While we always hope our readers are smart investors and savers that never get into debt, we know that everyone at some point in their lives will encounter debt related issues due to circumstances outside of their control.

NY Times has a great article this week regarding how old debts are sold to to debt collectors who will use any method, both legal and illegal in their attempts to collect on the the debt. What many people may not know is that there is a statue of limitation on the collection of debt. Basically, it means that if a debt become noncollectable over a period of time, which differs from state to state, then the debt owner no longer has the legal recourse to collect on it. Not that we recommend anyone try to take advantage of this method as a loophole. Because having debt that are written off will still destroy your credit score and report. Making your future financial life the slumps.

However, what this article pointed out is amazing. If some consumers decide to pay-off a portion of their debt (As debt collectors try to get you to do) The statue of limitation starts again for the whole debt. So in fact, sometimes it’s actually more wise for consumers to ignore old debt rather than fall into the debt collector’s trap. See the full article for yourself here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/business/31collect.html?scp=3&sq=debt%20collection&st=cse

It’s been awhile since we last discuss basic financial knowledge information for our novice readers. So today we’ll focus a on a topic that is the basics on building wealth and a nest egg for the long term.

In financial planning, most assets (Stuff you own) are divided into two basic categories for the sake of simplicity – Depreciating/Appreciating. The lines between two are often fluid and may overlap or intersect at certain times as you will see in  a few seconds.

Depreciating assets, as the name suggest, are assets that depreciate (Lose its value) in worth over time. For example, as the old saying goes, as soon as you drive the new car off the dealer lot, the car loses forty percent of value. Other common depreciating assets are items like Television, phones, cloth, etc. The only caveat to this categories are the collectables such as comic books, antiques, and other items that may increase in value over time. Then again, we don’t recommend you build your nest egg on stuff that “may” appreciate in value.
Read the rest of this entry »

Ever notice that over time, the charge held by your laptop decreases? The battery that used to last you three hours during the day now only lasts thirty minutes. This is a common problem among all rechargeable batteries. The difference being that other rechargeable batteries do not cost over $80 a pop. So it’s best to keep your battery from waning over time.

There are three ways to prolong the life of a laptop battery:

1. Only charge the battery when it’s almost fully depleted. This prevents the “memory” issues that some batteries have of remembering the last charge point and refusing to charge beyond that point.
2. Use the battery only when the laptop is not plugged into the wall jack. Thus, only use the battery when you’re mobile to prevent the battery from overcharging. Naturally, this doesn’t apply if you’re charging the battery after it’s fully depleted.
3. Remove the battery from the laptop if you rarely move the laptop from a plugged in location. This is the reason if you visit electronic or computer shops, the laptops on display do not have their batteries inserted. In fact, you can run the laptop without the battery with the power cable inserted with no detriment to the performance. This actually is a best practice to prolong the life of battery by not using it.

Hope this tips helps some readers out there from wasting cash on a replacement battery. Happy computing!

One of the hottest startups this year is Groupon, it burst on to the scene and literally took over the market for local advertising. So what is it and what does it have to do with this blog that’s focused on saving money? Well, quit a lot actually.

Groupon is a free web service that you sign up for with your email address. Based on your profile information, everyday a new or several new deals will be presented to you and others in your local area. The deals are from local businesses who advertised with Groupon.  It can range anywhere from 50% off for a carpet cleaning to $80 worth of dining at a local restaurant for only $20. The deals are determined by the advertisers and offer to the users but with a unique twist.

A sufficient number of users must take up the deal from the business for the deal to be in effect.  The number is pre-determined between the business and groupon. So for example, a restaurant can offer a deal for dinner for two on Wednesday for only $15, which would be 60% saving compare to their usual prices. However, the limited time deal will only take effect if 100 people signed up for the deal by the deadline. If not, the deal expires and no one gets the discounted price.

Base on the feedback and people usage of the service, the deals are surprisingly good and local businesses have taken to it to advertise to new clients who may not be familiar with them. Since the service is free for users, feel free to sign up and take a look for yourself.

www.groupon.com

If you’re thinking of switching over to T-Mobile for your wireless carrier, you may just want to wait until Saturday (June 19). As a special Father’s Day weekend promotion, T-Mobile will be offering their entire line of cell phones for free that day. Yes, this includes their line up of smartphones that usually cost hundreds of dollars. The only catch is that you must sign up for a family plan with T-Mobile and of course be locked into the standard two year contract.