Personal finance

Attention Shoppers, AT&T Is Hacked!

Posted by Sun on August 29, 2006 Comments Off

If you are an AT&T customer, by now you probably have already been informed. Otherwise, here’s the story.
USAToday reported that hackers accessed credit cards and other personal information of AT&T’s nearly 19,000 customers over the weekend. As a result, AT&T shut down its online store and notified credit card companies of those customers being affected. [...]

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Stop. You Exceeded The Limits!

Posted by Sun on August 28, 2006 Comments Off

No, this is not for speeding, but for online transfers at my HSBC account.
I got a letter from HSBC tonight dated last Thursday, August 24th. The letter says my savings account at HSBC has a limit of six “preauthorized, automatic, computer or telephone transfer” in any month, calendar or statement cycle month and I [...]

Categories : Banking, Bond, Investing, Personal finance Tags:

No Choice: Have To Keep Company Stocks

Posted by Sun on August 28, 2006 (1) Comment

My wife has been with her current company for nearly five years and her employer offers a match for the first 6% of her 401(k) contributions. The only catch is the match is given in company stocks in the form a fund. Ever since she joined the company, she maxed out every year and now [...]

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Upgrade To Quicken 2007

Posted by Sun on August 26, 2006 Comments Off

I have been using Quicken to track my investments for a while. After started with Microsoft Money, I switched to Quicken in 2003. Ever since, Quicken has been my favorite (though I also use Excel spreadsheet). Currently, I use Quicken to track investments, bank accounts, credit cards, and loans.
For the 2007 version, the most noticeable [...]

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Trim Your Auto Insurance Bill

Posted by Sun on August 25, 2006 Comments Off

Got a heavy auto insurance bill? If you can’t change your ZIP code or build a garage for your card, you may find the following tips helpful in reducing your car insurance premiums, according to Kiplinger’s.

It pays to shop around. I believe this is the rule-of-thumb not just for [...]

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Free Worldwide ATM Access For PNC Bank Customers

Posted by Sun on August 23, 2006 (1) Comment

Good news for PNC Bank customers. If you use PNC Bank, soon you will be able to get cash from any ATM around the world for free.
MarketWatch reported today that starting September 1st, PNC Bank customers can access ATMs worldwide without paying any fees. The bank will reimburse access fees charged by other banks [...]

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Cashback Credit Cards

Posted by Sun on August 21, 2006 Comments Off

The rumor is out that Citibank will terminate the 5% cashback program of its Dividend Platinum Select Cash Back Rewards credit card (When I checked the Citi’s web site today, I couldn’t even find the Dividend card.) Currently, the card gives 5% cashback on purchases made at gas stations, grocery stores, and supermarkets. Beginning in [...]

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Highlight Of Changes In Pensions

Posted by Sun on August 17, 2006 Comments Off

From AP, major changes in the new Pension Bill include:

Requires employers with defined-benefit plans to make sufficient contributions to meet a 100% funding target and erase funding shortfalls over seven years.
Forces employers with “at-risk” plans to make accelerated contributions. Under one scenario, a plan is deemed at-risk if it falls below 70% funded status using [...]

Categories : Personal finance, Retirement Tags:

HSBC To Improve Their Login Process, Again

Posted by Sun on August 12, 2006 Comments Off

I got a notice today from HSBC though bankmail, saying that soon they will improve the login process at HSBCdirect, again. Somehow, the message disappeared after I clicked it once. When I tried to go back to my bankmail folder to get some details, the message was there any more and that’s why I don’t [...]

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End Of 0% Balance Transfer?

Posted by Sun on August 10, 2006 Comments Off

I have three Chase credit cards, and since some time last year, I got 0% balance transfer offers from all three cards almost at the same time every month. The terms however are little different from those that came with new cards. Those offers were usually valid only for no longer than half a [...]

Categories : Credit card, Personal finance Tags:
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