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Hello, I recently noticed that fidelity started charging $7.95 for trading ACWX... the whole appeal to it previously was that it was commission free. Are there any alternatives through fidelity? Thanks

I use Ally for my savings, and the local credit union for checking. Hassle free. If I need the money from Ally, I just transfer it into my checking account, which takes a couple of days. It makes it easier for me to keep my hands out of the cookie jar.

I rarely drive like an idiot. However, the one time I had a loaner vehicle I made sure to mess around as much as possible. (i.e. burnouts, pulling on the e brake, just in general driving like a jerk in empty parking lots) Based on my own experiences, I would never purchase a loaner car. The driver h...

Is one better than another? If so, how do I find he/she? How do I ensure that I am getting all that I am entitled to?

annualcreditreport.com is the website to go to, once a year to get all 3. creditkarma, uses transunion to calculate your score, and you can update it daily creditsesame, uses experian, and you can update it once a month http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_free_credit_report_websites I use all...

I got the amex BCE and the Fidelity Amex 2% at around the same time. I use my 2% for everything, because it goes right into my roth ira. Haven't used the BCE ever since, though I carry it as a backup. If you do chose to go with BCE make sure you find out if they have any sign up bonuses. I received ...

I hope you guys can recommend me a strategy. I am 25 years old. I have $12k saved in an emergency fund in ally, earning 0.95%. 33% of each paycheck goes there. I only need $10k for the emergency fund, so anything in addition to this, would go toward my goals... i.e. house downpayment in 10 years. I ...

After figuring out that I only watch a couple tv shows (the daily show..) and some movies, I decided to get rid of cable completely. I've been living with Hulu plus and Netflix for about 2 years now, and instead of $130/month, it's $50 for internet, and $8 a piece for netflix and hulu. All the new t...

Besides bogleheads, do you guys recommend any other finance forums? I've seen fatwallet mentioned before, just wondering if there was anything I was missing.

I just signed up for this card and got it in the mail but was disappointed to see such a low initial credit limit. I called customer service to try to raise it and the rep said I should wait at least a month or two or else I'll get dinged since I was just very recently approved for said limit. Can ...

Being that it is issued by FIA (bank of america), what does AMEX actually have to do with this card? My concerns are the benefits of AMEX, such as great chargeback protection, warranty protection, etc, instead will be a hassle to report a claim if need be.

annualcreditreport.com, you will get all three bureaus for free, once annually

I just switched from ING to Ally, and I like it better. 24/7 live customer service, daily interest accrued (instead of monthly..), and higher interest rate (0.95%). You can still have savings 'buckets' like with ING. Money magazine last month named them the best online savings bank. a couple additio...

An Indian friend of mine would like to involve me in a business venture, selling real estate. However, although proficient in sales, neither one of us have any of the experience or licensing necessary. The goal is to start with residential, but ideally to be working with corporate real estate, not o...

I just switched from ING to Ally, and I like it better. 24/7 live customer service, daily interest accrued (instead of monthly..), and higher interest rate (0.95%). You can still have savings 'buckets' like with ING. Money magazine last month named them the best online savings bank. Edit: a couple a...

EXCLUDING retirement savings, what percentage of your money goes to regular savings every month, and why? (regular savings for vacation, emergencies, presents, downpayments, etc etc)

BoA is the devil. I hope they go the way of the dodo bird. For online savings I use ING... never had a problem. Direct deposit goes right in, and interest is earned at the end of each month (0.8%). They have the "take a picture of a check and deposit it" function.... and their smartphone a...

The BEST cash back card, is the PENFED visa platinum rewards card... 5% on gas, 3% supermarket, 1% everything else...no annual fee, but you need EXCELLENT credit history to be considered. I will get one once I can (they are very selective) You don't have to be in the military to get one, do a searc...

I just got the AMEX Blue cash everyday card... no annual fee, 3% supermarkets, 2% gas (and specific stores like kohls, sears..) and 1% back on everything else. It seems to be one of the best cards in the market for cash back, and if you have a family I would consider the preferred version, which giv...

Why don't you keep your checking at a local credit union?

What I'm considering doing, is using the BCE card for 6 months and having AMEX change my card to the Fido variety. Not sure if you will be able to do that. The Fidelity Amex card is actually a FIA Card Services Card. (Part of Bank of America). It's not a true American Express Card. I hate Bank of A...

After applying, and getting declined TWICE in the past year for the Fidelity 2% cash back, I decided to apply for the amex blue cash everyday card. I got approved. Not sure why I got declined for Fido and approved for BCE.... (my credit score is ~740) My question is, which is the better card? What I...

Thanks for all of the insightful replies! Paying off the car, tomorrow. Then I will be debt-free!

What is the common way of doing it around here?

I have an outstanding auto loan ~$8100 and the loan is about 5%. I recently depleted my savings. My first instinct was to pay off the car in full, and put the difference in my savings account. Wondering if I should do that, or if I should put the full amount into the savings account and continue mak...

I have ING and I like the interface, however, they have .80% apy, and other online banks are currently around 1.00% - 1.25%.... to me that's a bit unacceptable being that everyone is so low already, at least they should be like gas prices (competitors are maybe a penny difference). I would look for ...

how old are you?

The more advantageous of the two options you pose, would be option 2. Closing a credit line increases your debt to credit ratio (a bad thing). Closing a credit card is a bad idea if a good credit score is the goal. Yes, it will recover eventually, but so what. Just keep the credit line open. The &qu...

Started at age 23 when employer automatically started putting 3% into 401k. Discovered they matched to 6%, started reading about it, and have since added a Roth ira. I'm now 25 and have accumulated about 10k in total and am very pleased

When I read a Suze Orman book in 2004... at least I'm being honest

Why is this *the* number for younger age groups? Why not 10% or 15% or 25%? How did they arrive at 20%?

After contacting the benefits manager who seemed to be eager to help with anything, I got to thinking... my company matches 35% up to 6%...which isn't horrible, but typically companies match at least 50% and sometimes up to the full match. Would it be worth sending and email and if so how should it ...

Tell us about your qualifications/training/experience that make you feel qualified to take over this business. I'm just curious. I would not take this opportunity myself because I would rather do/be something else for higher pay. As of now, just interested. This would be in 5 years, when he retires.

I have an opportunity to take over my fathers book in the future (he is a financial adviser). He mostly deals with variable annuities, and is commission based. His income is approximately $100k/yr. I know they are frowned upon on these forums and in finance books, but if you had this kind of opportu...

I asked a similar question here and the popular advice is I Bonds, which are currently yielding poor (but guaranteed) returns. In John Bogles book he recommends anything UNDER 10 years should not be in the stock market, which implies that AT 10 years, why not. I still don't quite understand why it s...

The kids IMO should receive equal amounts, whether now or later. If first child has x amount to attend college at 18, second child should have same amount at age 18. What school they attend is their choice, at least they can't argue about favoritism. :beer I say, if you have to take some from first ...

The click click is definitely the power supply. Very common, and very unfortunate. If you used a credit card, a lot of times they double the manufacturers warranty. I would look into it. I thought it was only with AMEX, but it happens to also be that way with my VISA. Good luck

Thoughts? Which is better? (for use as a savings account, or for cd's, or for user interface, etc...)

What I guess I don't understand is that I Bond rates now are about 2.20%, when aren't the average market returns much higher than this?

What is the average rate of return from I bonds? I will be saving for the ten years, not one lump sum. Thanks

In one of the bogle books I remember reading for anything under 10 years, it should not be in the stock market.. what if it is approximately 10 years and is for a house down payment? Where would you put the money for greatest returns? Thanks!

Thanks Paul- perhaps I should be more focused on the car loan than the IRA... I would like to avoid the $50 fee for closing the IRA until I have a more substantial amout before I transfer it to vanguard. Am I right for thinking this?

Thanks for the advice, I wish I could use vanguard but there would be fees associated being that I am with fidelity.

*bump* I added a new question, thanks for all of your replies!

I want to have 100% of the total international fund VTIAX.... as of now I have ~$1000 in my roth ira with fidelity (along with about $9k in a 401k with them). It seems like it will cost $75 to purchase a vanguard fund with fidelity.... what should I do? Open a vanguard account and withdraw the money...

thanks xerty, anyone else?

Ok so my portfolio is in a different thread http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=94697&p=1366180#p1366180 I am looking to get international exposure, but most of these funds from fidelity have a $10,000 starting limit. They will "OK" a 3,000 starting limit, if I am m...

http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=94697&p=1366180#p1366180 There is another topic that I started John with my specifics, I just had a specific question that I thought warranted a new topic. I don't feel like 3 months is enough, even though my job is very stable.

You have good options in your 401k EXCEPT for international. See if you can get $2,000 more in your Roth IRA so you can get the minimum to start Vanguard Total International Index Fund ($3K minimum). This way you can have international exposure in your portfolio but have a lower rate than the price...

Welcome to the forum :) . How much are you contributing to the 401k? Make sure that you are contributing at least enough to get the full match, its free money and is your best possible "investment". What is the interest rate on that car loan? If its a higher rate then rapidly paying down ...