Archive for January, 2008

Well, after signing up it seems the recent rate decreases have finally hit the Charles Schwab Investor Checking account. This week they dropped their interest rate from 4.0% to 3.21% like just about every other bank out there.

I still think its a pretty good deal for a checking account. ING Direct is only over this rate if you have a $50k+ balance, otherwise it is 2.50%. Presidental pays 3.50% on balances up to $25k, but requires a $1000 minimum to avoid fees.

No ATM fees anywhere, free checks, and no minimums also add quite a bit of value.

I have been watching the recent downward trend of mortgage rates recently in hopes of refinancing my home at a lower rate. This week after the federal reserve cut interest rates and the stock market plummeted rates hit lows not seen in years. However as of yesterday most of the rates have risen quite dramatically:

Penfed
30 year fixed jumped from 5.5% to 5.875%
15 year fixed jumped from 4.625% to 5.125%

MadRate
30 year fixed jumped from 5.125% to 5.625%

MTG Capital
30 year fixed jumped from 5.125% to 5.75%

With the recent tax rebate announcement and the stock market seemingly stabilizing I’m not sure we are going to see rates hit that low again for a while. Unfortunately it seems I may have missed rock bottom to refinance, at least for now.

I recently decided to switch our checking accounts from HSBC to Charles Schwabs new Investor Checking account. I have not been happy with the steady decrease in my linked HSBC savings account and decided it was time for a change. It has a lot of attractive features that drew me to it:

• No account minimums
• No monthly service charges
• Free checks
• Free bill pay
• No ATM fees
• 4.0% APY

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Eating out can be hard on your budget while on vacation. I recently traveled to Las Vegas and stopped at a few cheap restaurants along the way on the strip. With the takeover of the corporate supercasino the days of $3.99 buffets seem to be gone, however you can still find quite a few good deals if you try.

Cheap Steaks

Ellis Island Casino & Brewery - This is a place where the locals hang. The restaurant here offers a $6.99 steak special that comes with a salad, potato, vegetable, an 8oz steak, and one of their homebrew beers (or root beers). Its not on the menu though, so you have to know to ask for it. While the ambiance left a little something to be desired (unless you like 60s vegas nostalgia without actually trying for it) the service was excellent and the price hard to beat. The steak was not the greatest I ever had, but was the best $7 steak I ever had. They also have $1 microbrewed beers there as well. Its a block off the strip, behind Ballys… though a very long block… about a 10-15 min walk.

Mr. Lucky’s at the Hard Rock Hotel - A coffee shop atmosphere and a bit cleaner than you would expect from a cheap restaurant. They also offer an unadvertised Steak & Shrimp special for $7.77 which also includes steak, potatoes and salad. The steak here was also good for the price, and while the shrimp were a bit overcooked it was an enjoyable experience. Be warned the Hard Rock is not exactly on the strip, but a couple blocks off, a 20-25 minute walk.

Sherwood Forest Cafe at the Excalibur - This place offers a $7 strip steak special from 7pm to 7am. Unfortunately for us who plan ahead for the unadvertised specials this one is advertised, and is right on the strip, making it a mad house until midnight or so. I did not get to try this since the line to get in was about an hour so I decided to pass on it. Perhaps if you were hungry at midnight or later this would be a good choice, or had more patience than me.

If you travel downtown to Fremont Street via cab or rental car there are also some cheap eats which I did not partake in as well. The Plaza has a $9.99 Steak and Lobster special, as well as a $7.99 Prime Rib. There are plenty of other deals plastered around down there as well.

Please feel free to comment with any other Vegas deals!

Taxable Accounts:

$2,035.63 - Liquid Savings - 4.50% APY HSBC Savings Account
$25,205.67 - Savings - 5.30% APY Countrywide Savings Accounts
$15,731.53 - Stocks - Misc. Direct Investments
$6,021.93 - Stocks - Ameritrade Izone
$2,825.68 - Stocks - Zecco
$2,657.44 - Bonds - TreasuryDirect

$54,477.88 TOTAL

Retirement Savings:

$17,556.69 - ROTH IRA - Vanguard
$1,022.50 - ROTH IRA - Scottrade
$55,859.95 - 401K - T. Rowe Price

$74,439.14 TOTAL

Debts

$3,010.32 - Student Loan - AES (3.625%)
$4,222.00 - Credit Card BT - Chase(0%)
$17,638.28 - Credit Card BT - BOA NEA (0%)
$7,273.18 - Credit Card BT - Juniper (0%)
$19,497.00 - Credit Card BT - Upgromise (0%)

$51,640.78 TOTAL

Housing / Automobiles

$265,478.35 - Mortgage - Countrywide
$339,900.00 - Approximate Home Value
$9,464.00 - Approximate Car Value - Edmunds.com

$83,885.65 - TOTAL (Approximate Equity)

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