Dear E-Loan,

Oh, how far your greatness has fallen! Back when you were young, you greeted me with your glorious 5.5% APY! How I rushed to you, and how you comforted me! I looked at you in wonder and with confidence, and I bestowed upon you all the riches [...]]]> (This is a lament for the E-Loan Savings Account.)

Dear E-Loan,

Oh, how far your greatness has fallen! Back when you were young, you greeted me with your glorious 5.5% APY! How I rushed to you, and how you comforted me! I looked at you in wonder and with confidence, and I bestowed upon you all the riches that a poor grad student could muster. You were an inspiration. You were my first… online savings account.

Even during The Great Rate-Cutting Siege, you maintained your composure well. We all sacrificed during that enduring time of trial, but you managed keep your rate high. My faith in you was not shaken… much. Those other suitors tempted me, and I admit that I was tempted! But still, I clung to you….

Now, while picking through the wreckage left by the Emperor Bernanke and his Fed Funds pillagers, I must tell you something. Though it breaks my heart to say so, I think we should go our separate ways. We’ve had some good times, but you were not able to endure the Rate-Cutting Siege like I thought you would. You’ve languished in recent months, barely attempting to keep my interest, and every other suitor has exceeded you. You are but a shadow of your former self.

I have to admit: the final blow came when you started sneaking around behind my back. When you surreptitiously dropped your rate to a shocking 1% without telling me, I knew we were finished.

Even now, it’s like you just don’t care. You’ve dropped your rate so low, even the rarely competitive ING Direct is besting you. I wish I could say something like, “It’s not you… it’s me.” Alas E-Loan, I cannot. It IS your fault, and we are now finished. Though I will never forget you, I must seek my fortune elsewhere.

Not Yours Forever,

Mr. B

crappy E-Loan rates

——-

Thanks for allowing me that creative indulgence. In other news, thanks to J. Money over at Budgets Are Sexy for including my post on Making Granola from Scratch as part of the 175th Carnival of Personal Finance.

Just enter your ZIP code to see participating restaurants in your area. I lucked out – one of my favorite breweries is in the [...]]]> Diners rejoice! Restaurant.com has a coupon for 80% off their restaurant gift certificates. Enter EIGHTY as the coupon code at checkout, and you can purchase a $25 gift certificate for only $2. Amazing.

Just enter your ZIP code to see participating restaurants in your area. I lucked out – one of my favorite breweries is in the list for my area, so I bought 4 gift cards ($100 value) for a whopping total of $8. The gift cards are immediately available for you to print.

The code expires on October 15, so act fast. Just be sure to read all the fine print. Most gift cards specify a required minimum spent, such as $35. Alcohol is usually not covered.

My wife and I took advantage of this deal tonight. We popped into ye old Pub and carefully planned our meal so that the total was about $37. With the gift card applied, we only paid about $12, plus tip. Nice! Hey, I even paid with my 5% cashback credit card!

In completely unrelated news, thanks to Ginger at Girls Just Wanna Have Funds for including my post on 7 Free and Simple Ways to Protect Your Privacy Online as part of the 173rd Carnival of Personal Finance.

The 15th of April is fast approaching, and you [...]]]> First of all, thanks to MoneyNing for including my article on The House Rabbit – Nature’s Economical Pet as part of the Carnival of Personal Finance #147. I told my rabbit that he’s famous now, but all he did was beg for a piece of banana.

The 15th of April is fast approaching, and you know what that means? Taxes? No, no, no. I paid those last year! More importantly, April 15, 2008 is the deadline to contribute to your Roth/Traditional IRA for the year 2007.

The contribution limit is $4,000 ($5,000 if you’re 50 or older), and has gone up to $5,000 for the calendar year 2008. If you don’t have an IRA, the perfect time to start one is RIGHT NOW!

As a graduate student (in the arts!), my salary is pitiful, laughable, and embarrassing. Seriously, there are people who weigh more than what I bring home each paycheck! Even so, I have scrimped and scraped and managed to fund my IRA contribution to the max.

If I can do it, you can too.

Second of all, is it December already? I’m still eating Thanksgiving tofurkey!

Third of all, I suppose I need to start doing my share in [...]]]> First of all, many thanks to Patrick at Cash Money Life for including my article on making sure your spouse knows your financial passwords on the 129th Carnival of Personal Finance.

Second of all, is it December already? I’m still eating Thanksgiving tofurkey!

Third of all, I suppose I need to start doing my share in boosting our economy soon (aka “holiday shopping”). If I could, I’d prefer to start shopping a few days after Christmas. My suspicion, though, is that I will buy at least 75% of my purchases online. Amazon here I come!

I suppose I could greatly increase my traffic if I [...]]]> Many thanks to Blain at StockTradingToGo for including my article on Opening a Roth IRA on a Budget in the 128th Carnival of Personal Finance. It’s the first time I’ve ever participated in a personal finance “carnival,” even though this site is now about eight months old.

I suppose I could greatly increase my traffic if I participated more, but I suppose that’s just not my style. I enjoy writing about personal finance, but I do it largely as a learning process for myself. I find that if I take time to write my thoughts, they become more clear than if they were just jumbled inside my head. Hopefully, my thoughts are useful to someone.

I am pleased to announce that Black Friday came and went, and I did not buy a single thing! In fact, I only crept out of my house to visit a grocery store in hopes of snagging a deal on a post-Thanksgiving turkey. No luck.

Now it’s Cyber Monday, and once again, I have a massive empty list of items to buy. Gosh, if the economy depended on people like myself, we would all be doomed!