{balki Blog}
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I appreciate US Airways for all the amenities and entertainment they provide in their flights (see my recent blog posts for details).  But the credit card sharks in all the airport terminals really get to my nerves.  So, this is my tribute to all those who hate the US Airways Credit card pushers with a vengeance…

Credit Card Pusher (CCP): Sir, sir!  Do you have a US Airways boarding pass?
Man: Yes.
CCP: Great!  Can you please step over to the side so we can talk?
CCP: What state are you in, sir?
Man: In a state of confusion
CCP (in a state of confusion himself): Sorry, sir!  What state do you reside in?
Man: Oh! in a state of eternal despair.
CCP: I just need to know where in the 50 states you live…
Man: Ok.  What are the different states?
CCP: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut….
Man: Ok.  I am from Oregon.
CCP: Great.  then you qualify for 5000 free miles if you sign-up for a credit card now.
Man: I thought it was 500,000 free miles?
CCP: No, sir.  I can go up to 15,00 miles maximum.
Man: Ok.  Give me a call if you can do 450,000 miles or better.
CCP: Whatever!
Man (to himself): YES!!! If only 10 more people annoyed these CCPs like our man everyday, nobody would want to take up such a lousy job.

(NOTE: this inappropriate comment series is based on true events but some of the statements were glorified for dramatic effects)

When I first bought my smartphone, I signed up for the Unlimited Data plan (20$/month) so I could stay connected all the time. But after a few months I realized that the unlimited data plan was not paying off as I anticipated for a couple reasons:

1. My laptop (with a internet connection) is handy 95% of the time so the internet connection on my smartphone was simply redundant
2. Even for the remaining 5% of the time (e.g. while driving) I never desperately needed to be online to get some urgent info

So, I canceled my data plan a couple months ago and life went on happily until I came across CellFire! (please await more info about the goodness of CellFire in an upcoming blog entry). In essence, I needed internet connection on my cell-phone to be able to leverage cellfire.
I desperately searched all over on google to see if there was a way to cheat and connect to the internet by piggybacking on the host computer’s internet connection. There were several posts that claimed this was possible but somehow the steps they listed did not match what I saw on my smartphone. A couple hours later I figured out how to accomplish the result:

Step 1. On your host computer, make sure your File -> Connection Settings -> This Computer is Connected To: is set as “Internet”

Step 2. Connect your smartphone to the computer via ActiveSync.

Step 3. Follow these steps on your smartphone to use the passthru internet connection!

Technorati : CellFire, internet passthru, smartphone
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Like I mentioned in a previous post, I still repent that I did not start investing sooner in life. A friend suggested that I blog about the basics of investing (especially about my personal experience) and so here it goes…

• Start by saving up enough money to cover all of your fixed expenses for at least 6 months. You do not want to be caught off-guard with an unexpected event like job-loss or extended illness. You can keep this money in a short-term CD, so it still earns interest while being flexible enough to withdraw in an emergency.
• Get started today! Really, you can get started with as little as 3000 dollars, by investing in a safe and reliable mutual fund like Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
• Go through the “How to create your investment plan” on Vanguard’s site and understand your financial goals and the risks involved; remember to complete the most important part : Investor Questionnaire.
• Definitely enroll in your company’s 401-K plan. If your company matches your contribution, invest at least the minimum amount required to get the full employer match. If you are not doing that, you are just throwing away money.
• After investing in a low-risk, moderate-return mutual fund like Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, switch to dollar-cost averaging. Dollar-cost averaging is an investment principle where you invest a fixed amount (say $100) in a stock or a mutual fund on a periodic basis (often monthly) instead of buying into the fund/stock at once. The theory is that, you reduce your exposure to risk by buying more shares of the same stock/fund when the price is low and fewer shares when the price is high. Here is a good primer about dollar-cost averaging: http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/newinvestors/a/041901a.htm. I had a pretty nice return on my various investments over the last 4 years using this simple technique.
• Compare the interest rates between your income generating sources (eg. CDs, money-market funds, bonds etc) and rates you pay for loans (mortgage, credit cards, car loans etc.). Pay-off the higher interest loans first using the money invested in the lowest income generating sources. For example, it just makes sense to pay off a 14.99% rate credit card using your money sitting in a short-term CD with a return of only 4-5%. Consider the income tax you pay on your income while calculating the rate difference. If you bought (or refinanced) your house in the last 4-5 years, it makes sense not to pay extra towards your mortgage, since the interest rates were in record low numbers during that time.
• If you are feeling ambitious and over-zealous (and if you have an outstanding credit score), you can apply for a low or 0% interest rate credit card and invest that money in a medium to long term CD. Interest rates on CDs are going up fast. Last time I checked, DCU was offering a 6% return on a 16-month CD. Make sure you have enough time to payoff the credit card balance at the end of the promotional rate term.
• Definitely go to a financial evaluation session offered by an Amerprise financial Advisor. The 1 to 2 hour session is totally worth the time (even after the aggressive sales pitch to sign up for their paid consultation). If you are in the Portland Metro area, I highly recommend the services of David Stanley
• Always reinvest your profits and dividends back into the same investment vehicle. To the right is a great example illustrating how you can earn an extra 270,000$, just by reinvesting dividends over a 24-year term.
• As you start growing your portfolio, remember to diversify based on asset type, investment methodology, the size of companies invested in, domestic/international funds etc. Many 401-K plans offer this diversification automatically in their so-called life-style portfolios based on your risk-level (obviously at a premium). Here’s my current asset allocation arrived at based on my risk-tolerance and financial goals:

• Also remember to re-balance your diversified portfolio periodically (I do it every quarter) to make sure you are invested at the right percentage you intended for. Again, many 401K plan providers and mutual fund companies offer this as an automatic service.

Feel free to add comments or email me if you specific questions on any of these tips or about my asset allocation style.

(DISCLAIMER: All content in this article is provided as-is and balki.net or its owner(s) are not responsible for any financial loss resulting from actions based on this advice.
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Technorati : 401K, Investing, Vanguard, dollar-cost averaging, mutual funds, reinvestment
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Yes! The “2GB 1st generation Black iPod Nano” arrived yesterday at the auspicious time of 11:35am yesterday! Exactly the one I wanted.

All this excitement might sound so 19th century, but you need to know the full story to appreciate the unrestrained fervor…

I already have a 2nd Generation iPod Color with Photo that I share with my wife. I am a great fan of the iPod + iTunes combo and an avid listener of several podcasts. But every time I am enthused about listening to some new podcast, my wife sneakily steals it away for her morning commute, even before I wake up. I have filed several petitions with her to acquire another iPod (a Nano this time, because I wanted to use it for my so-called workout sessions). But she rejected them all, claiming that we already have one and do not need to waste any more money on a music device (she did spend a cr*p-load of money on some “groceries”, “cleaning supplies” and “cat litter” though)

In the end, I did any honorable, law-abiding, well-bred citizen would do; I started a collection at work around a year ago specifically targeted to raise $199.99 within 2 months. Initial results were very encouraging (colleagues generously threw pennies and nickels into a pan I carried to all of the meetings) and the mug I used for the collections started filling up fast. But as people started “having kids”, “getting married” and “pursuing other jobs”, they completely forgot about this splendid cause. The last contribution to the mug was an “IOU $76.39″ note from Kevin Ombler!

So, I switched strategies and started looking for ways to get an iPod Nano for free and came across this promotion from TD Ameritrade: Fund 10K in an account and get an iPod Nano FREE. It was that simple! All I needed to do now was start a collection for $10,000. Just kidding! I was planning to divert some of my funds from an existing account to an investment portfolio anyway. This was a perfect opportunity.

Subsequently, 6 weeks of restless waiting and sleepless nights later, the iPod Nano Black 2GB arrived via UPS yesterday and am having a blast showing it off to everyone. (Also by sheer chance of luck, the stock market has done mightily over the last few weeks so I also made over 500$ on my original investment)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot… I added $5.45 to the collection at work, to buy a $6.95 clear hard case for the iPod. So, thank you, my beloved and generous colleagues in contributing towards my iPod collection. The fund did serve its grand purpose… sort of.

Technorati : Apple, Free iPod, Nano, eTrade
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Sooner or later it was bound to happen. It was just my wishful thinking that I was somehow beyond identity theft. I am pretty obsessive about protecting my credit history and about following all the advice out there to the T. ( I do crazy stuff like reviewing the free credit reports from the 3 credit agencies regularly by spacing them out evenly throughout the year, one every 4 months). With all this madness and process in place, I always thought there was no chance my identity could be stolen. I was wrong!

Two days ago I received a very apologetic letter from my mortgage company’s local office notifying me that they lost a computer which “might have” contained my sensitive personal data. The letter was carefully worded to avoid any liabilities on their part while warning me several times that I need to meticulously monitor my credit. They offered a promotional code good toward a year’s worth of credit monitoring from Equifax. Although the news was not earth-shattering, I knew instantly my financial life would not be the same again. Over the last couple days I registered for the credit monitoring for both me and my wife, activated the fraud alert on all three credit bureaus (a small relief is that once the data is validated by Equifax, they notify the other two agencies automatically to activate the fraud alert on their respective systems). I even had a chance to test how well the fraud alert system works! (I switched my cellular service from T-mobile to Cingular, so Cingular had to run a credit check on my behalf). Although the process seemed fool-proof, I am still not relaxed enough to act normal again. A colleague’s daughter works for a local credit monitoring agency and she provided some helpful hints on protecting my financial identity going forward. I might bite the bullet and sign-up for their service in the next few days.

Anyways, in case something similar happens to you or someone you know, follow these steps right away:

1. Activate the fraud alert on Equifax (800-525-6285) and they will transmit your data to other bureaus as well.
2. Check your credit history regularly by spacing the 3 free credit reports available via https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
   Eg. Equifax - January 1st
   TransUnion - May 1st
   Experian - September 1st
   This way you can monitor your credit at a regular interval for free.
3. If there is any chance your identity could have been stolen, register for the credit monitoring service from one of the bureaus or a private agency like Identity Safeguards.
4. Contact FTC (www.ftc.gov or 877-FTC-HELP) for information regarding the steps you can take to help protect your privacy and identity.

Technorati : credit bureau, fraud alert, identity theft
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American Century Investments is giving away free book by David Bach - “The Automatic Millionaire”.  All you need to do is fill out some basic information so they can send you literature about IRA investments (not a bad idea for your retirement plans).  Although I am not very keen on IRA, I filled out the details anyways.  Who can resist a free book, right?  That too with the word “Millionaire” in the title.