shoyu

I saw this on CNN Money / Fortune.com (the picture, not the video). There is a photo gallery of McDonald’s sandwiches from around the world. I guess, it’s supposed to show how the company markets locally.

The caption reads: “Shredded beef between two rice patties.” Does that look like shredded beef to you?

It’s chicken. I know, all those Taiwanese burgers look the same. Watch the video, and you can “barely” tell the difference.

So who wants financial advice from Poppy Harlow? Go ahead, raise your hand.

Tags: Boring

I activated the card today. Thanks, Aubrey of Utah. The Web site is better than AMEX’s, and that’s hard to beat.

Aubrey said there is a $10 bonus on your first purchase within so many days. I was going to donate a dollar to the Nicole Richie charity, but NicoleRichie.org has a Google ad for Myanmar (Burma) on top, so I sent a dollar to Direct Relief International.

Is shoyu going to Hell for making $9 off Myanmarian’s? Probably, but only if he sends the $9 to China because, you know, China is bad.

Current 5 percent promo

Until the end of June, you get 5 percent cash back on purchases at department stores, clothing stores, home improvement centers and lawn and garden centers. Shoyu doesn’t need any of that, so it’s sock drawer for Discover and hello, Chase Freedom Visa.

July’s 5 percent promo

This is the one shoyu likes. You get 5 percent cash back on gas and hotels until the end of September. That would be peak gas price season, beeatch.

October’s 5 percent promo

Unfortunately for Fat Matt’s, shoyu’s favorite bartender switched to PaPa J’s Hideway in Melbourne. The cash back bonus until the end of December is on restaurants and movies.

Cash back catches

OK, this is complicated. Discover More cards use a trier system. You don’t get the advertised 1 percent cash back on everything until you spend $3,000 in a 12-month period. The 5 percent cash back promos and Discover store promos do not count toward your $3,000.

Compared with the AMEX Blue Cash card tier system, you get the higher level faster with Discover, but the higher level is not as good. You need to spend $6,500 in a 12-month period with AMEX Blue Cash to reach the magic tier.

Online store comparo

The Discover and Chase stores are similar in the number of vendors available. The cash back percentage varies from vendor to vendor. In the Discover store, Barnes & Noble = 10 percent cash back bonus, Chase only offers 5 percent. However, in the Chase store, Target = 9 percent cash back bonus. Discover only offers 5 percent.

Tags: Credit Cards, Save Money

I received my IRS tax rebate windfall today. The $438 payment is a far cry from the much hyped $600. Upon seeing the money in my Wachovia account, I immediately paid my Bank of America credit card bill (0 interest for 12 months). I’m sure BoA will spend the $438 wisely.

Bad credit use

Using a dead person’s credit card is a bad idea. Even Gators should know better.

2 nuts for 1

Publix has a buy-one, get-one-free deal on Planters nuts in the 11.5 oz. can. That’s 23 ounces for $4.69. The best deal on name brand soda remains at Hess — two Coca-Cola 12-packs for $5.50.

Tags: Bank, Credit Cards, Save Money

I was going to buy a 12-pack of the new Bud Light Lime bottles at Wal-Mart, but no. That is forbidden. So instead of spending about $25 at Wal-Mart, I only spent $15. Then I stopped at 7-Eleven on the way home and bought a six-pack of Bud Light Lime bottles for a dollar more than what they were at Wal-Mart.

I guess, Wal-Mart made me save money. Our county ordinance makes stores stop selling beer at 2 a.m. I guess Wal-Mart wants to cut down on drunks in the store.

The Lime isn’t that good, BTW.

Tax rebate anticipation

In these quiet hours before my tax rebate windfall arrives in my checking account, I thought it might be good to mention Chase lowered the interest rate on my HELOC again. It’s only 6.75 percent now.

I’m very close to reaching the $750 finish line on my Chase Visa check card bonus. I can do it by advance paying next month’s bills online, so I put the card away. I’m waiting on my new Discover More card to arrive, so in the meantime, I switched to the Chase Freedom card.

I have no idea what categories Discover is using for the current 5 percent cash back bonus. I’ll find out after I get the card and register the account online. Obviously, it would be best if the category was gas, groceries and utilities.

Tags: Bank, Credit Cards, Nicole, Save Money

I managed to get through the rest of “How to Retire Early and Live Well” by Gillette Edmunds. The book was published in 2000, and after a while it starts chanting the “diversification” mantra.

At least, HTREALW does not fall prey for the index fund craze. It mentions index funds as a way to save on taxes, but it also states index funds are overbought because of popularity.

HTREALW doesn’t like bonds much, and it definitely doesn’t like annuities. Keeping cash as an investment is waste for an early retiree, according to HTREALW.

Other than U.S. large caps, U.S. small caps, foreign stocks, emerging stocks and REITs, the book points to T-Bills and I Bonds as good in small amounts.

The main goal of HTREALW is to help readers choose investments that will allow them to live off while paying the least amount of taxes. When you retire depends on how much you have saved, how you invest it and how much you spend, according to HTREALW.

One of the ideas in the book I like is “dollar cost averaging is disguised market timing.” HTREALW advocates investing as much as you can as soon as you can; otherwise, you will miss out on the market. Lump sum investing is better no matter how small the lump, according to HTREALW.

Overall, I would recommend getting HTREALW from the library or thumbing through it at your favorite bookstore. The level of your investment knowledge will determine whether you should buy this book.

Tags: Save Money