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Bank of America will give you $100 for opening a new checking account.

“Here’s how to get your $100.
* This offer is available only to new customers who open a qualifying personal checking account with a minimum balance of $500
* The new checking account must be open for at least 30 days
* You must make a minimum of one transaction with the newly assigned check card”

Link

Get $100 off your Sony Style purchase when you sign up for the Sony Card.

*Deal Over*

“Get a $100 card credit after your first qualifying purchase of $299 or more.”

Fine Print:
“Statement Credit within the first 45 days your account is open will be posted to your Sony Card Statement within 8-12 weeks from Qualifying Purchase. Offer available to new Sony Card accounts only and only one $100 Statement Credit may be earned per Sony Card account. In some instances an application may require additional processing, in which case Instant Credit will be unavailable. When you are approved for the Sony Card, you will receive your account and CVV2 number on-screen. Please make sure to make note of your account and CVV2 number as this information will not be available until you receive your card in the mail. If you are approved, you will be able to make a one-time purchase at SonyStyle.com only, with up to a maximum line of credit of $5,000. Additional purchases with this account cannot be made until your card is received in the mail. This promotional offer is available for new Sony Card account holders only; existing Sony Card account holders or accounts are not eligible.”

Download TVersity Pro for free.

Link

“Manage your personal and favorite Internet media”

“Access it from your TV, STB, game consoles and mobile devices”

“Watch premium Internet content on your TV (including full episodes), from sites like Hulu (US only), BBC iPlayer (UK only), Joost, Sling, and many more.”

No activation required.

Chase / WaMu customers can get up to $20 for setting up automatic bill payments.

chase.com/get20

“Now you can help avoid missed payments and late fees by signing up to have your bills paid automatically with your Chase or WaMu Debit Card. You’ll have less to worry about and you’ll get up to $20 on us!”

“Here’s all you need to do:
ENROLL your Chase or WaMu Debit Card in this promotion.
CONTACT your qualifying service providers (Telephone, Cable/Satellite TV, Insurance and Utilities) to sign up for automatic bill payments with your Chase Debit Card by September 30, 2009.*
GET UP TO $20 deposited to your Chase account”

Bank of America customers get a $25 bonus when they 2 online bill payments within 30 days.

Link

Amazon is offering free MP3 downloads.

Click here to go to the special offer page, which includes the Top Free Songs as well as the Free Song of the Day.

To see a listing of all free MP3 downloads, click here.

The National Park Service is offering free admission to 391 national parks on Saturday, September 26, 2009.

Link

Click here to find a national park near you.

Chase will give you $125 for opening a new checking account and setting up direct deposit.

From offer page:

“It’s easy to get $125!
1. Print this page and take it to your local Chase Branch or apply online by October 30, 2009.
2. Open a Chase CheckingSM account and set up direct deposit.
3. We’ll deposit $125 into your new Chase CheckingSM account within 10 days of initial direct deposit.”

“Enjoy these Chase CheckingSM benefits:
* FREE access to over 14,000 Chase and WaMu ATM’s nationwide
* FREE Online Bill-Pay - including our Online On-Time GuaranteeSM
* FREE Debit Card with with Zero Liability protection
* FREE Account Alerts sent by phone or e-mail to help you avoid fees
* MORE THAN 3,000 Chase branches
* NO monthly service fee with direct deposit or five debit card purchases”

“Open a Chase CheckingSM account and set up direct deposit today. But hurry - this offer ends October 30, 2009.”

To see the offer online, you must already be a current Chase customer (i.e. have a Chase credit card or some other Chase bank account) and you must be logged in to your account.

Link to Offer

You can apply online or print the page and take it with you to your local Chase branch.

For those of you looking to pay less for your next haircut, here are seven ways to save.

1. Cut Your Own Hair

If you’re a girl with long hair, you may be able to cut your hair yourself. Otherwise, don’t even bother. Walking around with a bad haircut is not cool.

2. Have a Friend or Family Member Cut Your Hair

If you know someone who knows what they’re doing, you can let them cut your hair for little or no money. However, unless that person is your parent or your spouse, you can’t keep doing this all the time. Eventually, you will need to go somewhere else and pay for your haircut like everyone else.

3. Discount Chain

There are chains like Supercuts, which generally charge less than full-service hair salons. Of course, for many of us, a discount chain like Supercuts is where we go to get our “regular” haircuts. Paying $15 to $25 for a hair cut may still be too much.

4. Coupons

Sometimes you can find coupons for a local hair salon in a mailer sent to your home. Unfortunately, most of us are too embarrassed to use them. It’s not really the same as using a coupon at your local electronics store. There’s much more personal interaction involved. Also, you can’t find these coupons all the time. And even if you did, do you really want the hair dressers to remember you as the person who always uses coupons?

5. Beauty school

If you want a really nice haircut (incl. color, highlights, perm, etc.) but you can’t afford to pay more than $20, you should consider having your hair done at a beauty school like Paul Mitchell. Such schools can be found in every major city. The students are usually supervised, so you don’t really have to be concerned.

6. Hair Salon in Asian Neighborhood (Chinatown, Little Saigon, K-Town, etc.)

If you’re looking for a $10 haircut, check out your local Chinatown or other Asian neighborhood. The person cutting your hair may or may not speak English very well, but you will get a decent haircut for very little money.

7. Hair Salon Near Military Base

Hair salons catering to military personnel can be found near most bases and are another cheap alternative. Since the hair salon is located off-base, you don’t have to be military yourself to get your haircut. However, since their customers are usually men, it may not be the best place for women to get their hair cut. The hair dressers may simply not have enough experience cutting women’s hair.

Photo Credit: Malias

Why Should I Be Part of a TV Audience?

Being part of a TV audience can be a lot of fun. You get to be up close to your favorite stars. In addition, most studios provide free entertainment, refreshments and souvenirs to audience members. Oh, and of course, it’s completely free. You don’t have to pay a single dime to be an audience member.

How Do I Get In?

It’s easy to get free tickets online. The major studios use a number of outlets to distribute their tickets to the public. The two biggest players are tvtickets.com and tvtix.com.

These two distributors allow you to reserve and print your tickets online. If tickets aren’t available immediately, they may call you once they are available. Note that tickets to popular shows can sell out as early as a month in advance. You will need to plan your visit early.

If they don’t have tickets for the show you want, try visiting the show’s website. Some shows issue tickets themselves or have made arrangements with other distributors.

What Can I Expect on the Day of the Taping?

You should arrive at least an hour before the taping starts. Expect to wait in a long line. Many shows deliberately accept more reservations that they can possibly accommodate. They want to make sure they will still have a full audience even if some people don’t show up. If you want to get in, you should get there early. Everything is first come, first served. If you can’t get in the show you came for, they will offer to seat you for another show or they will give you VIP reservations for another time.

Once you get to the front of the line, you will be escorted along with other audience members to the studio where the taping takes place. The audience members are separated into several groups. Some shows single out well-dressed or attractive people and assign them to the front rows. If you want to have a front-row seat, dress up and look sharp.

Once you’re in the studio, there will usually be someone to entertain you during breaks and to make sure you applaud like you’re really enjoying the show. The kind of entertainment that you will experience depends on the show. Everyone hires their own entertainers.

I remember I was once at a taping of Two and Half Men. The guy who was there to entertain us was actually a professional clown. He wasn’t dressed as one, but the stuff he pulled was just amazing. At one point, he actually balanced a bicycle on his chin. It was hilarious.

Of course, not all TV tapings are that much fun. One time my girlfriend made me take her to a taping of the Tyra Banks Show. The topic of the day was The Real Brokeback Mountain. The movie Brokeback Mountain was making headlines at the time, so the show found a couple of real gay cowboys who had fallen in love with each other. Now all of this wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for one thing. Everything seemed incredibly staged. There were frequent breaks and whenever the tape stopped rolling, the people on stage suddenly became a lot less emotional and more detached.

Photo Credit: Mike Babcock

Most states don’t charge sales tax when you purchase unprepared food from the grocery story.

States with No Sales Tax on Food

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

States with Reduced Sales Tax on Food

Some states levy sales tax on food but the tax is lower than the general sales tax. Such states include Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

States with Sales Tax Credits or Rebates

Five states (i.e. Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming) tax food purchases fully but offer tax credits or rebates. These can be claimed by low income households but are generally not enough to compensate fully for their expenses.

States with Sales Tax on Food and no Tax Credits or Rebates

There are only two states that levy the full sales on food purchases without providing any type of tax relief: Alabama and Mississippi.

Local Sales Tax on Food

Just because the state government won’t levy a sales tax on food doesn’t mean you local government won’t do either. This is true in Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana and North Carolina.

Special Cases

States that don’t levy sales tax on unprepared food at grocery stores often don’t charge sales tax on food purchased elsewhere either.

Sandwich Sales

Sandwich places like Subway may or may not charge sales tax depending on how you choose to consume your sandwich. The exact rules on this vary from state to state. But in general, when ordered for take-out, cold sandwiches are not subject to sales tax. When you eat in, however, you are charged sales tax. And when you buy a hot sandwich, you are charged sales tax no matter what. (That’s another reason why a place like Quizno’s, famous for its oven-roasted sandwiches, will always be more expensive than a place that sells cold sandwiches.)

Photo Credit: Simon Shek

Photoshop is the number one photo editing software and has been for many years, but that doesn’t mean you should actually buy it. Unless you’re a professional photographer, it’s unlikely you will ever be able to use the most advanced features that Photoshop has to offer. You’re basically paying extra for features you will never use.

Instead you may want to take a look at GIMP, a free photo-editing software that has become so popular in recent years that it is now the top competitor to Photoshop. If you just want to retouch your photos, there’s practically nothing that Photoshop can do that GIMP can’t. It’s open source software that gets constantly updated.

If you’re familiar with Photoshop, you will have an easy time with GIMP. Many of the tools and editing techniques that are available in Photoshop are also available in GIMP. In fact, if you are accustomed to the Photoshop interface and don’t feel too comfortable with the standard Gimp interface, you can try out GIMPshop, which is GIMP customized to look like Photoshop.

In addition, there are plenty of fun GIMP video tutorials (e.g. Whiten Your Teeth, Airbrush Your Skin, Sepia Toning, Change Eye and Hair Color, Change Face, etc.) on YouTube and elsewhere

You can find more on the Official GIMP Tutorials page.

If you have something specific in mind and you can’t find it either on YouTube or on the Official GIMP Tutorials page, just do a Google search. You’ll be surprised how much help you can get for this program. There are millions of users.

Another advantage of GIMP for most home users is the fact that it won’t hog too much of your computer’s memory like Photoshop does. The installation is also relatively small. The download file is just 15MB. Compare that to a Photoshop installation, which is several hundred megabytes.

If you don’t have group-based health insurance such as the one typically provided by your employer, you may be shopping for individual or family health insurance. To make an informed decision, you need to understand the different kinds of options available to you.

Part I: Types of Individual/Family Health Insurance Plans

Traditional Health Insurance Plans

Indemnity Plan / Fee-for-Service Plan / Major Medical Health Plan

Health insurance used to be very much like any car insurance today. You paid your premiums and in exchange you were covered for any amount above your deductible. This type of health insurance is known as an indemnity plan. Today it is also known as fee-for-service insurance or major medical health insurance.

Under a traditional plan, you can go to any doctor or hospital you want anytime. Your insurance coverage is the same everywhere. Unfortunately, you will have to pay more for this degree of flexibility. Traditional plans are the most expensive type of health insurance.

As the cost of medical care has risen rapidly over the last few decades, health insurance providers have turned to managed care plans in order to lower their expenses.

Managed Care Health Insurance Plans

These days, the majority of people with private health insurance are covered by a managed care plan. The three most common types of managed care include HMO, PPO, and POS plans. In addition to these long-term plans, there are also short -term health insurance plans.

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

A Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) is a network of hospitals, doctors, labs, etc. that have agreed to charge lower fees to HMO members. These lower rates come at a price. As an HMO member you are assigned a primary care physician (PCP), who acts as a gatekeeper. Unless you have an emergency, you have to see your PCP first for all your medical care needs. If they think you need a specialist, they will refer you to a specialist within the HMO network. Note that the HMO will not reimburse you for visits to doctors outside of their network.

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)

With a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), you are not required to choose a primary care physician (PCP), and you don’t need a PCP referral when you need to see a specialist. You can see any specialist you choose. However, this added flexibility comes with higher costs. Most PPPs require higher copayments or coinsurance and often require you to pay a deductible before they start paying for any of your expenses. At the same time, the PPO also provides a financial incentive for you to stay within their network. The PPO has contracts with healthcare providers to charge lower fees for their services. When you go out of that network, you typically have to pay more. For example, your co-pay may be $50 instead of $30. In addition, an out-of-network doctor may require you to pay the entire bill up front. You will then have to submit paperwork to the PPO in order to get reimbursed. Consequently, most people who are covered by a PPO stick with in-network doctors.

Point-of-Service (POS)

A Point-of-Service plan is a like a cross between a PPO and an HMO. It is similar to a PPO in that it offers you the flexibility to choose between in-network and out-of-network providers. However, similar to an HMO, you are assigned a primary care physician (PCP). If you want to see a specialist, you will need a referral from your PCP. Your PCP is likely to refer you to an in-network doctor. If you insist on seeing an out-of-network doctor, you will have to complete more paperwork and accept a much smaller reimbursement from your insurance. In line with its relative flexibility, the cost of a POS is usually between that of an HMO and a PPO.

Part II: Long-Term Plans vs. Short-Term Plans

Most people opt for long-term health insurance, which allows you to renew your plan every year as long as you keep paying your premiums. This is to your advantage because your insurance company won’t just be able to cancel your insurance on you just because they feel you are costing them too much. At the same time, this added risk is priced into the premiums that long-term plan members have to pay.

With short-term plans, on the other hand, this risk is significantly reduced. The chance that you could fall sick within a short period is minimal and thus the cost of insurance is lower too. Short-term plans are usually for 6 months. Many of these plans give you the option of renewing your policy for up to 36 months, but each new plan is considered to be a completely new policy. Most short-term plans are either PPOs or indemnity plans. They allow you to see any health care provider you like but come with deductible and coinsurance terms.

The major disadvantage of a short-term plan is the risk that you may not be able to renew it and end up without coverage. This can happen easier than you think. If you are diagnosed with a medical condition, they may consider that to be a preexisting condition and deny you coverage when you try to renew your policy less than six months later.

Nevertheless, if you lost your employer-based healthcare and you can’t afford a long-term plan, then a cheap short-term plan may be your only option. If you have a preexisting condition such as diabetes, you need to make sure that you keep some sort of health insurance until you find another job at which point you can re-enroll in your employer-based group plan. Because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), your new employer-based group will usually have to accept you despite your preexisting condition. However, you lose this important protection if you are without health insurance for more than 63 days in the preceding 12 months.

Part III: Important Terminology

Deductible

A deductible is a specific dollar amount that your health insurance requires you to pay each year out of your own pocket before they start paying for any of your medical expenses. As a general rule, most HMOs do not require a deductible while traditional health insurance, PPOs, and POS plans do.

Coinsurance

Co-insurance is a cost-sharing requirement between you and your health insurance. After you have fully paid your annual deductible, you also have to pay a share of the remaining costs of your medical care. Your share is expressed as a percentage. For example, when you’re coinsurance is 20%, you pay 20% and your insurance will pay for 80% of the covered medical expenses. The amount of covered medical expenses you have to pay for yourself is limited only by your out-of-pocket limit for the year.

Out-of-pocket limit

The out-of-pocket limit is the maximum amount you will have to pay each year for covered medical expenses. The out-of-pocket limit takes into account your deductible as well as your coinsurance payments.

Lifetime maximum

A lifetime maximum is the maximum amount your insurance will pay for expenses during your lifetime.

Copayment

Some plans require a copayment, or copay, which means you pay a flat fee for each medical service and your insurance will pay for the rest. For example, a co-pay arrangement may require you to pay $20 for each office visit or $50 for a hospital stay.

Medically necessary treatments or services

Your health insurance will only cover medical expenses for treatments or services that are deemed medically necessary. For example, they may deny payment for treatments that are considered cosmetic.

Reasonable and customary charges

Your health insurance will only pay what it considers reasonable and customer charges.

Preexisting conditions

A health insurance will not pay for health problems that were diagnosed before the effective date of the insurance. If you have job-based coverage, you may be excluded from coverage only for a limited time such as a year. If you’re on an individual or family plan, your options are much more limited. In fact, you may be unable to get health insurance because of your preexisting condition.

Part IV: How to Shop for Health Insurance

1. COBRA. Employer-based group-based coverage is cheaper than individual/family plans. If you lost your employer-based coverage because you lost your job, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) allows you to stay enrolled in that plan for up to 18 months. Although you will have to pay the full premium, including the portion previously paid for by your employer, it will still be cheaper than getting similar coverage under an individual policy.

2. Decide on a type of plan. Decide what kind of plan you want: HMO, PPP, POS, or short-term health insurance.

3. Compare multiple insurance plans. Find out about the various types of plans offered by at least five different insurance companies. Aetna, Kaiser, Blue Cross, and Blue Shield are among the insurance providers that can be found in almost every state. You can visit their websites to view the plans they offer. In most cases, you can even request to have a brochure mailed to your home. In addition, U.S. News & World Report publishes a list of the best commercial health plans, which you can use to find more reputable health plans. When you compare the policies, you will need to weigh the monthly premiums they charge vs. any deductibles, coinsurance, copayment, and out-of-pocket requirements. Also, ask for how long the premiums are guaranteed. You don’t want to fall for an introductory offer.

4. Beware of fake insurance. In your search for the cheapest policy out there, you may fall victim to a company selling fake health insurance. It’s more common that you think. Be sure to check the website of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for a list of licensed insurance companies.

Photo Credit: Frenkieb

The lessons of unit pricing also apply to toilet paper. When you compare different rolls of toilet paper, don’t just focus on the total price. Ask yourself how much toilet paper you’re really getting for that price. Don’t just go by the number of rolls in a pack.

One way to get the unit price is to find out the total number of sheets in a pack. Then divide the total price by the number of sheets. This will give you the price per sheet. Alternatively, you could use the sq. ft. number that is printed on the pack and divide the total price by that instead, which will give you the price per sq.ft.

If you’re lucky, the unit price will already be printed on the shelf tag, so keep your eyes open for that.

Once you know the unit prices of two items, you can compare them more easily no matter what size of packaging they come in.

You’ll be surprised how often items sold in bulk packaging turn out to be more expensive than those sold in smaller packaging and lesser brands sell for more than better brands.

Photo Credit: PowerBookTrance

The 3000 miles / 3 months oil change rule has got to be one of the most successful automotive scams ever. Don’t fall for it and save money.

If there’s anything most of know about auto maintenance, then it’s the notion that we are supposed to have an oil change every 3000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes earlier. If you fail to get your oil change within the prescribed interval, then your car will break down pretty soon.

At least, that is what the oil change industry would have you believe. But just because they can put a little sticker on your windshield and tell you to come back in 3 months, does that mean you actually should?

It turns out the 3000 miles / 3 months oil change is just a myth promoted by the oil change industry. Of course, they would like you to have more oil changes than you really need because that just means more money in their pockets.

The yardstick they are using might have had a scientific basis forty years ago but certainly not now given all the advances in motor oil quality.

In its December 2006 issue, Consumer Reports had the following to say:

“Although oil companies and quick-lube shops like to promote this idea [that engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles], it’s usually not necessary. Go by the recommended oil-change schedule in your vehicle’s owner’s manual. Most vehicles driven under normal conditions can go 7,500 miles or more between oil changes. Some models now come with a monitoring system that alerts the driver when the oil needs changing. Depending on driving conditions, these can extend change intervals to 10,000 or 15,000 miles.”

Consumer Reports recommends the recommended oil-change schedule in your owner’s manual. There’s no reason to think the schedule in your manual is less strict than it should be. If anything, it’s safe to assume that the manufacturer’s recommended oil-change schedule is going to be overly conservative in order to shield the manufacturer from potential lawsuits.

Photo Credit: modenadude