TD Ameritrade IPod Nano Offer - Expires June 30, 2007

TD Ameritrade is once again offering a free IPod Nano for new accounts which deposit $10,000 or more. As I wrote in a previous post, I will only open such an account when I need one (and not just to get the promotion). We opened a UTMA account for our daughter in February, 2007 and received the IPod in April, 2007.

I have been a customer of TD Waterhouse, one of the companies in the merger, and have been satisfied with their service. They are a $9.99 per trade discount broker, and they offer a wide range of services.

For your convenience, here is the link to the TD Ameritrade IPod Nano Promotion, which expires on June 30, 2007.

Disclosure: Although we have accounts with TD Ameritrade, we receive no compensation for referrals to the IPod Nano promotion.

For more on Ideas You Can Use , check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC
Photo Credit: TD Ameritrade

New (Free) IPod Nano Arrived

While not new to the owners of 100 million IPods already sold, the IPod Nano is "new to me." In February, 2007, I opened a new UTMA account for our daughter with TD Ameritrade, funded it with $10,000 and qualified for a free 2GB IPod Nano. On Friday, the IPod Nano arrived and my wife is the proud owner of our new electronics.

Regular readers know that I am not a big fan of buying the latest electronics. For example, I still do not own a cell phone, use cable or have a wide screen TV. However, the IPod Nano was provided as a free gift for opening a UTMA account, which I was already planning to do. So technically, I didn't really buy something I didn't need :-)

For reference, the promotion did cause me a little more effort than normal for opening a TD Ameritrade account. The UTMA was not a standard account and I went to a branch office to make sure I did the application correctly. In addition, due to a backlog from the overwhelming response to the offer, my account wasn't actually created until after the deadline, which required me to make two phone calls to confirm I had qualified for the promotion. To TD Ameritrade's credit, they handled the situation very well. Although, my application as processed didn't include the IPod Nano promotion, the customer service representatives quickly corrected the mistake.

Today, I unpacked the IPod and began to use it. Having owned an Apple MacIntosh previously, I expected the IPod to be a plug and play into my HP Windows XP computer. So I ignored the limited instructions and plugged it in. Unfortunately, the current version of iTunes on my computer didn't recognize the IPod. After a half hour of frustration, which included a failed download of iTunes 7, I decided to finally read the instructions, which recommended first going to the Apple.com website to get started. Upon doing this, I was able to get the new IPod Nano to function correctly.

Other than the inauspicious start up, I have been impressed with the product. The product is very intuitive. I was able to figure out most of the functions (e.g. touch dial), without reading the instructions, and learned about more functions after reading them :-) It also has several functions, which I wouldn't expect -e.g. a clock. I have been able to download several albums and edit play lists using iTunes 7. Finally, the sound quality is excellent.

I can also see how the IPod may become an additional drain on the pocket book. This weekend, we noticed an abundance of IPod accessories (car adapters, portable speakers, clock radio docks) with costs in the $100 to $200 dollar range, some of which we think would be nice to have. However, we resisted buying them at this time:-)

At this time, I don't think we'll give into IPod mania; however, I will let all know if that changes. In addition, I'll let everyone know my impression of the IPod after using it a bit more in the next month.

For more on New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.

Photo Credit: Apple.com

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Double Dipping - My Approach For Freebies

I like free stuff as much as the next person. However, I generally won't do something just to get free stuff - e.g. opening several accounts for the bonus money. I try to get free stuff for something that is a good deal and I was already planning to do. That way I expend very little extra effort to get the bonus.

Here are some recent examples of getting free stuff for activities I was already planning to do:

Opening new financial accounts - Opening separate accounts for My Wealth Builder resulted in $125 of bonuses for checking, savings, and credit cards. Opening a UTMA account for our daughter qualified us for a free IPod Nano.

Attending investment presentations - I have just started to look at investment property in lake, mountain or beach communities. Many of these have free dinners or discounted lodging. I just attended a presentation for a mountain community.

Also, several reputable financial advisors in my area offer no obligation free dinner seminars, in the hopes of attracting future clients. I attend the ones that are of interest to me.

Test driving a car - I enjoy test driving cars periodically, because I like cars and want to keep up with prices. Mazda is offering a $25 gift card for a test drive.

Shopping at Costco - I regularly shop at Costco. On weekends, they have free food samples throughout the afternoon. I get free snacks and Costco gets my discretionary spending:-)

One of the best sample deals I enjoyed was at an Italian grocery store. The were serving samples of wine and liquor. It was a free happy hour:-)

These are just a few examples of the double dipping for freebies since starting My Wealth Builder.

For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every Tuesday for a new segment.

Photo Credit: morgueFile.com, Stuart Whitmore

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Opening a UTMA - IPod Account Bonus

In two earlier posts, I wrote about opening a UTMA (Uniform Transfer to Minors Account) account to fund our daughter's allowance (with tax free earnings) and on how I was getting bonuses for opening new accounts. As always, I am not a fan of opening an account to get a bonus. However, this another case of needing a new account and getting the most from opening one.

I have decided to proceed with the plan I outlined on using a UTMA to fund our daughter's allowance. The benefit is that all the earnings in the UTMA account will be tax exempt (up to $850) and my interpretation is that an allowance is an appropriate use of the funds that enable the account to maintain tax exempt status. In looking for a new account, I recall that TD Ameritrade had previously offered a free IPod promotion for new account (not new person) openings. It turns out TD Ameritrade is again offering the same promotion, with a $10,000 deposit for 9 months. The offer expires on February 28, 2007.

This is a terrific win/win/win. First, our daughter's allowance will be funded until she is 18. Second, we will get an IPod Nano, which my spouse would like to use. Third, I will be sheltering about $500 of income from taxes.

Here is the link to the TD Ameritrade IPod Nano Offer. Also, if you already have a hard copy application, the Promo code is 931, which can be written in any open space at the top of the application. Call TD Ameritrade at 1-800-934-4448 to confirm. I am passing this information along as a service to our Personal Finance community. Disclosure: I am not receiving any compensation for this post nor any referral fee for the link or Promo code.

Enjoy!!!

For more on New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.

Photo Credit: TD Ameritrade Link for IPod Nano Offer

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2007 Achievement Catalyst, LLC