Mother’s Day is almost around the corner.  So you better get going and send your mother a card.  Hey wouldn’t sending a free customized paper card via online be really cool?

Hallmark is offer a free personalized paper card sent by mail when you register for a free account.  You can choose different design cards and customize the card as you like.  When you check out use the promotional code CARD4MOM.  Below is what you’ll see when you check out.

Screenshot of Checkout with Promotional Code

You need to order by May 1, 2009 to ensure delivery on time.  If you want to send another card, you can use coupon code APRILCARD.

I don’t know how many cards can be sent via these promotional codes so you better hurry!  Good luck!

Visit Hallmark.com to get your free card.

Good news for credit card holders! Especially for people who carry a credit card balance.  Legislation is about to be passed to control credit card practices.  The new legislation has bipartisan support and a swift passage into law is expected.

The new so-called “Credit Card Holders’ Bill of Rights” is designed to:

• Enhance protections for credit card customers.
• Prohibit so-called double-cycle billing which eliminates the interest-free period for consumers who move from paying the full balance monthly to carrying a balance.
• Prohibit retroactive rate hikes.
• Ban the issuance of credit cards to people less than 18 years old.
• Customers must receive 45 days notice before their interest rates are increased.
• Clear explanation of credit card agreements instead of the fine print, which is hard to decipher.

The new laws will take effect a year after enactment. However, the new legislation that customer receive 45 days notice before their interest rates are increased would go into effect in 90 days.

According to a study by the law firm Morrison and Foerster; the new credit card legislation could cost the banking industry more than $10 billion a year in interest payments.

Currently, U.S. credit card debt is $963 billion, a 25% increase of the past 10 years. According to CreditCard.com, the average outstanding credit card debt for U.S. households was $10,679 at the end of 2008.

There are about 16,000 U.S. companies that issue credit cards. The largest lenders are Bank of America, Citigroup, Discover Financial Services, JPMorgan Chase & Company, American Express, Capital One Financial Corporation and HSBC Holdings PLC.

Sovereign Bank is offering a $100 bonus to open a premier or interest checking account by May 22, 2009. However there is catch. 

1. You have to use your checkcard to make 6 purchases totaling at least $250 within 60 days.
2. You must have a minimum opening deposit of $10. 
3. The Annual percentage yield (APY) is a lousy 0.02% for Sovereign Premier Checking or Business Owner Premier Checking when balance is less than $5,000 and 0.15% APY when balance is $5,000 and above.
4. There is an APY of 0.02% for Sovereign Interest Checking. APY of 0.02% for Sovereign Partnership Checking when balance is less than $2,000 and 0.10% APY when balance is $2,000 and above. 
5. The offer is valid for new accounts only. 
6. The fine print also says that fees may reduce earnings.
7. There are also maintenance fees ranging from $5 to $25 per month if your balance falls below certain thresholds.

Overall, it’s not really a good deal. For more information visit SovereignBank.com.

I ran across this very interesting article at Bloomberg.com (read it here).  Yesterday, Dendreon Corp, a biotechnology company more than doubled in market value after erasing a 45% drop (the same day) when trading was halted before the company said its lead drug worked against prostate cancer.

The reported stated, “The drug, Provenge, extended the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer by four months in a study that Seattle-based Dendreon presented yesterday to a meeting of the American Urological Association in Chicago. Provenge, if approved, would be the first drug designed to train the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells like a virus. The medicine stands to generate $2 billion a year in revenue, said Joel Sendek, an analyst for Lazard Capital Markets Ltd. in New York. “

There are 2 things that struck me about the report.  The first is the drug only prolongs life by 4 months for people with advanced prostate cancer.  Am I missing something here?  What the hell is four months?  That’s it?  A measly four months?  And the drug is expected to do $2 billion in revenues.  I don’t get it. 

If I had an advance stage fatal disease and was told a drug would prolong my life by 4 months, it would be meaningless to me.   It’s not as if I will get 4 months of quality life.  The drug is designed to prolong my misery for an additional 4 months.  It’s not a cure, it’s just a very temporary, more than likely, expensive band aide.

The second thing that struck me about the article is that some investors quickly made a nice return on their money while others quickly lost money due to the wild swing in the share price.  The stock market can be brutal!

The report highlighted how Dennis Thorfeldt, a retired computer systems analyst, who purchased shares during the past week at about $17.70 after learning about Provenge from members of his cancer patients support group. Mr. Thorfeldt had placed a stop-loss to protect his investment.  However, because of the wild swing with the stock price, all of his stocks sold at $9.31. Mr. Thorfeldt then watched the stock jump to $23.76.  That has got to hurt.  Mr. Thorfeldt tried to protect his money and it backfired on him.

A similar situation happened to me several years ago during the Internet stock market frenzy.  There was an Internet stock that announced some good news (can’t recall company or news) at the market close. I then made the mistake of placing a market order to purchase shares at next day opening.  The stock opened at about double its previous days closing price only to then immediately drop a good 30% after.  In a matter of seconds I lost a few thousand dollars.  It ruined my day!

Related Article:  Stock Buy / Sell Order Types Defined

Do you want to improve something in your life?  Whether it’s getting in shape, eating right or improving your finances, but you just can’t seem to do it.  You can’t find the time with having a job, school or family.  By the time you get home from work you are too tired.  You created a plan, got started, but after a few days, you went right back to your old habits.

Well I’m here to tell you, you are not alone.  You are the typical person.  So what’s the solution?  The solution to success is that you must first have the 3 rules of success!
 
The first rule to success is “DESIRE”. If you want to be a lawyer, an athlete, an entrepreneur, an actor/actress, a good mate, a good employee, a good parent, lose weight, improve your finances, or whatever, you first have to want it.  

If you don’t want to be a doctor, you will not become a doctor.  If you tell yourself, it would be nice to be a doctor, but you don’t pursue it, then you never wanted to be a doctor.  But if you have the “strong” desire to be a doctor, guess what, you will become a doctor.  You will do whatever it takes to become a doctor.

The initial reason why so many people fail at accomplishing their goals is because they don’t have a strong desire.  If the desire isn’t there, they will never become successful.  

The second rule of success is “DISCIPLINE”.  To be successful at anything takes discipline.  You have to do “it” day-in and day-out usually with a lot of effort and work.  You can’t do it for a few days and then stop.  Back to our doctor example. If you want to be a doctor, you can’t take a few courses and stop.  You can’t study for one exam and stop.  You can’t go to a few classes and stop. You have to hit the books, day-in and day-out for years to be a successful doctor.  

Discipline is needed to accomplish any goal you set.  Most goals require a long-term or permanent lifestyle change. As an example, you can’t diet and exercise for a few weeks or months then stop and go back to your old ways.  This is why diets don’t work.  Diets are temporary.  Many people, diet, lose weight, and then return to their old habits. Most of the times they gain back the weight they lost and more!

The third rule of success is “DETERMINATION”.  You have to be determined to never give up.  No matter what it takes, you will be successful.  Even when things look bleak, you never give up.  You realize that life is a series of events that have hills and valleys.  When you are going up the hill, appreciate it and enjoy it.  However, when you are going down the hill, you have the determination to ride until you hit bottom because you know that the upside will be coming.

The umbrella to DESIRE, DISCIPLINE and DETERMINATION is ATTITUDE.  You have to believe in yourself.  Research studies have shown that one trait that successful people have, after analyzing hundreds of people (success being whatever they wanted to be successful in) is that they all had a positive attitude, which meant they all had the DESIRE, DISCIPLINE and DETERMINATION to be successful.

So ask yourself, do I have the desire, discipline and determination to accomplish my goal?  If the answer is no, then your shouldn’t pursue the goal, until you truly acquire the 3 rules of success.  If the answer is yes, then go full steam ahead.

Are you currently looking for a job? 

According to a recent CNNMoney.com article several Fortune 100 companies have at least 150 openings as of mid-April; even as the U.S. market struggles with 5.1 million job losses since 2008 with a 25 year high 8.5% unemployment rate.

The following companies are hiring:

Company – Number of Job Openings

1. Wal-Mart Stores – Thousands
2. Hewlett Packard – 150
3. Bank of America – 1,860
4. State Farm Insurance – 800+
5. WellPoint – 1,225
6. Boeing – 2,400
7. MetLife – 1,000+
8. United Parcel Service – 3,070
9. Medco Health Solutions – 300+
10. Lowe’s – 7,900

The jobs available are in a variety of positions.  Visit the company website to see if any jobs fit your background.

The U.S. middle class is getting hit hard with the downturn in the economy. Below is a video from CBS MoneyWatch.com highlighting a middle-class family struggling to pay bills and finding a job.

Video: Middle Class Taps Public Aid System