Check out this great deal from AmericaNet Bank.  They are offering 5.25% APY (Annual Percentage Yield) for opening up a Rewards Checking account. Interest earnings are calculated on your average daily balance of up to $25,000.  Amounts over $25,000 will earn 2.25% APY.

There is no minimum balance  required and the checking account comes with free online banking, free checking, free Visa check card, free ATM transaction worldwide and more.

You maybe asking yourself, “How can they offer this interest rate for a checking account?”  To get the 5.25% they require you to make at least 10 transactions with your AmericaNet Bank VISA Check Card each month and all statements are sent by e-mail.

At the end of your statement cycle, ATM fees charged by any bank worldwide are automatically refunded to your account in one lump sum.  At the same time, you will be paid interest earned by your account.

AmericaNet Bank is FDIC Protected and operated by All America Bank, a well-established Oklahoma bank operating since 1969.

For more information visit http://americanetbank.com/

Related article: Earn More Money with Internet Banks

I wish I worked for a CEO like Leonard Abess.  After he sold a majority stake in Miami-based City National Bancshares last November to a Spanish bank he gave $60 million of the proceeds, his own money, to 399 employees which included tellers, bookkeepers, clerks, and everyone on the payroll.

Mr. Abess even tracked down 72 former employees to give them a share of the $60 million.  How cool is this guy?  The bonuses were based on years of service and amounted to tens of thousands of dollars to more than $100,000.

Mr. Abess didn’t publicize his generousity and didn’t show up at the bank to get the pleasure of handing out the money.  Of course when people found out he was giving away money, he was inundated with letters soon after.

When asked what motivated him to give away $60 million, he said he has always dreamed of rewarding employees. He added,  ”Those people who joined me and stayed with me at the bank with no promise of equity…I always thought some day I’m going to surprise them…I sure as heck don’t need (the money)”.  Now that’s when you know you are filthy rich; you can easily afford to give away $60 million dollars.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com

A very good friend and his wife (David & Victoria Williams) recently opened up a franchise called BounceU in Duluth, GA.  (As a matter a fact, David and I were each other’s best man in our weddings.)  BounceU is a franchise where the main idea is to have private parties for your child. However, BounceU also offers other services such as babysitting your kids, field trips, club outings, team parties and various other services.

BounceU Owners in Duluth, GA – David and Vickie Williams

The unique thing about BounceU is that it features a mix of different inflatable equipment in private rooms for the kids to play, in a very clean, safe and climate-controlled environment.

Additionally, while at BounceU, you child can watch Disney movies, play hide and seek sports, play basketball shootout, play balloon football, run through obstacle courses, play Karaoke, compete in spider climb races, win prizes and more!  BounceU makes it really fun for the kids.

BounceU Many Features

For months it was very interesting talking to my friend and his wife about opening their business.  From searching for a franchise, to selecting one, to getting the financing, to finding a good location, to final launch. After months of hard work, he and his wife finally opened the franchise and I had a chance to visit it.

I was very impressed with the facility.  It was clean, very spacious (about 11,000 square feet), and the kids had a blast.  I could see how the parents would like the ease of having a private party at BounceU, while I could see the kids loved the various cool bounce equipment.  They couldn’t stop running around, going from ride to ride.  Kids have so much energy it makes me tired just watching them.

Pictures of BounceU in Duluth, GA

If you live in the Duluth, GA area you can visit BounceU at:

1630 Pleasant Hill Rd
Suite 110
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 931-6900
Email: duluth.ga~at~bounceu.com
Website: www.bounceu.com

The facility is located in the Pleasant Hill Assi Plaza shopping mall between the Party City and Dollar Tree.

Below is their schedule:

Open Bounce Schedule

Preschool Play dates
Mon – Fri  9:30 -11:30 am
Snacks Provided

Home Schools

Wed 1 pm – 3 pm

After School
Tues & Thurs 5 pm – 7 pm

Family Night Out

Wed 6 pm – 8 pm
Pizza, drinks available

Parents Night Out

Fri 7 pm – 10 pm
Pizza and drinks provided

Weekend Sunrise Bounce

Saturday 10 am – 12 pm
Sunday 12 pm – 2 pm

Like many of us, I used to go to the doctor or dentist and then receive insurance statements and doctor bills.  For the statements, I would quickly scan them and file them away.  I would then pay the bill.  A few years later, I learned the hard way that I should have been paying closer attention because it was costing me money.

I found out by accident that my dentist, who I went to for years, was ripping me off.  As a result, they ended up having to refund me a few hundred dollars.  What my dentist did was bill my insurance company and have me pay the difference.  For example, the dentist would bill the insurance company $200; the insurance company would pay via the contracted rate of $120 and determine my out of pocket cost of $20.

However, the dentist would bill me the difference of the full amount ($200) and the contracted rate ($120) which was $80.  So I ended paying $60 more than I should I have paid.  This went on for a few years until I caught on.  Looking back, I should have reported them because I’m certain they were doing the same to other patients as well.

Below are some other things I’ve learned over the years to keep a close eye on:

Make sure your medical provider is in network. A couple of years ago, I went to a dentist for a cleaning.  When I made the appointment I asked if they took Aetna.  They said yes.  The cleaning was 100% covered by Aetna.  A few weeks later I got a bill from the dentist.  When I called the dentist office I was told they accepted Aetna but they weren’t in Aetna’s network.  I refused to pay the bill because they didn’t tell me they were out of network.  They ended up cancelling the charge.

Make sure you know what’s covered by your insurance company. A few years ago, I went to a dentist for teeth cleaning which was 100% covered by my insurance company.  At the end of the cleaning, I was given a fluoride treatment which I didn’t request.  The fluoride treatment wasn’t covered and as a result I was billed by the dentist.  I felt this was a gimmick by the dentist just to earn more money.  The fluoride treatment wasn’t necessary.  However, in the future I made sure to pay attention to things like this!

Make sure your procedure will be covered by your insurance company. If you are having a medical procedure that’s out of the norm, make sure your insurance company will cover it.  Many doctor offices will do this for you, but some won’t.  You do not want any surprises.  Make sure that when you call the insurance company, you document everything, especially who you spoke to. Also, have them send you documentation.  You may speak to one customer service rep that tells you something is covered and when you call back, the 2nd customer service rep will tell you it’s not covered.  This has happened to me; see below!

Don’t hesitate to dispute a claim in writing. About a year ago my doctor recommended that I have a colonoscopy to check for colon cancer since a close family member had polyps found during their colonoscopy.  I called Aetna to see if the procedure would be covered.  They said yes, it would be 100% covered.  To my surprise, Aetna didn’t cover the procedure.  When I called, the customer service rep said it wasn’t covered.  I explained to her that when I first called I was told it would be covered, but I had no evidence of this.  I didn’t even have the name of the rep I initially spoke to.

I then decided to dispute the claim in writing.  Aetna responded by letter a couple weeks later that the procedure was indeed covered 100%.  However, Aetna ended only paying 1 of the 3 bills.  So I wrote a 2nd dispute letter, which, they never responded to.  A couple months later the 2nd bill was paid and just recently after me calling them again (7 months later), they paid the 3rd bill.  Unbelievable!

Never pay the doctor bill until the claim is processed by the insurance company. Many medical providers will send out bills before the claim is processed.  Sometimes, they’ll send a bill for the entire amount, which makes no sense.  Sometimes, they’ll estimate what the insurance company will pay and your out of pocket cost.  However, you should never pay the bill until the claim is processed because the insurance company will determine the contracted rate and your out of pocket cost.  Always pay by what the insurance company determines and not the medical provider.

Shop around and compare prices. I must admit that I rarely do this; however, I have in the past for dental procedures which saved me hundreds of dollars.  Of course when it comes to your health you want the best care even if you have to pay more for it.  It’s unfortunate that doctors don’t list their prices and most patients never ask.  But shopping around to compare prices is a great way to save money!

If a claim is denied, investigate it. It may be a mistake.  Insurance companies make mistakes, too.

If you are keeping your money in a traditional brick and mortar bank you may be losing out on your interest rate.  Let’s face it; in today’s economy, with low interest rates the traditional banks are paying almost nothing for savings accounts.  Bank of America’s Regular Savings is currently paying 0.20% APY (Annual Percentage Yield), Wells Fargo Goal Savings 0.05% APY, while the national average is 0.24% APY.

Surprisingly, if you move your money to an online bank, you can earn up to 2.5% APY. That is a big difference!  If you had $10,000 with an online bank for 1 year at 2.50% APY, you’d make $253 in interest.  If you had the same amount in a traditional bank at 0.24%, you’d make only $24 in interest for the entire year.  That’s a difference of $229.  As you can see, you’ll earn a lot more with an online bank. Over several years that can really add up!  Additionally, the online banks have higher paying CDs than the traditional banks.

The reason online banks pay a higher interest rate is because they have a much lower overhead than the traditional banks.  Most don’t have actual buildings, TMs, tellers, or debit cards, and most offer no check processing, etc.  Keep in mind some Internet banks are divisions of traditional banks.  Also, with the Internet, online banks can be completely automated, requiring very little human intervention.  Computers pretty much run the business.

Traditional Bank Linked to Online Bank

I currently have a checking account with Bank of America in which I keep enough money to pay my bills.  The checking account is linked to two online banks where I can easily transfer money back and forth.  The two online banks that I use are INGDirect.com and EmigrantDirect.com, which I highly recommend.  INGDirect.com recently started offering additional services such as a debit card, checking account and free access to ATMs. EmigrantDirect.com doesn’t offer these services as yet. There are a few other good internet banks you can check out, which include Bank of the Internet,  Etrade.com, WTDirect.com, and HSBCDirect.com.

So go ahead, do some research and open an account with an Internet Bank and get a higher annual interest rate.

Are you a business owner?  You might say no, but if you have a job, you are selling your services to a company and that makes you a business owner.  According to Wikipedia, a business is “a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers. Businesses are..…formed to earn profit to increase the wealth of owners.”  Do you see how this definition can easily apply to you?  We all work, “to earn profit to increase wealth!” The main reason any business exists is to maximize profits for the shareholders.  Why shouldn’t you have that same philosophy?

Even though you may not have a legally recognized company, you can still operate as a business.  Businesses have goals. They require planning, budgeting, forecasting, cost cutting, investing, and more.  To measure performance, they take periodic financial “snapshots” to determine how they’re performing. They use three primary financial statements; an Income Statement, a Balance Sheet and a Cash Flow Statement.  You can apply these same financial statements to yourself to see how you are doing.

Track Your Performance

An Income Statement is a statement of income and expenditure for a period of time.  For an individual with an income, it’s basically your take home pay.

A Balance Sheet is a summary of a company’s balances.  This includes assets, liabilities and equity (assets – liabilities = equity).  As an individual, your assets would be your savings, 401K, IRA, home value, and auto value.  Your liabilities would be your debt, which includes your mortgage, car loan, and credit card balances.  You take all your assets and subtract your liabilities and this gives you your equity.  The goal here is to build equity.  Maximize your assets and minimize your liabilities and you will maximize your equity!

A Cash Flow Statement is company’s cash receipts and cash disbursements over a period of time.  It lists cash to and cash from operating, investing, and financing activities, along with the net increase or decrease in cash for that period.  For an individual this is basically,(remove comma) how much money you made for the month minus how much money you paid out in expenses.  What’s left over is your savings.

In my opinion, the cash flow statement is the most important financial statement, because it drives how well you will do financially.  It’s all about how much cash you have at the end of the month.  Every heard the phrase “Cash is King”? The goal here is to maximize your cash receipts (income) while minimizing your cash disbursements (expenses).  If your cash flow is negative every month, there is no way to build equity and eventually you will be bankrupt.

I personally take a monthly snapshot of how I’m doing financially with these very same statements.  I also create financial goals and create a budget to help me get there.  I have a spreadsheet going back 4 years showing my progress.  Download Sample Financial Statement Spreadsheet.

First Thing’s First, Set Your Goals

Being able to track your financial performance is great.  But in order to know if you are doing well, you must first have a goal.  Let’s say your goal is to maximize savings.  How much do you want to save?  First, you have to figure out how much money you can save with your current income and expenses.   Download Sample Budget Spreadsheet.

As previously discussed, subtracting your monthly expenses from your net pay will determine the amount you have left over for savings.  Now, ask yourself if this will meet your goal.  If your goal is to save $500 per month, and based on your income and monthly expenses (remove comma) you can only save $200 per month, then you will have to look at your budget and make some changes.

• Things you may have to consider are:
• Cutting your cell phone bill from $75 to $50, saving you $25 per month
• Reducing your cable/satellite bill from $80 per month to $50 per month.
• Fixing that leaking water facet that is costing you an extra $20 per month.
• Eating out once per month instead of once per week, saving you $120 per month.
• Bringing your lunch to work (remove comma) instead of eating out every day, saving you $75 per month.
• Downgrading your car so your car loan is $300 per month, instead of $500 per month, saving you $200 per month. (How do you do that?)
• Shopping around for new auto insurance, saving you $30 per month.
• Cancelling the gym membership you never use, saving you $25 per month.

The point here is; most people can’t control their income, but they can control their expenses.  This is where you can save a ton of money.  From our examples above, if you were to cut your expenses so you could save an extra $300 per month, after just one year, you will have saved an additional $3,600.  Over 10 years that’s $36,000.  If you managed to save $500 per month, you would have $60,000 in ten years. That is a significant amount of money!

This may sound easy, but most people fail.  This is simply because they fail to plan by creating a budget, setting a goal and measuring their performance.  They fail to act as if they own a business!

See related article – “Keep Expenses Low for when the Hard Times Hit”

Check out this great deal from Etrade.  They are offering a $25 bonus on their online savings account with a 2.5% APY.  Most traditional banks are paying nothing.  Currently, Bank of America’s Regular Savings pays 0.20% APY, Wells Fargo Goal Savings pays 0.05% APY and National Average pays 0.24% APY.  With Etrade paying 2.5%, that’s a lot more interest in your pocket.

There is no minimum; no account fees and you can transfer money for free with one-click transfers to and from any institution. All you need is $1 to open an account.  Visit Etrade to find out more.