Bank of America is offering their customers a 1 year free trial of McAfree Internet Security software to protect your computer against viruses, spyware, adware, phishing, spam and hackers. (See demo)

Most free trials are for 30 days so this is a great deal.  A credit card is required to get the free trial.  You have to remember to cancel if you don’t want to purchase the software after 1 year.

Your trial will automatically renew at the end of the 12 month free period for another 12 months at 50% off (a $34.98 value).  To cancel this automatic renewal, you can contact McAfee Customer Support at 1.866.622.3911 prior to the expiration of the free offer.

To get your McAfree free trial visit BankOfAmerica.com/promos/mcafee

Related Article: Save Money with Free Anti Virus Software

Amazon.com is giving away $3 in MP3s. Cool! You must use coupon code “MP34FREE” to get $3 to use toward anything at Amazon MP3.  Tracks cost $0.99, so you can download 3 free tracks.

If you don’t already have an Amazon account, you must sign up for one.  

Promotional offer valid for a limited time only and subject to change. Promotional offer is valid from November 23, 2009 12:00 AM PST through November 30, 2009 11:59 PM PST. You must redeem the code by November 30, 2009 11:59 PM PST.

If you’ve previously entered a promotional code, clicking the “Enter Your Code” button above will show your remaining balance.

After your purchase, you can confirm the dollar amount of the code was applied by checking your order confirmation, which will be sent to you by e-mail.

If you receive an error entering your code, be sure to check that you’ve entered the code correctly and be sure that the promotion is still valid and has not expired. If you still receive an error, contact Customer Service via Amazon MP3 Support.

For more information visit Amazon.com.

Want to lower your phone, satellite/cable, Internet, gym, etc. bills?  One simple strategy is to call your current provider and tell them you are thinking about switching to their competitor.  They will jump through hoops to keep you as a customer.

Last week I got an offer in the mail from Clear for high speed Internet and unlimited home phone for $50 per month.  After the promotion ends it would jump to $55 per month.  With taxes the cost is $63 per month according to the online customer service rep. I spoke to.  Clear offers Internet service and VoIP telephone via Wi-Max.  Wi-Max is similar to Wi-Fi, except Wi-Max covers cities.

Currently, I’m paying AT&T $93 per month for high speed Internet and unlimited home phone.  Over the last year I’ve called AT&T twice to try to reduce my bill.  Initially, it was about $108 per month.  AT&T was only able to drop my bill to $93 per month while keeping my same service.

With the offer from Clear I was seriously considering switching, however, I decided to give AT&T another chance to reduce my bill.  When I called stating I was considering cancelling my service, I was immediately transferred to a different customer service rep.  I later realized that this customer service rep. is responsible for retaining customers.  After telling her I was considering canceling my AT&T account, she dropped my bill to $77 per month which includes taxes and fees.  I told her that I called twice before and was told my bill couldn’t be lowered anymore with the same service.  She stated I spoke to the wrong person.  When I called I spoke to Sales Reps. who are responsible for selling me “stuff”.  She stated I needed to ask for customer service.

At $77 per month, I still may switch to Clear; however, I’m concerned about their service.  After doing some research, I found complaints about Clear’s Internet service not being reliable.

I have used the same strategy with my satellite service.  See my post “Stick to Your Price and Negotiate When Buying”.  So go ahead, jump on the phone and call your phone, satellite/cable, Internet, gym, etc. and get your bills reduced!

If you are looking to open a checking account, you should consider PerkStreet because their checking account comes with quite a few perks.

First, you get $50 just for opening an account with a $25 minimum deposit.  You must keep the account active for 3 months.

Other perks include free online checking with a debit card that offers 1% cash back, free music or coffee.  See details below:

1% Cash Back

• Every $100 in non-PIN purchases earns you a dollar in perks.
• Every dollar perk you redeem gets you $1 on a PerkStreet FinancialSM Visa® Gift Card or a gift card from Target, Best Buy, Amazon.com, GAP or Ticketmaster.

Music

• Every $100 in non-PIN purchases earns you a song.
• Every song you redeem gets you $1 in credit at iTunes, Rhapsody or Amazon.com Gift Cards for MP3s or millions of other items at Amazon.com.

Coffee

• Every $200 in non-PIN purchase earns you a cup of coffee.
• Every cup you redeem gets you $2 in credit on a reloadable gift card from Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Peet’s Coffee and Tea and Bruegger’s Bagels.

There is no fee to use their surcharge-free ATM network.  There are no monthly fees and it only takes 5 minutes to open an account.  PerkStreet has partnered with the Bancorp Bank to offer a free online FDIC-insured checking account.

To open an account visit PerkStreet.com.

Lending Club is offering very low interest rate for car loans.  Rates are starting as low as 7.89%.

Lending Club allows you to borrow from $1,000 to $25,000 as an unsecured loan that can be used for any purpose such as debt consolidation loans, housing and home improvement loans, auto loans, home and small business loans, student loans, etc.

Lending Club is only available to United States residents.  To qualify borrowers need a FICO score of at least 660 with a debt-to-income ratio (excluding mortgage) below 25%.  Additionally, credit history must prove that you are a responsible borrower:

At least 1 year of credit history, showing no current delinquencies, recent bankruptcies (7 years), open tax liens, charge-offs or non-medical collections account in the past 12 months,
No more than 10 inquiries on your credit report in the last 6 months,
A revolving credit utilization of less than 100%, and
More than 3 accounts in your credit report, of which more than 2 are currently open.

To see if you qualify for a loan visit LendingClub.com.

Below is a video of How to Calculate Debt to Equity Ratio, compliments of Investopedia.

College is getting more expensive every year. The earlier you start to plan, the easier it should be to pay for it. Below is a worksheet that will help you determine how to finance your child’s or your college education.