Posts Tagged ‘ATM fees’

Save Fees, Save Money

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Meet Eric Przybylinski, our new expert on all things financial.  While Kate is trying to get you laid, he’ll do his best to get you paid.  Eric has his B.S. in Economics from the University of Florida.  He has previously held the series 7&63 licenses and worked as a stockbroker. After a brief detour to play basketball in Germany, he is on his way to obtaining a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.  Got money questions?  Eric wants to answer them!  Ask away at money@collegemagazine.com.

Let’s start off with a quick way to save money.  How about never paying ATM fees?  Banks charge you $3 if you don’t have the right card, and that convenient cash machine in the 7-11 next to the bar will charge at least that much.  Instead, go online and open a brokerage account linked to a debit card.  Major discount brokers such as Fidelity, E-trade, and Schwab all offer accounts with debit cards.  They rebate ATM fees, give you some free checks, and offer a better return on your account than a bank, while still being FDIC-insured.

What else can you do with a brokerage account?  If you’ve got extra cash left over after groceries and beer, start a Roth IRA.  An IRA, or Individual Retirement Arrangement, is a tax-advantaged account that can be opened online  in just a few minutes by anyone with an income.  An IRA can hold most traditional investments like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.  Growth on these investments is tax-free, as are withdrawals after age 59½.

In addition to the tax benefits, another big benefit of a Roth is its flexibility.  You should try to avoid taking money out of an IRA, but if you need to, you can always withdraw up to the amount you contributed with no tax penalty.  (You can put in as much as $5,000 a year or your total income, whichever is less.)  Other perks: When you are in the market for your first home, you can withdraw up to $10,000 tax-free for the purchase, and you can also use withdrawals from a Roth to pay qualified higher education expenses.

Stop Paying ATM Fees

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Meet Eric Przybylinski, our new expert on all things financial. While Kate is trying to get you laid, he’ll do his best to get you paid. Eric has his B.S. in Economics from the University of Florida.  He has previously held the series 7&63 licenses and worked as stockbroker; and after a brief detour to play basketball in Germany, he is on his way to obtaining a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.  Got money questions?  Eric wants to answer them!  Ask away at money@collegemagazine.com.

paid1Let’s start off with a quick way to save money.  How about never paying ATM fees?  Banks charge you $3 if you don’t have the right card, and that convenient cash machine in the 7-11 next to the bar will charge at least that much.  Instead, go online to open a brokerage account linked to a debit card.  Major discount brokers such as Fidelity, E-trade, and Schwab all offer accounts with debit cards.  They rebate ATM fees, give you some free checks, and offer a better return on your account than a bank, while still being FDIC-insured.

What else can you do with a brokerage account?  If you’ve got extra cash left over after groceries and beer, start a Roth IRA.  An IRA, or Individual Retirement Arrangement, is a tax-advantaged account that can be opened by anyone with an income in a few minutes online, and can hold most traditional investments, like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.  Growth on your investments is not taxed, and withdrawals after age 59½ are tax-free.

In addition to the tax benefits, another big benefit of a Roth is its flexibility.  You should try to avoid taking money out of an IRA, but if you need to, you can always withdraw up to the amount you contributed with no tax penalty.  (You can put in as much as $5,000 a year or your total income, whichever is less.)  Other perks: When you are in the market for your first home, you can withdraw up to $10,000 tax-free for the purchase, and you can also use withdrawals from a Roth to pay qualified higher education expenses.

Image Source: JCheights.com

What is she grinning about?

Monday, January 5th, 2009

Laid:

By Kate

This is the first in a series of monthly interviews with women who are thrilled with their sex lives. First up is my lovely, sweet, always put-together friend whose bragging about simultaneous orgasms and female ejaculation was my inspiration.

Age: 23

Interested in: men

Relationship status: monogamous, long-term relationship

Q: Why do you consider yourself a satisfied woman?

A: I’m always in the mood to have sex with my partner. It’s very loving, and we have simultaneous, explosive orgasms every time. We have been dating for about 15 months, and it just keeps getting better!

Q: And you’re capable of female ejaculation…

It typically happens when I am on top because it comes from a lot of deep, g-spot stimulation (being on top makes me feel like I’m on the verge of orgasm). I feel waves coming over me, and it gets very warm, and then everything is wet. The first time, it soaked through to the mattress. My boyfriend loves it—he calls it my “waterfalling.”

Q: Any techniques you find particularly awesome?

A: Sometimes one of us blindfolds the other and covers their body with really light sensations—kissing, licking, or just breathing. You never know what your partner will touch next, and it leaves you aching for more.

A little bit of role-play or talking dirty can also be a big turn-on. He sometimes asks me to tell him what to do, which switches things up too.

He also likes to pull out during intercourse and go down on me, which is sexy because it is completely different and unexpected.

Q: Do you have advice for less-than-satisfied women?

Get to know your own body and how it responds. Masturbate and try different things on your own, so it’ll be easier to communicate—and orgasm—with your partner. But keep in mind that most of the lead-up [to a coital orgasm] does not feel like clitoral stimulation during masturbation. It is much deeper, and it sneaks up on you.

Have patience! Don’t pressure yourself to orgasm. But be proactive. Get into the mindset that you can have an orgasm during sex, and be willing to work at it.

Q: What about for people who have sex with women?

A: Build the woman’s confidence. Make sure she knows that you are attracted to her. My boyfriend loves going down on me, and he tells me that all the time.

At the same time, it is important that she doesn’t feel pressured and that the partner doesn’t act disappointed if she doesn’t orgasm—they must be supportive.

And remember, you can’t rely on the same techniques for every person you sleep with. Take the time to learn how to read each woman’s body.

Paid Tip of the Week

By Lisa

Avoiding ATM fees is easy! Plan ahead for cash withdrawals. If all else fails, try to hit up a supermarket or drugstore like CVS, Walgreens, or Whole Foods, for a cash-back purchase. Buying a pack of gum or a candy bar could save you a couple of bucks.