Going Underground

With my new job 80% of the work is prepping for the class (with 10% grading work and 10% giving lectures).

Sooooo…

Sorry to say, but… I’ll probably not be updating my blog like I have been.

Nip, Tuck, and Free Money

As we say here in SoCal- I’ve had some work done.

No, no knife work needed- all the work done was on this blog. Just a little refreshing lift- nothing major. I think it still has the same feel as the old blog, just a little spiffier!

The most noticeable change would be that I’ve gone to a three column format. This has allowed me to feature some links to ING Direct! I've been a customer of ING Direct for years, and I love sharing a good banking experience with my friends. Now, after I've told the world about my bad banking experience, I want to tell them about my favorite bank- ING Direct!

If you’ve been looking for a high yield savings account from an FDIC backed bank- my preferred bank is ING Direct. They make it incredibly easy to open and manage your accounts. Check out GetRichSlowly’s blog on the same topic . They have a high yield savings account (currently at 3%) called an Orange Savings account.

ING Direct is an especially good option if you currently have more than the FDIC limits ($100K in a personal account) in your bank and you're looking for a place to move your money in order to keep it safe from bankruptcy and takeovers. If you would like to join, simply follow the links below to open your account and get a little freebie for doing so!

Here’s the deal: If you’re a new customer and you open an account with at least $250, ING will deposit a $25 bonus in your new account and a $10 thank-you-bonus in my Orange Savings Account. Just click a link below to get started! (These links are only valid through 10/21/2008.)

Orange Savings Accounts:

Link 1

Link 2


*If these links don’t work- someone else got to them before you did! Just email me (chellyuop@hotmail.com) and I’ll send you a fresh link.


A quick background on the ING Orange Savings accounts:
Great rate - no minimum balance required.
No fees - all your money goes to work for you.
No changing banks - the Orange Savings Account is linked to your checking account.
24-hour access to your account - you're always ready for opportunities.
FDIC-insured - your money is safe and secure.

The MSN effect

Wow- first of all I’d like to say that something completely floored me last night.

I checked my site meter for this blog and it was going crazy! I mean, a week ago I had four people visit my site. Four- and I’m fairly sure one of those people was my mother (Hi Mom!).

So the fact that the number of people visiting in the last few hours was double the number that had ever visited my blog was flat out amazing!

I found that everyone was being referred from a MSN Money blog written by Karen Datko!

Yeah!!!!

So today I wanted to feature my favorite blogs and articles written by Karen Datko to say thanks for being my best referrer!

My favorite (but I’m oh-so-biased)


OK, Ok- my real favorite- the one that I saw a l-o-n-g time ago and still remember

The resolution of her situation

More recent blogs:

Common shopping (and spending) stereotypes

I went through a similar thing when I learned the truth about Jamba Juice

Home (page) improvements

I’ve been tweaking all the ads and gizmos on my blog home page and I wanted to point out a feature that I really like that has saved me time.

I’ve been reading a lot of money blogs lately. While I’m fairly good at remembering recent blogs on topics I like, I have a hard time remember just who it was that wrote the blog about that book I wanted to get from the library. Trying to Google for that blog specifically about that book generally yields too many results.

So, to remedy this problem, I’ve customized two Google searches on the left hand side of my page. The top one searches just my So Cal Savvy blog and the second one searches all my favorite PF blogs. That way if I wanted to search for “budget” I'm not going to get the rental car company.

It’s a simple tool, but I’ve already found it helpful! If you would like to be added to my search bar (or you would like to know how to do this for your own peace of mind) leave a comment and I'll check out your site.

Welcome to SoCalSavvy!

I’m a NorCal girl-at-heart and my life has taken me to the LA area. I’m GenY and learning how to survive financially in one of the most expensive areas of the country.

I’m an educator, but my recent move down here has put me out of work. On my finance’s salary alone, I’m trying to make our bucks stretch and still have a fabulous SoCal lifestyle.

This blog isn’t so much about personal finance advice, but more about my financial education progression. It’s a process, but I want to share what I’ve learned and get feedback from others.