Steve's note: My colleague Dr. David Eifrig has started a project called Retirement Millionaire, which could revolutionize retirement for many Americans. Over the past few days, David has been revealing "loopholes" that allow ordinary retirees to withdraw retirement money early without penalty or save 90% on vacation.
Today, he's sharing a secret I haven't heard about anywhere else. Read on to learn how to...
By
Dr. David Eifrig, editor, Retirement Millionaire
Friday, February 6, 2009
I bet you've seen a lot of claims about how to double your money – or better – overnight. Most of those strategies never pan out.
But this here is the real deal.
I've discovered a way to take $20 and turn it into $50... or take $40 and turn it into $100.
When I first discovered this opportunity, I figured there was a catch. I didn't think it was possible to take my hard, cold cash and increase its value by 150% in one night out.
But I love a good deal, so I tried it. And by my calculations, this little discovery will put another $1,000 in my pocket every year. Here's how it works...
Go to www.restaurant.com, put your zip code in, and search for restaurants nearby. You can search a radius from one to 30 miles. When I put in my Baltimore zip code, I found 65 restaurants within five miles and an amazing 230 places within 30 miles.
At this point you might say, "So what? I can do the same with the Yellow Pages."
Here's the thing: Each listed restaurant offers online gift certificates that allow you to purchase $25 of value for only $10. You can buy a $50 gift certificate for $20. You can buy a $100 gift certificate for only $40. That's 60% off. If you and a group of friends went out and spent $100 on dinner, it would only cost the table $40.
When I first found this website, I was a bit skeptical... So I decided to try it out on a little Thai place a few blocks from the office. Two friends and I bought a $50 certificate, ordered Summer Rolls with Shrimp, Panang Chicken, Pad Thai, and Sautéed Broccoli... and ended up paying $20 for a $48.76 tab. The restaurant took the certificate no problem. Since then, I've used hundreds more dollars worth of certificates at two other restaurants... Like I said, I'll probably end the year $1,000 richer.
Restaurant.com guarantees its certificates. The company lists its phone number and e-mail, and they're quick and helpful. If you're still not convinced, call the restaurant before you purchase a certificate to make sure it accepts them. So far, they've all told me, "Yes sir, we sure do." And they did.
You should also keep these two things in mind...
1)
Each restaurant has a minimum purchase requirement that ranges between $35 and $50. This usually excludes alcohol. If you're out with a couple friends, then you'll surely hit the minimums.
2)
Also, some restaurants automatically add 18% gratuity. This is only right... You've found a special loophole, but those waiters and waitresses shouldn't be hit with lower tips.
The founders of Restaurant.com wanted to create a way for people to find new restaurants where they work and live. As they put it, "We wanted to encourage the celebration of dining, but make it more affordable."
If you love to eat out as much as I do, just go www.restaurant.com, put in your zip code, and see what's near you. You can browse through menus and see if you might like a new place.
Once you find your restaurant, just pay for the certificate, print it out, and off you go.
One of our top "big money"-approved assets is quietly starting to soar.
As you'll recall, we have the broad stock market on "volume watch" right now. We expect the market to rally in 2009, but the lack of advancing stocks on big trading volume is a cause for caution.
Silver, on the other hand, is enjoying a tremendous amount of money flow right now. Silver typically trades in the same manner as gold. Investors see it as a way to protect their wealth from the giant Washington boondoggle.
Our chart today is a little different from what you typically see in this column. It displays the trading volume in the Silver ETF. The gray bars are the day's volume when SLV advanced in price. The red bars are the day's volume when SLV declined in price. The taller the bar, the greater the volume.
As you can see from the total dominance of tall, gray bars, a lot of money is flowing into silver... and the metal is at its highest level since September. The flight to real money continues...
How to Take a Nearly-Free Vacation By Dr. David EifrigThursday, February 5, 2009
There's something about knowing I'm getting 10 times the value it costs me... I truly love that feeling. It's like the first blindfolded wine tasting I conducted in 1978, when we all discovered a $15 wine can taste as good as the stuff French wine snobs were selling for $95.
How to Use Your Retirement Savings, Penalty-Free... at Any Age By Dr. David EifrigWednesday, February 4, 2009
Most people think you've got to wait until age 59½ to start taking money out of your IRA account or 401(k) without paying a 10% penalty. But the truth is: You can take out your savings at any age you wish, even if you are in your 30s or 40s, without paying a penalty...
Now, the government is like a fat schoolboy taking candies from a well-dressed stranger. It has spent $8.5 trillion of future taxpayers' and foreign creditors' money guaranteeing debt and bailing out failed companies. But the government doesn't have its own money to pay for these remedies...
Complacency in the stock market is a bit like the weather at sea. You have long periods of blue skies and calm days interjected with fierce storms. The longer the calm weather lasts, the more cargo the shipping companies dare to load on their vessels.
