Hey Folks,

Here are the carnivals that we participated in last week. Please take time out to visit the carnivals, as there are some really great posts.

- Carnival of Personal Finance #166 (Around The World of Commodities Edition) was hosted by Everyday Finance and you can find our post entitled 529 Plans: Helping To Ease The Burden of College Expenses listed there.

- Finance Fiesta #12 (The Baseball Edition) was hosted by Living Almost Large and you can find our post entitled Cheap International Flights: Getting More for Your Dollar listed there.

- Carnival of Money Stories #73 (The Best in Show Edition) was hosted by Living Almost Large and you can find our post entitled Credit Report… For Your Health??? listed there.

- Money Hacks Carnival #26 (The Old Money Edition) was hosted by Our Four Pence Worth and you can find our post entitled Best Buy Coupons, Promotions and Savings listed there.

- Carnival of Debt Reduction #153 (The Olympics Edition) was hosted by Carnival of Debt Reduction and you can find our post entitled Credit Card Bill of Rights listed there. We got the Editors pick for this post and won a Silver Medal.

- Festival of Frugality #139 (The Michael Phelps Edition) was hosted by Our Four Pence Worth and you can find our post entitled Unbelievable Car Rental Deal! Thanks Alamo! listed there.

Nearly 30 years ago, back when it was Norwest, Mark Oman began his Wells Fargo career as manager in the consumer finance department.  Since then, he has worked his way up to nearly the last rung on the ladder.  Today, as the Senior Executive Vice President, he oversees Wells Fargo’s Home and Consumer Finance Group.  This group is comprised of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, and Card Services and Consumer Lending divisions. 

During his tenure, Mr. Oman has been recognized are a powerful leader, a man of integrity and excellent businessman.  Actually, he holds the honor of being a member of the Iowa Business Hall of Fame.

And to his credit, he was wise enough to limit Wells Fargo from finagling in the subprime mortgage lending.  While nearly every other major mortgage lender is scrapping by on pennies, Wells Fargo’s financial strength sustains.  Five years ago, their shares were trading at $25, today there are trading at $30.  Countrywide should have taken a lesson from this guy.

Anyway, next year, Mr. Oman will call it quits.  After 30 long years of triumphs and successes, he’s retiring.  But what intrigues me most about Mr. Oman… well, besides the fact that he is worth millions… he’s only 53!

53, retired, and a multimillionaire… who hasn’t dreamed of that?  I know I do all the time.  Forbes has this series called Millionaire in the Making. I read it religiously. They profile all of these regular people who are on their way to living my dream. 

According to some figures I ran, if I save $2,200 a month then I can be a millionaire by 53.  When I start making $6 million a year like my old buddy Mark… socking away $2,200 a month would be a breeze.  But since that ain’t about to happen no time soon… for now, I have to do the best I can with what I got. 

And so to be a Milli by 53… I present to you the best plan I got

Max out my 401K contributions – This is an easy one.  Most employers match an employee’s 401K contribution up to a certain percent of your income.   I have seen the match range from as low as 25% to as high as 200%.  (Rumor has it that Exxon matches 300%!)  But whatever the match, I’m taking it!  It’s free money!  I’m promised a 25% return.  What other investment can promise that?  Plus, the IRS gaves me a tax break.

Max out my IRA contributions – After I max out the 401K, then I start piling on the IRA contribution.  Why?  Cause with this little doggy, I get tax free compounding interest. Compound + Interest, toss in a dash of tax free… now that is the perfect recipe for becoming a millionaire

Find ways to generate passive income – Which means, I make money without working, now that is my kind of gig!

Or to get the cash flow moving more quickly, I can…

Become a rapper

Or better yet, a skateboarder

Sell short shares of SunTrust Banks, Inc

Find an alternative use for the trailer at work such as… ummm… turning it into my personal punching bag

Get in the mortgage fraud business

Take advantage of not so on-the-up-and-up tax shelters 

Rob a bank (or two)

Ok, well… maybe I do need to work on this a little more… but at least I’ve got a plan, right?

HSBC can easily be considered a global financial institution.  The London based company parents over 9500 offices throughout 85 countries.    Their two primary US subsidiaries are Household International, Inc and HSBC Bank USA.  Though their US assets measures in the hundreds of billions of dollars, the company is also seeing its share of losses amidst the mortgage collapse.  In 2006, their losses from bad mortgages were nearly 10 billion dollars.  But as we move into the belly of the collapse, their annual losses are even more staggering.

HSBC has been making efforts to mitigate these losses.  One plan of action is to shut down offices and lay off employees.  The most recent lay off is happening in Chesapeake, VA right now as I am writing this blog.  Their mortgage services unit is reducing its staff by 48 employees. 

Forty eight may be a lot, but it is only a small fraction of the HSBC lay offs that have been occurring over the past couple of years and that will be occurring in the future.

Just this May, HSBC laid off 70 San Diegans.  And over the next three months, 400 more HSBC Auto Finance workers will be let go from San Diego area offices. And another 200 Lewisville Texans are on the slate as well. 

In June of this year, 460 employees at White Marsh, MD HSBC call center were notified that their jobs would soon be gone.  Plus, in Jacksonville, FL, another 240 call center jobs are being eliminated.

Late in 2007, HSBC execs decided to completely abandon its Decision One Mortgage company, which specialized in the subprime wholesale lending market.  This move resulted in the loss of 750 jobs throughout South Carolina, North Carolina and Arizona.  However, dumping these risky wholesale lending sections is the growing trend in the finance industry.  WaMu and other major lenders have been doing the same thing.

These kinds of massive lay offs are a pity, but this is what typically happens during a recession.  If you are unfortunate enough to get caught up in one of these “restructurings”, don’t panic.  Just make sure you have a good plan.

First, don’t take it personal.  It’s just business, right?  (That’s kind of easy to say if you are the one handing out the notices.)  When people are laid off, they may sometimes feel as if it was a personal slap in the face.  Though it may feel that way, don’t let this affect you mentally or emotionally.  Because now, more than ever, is the time you must be strong.

Sometimes, people are given severance packages to help them survive until they find a new job.  But if severance pay is not a part of your lay off package, make sure you apply for unemployment right away.

And think about what you want to do.  This can be an excellent time to take a different career path, learn a new trade or become that rock star you always wanted to be.  Also, look for alternative ways to earn income.  

However, this is not the time to begin making hasty financial decisions.  Put the MasterCard away.  Leave the 401K alone (unless you plan to roll it over into an IRA).

In this worsening economy, it is best to have a plan and to be prepared to put that plan in action in the event you are taken by surprise.

Everyone tells me that I am a pretty good cook.  But here is a little secret, just between you and me…. I’m not.  I’m ok… but great?… That is stretching it a bit. 

Now, my mother, she is a great cook.  She likes to make all of that good hometown, uniquely southern kind of food.  And she enjoys cooking.  She cooks everyday!  When I was a kid, she would make meals that took 2 or 3 hours to prepare… and she worked full time. I don’t see how she did it.  It seems as if I don’t have enough time in the day to slave over a stove.

I cook about 5 times a week.  However, I don’t enjoy the cooking part so much. I enjoy sitting around the dinner table with my family and talking about our day. 

But because I don’t care too much for the cooking part… I try to make the process as quick and convenient as possible. I am the master of 30 minute meals.  Actually, sometimes I can whip a great meal together in 10 minutes, no kidding.  And it tastes like I have been in the kitchen for hours.

So to me, it’s kind of like I am fibbing if I say I’m a great cook.  Well, for one, I don’t like cooking. Secondly my meals are ready in 30 minutes, tops… so obviously I don’t put much effort into it.  I think great cooks enjoy cooking and I’m sure they put more effort into it than I do.

Anyway, I am sitting here contemplating what we will have for dinner.  I found this recipe for some 15 minute turkey tacos.  It sure looks tasty in the picture… and it is healthy.  (Ever since I lost a few pounds, I have been on this health kick.) 

But I don’t feel like cooking today.  I think we are going have to do take out tonight… or maybe we can dine in. 

My children really enjoy eating at the Golden Corral.  They like it because it is an all you can eat place.  I dislike it because it is an all you can eat place. Heading to dinner at an all you can eat buffet is not the best idea when you are trying to watch your calories.  The temptation is too overwhelming and I always end up going back for seconds. 

Oh how cute. My daughter was standing here as I wrote this… eavesdropping on my conversation with you guys.  Anyway, she just ran down the hall and yelled in excitement to her brother that we are eating at the Golden Corral tonight. 

I did not say anything about eating at the Golden Corral tonight!  All I said was that my children like it and I don’t like it.  But I guess kids read things the way the want to read it. 

Ohhh… that just gave me an idea.  Maybe I can use the Golden Corral as a bargaining tool.   My daughter can get what she wants and I can get what I want.  She wants to eat at the Golden Corral tonight… I want the jumbled pile of shoes in my closet put away back neatly in their boxes.   So let me go talk to the girl so I can propose my little deal.

By the way if you are looking for some Golden Corral deals, you can start here:

- Purchase a $20 gift card for $15

- Purchase tickets to see both Janie Fricke and T. Graham Brown and receive a $10.00 Golden Corral Gift Card for each ticket purchased.

- Rent the Golden Corral Movie of the Month and get a coupon for a free lunch buffet

- Enter for a chance to win $40 worth of Golden Corral coupons

- Printable coupons if you are in the Saratoga area

- 15% off at the Golden Corral when you stay at the Pigeon Forge Hampton Inn

- November 17th is Militray Appreciation Day at the Golden Corral

Want a less demanding job?  Want a more challenging job?  Don’t get along with your boss?  Moving to another state? Want a job that is more personally satisfying?  Want to change career paths? Need a bit more moola in your paycheck?

Well… change jobs. This is nothing unusual.  People change jobs everyday… just fill out some apps and send out a few resumes.  And if you are worthy (which I know you are), a company will snatch you up sooner or later.

But if you love the company you work for now and could not dare envision working anywhere else, then you’ll need to use a different method.  With a well written job transfer request, you’ll likely be granted the intra company move that you so desire.

How to write a job transfer request?

Keep in mind that this is like any other job application.  Your request should be professional. It should also be well organized and methodical.

So don’t just sit at your computer and begin typing.  Come up with a plan.  To prepare… get out some index cards and a pen.  Jot down every important point you want to make.

And because I adore my PFA friends so much, I have volunteered to be your guide. Well not so much of a guide… maybe a better word is prompter or reminder… 

You see… the older I get, the more prompting and reminding I require.  I’ve got a perfect example…  Last night I was sitting on the sofa watching CNN and I got this overwhelming craving for some walnuts.  So I got up, went to the kitchen, opened the pantry door… and completely forgot what I was looking for.  I only wished that I had somebody to remind me of what I needed to do (get the walnuts), but I didn’t.  However fortunately for ya’ll, you’ve got me to be your personal reminder.  I’m not saying that you are old and forgetful or anything… I was just saying, I’m here to help.

Ok, I kinda went off on a tangent.  I’m back now.  So you’ve got your index cards and pen?… Forgot the pen? Oh, goodness, go get one, I’ll wait.  I told you that you needed my prompting and reminding services:-)

Got the pen?  Ok, great… now I will begin prompting… 

First, explain why you are requesting a transfer.  Good examples are… you want to challenge yourself and grow or you are leaving the geographical area.  Bad example… my boss is a *$&% and if I have to work with him one more day… I will choke him. Even if that is true, keep that part under wraps.  This is not the time to show signs of any psychotic tendencies.

Second, showcase your talents.  Point out your education and experience.  And there is no need to be modest… draw attention to your accomplishments.  If you reduced turnover by 20% in your office, mention it.  If you developed and implemented a successful training program in your department, mention it.  If you increased your revenues by 8% while simultaneously decreasing expenses by 15%, mention it.  You have to sell yourself.  Don’t just assume that the transfer is a given. 

You have to make the company aware your abilities… then explain how your abilities can be an asset to them.  You want to show how the transfer can be mutually beneficial… to both you and them.  They have no reason to grant your request if they are not benefitting. 

Alright, now that you’ve got your key points all lined out, organize them, and start typing.  

My work is done here.  So I’ll leave you to your typing. 

By the way, good luck!

About the card

Whether you have excellent credit, average credit or a little less than average credit the Miles by Discover® Card can be yours.  The Miles by Discover® Card is a reward card that allows cardholders to earn free air miles. 

The basics

• Purchase APRs between10.99% and 18.99% depending on your credit history
• 23.99% APR on Cash Advances
• No annual fee
• 25 day grace period on purchases
• Late fee:  $19 for balances of $250 or less, $39 for balances over $250
• Over the limit fee:  $15 for balances of $500 or less, $39 for balances over $500
• 3% fees on cash advances ($5 minimum and no maximum)

The perks

• 0% APR for 12 months on balance transfers made in the intro period
• Intro 0% APR on purchases for the first six months
• Earn unlimited miles
• Earn 1 miles for every $1 purchase
• Earn double miles on restaurant and travel purchases (6,000 mile limit)
• Earn double miles when you shop at over 60 retailers through ShopDiscover (features popular retailers such as Lane Bryant, JoS A. Bank, Hallmark, Apple, Lands’ End and Sears)
• Miles never expire (but account will automatically be closed if inactive for 18 months)
• Miles can be used for travel booked through any airline, travel agent or online travel site
• Not flying anytime soon, then redeem miles for gift cards or even cash
• Earn 1,000 bonus each month when you make a purchase during the year
• Complimentary insurance when you pay using your Miles by Discover® Card –  $25,000 coverage in car rental insurance and $500,000 in flight accident insurance

You will like this card if you are looking for a excellent reward card with excellent perks with a reasonable APR.

You won’t like this card if you … (nah… you’ll love this card!)

Credit card review

I really like the Miles by Discover® Card.  It allows you to earn unlimited miles and the miles never expire.  And the best part about these miles is that it is not limited to one airline.  Miles can be used on any airline and can even be used at sites like Expedia or Travelocity.

But if you don’t want miles, the Miles by Discover® Card allows you the flexibility to redeem your miles for other goodies, like gift cards or cash.  So your miles card can also act like as a cash rebate card. 

On top of that, the credit terms are pretty generous for a reward card.  With most reward cards, the terms are not as favorable when compared to non reward cards.  But this is not true with the Miles by Discover® Card.  There is no annual fee.  The interest rate is as low as 10.99% and the grace period is 25 days! 

And… this is a card for everyone.  Even if your credit score needs improvement, you may be approved for this card.  The APR may by as high as 18.99%, but the Miles by Discover® Card is a heck of a deal, especially when compared to clunkers like this.

I have nothing negative to say about the Miles by Discover® Card.  It is an first rate card and everybody should have one!

Overall rating

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Apply for your Miles by Discover® Card here.

Congressional hearings, under investigation by the FBI, sued by the states of Illinois, Florida, Connecticut, West Virginia, and California, the U.S. Justice Department throwing wrenches in its bankruptcy agreement, Bank of America merger not working out as planned….  What is the deal with Countrywide?!?! In a nutshell… they are having issues.

Back in March, former Countrywide CEO, Angelo Mozilo was carted to the hot seat.  A congressional committee grilled him about his heft pay package.  In 2007, Mozilo pocketed over $120 million for providing his chief executive officer-ing services to Countrywide.  While Mr. Mozilo was living fat, the mortgage industry was drowning in a sea of $20 billion worth loans losses… which, many of these loans were thanks to Countrywide.  And how was Countrywide CEO punished for his diligent fleecing of the American people… he got to take home a $2.3 million dollar pay check every week. Nice bit of retribution if you ask me.

In the midst of the crumbling empire, Mozilo eventually left Countrywide.  But the residual fall out from his shoddy leadership is ever present.

So far, the Attorney General Office’s of five states have sued the mortgage lending giant.  In one way or another, each state claims that Countrywide hookwinked homeowners by using deceptive practices to sell dubious mortgage products.

They are being accused of things such as exaggerating home values and then writing mortgage loans for more than the house is worth.  If you have even been upside down on an auto loan, then you know what a pain that can be if you need to sell the car.  Now just imagine being upside down on a $250,000 mortgage?  Not a nice image, right?

And something else the states accuse Countrywide of doing… issuing balloon style mortgage loans. They offer these tantalizing interest only loans or low rate ARMs… when the honeymooning is done, they hit folks with huge, ballooning payments. 

I once got caught up in the same kind of bamboozlement when I bought my first new car.  I was offered a low payment, but after 3 years… I would either have to make a huge balloon payment or refinance the remaining balance.  Sounded fair enough at the time… I wasn’t too concerned with all the particulars, I just wanted the keys.  But when you are paying less on an asset than its worth, you can dig yourself into a deep financial hole without even realizing it… because when the honeymoon is over, what decent bank would refinance a $5,000 car for $10,000? 

In my case, it was a car… cars depreciated over time.  In Countrywide’s case, it’s a house.  It is supposed to appreciate.  But that usually happens over time.  In the short term, home values can fluctuate up or down.  And in the last few years, home values are falling.  Not a good situation to be in if you planned to refinance to avoid a balloon payment or to avoid the increased note when the interest on an ARM adjusts. 

And this just makes it even worse for those homeowner’s who opted for interest only loans… that means they have no equity or even negative equity.  It’s just a bad deal all the way around.

So anyway, foreclosures, lawsuits and poor management has forced Countrywide into bankruptcy.  And even the bankruptcy proceedings aren’t going well.  The federal judge presiding over the case recently rejected a settlement offered by Countrywide’s lawyer. 

The outlook for Countrywide is very bleak.  Maybe Bank of America has the savoir faire to whip Countrywide back into shape.  But I doubt that even Bank of America can save them.  Countrywide was once praised as being a great American success story, but now it’s a fiasco.

Nearly all of the large banking institutions have a wholesale lending division.  Wholesale lenders work directly with mortgage brokers.  The broker originates and underwrites the loans.  Then the loans are packaged into blocks and sold to the wholesale lender.

Quite often, many of these brokers specialize in subprime or alt A lending.  Subprime lending, which is being touted as the cause of the mortgage crisis, is when loans are given to those with poor credit.  Alt A lending is when loans are made to those with less than good credit, but better than poor credit. 

The wholesale lenders that buy these loans are completely dependant on the brokers to verify and qualify borrowers for the loans.  With some brokers this verification and qualification process is thorough and with other brokers… well, the process is not as thorough. 

However, when lending to the subprime and alt A markets, it is vital to make sure that borrowers have the ability to repay.  When brokers aren’t absolutely sure, situations like those with Indy Mac are bound to occur.

Wholesale mortgage lending in the subprime and alt A markets has attributed to most of the financial troubles that banks are currently experiencing.  For this reason, banks have begun straying away from the wholesale lending business.  They have begun to refocus their mortgage loan strategy towards direct retail lending.   This way, there is no need to depend on brokers to verify and qualify borrowers. 

WaMu is no exception.  They too are dumping their wholesale lending business.

In 1999, Washington Mutual purchased one of the largest subprime mortgage lenders, Long Beach Mortgage Company which operated out of Anaheim, CA.  After the acquisition, Long Beach continued in its objective of originating loans with those with unfavorable financial circumstances.  And they remained a leader at it.  In 2005, its nearly 1,000 employees managed to originate over $30 billion in mortgage loans. At that time, WaMu was steadfast about expanding Long Beach Mortgage Company.

However, today, as a part of its refocusing efforts, WaMu put the brakes on Long Beach Mortgage Company as well as all of its other wholesale lending subsidiaries.   As of April 10^th, the wholesale sales centers stopped accepting applications.  As of May 31^st, the doors of the wholesale sales centers were locked forever.  And on June 30^th, the wholesale loan fulfillments centers were closed as well. 

And this, folks, sums up WaMu’s exodus from the wholesale lending business.

For over 100 years, WaMu had been a première lender in the direct retail home loan business.  But I am sure the decision to move into the wholesale subprime market is one the big wigs have come to regret.  Over the past year, WaMu’s market value has plummeted.  Its shares are trading at 30% less than the company’s book value.  Obviously WaMu execs did not forecast it at the time, but WaMu’s eventual ill-fated downturn would be wholly attributed to their little snafu… the decision to enter wholesale subprime lending.

However things are looking promising for WaMu.  They are positioning themselves for a bounce back.  First… they decided to cut their losses with this wholesale lending thing.  Second… they secured a $7 billion dollar bailout from TPG. Third… Kerry Killinger resigned from his post as chairman of the board, though he still remains as CEO. However, some say he is the reason WaMu is in this mess and that he should be relieved of his CEO responsibilities.  Maybe so, but since he is no longer chairman of the board, he is also no longer the be all, end all.  Now, the opportunity exists to bring in a new chairman that can help Killinger move WaMu in a positive direction.  I’m optimistic that WaMu will survive.

About the card

The Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card is a reward card issued by American Express.  This card is tailored for small businesses whose employees frequently travel.  The card comes with online account management tools and even allows data to be easily downloaded into QuickBooks.

The basics

• APRs: 14.99% for purchases, 19.99% for cash advances
• When initiated within 6 months of opening the account, 9.99% APR on balances transfers for the life of the loan
• Annual fee: $95 or $45 for some qualified cardholders
• 20 day grace period on purchases
• Late fee:  $19 for balances under $400, $38 for balances of $400 or more
• $35 over the limit fee
• 3% fees on cash advances ($5 minimum and no maximum)

The perks

• Earn 1 Delta mile for every dollar you spend, earn double miles on certain purchases like gas and office supplies
• Earn bonus miles with Miles Boosts when you spend more than $15,000 a year
• Save 5% on Delta flights when you use this card
• 20,000 bonus miles after your first purchase
• Request 2 additional cards with your application and get 5,000 bonus miles
• Get a $99 Companion Certification every year when you renew
• For the basic card, the annual fee is waived for the first year
• Includes travel accident insurance, baggage insurance and car rental insurance when you pay for fares and rentals using the card
• OPEN Savings program allows you to save 3-25% when you use your card at participating retailers (Save 5% on Yahoo small business services, 3-5% on jetBlue Airways, 10% on Logoworks by HP and much more)
• Plus get exclusive OPEN member only savings of up to 12% on business travel
• Comes with emergency services such are card replacement, identity theft assistance, cash checking and Global Assist.  Global Assist will help with medical, legal, financial, lost luggage, and more when you travel more than 100 miles from home

You will like this card if you are a small business owner who wants to earn free travel miles.

You won’t like this card if you are unable to pay the entire balance of the card at the end of each month.  At 14.99%, interest charges can add up really fast.

Credit card review

The Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express allows you to rack up free Delta SkyMiles every time you make a purchase.  And if you make a lot of purchases (more than $25,000 a year), American Express will throw in an extra 10,000 miles in addition to the miles you’ve already earned.  Also, every year, you’ll get a $99 companion certificate.  That can make it easier to swallow the $95 annual fee.

Although the card comes with a lot of extras, I have some qualms about the fees.  The interest rate is 14.99%.  There are many other cards that offer a lower interest rate.  So if you plan on carrying a balance from month to month, you might want to consider a card with a lower rate.  Also the 20 day grace period is short.  Although, reducing the grace period is a new trend in the credit card industry, there are still many cards that offer 25 or even 30 days.

Finally, the 9.99% APR on balance transfers is supposed to be a promotional rate.  However 9.99% coupled with a 3% transaction fee (with no cap) does not sound like much of a promotion to me.  I would not recommend taking advantage of this balance transfer offer.

If used strictly to earn miles and if you can pay the entire balance each month, then this reward card can definitely be rewarding.

Overall rating

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Apply for the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express here.

Are you a member of the military or a military officer’s association?  Do you work for the feds?  Yes? Great!

No… well do you have an immediate family member or housemate that is?  Are you employed by a federal contractor?  Or are you a member or are you interested in becoming a member of the National Military Family Association?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may be eligible to join the ranks of those who are proud members of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

Who are they?

Chartered in 1935, the Pentagon Federal Credit Union is one of the oldest and largest credit unions in the US.  It services members of the armed forces, their families and other groups of specified people.  Pentagon FCU is lead by President Frank Pollack and governed by a 13 member volunteer board.

Pentagon FCU, which is insured by the NCUA (the FDIC for credit unions), has over 825,000 members and holds over $12 billion in assets.  Just last week the NCUA approved the credit union’s proposed merger with another smaller credit union, Clara Barton FCU.  This merger will increase their membership by 3,000 and bring their assets up to $20 billion.

Pentagon FCU has 27 branch locations and offers a varied array of financial services.  They offer checking, savings and money market accounts, mortgage loans, auto loans, home equity lines of credit, internet banking, access to over 32,000 ATM, credit cards, insurance options, investment services and so much more.

About their products and services

Money Market Certificates – with a minimum deposit of $1,000, you can lock in a 4.6% APY for 5 years… and plus the interest on this account is compounded daily.  That is really sweet because with many money markets interest is usually compounded only once a month or less.  Read here to learn about the power of compounding interest.

Mortgage Loan Products – Pentagon FCU offers many different mortgage loan options.  The interest rate on 30 year fixed loan is only 6.125% with no points.  This includes traditional and jumbo loans up to $2 million.  They also offer several different types of adjustable rate mortgages for as little as 4.5% with no points.  Right now they are offering a special on the 5 year ARM.  You can get a rate of 5.377% and it only adjusts every five years.  Fixed equity loan rates are as low are 5.99% for up to 20 years.

Auto loans – Pentagon FCU offers special internet only financing rates for auto loans.  The new car rate… 4.5%, the refi rate 4.5%, the used car rate… take a guess? Yes, 4.5%.  These are really cheap rates.  The national average on new car loans is 6.77%. And the national average used car rate is even higher, at 7.09%.

Credit cards – Pentagon FCU offers over 10 different platinum, gold, specialty, student, and reward credit cards.  Some of the cards have APRs as little as 10.99%.  Others offer 5% cash back on gas purchases, 2% cash back on supermarket purchases, 5.99% APR on balance transfers (fixed for the life of the loan), 1.25% cash back on everyday purchases, no annual fees, 1,000 bonus points for air miles, and balance transfer fees of only 1% (the standard for most cards is 3%).

Checking accounts – Their checking account comes with benefits such as access to online banking and free bill pay, free checks, free ATM/Visa debit card, no monthly service fee, automatic overdraft protection and no holds on deposits of $3,000 or less.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union… check them out!