Personal Finance Articles in Review – May 2008

As I mentioned on Monday, May brought the highest numbers of visitors this site has seen so far.  I decided to take a look at what people were most interested in over the course of the month.

Tracking your stimulus check was the most popular article, there must be a lot of people waiting to get their rebate money.

Gas prices are obviously on everyone’s mind, the topics of riding the bus to save gas money, different ways to save gas money commuting to work, and the best gas credit cards were popular with readers as well.

The series on personal finance issues for college graduates has garnered alot of interest from former college students entering the working world for the first time this summer.

People are getting ready for their summer trips and have found the saving money on vacation series useful in making their preparations.  This one is only partially complete with several more articles on the topic coming up soon.

With high gas prices, people must be looking for more in home entertainment. Saving money on online movie rentals with a free trial of Blockbuster Total Access was another popular one for the month.

Here are some of the more popular articles from The Money Writers during the month of May:

• Investing in the Stock Market Over the Past 10 Years: How Did Dollar-Cost Averaging Fare?
• how to make money without a job and why you should
• Frugal Tips I Can’t (or Won’t) Do
• Save Money on Gas Tips from Consumer Reports
• The Future of Personal Finance Tools
• Is Investing In Rental Property A Good Move?
• Why your Retirement Account is NOT an Emergency Fund

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Gift Ideas for College Grads for a Financial Headstart

What gift should you get for a college graduate?  Cash is always the easiest and probably the most coveted present for recent graduates.  The problem, as I remember it, is that cash is a hard thing to hold onto once you’re out of school and thrust int the job hunt or working world.

Here are a few ideas for graduation gifts that can help them save money or get a leg up on their future finances:

Financial Filing System
The deluge of bills, paystubs, receipts, and tax forms can turn into an ugly mess stuffed into a drawer in a graduate’s tiny new apartment.  A simple system such as the Homefile Financial Planning Organizer Kit should cover all their financial paperwork filing needs.

Free Entertainment
Going to a full time job all week every week can be a real drag after the flexible college lifestyle.  It can be tempting (and also expensive) to blow off a little steam at the end of the workday by meeting up with friends for dinner, drinks, or a movie.  A cheaper alternative for a graduate is bringing friends back to their place to eat and hang out. 

Help them out with a subscription to Blockbuster online video rentals and gift certificates to a cook it yourself pizza place like Papa Murphy’s.  Popping in a DVD and eating an oven cooked pizza on weeknights is much cheaper than heading out on the town after work.

Investment Matching Program
Offer to match all or a portion of money that they invest for the future.  My parents did this for me and I invested the maximum amount that they’d match.  They can invest whatever they can afford each month with automatic investments of small amount if they open a ShareBuilder Account. 

Another option is to open a Roth IRA that has no no minimum balance and no account fees. For example, open a TradeKing IRA, they waive minimums and fees if they sign up for online delivery of statements and confirms.

Emergency Fund
Most college grads already have some level of debt when they graduate, they don’t want to add anything else onto their credit cards if the car breaks down or some other emergency arises. Help them setup an emergency fund. Signup for an ING Direct savings account, then send them an invite from within your account.  Both the graduate and you get a signup bonus using this method and you can choose to send your bonus to the graduate as well.

Financial Education
Sign them up for a magazine subscription to Kiplingers or Smart Money magazine.  Sure, they can get it for free online but when they’re on the computer they’re probably catching up with college buddies. Give them them a copy for the coffee table, bus, or bathroom reading : )

Keep them Healthy
If you know where the graduate will be living, get them a gym membership nearby.  Staying healthy will save them countless dollars over the course of their life. Plus, the gym is a great place to socialize, maybe they’ll meet their future spouse there. Two people paying rent makes housing much more affordable : )

Buy Health Insurance
There’s sometimes a gap in health insurance coverage between graduation and finding a first job with benefits.  Especially if they’re avid atheletes with a higher risk of getting injured, make sure they have some type of short term health insurance.  A huge health care bill is the last thing a new graduate wants to worry about.

Financial Advice
Let the graduate know you’re always there if they have any questions on investing, taxes, bills, etc.  You’ve already traveled the financial maze and have many of the answers they’ll be looking for.  Setup an “unofficial meeting”, set some time aside where you just talk finances.  Let them voice their concerns, ask their questions, and tap into your knowlege. 

This post was my take on Gifts to Give Grads a Headstart.

Trustworthy Repair Help
Now that they’ll be living out on their own in the “real world”, chances are something will break and need fixing. Even though you won’t be around to fix it, you can help them find a trustworthy contractor who will do a good job and charge a fair price by getting them a subscription to Angies List.

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Thanks to Some Interesting Personal Finance Sites

The month of May brought the largest number of visitors to date for Money Smart Life!  Many of those visitors came from sites in the the Money Writers and Money Blog networks whom you are familiar with via my weekly mentions.

I also wanted to say thanks to 10 other personal finance sites that sent over the most visitors by recommending an article on Money Smart Life.  I’ve listed each site and a recent article you might find interesting:

US News World Report (Kimberly Palmer) – Six Ways to Save Money on Vacation

MSN Money Blog (Donna Freedman) – Why is it so Easy to Throw Things Away?

The Simple Dollar – Financial Independence as a Goal

Frugal Dad – Used Car Buying for Teenagers

My Two Dollars – 29 Free or Low Cost Ways To Save Energy & Money

Frugal for Life – Slowing Down Takes Time

Not Made of Money – Four Tips to Saving Money on Home Improvement

Money Under 30 – How I Organize My Financial Records

Moolamy – Carnival of Personal Finance – Family Edition

Frugal Law Student – Save Time & Money by Working Out

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International Stock Investing – Are You Diversifying Your Portfolio Globally?

How much of your money is in domestic stocks? What percentage of your portfolio is invested internationally?  If you’re like many average investors in the US the majority of your investments are in US companies.

Global Investing Seminar
I attended a seminar on global investing yesterday and it really made me think a little harder about our current exposure to international investments.  I had to keep in mind it was presented by a financial company that runs a global fund, so the point of the seminar was to reinforce the importance of international investing in the minds of current and potential investors.

However, they did cover some interesting statistics that apply no matter what investment vehicle you use to diversify overseas.  They fed us lunch so I didn’t get to write down all the statistics since I was busy feeding my face but I still remember the general concepts.

Global Growth Trends
One of the graphs was from a Morgan Stanley study that looked at the total value of US public companies compared to the total value of international companies.  The graphic showed the value in approximately 20 year time intervals: 1988, 2008, and 2030 projected. 

I wish I had the exact numbers but the overall trend showed a global economy that was dominated by American companies in 1988, maybe about 2/3 of the global corporate value was in the US,  but the estimates for 2030 approximated US companies making up only a quarter of corporate capital markets.

Of course the numbers aren’t exact but I think the trend is definitely accurate and that the US position as the world’s financial superpower is slipping.  While this may not be great news for us as consumers or workers, it does present an opportunity for us as investors.

Evaluating International Markets
The speaker worked for a global fund, his role is to fly around the world visiting and evaluating companies that the fund is considering putting money into. He walked us through his fund’s investment positions in the various global regions, explaining their reasoning behind being underweight in places like Great Britain and overweight in places like Taiwan and South Korea.  He definitely pointed to Asia as the region with highest potential for growth over the next two decades.

He gave some staggering statistics on the sheer size of the Chinese consumer and business market and the enormous potential for growth there.  He also commented on the enormous currency reserves the Chinese government has built up and all the money they need to spend on infrastructure.

However, the speaker went on to warn us that the Chinese markets are overpriced, in his opinion, due to a massive runup in the stocks of Chinese companies over the last few years.  He had the same caution for stocks in India, that the price earning (PE) valuations were higher than they wanted to pay.  His company is looking for opportunities in areas like Taiwan or South Korea where the PE ratios are much lower.

Risks of Investing Internationally
The truth is we live in a global economy and changes around the world can effect how US companies perform so even domestic investments are influenced to an extent by international markets.  However, if you decide to put your money in a foreign company your investment is suddenly influenced heavily by regional events, currency fluctuations, and the policies of the foreign government. 

If you’re investing in an emerging market where there is large amount of growth there’s also typically a lot of change both economically and politically that can potentially put your investment at risk. Although there are risks associated with global investing, in my opinion they are definitely worth the opportunity to benefit from the growth in economies around the world. 

You wouldn’t want to put all of your money into international companies, just make them a part of your investment portfolio.  Several years ago about 10% of our portfolio was in international funds when I increased it to around 15% and now I’m looking to raise the percentage even higher.  How much exposure you want to international markets is up to your situation but it’s definitely something you should at least look into.

How to Invest Internationally
So how can you put your money into companies overseas?  The easiest way is to buy an international ETF or mutual fund.  The approach I decided to take several years ago was to invest in multiple international funds.  I choose an option from my 401k, Dodge & Cox International Stock (DODFX), one from my wife’s 403b, American Century Intl Growth (TWIEX), and also opened a non-retirement account with Oakmark International (OAKIX).

Dodge & Cox International Stock has done the best for us. American Century Intl Growth has been decent but nowhere near the performance of the Dodge and Cox fund.

Oakmark International had been going gangbusters until last December when it took a big hit.  I had been debating between the Oakmark fund and the Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX) back in early 2003. 

Our financial advisor recommended Vanguard but I went with Oakmark instead.  As the graph shows, I’d be wealthier if I’d have listened to her, I guess hindsight is 20/20.  The Total International Stock Index Fund is actually composed of investments in three other Vanguard international indexes:

• Vanguard European Stock Index Fund
• Vanguard Pacific Stock Index Fund
• Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund

The fund is a simple way to gain exposure to a variety of markets all over the world.  There are many other international funds available so you have lots to choose from.

One other option I’m considering for investing overseas is opening an account with ETrade to take advantage of their online global trading.  This would be a different approach than the mutual fund route which would require more research and carry more risk.  It would allow me to invest directly in companies in Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the United Kingdom.

International Investing Summary
Whatever approach you decide to take, I’d recommend at least reading up on the growth of economies outside our borders and how you can invest in them.  As I mentioned in the beginning, the long term trend is that international companies are growing to compose more and more of the investment options available to you and all the other investors in the world.  In order to diversify your portfolio and benefit from global growth consider taking a look at your international investment options.

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Economic Stimulus Rebate Payment in the Bank

I had been checking on our economic stimulus check status regularly at the beginning of this month but hadn’t looked for an update in a few weeks.

I was happy to see that our rebate check actually came through via direct deposit about a week and a half ago.  We’re using the check to help fund our vacation this summer, which is getting closer, so I was pleased to finally see the balance in our bank account! Now I can afford that flight on our private jet, kidding of course : )

I know some of our neighbors and co-workers still haven’t received their rebate checks and are starting to get a little worried. It is a nice chunk of money, we received $1500, so I can understand why everyone is anxious to get it.

When they ask me for advice on their rebate I just point them to the details I found, how to track your economic stimulus payment. I remind them there are different qualifications for getting paid and refer them to the post frequently asked questions for economic stimulus rebate checks.

I’m just glad that ours has arrived. We’ve already charged our hotel stay for the trip to our AmEx Blue Cash card so the payment will come due here in the next few weeks.  We have the money to cover it even if the rebate check had never arrived but now it will be easier to pay the bill since I won’t have to move money out of our ING Direct account to cover it.  Now we just have to count down the days until vacation!

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Change is Bad, Change is Good, Change is Coming!

Some people like change, other people don’t.  You could argue that change is distracting and slows you down but you can also argue that without change we’d all still be living in caves.

Personally change makes me nervous but I know that it’s necessary for growth.  I’ve been working on a few things related to this site for a while now that I’m getting ready to roll out.  I’ll let you know more once change is imminent.  Until then, what are a few things you’d like to see changed about this site? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.

One more thing to cover.  I’ve been meaning to highlight some more money articles over the last few days but hadn’t gotten around to it since I’ve been working on “the changes”.  Here are some articles you might want to check out.

– The Sun talks about a new rule for online real estate brokers

– The Lazy Man reviews the Amazon Kindle: Buy or Not?

– GenX Finance looks at the cost of a family cookout

-Free Money Finance takes a look at an  Investment Portfolio Using Only Three Index Funds

-No Credit Needed gives us 10 Steps For Getting Back On Track

– Five Cent Nickel covers SmartMoney’s Best and Worst Brokers,as did Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, SmartMoney’s 2008 Best Discount Brokers

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Save Money on Gas By Learning How to Ride the Bus

If you could save a lot of money on gas by trying something new would the hassle of learning a new system be worth the cost savings to you?  I imagine several years ago most people would have answered no but with the high price of fuel everyone is looking for tips on how to save money on gas.

Save Money with Public Transportation
I spent many years riding the bus as part of my daily commute during which time I saved thousands of dollars not just on gas but also on parking and wear and tear on my car.  Having lived in Europe for several years, where everyone rides the bus or the train, I was very comfortable taking public transportation.

In major urban areas in the US people are using to hopping on a bus but throughout suburbia many people are clueless about the ins and outs of public transport.  They’ve never had to use it and can be a bit intimidated by learning the system.  Sure it sounds simple, just catch the bus, but it’s a whole new experience and people tend to shy away from things they’re no familiar with.

I’m always amazed at how many questions people have about riding the bus.  I’ll try and address some of those here and give some tips for the best experience riding the bus.

Learn How to Read a Bus Schedule
Here’s an example of a bus schedule from Oklahoma City.  Let’s say you lived there and wanted to commute from your home at 22^nd. & Vine into work at 10th & Walnut every day. 

First off you’d notice that the schedule doesn’t list 10th & Walnut as a stop, not too worry.  Most schedules don’t list every stop, there simply wouldn’t be enough room, so they only publish the major stops.  The bus may go right by 10th & Walnut and even if it doesn’t, it will probably get you to within a few blocks of there.

Many bus schedules, such as this one, will include a map of the route on the back or at the bottom so can get a feel for where the bus travels.  If you don’t understand the map you can just call the local metro office and they’ll help you out. 

So in this example, lets say you need to be at work by 8 AM.  You could catch the bus at NE 20th & Vine at 7:32 and get off at NE 8^th & Lincoln at 7:52.  Notice you’d want the Inbound schedule, the Outbound schedule will list the times you can catch the bus in the evening on the way home. 

Also note that you want to look at the Weekday section of the schedule.  Most weekend routes are different, which can mean different pickup times and fewer trips.

Take a Trial Run
The best way to get comfortable with a bus route is to ride it on a day when you’re not in a hurry and there is no schedule breathing down your neck.  Most of us make a few mistakes the first time we try something, making a mistake is a big deal if you’re in a hurry but if you have time to spare a mistake isn’t such a big deal so take a trial run of the bus.

Get to the bus stop 10 minutes early the first time to get a feel whether the bus runs early, on time, or late.  Drivers try and meet the schedule but my experience has been that buses can come up to 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after the listed time due to traffic and other variables.  You can also ask the people waiting for the bus whether it runs early, late, or right on time.

Get on the Right Bus
Most buses will have the route number and the final destination displayed in the window.  Make sure you check it before you get on, don’t assume because a bus is stopping for you that it’s the one you want.  Different routes can share the same stops, just check with the driver the first time you get on.  Tell them where you’re headed and ask if it’s the right bus.

It might sound silly but don’t be afraid to ask.  I’ve seen people who are obviously riding the bus for the first time, too intimidated by the new environment to ask questions.  They end up getting on the wrong bus and going to the wrong place simply because they didn’t take 30 seconds to ask before getting on.

Paying Your Bus Fare
If you’re going to commute regularly I’d recommend buying a buss pass.  You almost always save money with a pass as opposed to paying for each trip individually.  You might also be able to get cheaper fares through your job.  It’s also easier, you just get on and swipe your buss pass rather than having to fumble around with putting in money every time.  If you are going to pay with cash be aware many buses have automated ticket booths that only accept exact change.

Getting Off the Bus
Obviously you’ll want to take a schedule along with you the first time you ride the bus.  As you get closer to your destination start to pay attention to where you’re stopping and how close you are to where you want to get off.  One way to do it is tell another rider where you want to get off and ask them to let you know when its coming up.  The bus will either have a button to push or a cord to pull to let the driver know you want to get off at the next stop. Make sure you signal before you get to your stop or the driver might just drive on by.

If you have to switch busses as part of your commute, make sure to ask the bus driver for a transfer.  Most metro systems allow you to travel across multiple bus routes for one fare if they’re all part of one trip.  If you forget to ask for a transfer the driver of the next bus you get on will ask you to pay again.  If the whole reason you’re riding the bus is to save money you don’t want to have to pay twice for the ride.

Combining Driving and Riding
Of course riding the bus won’t eliminate the need for spending money on gas.  Some days you’ll have to drive in because you need to get there early, leave late, or maybe run errands after work.  Depending on where you live you may also have to drive partway into town to a park and ride, parking your car in a lot designed for commuters then catching the bus from there.

Even though you won’t eliminate your gas bill completely, riding public transportation can drastically cut the amount you spend on gas.  Combine that with strategies such as getting cashback with one of the best gas credit cards and gas rebates from grocery stores and the prices at the pump won’t take quite the same bite out of your paycheck.

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Financial Secrets in Marriage Could Lead to a Divorce of Debt

When you get engaged, you’re not just promising to marry a person; you’re also marrying their money habits, their debt, and credit history.  If you’re not careful, unknown money issues can not only ruin a marriage but sink you deep into debt.

Hiding Credit Card Debt
Here’s a sad story of a former co-worker whose life was turned upside down by his spouse’s debt.  I met up with him for lunch yesterday to catch up and couldn’t believe the story he had to tell.

His wife had 50K of credit card debt coming into their marriage that she didn’t tell him about until several years after they were married.  She was only making minimum payments so over the years the interest mounted and the debt continued to grow.

He had owned a home prior to the marriage and they finally they decided to tap into it’s equity and take out a loan to pay off most of her debt. A few days later he comes home to find her packing her bags and on her way out the door.  Of course he didn’t share this story with anyone for quite a while since it was so painful and embarrassing but now happily he’s met someone new and is moving on. 

What’s the morale of the story?  Find out about your future spouse’s finances before you get married.  To help you do that, here are some questions to ask, courtesy of Real Simple:

Ten Romantic Debt Questions for Your Fiancé

• Do you use credit cards for everyday expenses?
• Do you pay your credit-card balance in full each month?
• Have you ever maxed out your credit cards?
• How many credit cards do you have?
• What are your debts?
• Have you looked at your credit reports in the last year?
• Did you ever require a cosigner for a loan?
• Have you ever been put into collection by a creditor?
• Are you a cosigner on anyone else’s loan?
• Do you have any tax or other liens pending?

These questions are obviously not very romantic but they’re definitely necessary things to ask.  Depending on your fiancé’s personality you might handle them in different ways.  It might be easiest to just sit down and go through them all straight up or you might have to slip in a carefully worded question here and there during the course of conversation. 

Here are some other finance questions the article suggests asking:

• Do you have a savings or checking account?
• Do you balance your checking account each month?
• Do you do research before making major purchases?
• Do you have a budget or a spending plan?
• Do you track your finances? How often?
• Are you aware of all your benefits at work?
• Do you have life insurance?
• Do you have health insurance?

Of course some of these things you might find out over the course of time as you get to know someone. However you do it, make sure you get these questions answered, I know my friend sure wishes he had.

Checking Their Credit History
If you’re worried that your fiancé is holding back information you could dig a little deeper. Not telling you everything is probably a bad sign for future marital communications but if you’re determined they might be the one you could always do some more research.

If you know their full name, social security number, date of birth, current address, and previous address you can probably pull your future spouse’s credit report to do some double checking.  Be aware checking their credit report without their permission can potentially get you into some trouble:

“Anyone who obtains a copy of someone else’s credit report under false pretenses can be fined substantially and jailed for up to a year.

Only businesses or individuals with a “permissible purpose” can access your credit report. “Permissible purpose” is defined in Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).“

Then again, if your fiancé is willing to throw you into jail for checking their credit history, probably a sign you don’t want to marry them.

How to Build Credit History
What if your future husband or wife doesn’t have any debt but they don’t have any credit history at all?  This happened to us, when we went to get a loan for our home my wife’s lack of credit history affected the interest rates we were eligible for. 

We ended up putting both our names on the title but only mine on the loan so that we could get a better interest rate but we wanted a way to help build her credit profile.

Our financial planner showed us a pretty slick way that worked wonders for my wife’s credit.  She put $1000 into a 12 month certificate of deposit at our local bank and then used the CD to get a secured loan from the same bank.

We setup our checking account to make automatic payments on the loan so she had a year’s worth of on time loan payments on her credit report. Then after 12 months we took the money out of the CD and paid off the loan.  The interest we had earned on the CD helped pay for most of the interest we had paid on the money we borrowed.

Marriage Money Summary
Get to know your fiancé’s money baggage and habits or they may come back to make you miserable, divorced, and in debt in the future.

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If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, How Will You Know Once You’re There?

Do you ever sit down and think about how your life is progressing and where you’re headed?  Laying out a roadmap for yourself can be a valuable experience.

As the post title alludes to, if you haven’t defined your goals, how will you measure your progress towards them?  Having a plan not only makes your efforts more measurable it can give the things you do more meaning and help filter out time wasters.

You may have noticed I was silent on this site over the weekend, I was using the time for some strategic planning in my own life.  My planning process is iterative in nature.  I come up with some goals and plans to meet those goals.  Then I sleep on it and re-evaluate those the next day.  Looking at it with a fresh perspective, I may change around the milestones and tasks a bit.  Needless to say, my planning isn’t complete but it was nice to get a start on it.

Typically I would have provided a list of articles I enjoyed for the week but due to my planning I didn’t publish those.  Instead, I’ll point out a few articles everyday this week, here’s the first few.

– The Digerati Life lists 8 simple ways you can save a lot of money, try $1000.

– The Mighty Bargain Hunter and All Financial Matters take a look at whether it’s worth your time to wait for free stuff.

– Summer is here and My Dollar Plan offers some tips for saving money on weddings.

– Million Dollar Journey gives us a strategy for asking for discounts.

– Brip Blap loves working so much that he’s started the carnival of careers.

– CNN covers how people aren’t canceling their vacation plans this summer, just changing them to be cheaper, reminds me of my series on saving money on vacations.

– eHow article on how to earn extra money seems appropriate for tough economic times:

• Get a part-time job
• Turn a hobby into money
• Get paid for focus groups
• Sell your stuff on eBay

I also took a look at ways to make extra money during a recession.

Thanks to Money & Values and Canadian Dream for hosting the last two personal finance carnivals and including the articles Best Credit Cards for New College Graduates and Three Ways Your Boss Can Save You Money on Gas.

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Is Microsoft Live Search Cash Back Worth Shopping on Live Search?

Live Search Cash Back is a new Microsoft initiative that is supposed to provide a rebate to consumers for items found via the Microsoft Live search functionality and purchased online.

The word on the street says this is Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Google in the online search market.  The concept is that in return for being listed in Microsoft’s search results, merchants have to offer cash back to consumers instead of paying Microsoft for placement.  Microsoft doesn’t make any money off of the transaction but their hope is that more users will start using Live Search instead of competitors such as Google.

Shopping Comparison Features
 Always looking to save a few bucks, I poked around the Live Search cash back interface to see if it would be useful for me.  I’m in the market for some new jogging shoes so I typed in “nike mens running shoes”. Unfortunately, the search interface is lacking basic functionality that all Web users have come to expect.  For example:

• You can’t order search results by price, seller reputation, or product rating
• You can’t specify a price range for the product
• Default 16 items shown per page. You can’t opt to see more items on one page
• You can’t choose whether to see a list vs more detailed view of results

Retailer Options
Once I scrolled through 16 pages of results to find the lowest price shoe, it only showed me results from two different online stores.  I guess one of the drawbacks of only including retailers that offer cash back is that your comparison is limited to the number of retailers that participate in the program.  How do I know that there aren’t other merchants that offer the same shoe online for a lower price?  They may not offer cash back but the shoe may be cheaper in the first place, saving the hassle of the rebate all together.

Rebate Hassles
Once I chose the store with the lowest price and best rebate I clicked through the “Go To Store” button.  I was taken to the merchant page where I could complete the transaction.  You aren’t given the discounted price at checkout, first the retailer has to report the sale to Microsoft.  Here’s the description of the cash back process from Microsoft’s terms & conditions:

“Within seven days after a qualifying purchase is reported to us, we will list the purchase in your account with a status of “pending.” The purchase will stay in pending status for a period of 60 days to account for returns, refunds, fraud and other processing issues. After this point, if the purchase is eligible for awards, it will be marked as “available” in your account and the associated awards will be eligible for redemption as described below. You must ensure that we properly post awards to your account. If you believe that you have earned awards that are not posted to your account, we will not consider posting them to your account unless you contact us within six months after the date of the associated purchase. We may require reasonable documentation to support your claim.”

Sounds more like hassling with a rebate than a cash back program to me.  The money may show up in your account but if it doesn’t you have to do the work of following up for months afterwards to make sure you get your cash back.  Similar to a rebate, you’re paying tax on the full purchase price, even though you might get cash back down the road.  I say might because Microsoft has a list of reasons that disqualify you from cash back:

“You will not earn cash back awards on purchases where (a) you open the store’s web site in a different web browser; (b) your browser is not configured to accept cookies; (c) the purchase is not completed in the same web browsing session (not to exceed 24 hours) initiated by clicking on the eligible advertisement or listing; (d) the order is later cancelled or the goods or services are later returned; (e) the store does not report the purchase to Microsoft; (f) the goods or services are acquired for resale or other business purposes; or (g) you also use a separate discount or coupon.”

A little bit further in the terms and conditions there is more language that could foreshadow difficulty claiming cash back.

“There may be additional limitations on purchases on certain merchant sites, and those limitations will be disclosed on the merchant site. Your participation in the Live Search cashback service on such merchant sites will be subject to these terms and conditions as well as any additional ones disclosed on the merchant site. In the event of a conflict between any of these terms and conditions and those disclosed on the merchant site, the ones disclosed on the merchant site will apply and control.”

Live Search Summary
The limited shopping comparison features, limited retailer options, and the whole lengthy rebate process are enough to discourage me from trying the Live Search Cashback for now.   The final deciding factor for me is that you have to sign up for a Windows Live ID in order to participate in the cashback program.  I have enough user id’s already, I don’t need anymore. 

For now I’ll continue to use Google web search and Google product search when I’m shopping for items online.  I’ll just keep my eyes open for deals and sales and get my discounts that way rather than go through the whole Live Search cashback ordeal.  Hopefully, Microsoft will enhance their search functionality, add more retailers, and make the cashback process less worrisome. Until then, I’ll rely on Google’s expertise to help me find the best deals.

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