May 16th, 2013 
Vijaianand 
We all know Amazon Prime membership offered by Amazon which gives unlimited free 2-day shipping for any item order from Amazon. Similar to that Shoprunner is a shipping membership program provides free 2-day shhipping with no minimum order amount from a variety of online merchants including Newegg, Babies R Us, Blue Nile, Sports Authority, Drugstore.com, and GNC. It also allows you free return shipping and the ability to ship to any address, making it handy for gifts.
It is usually $79 per membership but American express card owners can signup for free. If you have an American Express card, you can now get a free 1-year membership at Shoprunner or a 1-year extension on an existing membership by going to shoprunner.com/americanexpress. You’ll need a consumer or business American Express card issued by an AmEx-affiliated bank (Starwood Preferred yes, Blue Cash Preferred yes, Business Gold yes, Costco yes, FIA/Fidelity no, Citibank no, prepaid versions no).
They also require your email id to market product so don’t give you regular email address. Just give your dummy or not so used email id so you won’t be bombarded with marketing emails. Check the fine prints, nothing very suspicious. I worried about the charge after the end of membership but no mention of it. Hopefully they won’t charge anything on the card.
Free Shoprunner Membership with Qualified Amex card
US household wealth regains pre-recession peak – Fed Reserve
I recently come across a report released by Fed Reserve published by Associated Press. The report was about the household wealth increasing in value and reaching to pre-recession levels. It was not surprise after seeing DOW surpasses the previous high and NASDAQ doing good which will certainly reflect in increase of wealth in many rich American portfolios. But it is good to see the Home appreciation is also helping many middle class consumers increasing their net worth.
Here is some snapshot from the report,
Federal Reserve research shows that surging stock prices and steady home appreciation have finally allowed Americans to recover the $16 trillion in wealth they lost during the Great Recession. The gains are helping to bolster the U.S. economy and could lead to additional spending and growth.
Most of the recovered wealth has come from higher stock prices that have been flowing mainly to wealthier Americans. By comparison, the middle class derives the bulk of its wealth in the form of home equity, which has risen much less.
According to the Fed, household wealth totaled $66.1 trillion as of Dec. 31 — 98 percent of the pre-recession peak. Further increases in stock and home prices this year mean that Americans’ net worth has since topped the pre-recession peak of $67.4 trillion, private economists report.
Read the full article here.
When there is a Will, it is your way…
You might have heard about an old saying, “When there is a Will, there is a way”. I didn’t mean the will in you. Here I meant about the Last Will and Testament. Will is an important part in one’s financial planning. Everyone should have a will. The problem, many people delay or avoid making the decision because of some reasons. Texas A&M university Real Estate center published an article in their magazine last month. It says people delay due to two misperceptions. First, you cannot draft a will by yourself; you need an attorney. Second, you do not need a will if you own no property.
But that’s not the truth. Texas recognizes two types of written wills: a holographic will (one entirely in the deceased’s handwriting) and an attested will (one not entirely in the deceased’s handwriting), such as a typewritten will. A holographic requires no witnesses while an attested will requires at least two. So, in essence, you can draft your
own will, especially if it is holographic. That would at least help your surviving spouse and your children’s to assure your assets will be there for their future instead of state deciding it.
I would add another misconception as well. Many thing they don’t need a Will since they don’t have a large asset. That’s wrong. You still need a will for two reasons. First, if you have minor children, the will is the primary vehicle by which you appoint a guardian. Second, if you subsequently receive assets before or after you die, your will determines the distribution. You can also avoid Will in many cases by adding a Beneficiary or Joint Tenancy with your spouse but guardianship for kids is very important if both spouses decease. Don’t let that determined by state and sending your kids to Foster care.
I strongly recommend to check on your state legal requirement for making your Last Will and make your Will by drafting yourself and following the regulations to make it attested to avoid future issues. If you want to go one step further, you can also form a Revocable trust and avoid probate saving thousands of dollars. Please consult an attorney who can help you create a Trust. If you are Texas resident, read the detail article which TAMU Real Estate Center published and educate yourself and do the right thing for your loved ones.