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Finance

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  WELCOME NEW USERS !!! Ask your questions here! (flame-free) !!!
  8 years ago • marcopolomle 7 years ago

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  7 years ago

  Thanks for the response @my4mainecoons . I’m hoping the points go through soon. I hate calling especially since these card companies use overseas call centers with the exception of Discover that I know of.

  I have a Bluebird card in addition to my bank account and when I first applied for it I got rejected online because I had a Serve account (didn’t have a card or anything since I hadn’t done anything with the Revolution Account it was previously) I didn’t know about.

  AE had acquired the company that they turned into their Serve card. When I called the Serve Customer Service to close that so I could get approved for the Bluebird the overseas person apparently had no idea what they were doing and I had to fax in stuff to prove my identity just to get them to close the account. That made me hesitant about calling AE for anything since I had another issue with a Bluebird rep misconstruing why I called once.

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  Best Nationally Available High APY Liquid Accounts
  8 years ago • jtownsucks46 13 days ago

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  G 13 days ago

  Marcus was 3.90%, now 3.75%
  First Foundation was 4.50%, now 4.40%

• T

  Robinhood is offering a new 3% cash back credit card.
  12 months ago • tedteddy 8 months ago

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  A 8 months ago

  @tedteddy said in Robinhood is offering a new 3% cash back credit card.:

  Coastal Community Bank

  4 months later it says there is a wait list. Whole thing sounds fishy. 3% is more than many merchants pay in processing fees, so how does Robinhood make any money here?

• 

  CD Thread - Post The Best Nationally Available Rates
  8 years ago • marcopolomle 12 months ago

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  12 months ago

  Freedom CU 12mo CD still at 5.37% APY & 18mo CD at 5.11% APY

  NASA FCU 9mo CD still at 5.40% APY & 15mo CD at 5.25% APY

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  What financial steps are you taking to prepare for retirement?
  2 years ago • Philips about a year ago

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  W about a year ago

  Put your money is lots of different buckets so you will have the option of where to withdraw from. Some are “retirement” vehicles, and some are not.

  Roth 401k (if offered at work) - higher contribution limit than Roth IRA. Later, convert to Roth IRA so it is not subject to RMD

  Backdoor Roth IRA - if your MAGI disallows you from contributing directly to a Roth IRA. Best if you do not have regular IRA, otherwise you will be taxed on a prorated basis for current convertion.

  HSA - if you have High Deductible medical plan. Contributions are pre-tax and withdrawals are tax-free if used for medical expenses. Save up all current medical receipts and withdraw later. Unlike an FSA, the HSA is yours forever and NOT use it or lose it annually.

  i-Bonds - Interest rate changes every 6 months based on inflation, but accrues on a deferred tax basis (not taxed until you redeem), and not subject to state/local income tax.

  Non-retirement investment account. Long term capital gains, and qualified dividends are currently taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income. It is possible to pay zero federal income tax on qualified dividends.

• A

  Some of the quickest online ACH transfers I've seen
  2 years ago • atikovi 2 years ago

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  A 2 years ago

  @bob-black said in Some of the quickest online ACH transfers I've seen:

  cryptocurrency transfers are generally more secure and transparent than ACH transfers. Because cryptocurrency transactions are recorded on a public blockchain ledger, there is a clear record of all transactions, which makes it more difficult for fraudsters to carry out fraudulent activities.

  Say what? I thought CC is favored for being untraceable and anonymous transactions favored by drug dealers and tax evaders.

• M

  Questions about "NEW MONEY" for a savings account bonus
  2 years ago • MisterEd 2 years ago

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  2 years ago

  “New Money” is transferred from an external source.
  The provenance is irrelevant.

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  Questions about Savebetter
  2 years ago • platypus 2 years ago

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  *Currently, by invitation only* Vanguard piloting a new savings account alternative: the Vanguard Cash Plus Account
  2 years ago • turtlebug 2 years ago

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  Discover Savings Bonus $450 with $35,000 Deposit
  2 years ago • turtlebug 2 years ago

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  M 2 years ago

  What is up with Discover???

  So they took my money, gave me the bonus, then reversed the deposit. I mean that’s the ideal situation, but WTF?

• 

  PayPal arbitration opt-out form
  3 years ago • george2001 3 years ago

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  A 3 years ago

  So what does that mean? If you opt out and a buyer files a claim against you, instead of arbitration, Paypal just takes the money out of your account?

• R

  Target Redcard question/Concern
  target redcard debit card • 3 years ago • rick505 3 years ago

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  R 3 years ago

  Thanks all…seeing the $40 off $40 deal in this week’s ad prompted me to action. I took the “safe” approach and opened a second checking account at Ally and will basically fund it for Target Redcard purposes. Just finished the process of reporting their minimal deposits and debit to the account moments ago. Yay, one more PIN to remember!

• R

  Costco glasses , paid by costco rebate
  3 years ago • Rusty95 3 years ago

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  D 3 years ago

  @bucktownboy said in Costco glasses , paid by costco rebate:

  @rusty95
  Insurance won’t give a rattsa$$, you’re not dealing with anyone that cares.

  Have you tried pleading your case to Costco directly? I would hope that someone would reach out to you in this situation.

  What’s Costco going to do? They’re not going to deal with an out of network insurance idiots. At best they would rering the purchase.

• R

  Check/Zelle fraud
  fraud zelle bankfraud • 3 years ago • Rusty95 3 years ago

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  R 3 years ago

  @atikovi - Here is what happened.
  He applied for a summer internship to his college. My son got email (s) from his college professor with professor name and college domain, so he never suspected. When all was evident to be a fraud, my son realized that college email software / network (or whatever…) was compromised. But to your point, there is no excuse for my son not to use common sense. looks like he has to swallow this bitter pill as growing pains - sad-.

• M

  Open Amazon Prime Rewards Visa (Chase) $200 AMZ GC w/$0 spend immediately posted to your Gift Card balance
  3 years ago • MisterEd 3 years ago

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  @my4mainecoons said in Open Amazon Prime Rewards Visa (Chase) $200 AMZ GC w/$0 spend immediately posted to your Gift Card balance:

  @mrvietnam So go for it if I don’t care about my credit score? It’s not that I don’t care but my score is >825 and my only debt is my almost paid off mortgage.

  I can’t think of any other downside, besides maybe lowering your credit score a few points.

• P

  This topic is deleted!
  3 years ago • platypus 3 years ago

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  Tastyworks brokerage $500 money maker through 2/28/22: Just fund the account with $10K and leave it in for at least 90 days. Seems like a good return (5%) if you have some extra money to park for a few months. Member SPIC
  3 years ago • MrVietnam 3 years ago

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  3 years ago

  It looks like the offer is still valid. I’m going to guess it will count as interest income for tax purposes. Tastyworks is a brokerage firm. Your money should be as safe as with any brokerage.

  https://support.tastyworks.com/support/solutions/articles/43000654011-open-now-2022-promo-faq#:~:text=New customers that open and,applying for an eligible account.

• P

  Month-end S&P 500 Quotes
  3 years ago • Phat200 3 years ago

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  3 years ago

  @phat200 said in Month-end S&P 500 Quotes:

  @ctujackbauer said in Month-end S&P 500 Quotes:

  @phat200 said in Month-end S&P 500 Quotes:

  Is there any free web site where I can get month-end historical quotes?

  TIA

  Click on historical data in the s&p 500 index page on yahoo finance (link at bottom), then click on the time period to change it to one single day. Alternatively, click the frequency filter and change it to monthly and start with 1/1/xxxx to 12/31/xxxx then click max and it will show just the last day of the month’s s&p 500 price. Or just click max and monthly.

  https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EGSPC

  I did what you suggested; and did a check. There is a difference between the “monthly” quotes and the daily quotes for the same date. It appears that the "monthly quotes are the monthly average, not month-end prices. And I have 2 other questions. See attachment.

  Thanks for your help.

  You may just have to pull daily quotes then.

• 

  Are Roth IRAs really that good?
  4 years ago • Mike_imm_Ubund 3 years ago

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  D 3 years ago

  @miserly said in Are Roth IRAs really that good?:

  I got lil miserlys to contribute to Roth as soon as they had income. Yes, much better rta that age to be able to compound o er longer time horizon. I have a mix. Wish I had more in Roth as I wouldn’t havt to pay for gains over the last few years.

  Now that the market is down a bit you can rollover to Roth. Although I think it goes by cost basis anyway. Either way I think if you have both Roth and regular you should roll everything over to Roth as it can be tricky on your taxes when you have a mix.

• 

  Chase Sapphire Rewards cash out questions
  4 years ago • my4mainecoons 3 years ago

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  J 3 years ago

  did you use the $5K? Bank error in yr favor!

• 

  US Government Treasury Security I Bonds paying 7.12% Interest
  3 years ago • ctgolfer 3 years ago

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  Z 3 years ago

  @dangeruss said in US Government Treasury Security I Bonds paying 7.12% Interest:

  @hbg1 said in US Government Treasury Security I Bonds paying 7.12% Interest:

  @dangeruss said in US Government Treasury Security I Bonds paying 7.12% Interest:

  @ctgolfer How do you buy the bonds? Only through treasurydirect? How old do you need to be to be able to buy the bonds?

  This may not be the answer to what you were asking, but you can buy these as a gift for a minor and I believe it would count against their limit.
  https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds_ifaq.htm

  Is there any tax liability? How would that work for a minor?

  Not trying to be mean, but there is a ton of info at the government site. Tax considerations:

  https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds_itaxconsider.htm

  – Z –

• 

  Bitcoin $5,000
  7 years ago • Burgerwars 3 years ago

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  3 years ago

  Well, it’s above 60k. How we all wish we would have socked away some extra change on bjtxoin. I still think this is no more than than buying tulips. But could have become a billionaire!

• V

  Crypto/Paypal question
  4 years ago • VegasVegan 4 years ago

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  @sherinemuasher
  Thanks, bought BitCoin last night. Probably should have done it a few days earlier when it was a little lower.
  Since you can’t move it and can only cash out, it’s more of a take advantage of a freebie type thing.

  Paypal instanly sent my $25 credit so that was nice. Now I’ll probably just let the BC stew and see what happens.

  Edit: Guess I should have waited a couple of hours. Seems like it dropped significantly a few hours after I bought.

  https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/24/investing/china-cryptocurrency-ban/index.html

• 

  Budgeting Thread: The Real Way to Budget
  4 years ago • Mike_imm_Ubund 4 years ago

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  Personally, I set a certain amount that I will keep for my savings. Then, I spend on my bills and my other needs (including personal treats for myself that I deserve). Any remaining amount will be added to my savings. Helps me control my money.

• 

  MasterCard to phase out magnetic stripe, but it will take a while.
  4 years ago • Burgerwars 4 years ago

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  Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card pays 2.5% cash back on up to $10,000 a month
  4 years ago • goofhead9 4 years ago

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  Declining consumer loans and increasing consumer confidence
  finance loans • 4 years ago • WorldFinance1 4 years ago

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• 

  Ok, which Fatwalleter was this?
  4 years ago • kamal 4 years ago

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  W 4 years ago

  Even physicists can’t escape the taxman…

• D

  HMBradley 3% APR
  4 years ago • dangeRuss 4 years ago

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  4 years ago

  They sweep your money into partner banks so there is FDIC insurance but I always worry about the time while your money is in their possession but before it’s swept into the partner bank(s). Probably overkill worrying about that however. I’ve not used them but 3% sure is tempting.

• B

  Anybody Familiar With Toyota Income Driver Notes? 1.50% APY
  4 years ago • benlola 4 years ago

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  @benlola Just FYI, the yield is only part of the return. The long-term return annualizes out to about 2.8% as per Vanguard. Of course, it’s variable and so the additional risk factor is the potential loss of premium. Conversely, unlike Toyota you would not lose 100% in any event and I think the lowest drop ever was something like 2%.

  Bond investing in a very low interest rate environment is incredibly challenging.

• 

  What type of loan to buy a vacant lot?
  4 years ago • SarahB 4 years ago

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  Glad it worked out for you SarahB.

• 

  Robinhood Freezes trading in GameStop
  4 years ago • my4mainecoons 4 years ago

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  P 4 years ago

  Robinhood, while they made a really bad decision, hopefully saved a lot of people from financial disaster. Good old principle never seems to fail, “buy on the rumor and sell on the news”. So when most people got the news, the were fodder for the early guys.

  Few people might have jumped in late and made money on the volatility - but that is like crapshoot - they could have lost it too - I have seen the market turn with no news on some securities and then not recover.

• 

  Individual Stocks/Investments
  8 years ago • David Scubadiver 4 years ago

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  @frugalpete

  TQQQ has gone up about 500% since you posted this 3 years ago.

• 

  Hot Dogs, Eggs, and Personal Finance
  food finance • 4 years ago • Mike_imm_Ubund 4 years ago

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  T 4 years ago

  If I remember correctly, beans and milk are the most cost effective sources of protein. You live in Hawaii, so your prices are much higher than the mainland. I can get a sack of dry beans for 89 cents and a gallon of milk for $2.49 at my local Wal-Mart.

• L

  Holiday Tipping Luxury Residential Building Boston
  4 years ago • Lex 4 years ago

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  @lex I wonder what the universe is of the intersection of PHW members and residents of Luxury Residential Buildings.

• P

  TurboTax Deluxe
  4 years ago • Phat200 4 years ago

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  Question about banking
  4 years ago • studentsavings 4 years ago

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  Z 4 years ago

  @mistercheap said in Question about banking:

  @zerenia said in Question about banking:

  @orthros said in Question about banking:

  @mistercheap I also don’t understand.

  @zerenia What bait-and-switch offers have you seen?

  @orthros and @MISTERCHEAP I think I need to both apologize and clarify. Bait-and-switch was not a fair characterization of what I was trying to describe and came out of my own frustrations with online banks offering great rates only to ratchet those rates back after a period of time. Sometimes the rate was guaranteed for a certain amount of time (6 months or one year, for example), other times the rate changed with only a short notice. Sometimes, no notice. So, I apologize for confusing the discussion by using the term “bait-and-switch.”

  Popular Online and Synchrony dropped my interest rates with no notice.

  —. Z. —

  @zerenia as for the ‘rate changed with short or no notice’, if this was tied to the drop in interest rates from the Fed, you will find that would be the case with just about all online rates. Granted, they don’t all drop rates in unison, but typically if one bank lowers their’s due to Fed rates dropping, it’s a matter of time before others follow suit. As long as the rate you are getting is competitive (even with the drop) with other banks on the same amount in the account, you can’t really be upset. Yes, you may see a 0.1-0-25% difference here and there, but for a small amount of difference, it’s likely the other bank will catch up to your rate soon enough. Not enough $$ lost to justify closing accounts and moving money to another bank

  @MISTERCHEAP Agreed. But it was quite competitive as the rates were rising. Accounts were approaching 2% and they were making that rate available for deposits as small as $500.

  I’d still appreciate some better communications from the banks.

  —. Z. —

• M

  Emotions and Investing
  4 years ago • Money-doc 4 years ago

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  @money-doc I think the discussion is a good one. You may find that the sophistication level of the folks that frequent this forum to be such that they already get the risk vs. reward vs. diversification equation, but if you help someone who’s new to the idea of investing then you’ve done them a service.

  Not sure if you think I’m a professional, but I’m an IT Director with an undergraduate degree in Music. I do hold an MBA, but with a concentration in Information Technology.

  —. Z. —

• 

  $20 FREE when you Sign up for a netSpend Debit Card
  4 years ago • MrsGuin 4 years ago

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  Service CU $100 Checking Bonus + $100 Per Referral [& 5% APY up to $500 + 3% APY up to $3k]
  5 years ago • moneysaver688 5 years ago

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  5 years ago

  My referral code is P2K0416458503 if anyone is interested in using.

• P

  Interest on No Penalty CD
  5 years ago • Phat200 5 years ago

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  Which high-interest savings account is the best?
  6 years ago • brocklee 5 years ago

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  5 years ago

  Alliant is good if you have a lot of checks to deposit, since they use the Co-Op Network of deposit taking ATMs. Their rates have been non competitive recently though.

• 

  Coin Buyback Program(s)
  5 years ago • turtlebug 5 years ago

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  Federal Tax Filing & Income Tax Payment Deadlines Extended to July 15, 2020
  5 years ago • fivetalents 5 years ago

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  5 years ago

  The extended deadline is 10 days away.

• A

  Estimated tax payment due dates this year.
  5 years ago • atikovi 5 years ago

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  I have paid according to the original schedule because I don’t know if the 3 processors have actually changed the 2 payments per quarter limit to 4 payments due on 7/15.

• 

  Free Global Finance Magazine
  5 years ago • MrsGuin 5 years ago

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  5 years ago

  Global finance has tanked.

• M

  Helping deciding if i should make the truck purchase
  5 years ago • medic221 5 years ago

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  @medic221 Sooooo… what did you end up doing?

• 

  Property Tax liability
  5 years ago • Keebler 5 years ago

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  5 years ago

  A few years back with the real estate boom, my area in FL was one of the top growing areas in the country. Then, when many could not pay for their homes when the bubble burst, they simply abandoned properties. The following is my understanding which relates to my area, check with your local county though.

  When you abandon a property, the taxes continue to accrue and you are liable for them. However, at some point, the county will want their money and they are able to sell your home to the highest bidder. (My county still does this on a weekly basis!)

  When the property sells at auction, you no longer own the home and therefore no longer held liable to pay any back or future property taxes.

  The highest bidder wins, and now owns, the property. The back taxes/fees are paid from their bid. Sometimes the winner pays as little as just the balance of the taxes plus auction fees! Any overage though is paid to other lien holders. If there are no other liens, the person who abandoned the property is entitled to the overage paid at auction. (They’d have to track it down though, they are not usually contacted to claim it.)

  The new owner now may be responsible to pay any other liens on the property, including mortgage, if the winning bid was not high enough to cover it all. However most will find a good lawyer and have the liens cleared so they can have a sellable title - then they flip and sell these properties.

  Not knowing the area where you live and how much is owed vs. market price, I don’t know that I can share advice. If I were in your position and the home was in my area, I’d sell the house and walk away with (hopefully) some money in my pocket. Best wishes to you however you choose to move forward!

• 

  EZPay
  5 years ago • george2001 5 years ago

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  5 years ago

  @george2001 said in EZPay:

  @fivetalents said in EZPay:

  I use EZPay-like processors once in a blue for stuff like an infrequent DMV payment, utility bill or something, but I can’t remember the specific name(s).

  That F rating seems weak to me. It’s only based on 5 complaints in the past 3 years (2 in the past 12 months). Three customer reviews complained about the website not working/not being able to reach anyone by phone. Of the 5 complaints, the BBB characterized the F rating as “Failure to respond to 4 complaint(s).” Even the one unrelated customer complaint was about fees related to a returned payment due to insufficient funds, not fraud.

  Nonetheless, I would never give direct access to my bank account (unless maybe it was a no fee secondary account with only enough funds for such payments… but even still). If you’re concerned about fraud, I’d use a Citi Virtual Account Number instead of the real card number (you can set it up to expire in 12 months and set an alert to remind yourself to add 12 months every year or generate/give EZPay a new VAN every year).

  Thanks for the info. The Citi virtual Account number is a great idea, thanks. I completely forgot about that option. I’m planning on using a Citi “double cash card” (2% cash back) for this anyway.

  Yes, I have the Citi Double Cash card too, that’s why I specifically mentioned the Citi VAN… I know for sure that it works with the Double Cash card. Too bad about that $5 fee though, that’s a lot higher than the $2-$3 I’ve seen most payment processors charge.

• 

  FREE Slice Of Stock Worth Up To $50 From Public
  5 years ago • MrsGuin 5 years ago

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  5 years ago

  @jwblue The amount of $ you get depends on which stock you pick.