On Tuesday, Merrill Lynch relased a very competitive 3 month CD.  At a 5.15% APY, it’s the 2nd best in the industry right now, right behind Countrywide Bank.  Merrill Lynch has been in and out of the top ten in the past year but have alway received great reviews with their customer support staff.  The only downfall is that it requires a $25,000 minimum.

http://www.ml.com

The holiday season is approaching fast and people often wonder how and who you should tip.  We’ve compiled a few statistics and threw together some averages.

Mail carrier -  This all depends how far he has to go to get to your mailbox.  If he drives up to your  mailbox, tip less.  If he has to walk your route, tip a little more.   This tip should range anywhere from $10-20.

Babysitter -  How good are your kids?  If you know your kids are a handful, tip a little more.  If not, we’d still leave a good tip.  Most babysitters make next to nothing and are also fairly young.  Even $20 will brighten their holiday mood.  This tip should range anywhere from $25-50.

Newspaper Carrier -  This is just like the mail carrier.  We would tip just as much seeing they have to wake up during brutal hours.  This tip should range anywhere from $10-20.

Garbage Guys -  This is a dirty job and even if you give the local garbage guys a buck, they are thrilled.  They are out there in the hot and cold smelling like trash everyday.  It’s always nice to tip the guys for the jobs WE don’t want to do.  This tip should range anywhere from $10-$25.

These are just a few of the people we see just about every week.  Of course there are others such as a yardwork, cleaning person, nanny, and the list goes on.  When it comes to tipping, use your judgement!  Remember a tip is based on how good they are.

If you’re looking to save money on your next trip, take a look at American Express’ Starwood Preferred Credit Card.  After your first purchase, you’ll instantly have enough points to stay a hotel for free for 3 nights!

On top of the free 3 night stay, you can earn even more free stays in the future.  Here’s the breakdown.

Earn 15,000 points when you spend $15,000 in 6 months.

Use points toward free upgrades and stays at over 825 resorts/hotels.

Transfer your points toward airline miles as well.

The Starwood Preferred Credit Card is a great credit card to sign up for if you’re looking for a quick couple of free hotel nights.  If you’re not happy with the card, simply cancel it!

Get your free hotel rooms today!

Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.  Crowds, babies screaming, people fighting over the last ipod.  What’s not to love about it?  Here at gotalkmoney.com, we’ve made a quick little list on how to avoid the stress before you hit the stores.

Look at the ads online

There are a lot of websites out there like www.bfads.net that offer ads for stores before they even go public.  This is a great way to find out what you want and who has the great deals.  Also, the website will keep you up to date on products such as this post.

Know what you want

Make a list of the things you want.  From there, use your head and try to decide what’s going to go the fastest.  You will probably realize that a laptop for $300 will go a lot faster than a baby t-shirt for $10.  Once you figure that out, number them from 1 to whatever.  This way you know what stores to attack first.

Shopping online

If you’re shopping online, make sure you know when the store is opening up their sale.  A lot of the times you may find it will be really early such as midnight.  Make sure you’re at your computer when the sale goes live and know exactly what you want.  If you’re too slow, sometimes other people may beat you to the punch. 

Another good idea before you browse for deals online is too look for coupons.  Simply go to google and pop in “your store coupon codes”  This will usually bring up a list of coupon codes that can be applied to your order.

Bring something to keep you entertained in line

Waiting in line is boring.  This is why you should bring a few things that can keep your mind moving.  An ipod, gameboy, book, or anything like that can make the time fly by.  This will relieve a lot of stress and won’t make you constantly think about the long line.

In the end, make sure you don’t stress yourself out, and make sure you know where you’re going.. be organized!  If you follow these steps, you’ll have a happy black friday.

Apple Bank has been in and out of the gotalkmoney top 10 cd rate charts.  As of Tuesday November 20, 2007, they are offering 3 fantastic rates that are currently #1 on each of these charts –

1 year:  5.25% APY, $500 min.
2 year:  5.26% APY, $500 min.
5 year:  5.26% APY, $500 min.

Act fast on these rates because they tend to go down when a lot of people find out about the deal.

More information on this bank and deal can be found at http://www.theapplebank.com