In fact, we already had to bail my daughter out of $1400 worth of credit card debt because she fell victim to the pressure.

“Oh, would you like to save 10% today with your purchase? Just apply for our handy-dandy credit card.”

I literally walk out of stores, and leave my stuff laying there, when they pull that sh*t on me. It makes steam come out of my ears!

My daughter said they even offered her a credit card at the college bookstore when she went to get her books!

Good Lord, what is this world coming to?!?!?

My wife and I use Discover for the same purposes. I will have to look at the Citi card you mentioned, thank you.

I agree with you that credit cards are evil — IF you don’t understand the proper use of them.

My wife and I use a Citi rewards card for all of our monthly expenses. We run that sucker up to around $3200 every month, but we also pay it off IN FULL every single month.

Whenever a charge is made, it gets entered into our budgeting systemjust as if we spent cash or wrote a check.

It all gets accounted for in our budget and the money is sitting in our checking account when the bill arrives.

So, since April of ‘06 when we got the card, we haven’t paid a dime of interest. I’m sure Citi Bank hates us!

The upside is that we get 5% back at gas stations, grocery stores, and drug stores. 1% on everything else.

In 2006, our reward points bought around $400 worth of gift cards for our kids at Christmas time.

This year, so far, reward points have bought me a new ladder, gutter guards for the house, and we still have around $300 to use for Christmas.

We’ve since switched to the Citi Drivers Edge Rewards card (since I travel a lot more with my new job), but it basically works the same way. I just get even more points now for miles I drive.

Credit can be a powerful financial “tool”, but you have to be smart and VERY disciplined about it.

Thanks a million for posting your experience with NoLoad FundX. You’ve inspired me even further to dig into my Rollover IRA and start making some changes!

I also love your advice about foreign investments and commodities. My wife and I were just at a financial seminar last night (put on my Wachovia & ING) and the entire thing was about foreign investment opportunities. Mostly commercial real-estate, but foreign nonetheless.

As far as saving 10% of your income — AMEN BROTHER! In fact, 10% should be a starting point. I hope to be investing 50% of our income very soon!

That reminds me… There’s a special report I wrote a long time ago that talks specifically about the whole 10% “pay yourself first” thing. I need to resurrect that and get it posted in the articles section.

Thanks for the much needed kick!

I have been using the fundX strategy in my portfolio for almost 2 years. I love fund X because:

1. As a mechanical engineer I like recipe investing (like you mentioned above). I like it because it removes my emotions from it. Never fall in love with a stock or mutual fund, this was something I have made a mistake doing. NoLoad fundX removes this emotion if you follow the strategy.

2. The time required does not become a job unto itself. Researching individual stocks and to some extent mutual funds, if done right, takes a good deal of follow up and paying attention to your companies performance and management. No-Load FundX does not require this at all. Follow their BUY-HOLD-SELL signals and don’t get too smart for yourself…..work the plan, it works.

3. You would want to check the newsletters performance once a year via Hulbert to make sure NoLoad FundX stays a solid performer. If it does, keep using the strategy. Ride that money train!

Some personal comments:
1. Go foreign
Going foreign is an easy choice with the absolute predictible fall of the dollar. It is a sure thing. (think at least 50% foreign in your portfolio - I am 90%)

2. Go Commodities
Commodities, or commodity mutual funds will continue to do well. China is gobbling up resources in its growth. This is also a sure thing, in the long-term.

3. Save 10% of your income to invest
Ok, it all begins here doesn’t it? To get money to invest a forced savings of 10% off the top is a really good proven strategy. This assumes you have paid off your credit cards and ripped them up for good. Credit cards are the devil! :p

I wish you all the best.

After signing up for the free trial, I printed off the November newsletter, the users guide, and a couple other misc articles about Upgrading. I read everything last night before going to bed, and I gotta say… I’m pretty impressed.

This really is a “no brainer” investing strategy. I’m excited about getting started with my Rollover IRA. I already have about $6K cash sitting in that account, and I think I’m going to just dump the other mutual funds I’m holding (in the Rollover IRA) and start from scratch with NoLoad FundX.

I’ll keep everyone posted on my progress!

Thanks for the nice mention of my blog and relevant post, and for adding my link to your blog roll!