TD Ameritrade has partnered with Suze Orman to offer the Save Yourself money market account. They're offering a $100 if you do the following:
- Open the account before December 31, 2008.
- Deposit 12 monthly consecutive automatic electronic deposits of $100 or more.
- Make the first deposit within 30 days of opening the account.
12 months after you''ve opened the account, TD Waterhouse will review it and see if you met the eligibility. If so, the cash will be deposited into your account within 4 weeks.
The account you open is a money market deposit account, insured by the FDIC. It is paying a 1% APY, so if you open the account, you're doing it for the $100 not for any interest you'll earn. 1% is a very low rate compared to the best savings and money market rates listed on the BestCashCow rate table. If you deposit the minimum of $100 per month for a total of $1,200 and then receive a $100 check, you'll make a return of 8.3%. That's not a bad return but if you don't mind going through all of the work.
Comments
ModestMama
January 11, 2009
I don't understand this account, can it be used soley as savings or is there a catch that you have to use the funds to purchase stock eventually? Would there be a penalty for withdrawing if an emergency came up, other than you wouldn't get that $100 at the end?
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StupidOne
January 12, 2009
After the 12 months, you are free to do whatever you want with the money. However, during the required 12 month period, you must make at least a minimimun $100 deposit in order to collect the $100 bonus at the end. If you make any withdrawals, for whatever reason, you are no longer eligible to receive the $100 bonus. Very restrictive, but given the current savings rate environment, if you have a spare $100 per month, throw it in this account and forget about it. In a year, you will have $100 for not doing too much! The deadline for this promotion has been changed to December 31, 2009. See the link for more information: http://www.saveyourself.com/
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toma
February 18, 2009
Does that $100 have to be reported as income on your tax return?
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StupidOne
October 27, 2010
No. The $100 bonus was added to my account but they only reported the interest on the overall balance on the 1099-INT.
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