Investing strategy from Ric Edelman

From his new book "The Lies About Money"

1) Save regularly.

2) Hold your investments for very long periods.

3) Build a highly diversified portfolio.

4) Periodically rebalance that portfolio.

Make your cash work harder

From wsj.com

Here's how to squeeze the most out of your cash:

-Pay bills from a no-fee, low-minimum checking account.

-Keep extra savings in a high-yield online savings account.

-Pile expenses onto credit cards that give cash back or other rewards.

But it does require some efforts from you

-Move your cash among your accounts.

-Watch out the fees - such as overdraft fee, or late payment fee.

Don't cash this check!

I received a letter from Chase Bank and it has a check payable to me.

At first, I thought it is a reward check from my Chase Reward Card.

It turns out to be a bait from Trilegiant Corp. -

If I cash the check, my Chase credit card will be charged $59.99 for six months of Shoppers Advantage benefits.

It claims it will give me a dollar back for every dollar charged to my Chase credit card up to $200, year after year.

I googled Trilegiant and I found

Trilegiant Corp. and Chase Bank have settled with AG from 15 states to resolve allegations that the companies misled consumers into paying for membership programs that purported to provide consumers with discounts on auto and home repairs, shopping, and other goods and services.

Shoppers Advantage is one of the programs.

Too bad my state is not one of the 15 states.

In the end, I tore up the check.