Here is another “free money” deal at Sharebuilder. Here is how to play this one:
Go to this sharebuilder link.
- Choose the basic plan.
- Fund your account with at least $5.
- Buy 1 share of a low priced stock $1-2 to qualify for the bonus. If you buy 1 share of a $1 stock, it will cost you $5.($1 for the price of the stock and $4 for the commission). I bought CMGI which was trading for a little over $2. I picked CMGI because I know of it. It is a an internet stock. At the height of the dot com boom, it traded for over $100 a share. Now it is languishing at around $2. Maybe it will recover, or maybe it will go to 0. Who cares? I only own 1 share, and I received $50 for buying it, netting around $44.
- Wait 4-6 weeks to get your bonus.
- Withdraw all your money, and leave the stock in the account, or sell it. There is no minimum balance to maintain.
$44 or $45 is not that much, but the beauty of this offer is that you can open multiple accounts for everyone in your household including children. In my case that’s $44 x 4 or $176. Also, I’ve been told that you can repeat this offer every 4-6 months with a different promo code. I have not confirmed this yet, but I will pass on the information when I find out. Free money.
Do you pay taxes on this “free” money? Do your children pay taxes on this “free” money too?
It is “free” money in that you did not have to earn it except filling out an online application.
You do pay taxes like any other interest income you receive. The children have a custodial account and of course are in a much lower tax bracket, but taxed as interest income just the same.