Free Kindles, credit score dating, and a unique hotel

FREE $100, FREE KINDLE: First Tennessee Bank is offering $100 to anybody who opens a new Express Checking account and uses direct deposit. Meanwhile, KeyBank will give you a free Kindle Fire HD when you open one of their checking accounts.

HIGC FLAMEOUT: Last week, we mentioned that Million Mile Secrets had publicized the fact that you could use the Home Improvement Gift Card to load your Bluebird. That deal died around 24 hours later. It got shut down more quickly than I would have guessed, but that it got shut down is not surprising at all, as very lucrative deals with lots of publicity tend not to last too long.

Anyway, if you’ve got some time to kill the whole episode generated 100 pages in just a couple of days on Flyertalk.

TALL, DARK, AND 800: There was a New York Times article a while back with a bunch of anecdotes about people using credit criteria to screen potential mates. Now, the website FreeCreditScore.com has conducted a more extensive survey of 1,000 adults.

The results? “About 30% of women and 20% of men say they won’t marry a person with a low credit score.” The article goes on to say:

Most respondents also said money management skills are just as important as looks when deciding whether someone is worth pursuing.

This is especially true for women, with nearly all female respondents ranking financial responsibility and financial compatibility as more important or just as important as career ambition, physical attraction and sex and intimacy, the survey found.

As with any survey, you have to take the results with a grain of salt since what people say and what people do are two different things. And sadly, the survey did not ask about the attractiveness of people who obsessively chase after credit card deals.

There’s probably something to the findings though, as the ability to control resources (financial, political, or otherwise) is a consideration in marriage decisions throughout all cultures and times. Credit scores are just a measure of financial resources in this particular place and time. (H/T: Bargaineering)

WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET LIBRARY?: Kent Thune, who blogs over at The Financial Philosopher, has some interesting thoughts on books over at The Big Picture:

From time to time people ask me to give them recommendations on good finance books. When I respond, I either get blank stares or laughs…

What’s so funny about the Tao Te Ching, Thoreau’s Walden, or Daniel Gilbert’s Stumbling On Happiness?

Were they expecting something like Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace, Kiyosaki’s Poor Dad / Rich Dad or Curtis Faith’s Way of the Turtle? While these are good books (at least measured by sales), I’m not sure it’s responsible to blindly send people on their way to read how someone else got rich. Did the authors of these finance books get rich as a result of reading a book about getting rich? Or did they find success by finding their own pathway to it?

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought. ~ Basho

As you may have already guessed, my reasoning for recommending non-financial books for financial guidance is three-tiered:

1. The world doesn’t need more lists of “best financial books.” There are too many as it is now.
2. Most people that ask for financial book recommendations don’t want to read a financial book; they want aget-rich-quick book.
3. I believe the greatest need in the Business/Finance section of book stores is the Books to Read Before You Read the Finance Book section. Outside of Wall Street, the purpose of money is not to make more money; it is to serve a non-financial purpose. Therefore it is philosophy that guides finance: Life is not about making money; money is about making a life.

I WANT TO STAY IN THIS HOTEL: For those of you looking for new hotel experiences, the Spitbank Fort may be worth looking into. The British built the naval installation one mile off the coast of Portsmouth in 1867, but it is now a luxury hotel. Here’s an aerial view:

Here’s the Victory Bar, which looks like a great place to imbibe:

And let’s not forget the Nelson Suite:

There are more pictures here. Rooms start at $565 per person, or you can rent the whole thing out (sleeps 18!) for only $7,690 per night.