Veteran's Day Promotions for Active Duty and Military Veterans: 25 Free Things on Veteran's Day and Veteran's Day Weekend

From free food to free entry to our Nation's parks, here's a summary of freebies for Active Duty Military and our Nation's Veteran's this Veteran's Day Weekend.

1. Applebee’s – free meal, Friday, Nov. 11. Last year, Applebee’s served 1,024,000 million free meals to military veterans and active servicemembers. Applebee’s is again offering a free meal to military veterans and active-duty service members on Veteran’s Day, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. There will be 7 entrées to choose from. Military ID or proof of service required. Find locations here.

2. Chili’s – free meal, Friday, Nov. 11. Chili’s is offering all military veterans past and present their choice of one of 6 meals. This offer is available during business hours on November 11, 2011 at participating Chili’s in the U.S. only. Dine-in from limited menu only; beverages and gratuity not included. Veterans and active duty military simply show proof of military service. Visit their website to find locations.

3. Golden Corral – Free meal, Monday Nov. 14. The 10th annual Golden Corral Military Appreciation dinner will be held on Monday, November 14, 2011 from 5 pm to 9 pm in all Golden Corral Restaurants nationwide. The free “thank you” dinner is available to any person who has ever served in the United States Military. If you are a veteran, retired, currently serving, in the National Guard or Reserves, you are invited to participate in Golden Corral’s Military Appreciation Monday dinner. For more information visit there site. Special thanks to Golden Corral: To date, Golden Corral restaurants have provided over 2.5 million free meals and contributed over $4.3 million to the Disabled American Veterans organization.

4. Hooters – Free Meal, Friday, Nov. 11. Hooter’s is serving up a free meal to military veterans all day on Veterans Day. Offer good for all veterans and active duty military personnel. Choose one of the new specialty items on the Hooter’s menu. Offer valid at participating Hooters only; open to all active duty and military veterans with valid military ID or proof of military service. Drink purchase required. For more information, visit their site.

5. Krispy Kreme – Free doughnut. Available only at participating Krispy Kreme stores. Offer available to all active-duty, retirees & veterans on Friday November 11th. Be sure to call ahead to verify your local Krispy Kreme is participating.

6. McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants – free lunch or dinner, Sunday Nov 13th. McCormick & Schmick’s is celebrating their 13th annual Veteran’s Appreciation Event on Sunday, November 13th. Veterans will be able to choose a complimentary lunch or dinner entrée. Veterans must provide proof of military service. Be sure to contact your local McCormick & Schmick’s as this is valid at participating restaurants only. Also, Space is limited and reservations are highly recommended. For more information visit here.

7. Outback Steakhouse – A week of Free Bloomin’ Onions and Cokes Monday Nov. 7 – Friday Nov. 11. Outback Steakhouse is honoring America’s military veterans by offering active duty military and veterans a free Bloomin’ Onion and a Coca-Cola product during the week leading up to Veteran’s Day. This offer is available to Military Personnel who have one of the following forms of identifications: U.S Uniform Services Identification Card, U.S Uniform Services Retired Identification Card, Current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES), DD form 214 Veterans Organization Card (i.e., American Legion and VFW), Photograph in Uniform, Wearing Uniform. For more information, visit here. The Outback understands commitment. For the past two years, The Outback, with the help of their patrons, has donated $2 Million to Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization providing everyday and emergency support for active troops, wounded warriors and their families.

8. Subway – Free Six Inch Sub. Select Subway locations offer a FREE six inch sub to military veterans on Veteran’s Day. However, Subway restaurants are franchises, so this offer may not be available everywhere. Please call ahead.

9. Texas Roadhouse – free meal, Friday, Nov. 11. Offer varies by location; our local Texas Roadhouse is offering a free meal from opening until 4pm. Other locations may vary in offer, hours, or availability. Call ahead to your local restaurant for more information.

10. T.G.I. Friday’s – Buy one get one free Nov 11-14. At participating locations for anyone with an old or current military ID. November 11-14.

11. Uno Chicago Grill, Friday, Nov. 11. Uno’s is offering a free entree or individual pizza with a purchase of an entree or pizza of equal or greater value. Offer good for all military for veterans and active duty military. ID or proof of service required: Show up in uniform (if your service permits), provide military ID, show a picture of yourself in uniform, or have other ID showing proof of service.

12. Home Depot and Lowes Coupon Updates. Home Depot and Lowes 10% Military Discount Available Everyday.

Home Depot: The Home Depot(R) is offering all active duty personnel, reservists, retired military, veterans and their families a 10 percent discount off their purchases in honor of Veteran’s Day. The offer is valid on purchases of up to $2,000 for a maximum of $200 and is available at The Home Depot stores, The Home Depot Design Center locations, Yardbirds and EXPO Design Center(R) locations. The 10% discount is available everyday for active duty and retirees, but not all veterans. Home Depot makes this offer available to all veterans on most military holidays. You can also find Home Depot discounts online.

Lowes: Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will offer all active, reserve, honorably discharged, retired military personnel and their immediate family members a 10 percent discount on in-store U.S. purchases made during the Veterans Day holiday. The discount is available Nov. 7 – Nov. 11. The discount is available on in-stock and special order purchases up to $5,000. To qualify, individuals must present a valid military ID or other proof of service. Excluded from the discount are sales via Lowes.com, previous sales, and purchases of services or gift cards. Like Home Depot, Lowes offers this discount daily to active duty military members, but not to veterans. However, they extend the offer to military veterans on military holidays.

13. Anheuser-Busch Parks. Anheuser-Busch Parks offers Active Duty Service Members free admission for them and up to 3 dependents to any of their parks once a year. Throughout 2011, members of the military and as many as three direct dependents may enter SeaWorld, Busch Gardens or Sesame Place parks with a single-day complimentary admission. The Here’s to the Heroes program is only available to Any active duty, activated or drilling reservist, or National Guardsman. Eligible parks include: Adventure Island, Busch Gardens (Tampa Bay or Williamsburg), SeaWorld (Orlando, San Diego, or San Antonio), Sesame Place, and Water Country USA. Not valid at Discovery Cove and Aquatica. Christmas Town at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va. is not included as part of this program. For more information and to register, visit: Free admission summary, and ticket application.

14. Colonial Williamsburg Free Admission. Colonial Williamsburg offers free weekend-long admission tickets to active-duty military, reservists, retirees, veterans, and their immediate dependents from Friday, Nov. 11 through Sunday, Nov. 13th. The complimentary ticket incudes admission to Colonial Williamsburg exhibition sites, art museums, and most daytime programs, as well as free parking and use of the shuttle bus system. Tickets are only available at on-site ticket sales locations. Tickets are also available to families of deployed servicemembers. Tickets available on the following dates: Nov. 11-13.

15. Historic Jamestowne – Free Admission. The National Park Service commemorates Veterans Day with Fee Free days at Historic Jamestowne November 11-13. Free admission for everyone. See events calendar.

16. Knotts Berry Farm Military Tribute Days – Free Admission. Knott’s Berry Farm has an annual Military Tribute event in which they offer military members past and present by offering free park admission. This year the Military Tribute Days run from November 1 – 24 November (Thanksgiving Day). Veterans or current serving military personnel plus one guest get in FREE with proper ID presented at Knott’s turnstile (DD214, Veterans Administration Hospital ID or Active Military Service ID). Purchase up to six additional tickets for just $17 each. More info.

17. Fee Free Day at National Parks. To honor America’s service men and women, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that areas managed by the National Park Service would not charge entrance fees for Veteran’s Day weekend – November 11-13, 2011. Over 100 national Parks will be participating in this event.

18. San Jacinto Monument and Museum (La Porte, TX). November 7-13: Free admission to the theatre, Observation Floor, and (on November 12-13) the special exhibit to all veterans and their families. More info here.

19. Bed and Breakfast for Vets In the third year of the program, B&Bs for Vets has organized over 485 (and counting) participating Bed and Breakfasts and Inns across the US and Canada which will be offering veterans a free night’s stay on November 10th, the night before Veterans Day. This offer is available to both active duty military members and veterans with ID, but space is limited. Each Inn and B&B has at least one room available for this promotion and reservations must be made directly through the participating Inns and B&Bs. For more information visit B&Bs for Vets.

20. Sam’s Club® locations nationwide will distribute 36,000 Hugo® canes free of charge on November 9th, 10th, 11th, 2011 to U.S. military veterans in need of mobility assistance. Limited quantities available, while supplies last. Sam’s Club® Membership is not required, but proof of military service may be required. For more information, visit HugoSalutes.com.

21. Here are some additional Veteran’s Day Discounts. In all cases, be sure to provide proper ID or proof of service. In addition, some of these stores are franchises, so verify participation before assuming the discount is in place.

Free Car wash. Thousands of car washes around the country are offering vets a free car wash on Veterans Day. Find a list at Grace for Veterans, which helped veterans receive 101,537 FREE Washes on Veterans Day in 2010.

Amazon.com – Discount “Veterans Day Honor” MP3 album download. This downloadable album includes 12 songs as performed by the military bands and ensembles of the U.S. Armed Forces. Visit Amazon on Veteran’s Day to download the album.

Netflix – One Month Free Trial.

Sport Clips – FREE haircut to active-duty military & veterans. Offer only available at select locations. Please call to verify local participation.

Tim Hortons – all US locations are offering a free donut to all veterans (check out the Star Spangled donut!).

When This Market Technician Talks, I Always Listen

Louise Yamada... I could be thumbing through a magazine or setting my fantasy baseball roster, when Louise Yamada comes on TV, I stop what I'm doing and listen. She's a wealth of knowledge.

I like this particular video of hers.

The bottom line is that the breakdown in the relationship between the dollar, oil and gold is disconcerting for investors because it demonstrates market confusion.

Notice how the recent equities correction didn't affect gold prices like it usually would?

I haven't bought gold, but i'm considering buying the Power Shares DB precious metals ETF (DBP) if it has some consolidation in the near term.

Thumbs Down Rating on Lending Club's Move to Ban Unique Lender Questions

Until recently, I have grown to be a fan of Lending Club... So much so that I was also contemplating setting up a self directed IRA with the company. However, Lending Club's recent move to ban unique borrower questions has me a little uneasy parting with my money.

Take for instance people that ask for a loan to move but make no comments about their job prospect in their new location. You would think it would be pertinent to ask about their employment. Instead, Lending Club does not currently allow the lender to ask a question on this point. Instead, you have to rely on the credit history based on "past" employment.

I seriously wonder if other lenders have grown reluctant like me to lend money to borrowers on the site unless the borrower clearly communicates their situation.

US Inflation Rate 9.6% Using Alternate Calculation Method

Thought this would be interesting to you. Using methods employed when Fed Chairman Paul Volker was appointed in 1979, US's annual inflation rate would be 9.6% for this past February. Article.

Valentine's Day Ideas From "The Digerati Life" and "My Good Cents."

Here are a couple of recommended Valentine's Day related articles from those in my blogroll.

The Digerati Life. "Best Cheap Dates Ideas for Valentine's Day Romantics."

My Good Cents. "Valentines Day: Free Redbox Rental."

Have a great Valentine's Day!

Up 65% in Last 10 Months in my Soft Commodities Investment. Will Likely Rotate into McDonalds as Grain Prices Peak.

I bought into the iPath Grains (JJG) ETF on April 5th of last year at $34.18 / share. On Friday, shares traded at $56.20. This is a gain of 64.4% over the 10 months. Of course these gains are only on paper.

I spent part of the afternoon contemplating what I would do with my money as I scaled out of this ETF. I spent some time comparing charts of JJG against a few stocks and happened upon an interesting comparison against McDonalds (MCD). See chart JJG vs. MCD. Looking from 12/8/10 til present and you'll see that the two stocks are moving inversely to each other.

So, unless we have a good stock market correction, my current plan is to ride out JJG for a few more bucks and to start scaling out of JJG between $61 and $71.

I suspect JJG should hit this gate of $61 - $71 within the next couple of months prior to crops being planted. As I scale out, I am planning on moving my funds into McDonalds. I don't think that McDonalds is going to run up like a rocket ship; however, I feel that McDonalds should trounce the S&P 500 after grains and other commodities (e.g. COW) peak and start trending lower. Plus, McDonalds 3.3% yield should provide a level of safety in our current lofty market levels.

My Net Annual Return on Lending Club Account Up from 7.7% in 2009 to 9.5% in 2010

I have been originating (peer-2-peer) loans at Lending Club since Dec 2008. Since starting, I have issued 153 loans, of which:

15 loans fully paid off
0 loans late, default or charged off

In 2009, I made a net 7.7% return on my investment (after fees and note sales). During 2009, I only had one losing month where I had a monthly annualized return of -5.24%.

In 2010, I made a net 9.5%. My worst month had a monthly annualized return of 0.89%.

Lending Club says my account has a net annualized return of 12.72% and total interest earned of $325.54. Each of these are way off my actual return. My net earnings are actually some $80.25 less than what Lending Club advertises. The problem with Lending Club is that it doesn't fully factor in all fees and losses incurred in the sale of notes.

Overall, with exception to Lending Club not having "net earnings" and "net annual yield" displayed on it's account dashboard, I am very satisfied with Lending Club.

I attribute my greater success in 2010 to increasing my risk tolerance in notes that i'm willing to fund. In 2009, I was already selling almost all notes before they hit 16 days late. So, I was willing to do a few more note sales in order to balance out any extra incurred risk.

My note filter is:

Funding progress: 10% or more
Max loan amount: $25k
Interest rate: Excludes A and B rated notes
Months since last delinquency: 24 months or more
Max debt-to-income: 20%
Min length of employment: 2
Inquiries in the last 6 months: 3 max

In addition to this, I am reluctant to fund notes where the monthly income is less than 1/3 of total revolving credit balance. I exceed this sometimes when I believe that the individual is truly going to use the money for debt consolidation.