Consumerist

Posts Tagged “

Debt

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videos

Confessions Of A Shopaholic Makes Irresponsible Debting Look Fun And Hilarious

Jerry Bruckheimer turns the lens of his celluloid cyclops away from exploding airplanes to exploding credit card debt in an adaptation of Confessions of a Shopaholic. There's a scene in the trailer where our heroine has frozen her credit card in a block of ice (see "Stop Spending By Freezing Your Credit Card In Ice") and, stricken by a frenzy, she chops and hacks at it and uses a blowdryer to free it. Sort of amusing, although most people I've read about who freeze their credit card usually don't ever crack them open. Full trailer inside.

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9:18 AM on Tue Oct 7 2008
By Ben Popken
1,656 views, 18 comments

Latest by Jabberkaty: @IHaveAFreezeRay: I'll have to tell my husband he needs a sex change and a lobotomy to land a job. He's gonna be pissed. more »

debt

Reader Pays Off $14,330 In 20 Months With Our Tips

Stuck in a $14,300 debt hole, reader Trixare4kids was able to dig herself out using tips she learned about on Consumerist.com. Let's learn how she attacked her personal finances and learned to live frugally, and did it all in 20 months. More »

4:35 PM on Mon Oct 6 2008
By Ben Popken
117,791 views, 132 comments

Latest by EtoilePB: @whatsthisnow: @Necoras: @RandomHookup: My personal situation improved drastically when I sucked it up (which cost $1500, HA) and relocated from New York City to Virginia. My new job (since April) pays 18% more than my last job and my cost of living is lower. My outrageous debts are all student loan more »

observations

Staying Out Of The Red Is The New Black

All of a sudden, everyone is interested in how their banks, credit cards, credit scores, credit reports, mortgages, and money actually work. Staying out of the red is the new black. Have you found yourself talking more about money matters and strategies with friends, family, co-workers, and even strangers?

(Photo: darkmatter)

3:39 PM on Thu Oct 2 2008
By Ben Popken
3,499 views, 31 comments

Latest by Mary Marsala with Fries: @m4ximusprim3: Me too! I haven't been told to shut the hell up about it in *days*! more »

debt

How To Get Out Of Debt

J is in a debt hole and needs help getting out. We're going to give it to him:

We are pretty smart people who did some pretty stupid things and now we are just trying to get out of debt. We know exactly what to do in the future to manage our spending, savings and credit score. And we both agree that nothing is worth putting on a credit card if we cant go home and transfer money to the card to pay off the balance when we get home. But that doesn't change the fact that we are currently facing a staggering mound of debt and see no end in sight.

J, you've got two choices:

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Feature

12:27 PM on Thu Oct 2 2008
By Ben Popken
27,960 views, 102 comments

Latest by trujunglist: @kaylabear: I keep reading these things somehow hoping that it'll magically get me out of my debt without becoming insanely frugal or selling off most of my (mostly worthless monetarily, but with a high nostalgic value) stuff. Oh well, time to buckle down I guess. more »

zombie debt

Judge Orders Credit Reporting Bureaus To Strike Forgiven Debts From Records

The three big credit reporting agencies—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—have been inaccurately reporting debts on millions of consumers' credit reports even after the debts have been forgiven during bankruptcy filings. Once forgiven, the debts are supposed to be removed from credit reports, but the agencies are continuing to report them as active. They have until October 1st to comply with Judge David O. Carter's order to "revamp their systems," writes Jane J. Kim on the Wall Street Journal's finance blog. Now if you're in debt trouble, you can look forward (?) to having either unpaid debts on your credit report, or a bankruptcy filing, but hopefully no longer both at the same time. More »

11:14 PM on Tue Sep 30 2008
By Chris Walters
4,120 views, 17 comments

Latest by P41: Shocking. Next thing those nosy judges will say is that collectors aren't allowed to harass people to pay off those debts that were discharged in bankruptcy. Aiding zombie debt collection is so obviously illegal there should be no excuse for needing more time. Judge would be perfectly justified in not extending more »

Debt

Is Volkswagen Violating The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

Tim's neighbor received a call from VW Credit asking her to walk across the street and leave a note on her neighbors' front door and VW Bug asking them to call back their creditor. Calls like these are known as block parties, and they are a direct violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. More »

2:15 PM on Sat Sep 27 2008
By Carey
12,899 views, 58 comments

Latest by Blitzgal: @scredly: We have regulations on debt collection activities for a reason. Two wrongs don't make a right. Also, on the day that the House will vote on whether my tax dollars should be used to bail out the gross mismanagement of banking institutions in this country I really can't more »

confessions

Ex-Credit Card Bankers: "Every Customer Who Calls In Is A Mark. It's A Great Big Con."

CNN has an interview with two former credit card bankers who are admitting that their job was to get consumers to max out their credit cards and take on as much debt as possible, regardless of the customer's ability to afford it. They both worked for MBNA at their "sprawling consumer call center in Belfast, Maine." The bankers say that they were told to aggressively push cash advances, and were trained to convince consumers that they needed the maximum amount of debt at the highest interest rate. More »

12:39 PM on Thu Sep 25 2008
By Meg Marco
13,367 views, 60 comments

Latest by MinchinWeb: MNBA - that has bad news written all over it. I have my credit card through a major bank here in Canada and have never had any problems, but I've heard stories about MNBA cards and them pulling all the nasty tricks Consumerist warns people about regarding credit cards (always more »

credit card reform

House Passes Credit Card Bill Of Rights... But Senate Is Too Busy With The Bailout

The House of Representatives passed legislation that's commonly known as the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights today, but the bill is expected to be ignored by the Senate while they work on that whole $700 billion bailout thing. More »

4:30 PM on Tue Sep 23 2008
By Meg Marco
5,272 views, 24 comments

Latest by gliscameria: They're going to pass it now that it's useless? Everyone knows their credit score is about to mean nothing, considering the entire system built around credit scores was corrupt and the creditors are broke, so what leverage do the credit card companies have over us? If you don't like your rate, don't more »

badvertising

AIG's "Strength To Be There" Commercials Are Suddenly Hilarious

When Treasure Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, convened a meeting with House and Senate leaders on Capitol Hill last night to discuss giving AIG an unprecedented $85 billion loan, do you think they had a laugh about AIG's commercials? We picture Paulson saying something like, "Ha, ha, ha... 'strength to be there.' That's rich! Rich! Ha! I'm on a roll!" More »

10:42 AM on Wed Sep 17 2008
By Meg Marco
11,187 views, 55 comments

Latest by Wynner3: They aren't the same AIG that does car insurance are they? Those fuckers bought out my insurance agency, 21st Century. I hope they don't screw up my insurance, I don't want to go back to Geico. more »

What Can You Do With $1,000?

It used to be that $1,000 was a good amount of money. Then again, it used to be 1980 once too. More »

3:40 PM on Wed Sep 10 2008
By freemoneyfinance
14,140 views, 121 comments

Latest by DarlingMagpie: $1000 will pay for almost 3 months of my student loan repayments, or almost 2 months of rent. OR, a new laptop since mine has been making unfortunate dying squirrel noises for a month. more »