fees
Via
U.S. PIRG, we came across
this AP article on the enormous fees that businesses are charging consumers. After noting how much Americans pay in unnecessary fees (e.g., $14.6 billion in credit card fees last year), the author lists twenty easily trimmed fees. Our favorites, inside.
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frugality
Do you stop and pick up
change that you find on the ground? No? Well, if you did — how much money do you think you could collect? Marketplace Money talked to some people who make change hunting a hobby — and they say every penny is worth stopping for.
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Michale's
Hayden wanted to buy a $4 wood plaque for his mother as part of a last-minute birthday gift, but Michael's wouldn't accept 16 quarters as payment. "It's store policy not to accept change," a cashier explained, forcing an embarrassed Hayden to borrow a few bucks from his younger sister.
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student loans
Two readers have forwarded us a second email sent out by
Citibank today, but it's not another
vaguely worded PR blast from the CEO. Instead, this one announces that Citibank is adopting the zero-tolerance approach to late payments favored by the credit card industry—miss a payment due date and you'll lose any interest rate discount(s) you currently enjoy.
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banks
Two
readers wrote in with similar complaints: each had left a small overpayment on his credit account, and instead of leaving the balance or issuing a check, the bank zeroed out the balance and pocketed the money. Apparently, banks are now treating small balances like tips.
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money
Our beloved U.S. Mint has apparently
redesigned the dollar coin to feature a rotating slate of Presidents. Each President gets a three-month stint on the coin. On Thursday, James Madison, our 4th Chief Executive, took his rightful place on the golden slab - but nobody seemed to care. Why?
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no change for you
Reader Anthony says he paid for his movie ticket with "$8 and some change." The transaction resulted in
AMC owing Anthony a nickel.
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target
According to one Target employee, Target doesn't accept "just
change." You must have bills, or you do not get your stuff. Reader Mike went to Target with a bunch of change in his pocket. He didn't feel like using an ATM, and the item he was at Target to purchase cost less than 5 dollars, so he figured he would pay with change. He figured wrong.
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coinstar
When Karen griped about Coinstar, I came clean: I love those guys. Without the chipper green Coinstar machine at my local Stop 'N' Shop, I never would have managed to keep my brain pickled with booze through pretending to earn a philosophy degree at a major ivy league school. Any service that allows me to empty the contents of my vacuum cleaner bag into a slot and walk away with cold, hard cash gets kudos from me.
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Consumerist
cash
