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  28 Cash-Saving Ways To Get Your House Winter-Ready

  Brrrr! It's getting cold and it's time to get the ol' homestead ready so Jack Frost isn't picking your pocket through your unsealed windows and faulty furnaces. In the comments section on the popular "9 House Fixes To Save $ Before Winter Starts" post you guys left lots of great ideas on how you're getting prepared this winter, so here's 28 of the best of them so we can all learn and save together. More »

  

  3:30 PM on Mon Oct 26 2009
  By Ben Popken
  12,785 views, 124 comments

  Most discussed pecan 3.14159265: Pet people, help me out here. Our rabbit sits in his cage at night and I have no way of telling more »

• windows 7

  5 Legal Ways To Get Windows 7 For Under $120

  Windows 7, Microsoft's big bucket of bugfixes, hits stores tomorrow. If you had enough foresight to take advantage of Microsoft's public beta and pre-order discounts earlier this year, you may already have a cheap version of the new OS. If not, here are a few ways to pick up Windows 7 now, without having to hand over $120, the lowest official price for an upgrade. More »

  

  10:57 AM on Wed Oct 21 2009
  By Marc Perton
  31,240 views, 98 comments

  Most discussed rbb: Where did you find that price at Academic Superstore. Windows 7 Ultimate is $319 or 219 for the upgrade... more »

• videos

  Consumerist Videodrome #1

  It's Consumerist Videodrome #1! Wherein I make several important announcements about new changes coming to the site and show off my new cat. More »

  

  3:19 PM on Thu Oct 15 2009
  By Ben Popken
  4,304 views, 92 comments

• cash4gold

  The Article Cash4Gold Doesn't Want You To Read

  By Ben Popken and Meg Marco

  If you have any broken, ugly jewelry lying around in a drawer somewhere, you've probably taken notice of a company called Cash4Gold that promised to pay "top dollar" for your not-so-precious precious metals. If you're like us, you might have even seen a post on ComplaintsBoard.com by a former employee exposing Cash4Gold.

  The whistleblower's post appeared on ComplaintsBoard last November. We featured it this February, as part of our ongoing coverage of Cash4Gold, after the company raised its public profile with a multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad. The post was indeed written by an ex-employee, Michele Liberis, who is now being sued by the company for defamation. Recently, Cash4Gold added Consumerist and ComplaintsBoard as co-defendants in its lawsuits (PDF) against Liberis and another former employee, Vielka Nephew (PDF), in an attempt to force us to take the information down. Liberis and Nephew have chosen to stand up to Cash4Gold's legal attack, and so have we. More »

  

  1:30 PM on Wed Sep 2 2009
  By Ben Popken
  415,362 views, 422 comments

• interviews

  Identity Theft Hysteria Overblown, Watch Your Debit Card Instead

  If you need the straight story on issues of credit card, debit, and banking fraud and security, something more than "we're taking it seriously," Avivah Litan, VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner research is your go-to-gal. I recently interviewed her over the phone about consumers can protect themselves in an era where just keeping your mother's maiden name a secret doesn't cut the mustard. I learned that you can buy a credit card number for a few cents, losing your Social Security Number is NOT the most dangerous fraud that is likely to happen to you, and how Obama's helicopter plans got stolen thanks to P2P music-sharing software... More »

  

  2:17 PM on Thu Jul 16 2009
  By Ben Popken
  13,944 views, 50 comments

  Most discussed pax: Was this article edited at all before it was published? Run-on sentences, lack of punctuation... It's fine for an interview more »

• consumer culture

  Top 10 Ironic Ads From History

  Remember when you could buy barbiturates for the baby? Cover your house with asbestos? Or get heroin from the doctor? Okay, probably not, but thanks to the immortal beauty of advertising, you can take a trip back in time. Here's our pick of some of the most ironic ads in American history.
  More »

  

  12:07 PM on Thu Jul 2 2009
  By McLaren and Torchinsky
  238,643 views, 154 comments

  Most discussed Cant_stop_the_rock: Believe it or not, I don't think I'm ready to laugh about the World Trade Center attacks just yet. more »

• videos

  Recap: Ben & Meg Interview Obama Administration On Credit Card Reform

  Here, catch all of our interview with Austan Goolsbee breaking down why the credit card reform act was needed. If you missed any of the clips, here's is the four-part series in its entirety... More »

  

  2:21 PM on Fri May 22 2009
  By Ben Popken
  5,159 views, 36 comments

  Most discussed dubgee: Meg is hot more »

• snuggie

  Video: Consumer Reports Tests The Snuggie

  We can yuck it up all we want about The Snuggie meme, but how does "the blanket with sleeves!" stand up to Consumer Reports rigorous testing procedures? In this delightful and informative video, Meg Marco and Ben Popken journey to the Consumer Reports labs to find out the straight dope on the fleecy wonder that has captivated the nation. More »

  

  11:54 AM on Thu May 21 2009
  By Ben Popken
  89,427 views, 126 comments

  Most discussed wgrune: I would like to see a comparison test between a Snuggie and a bathrobe worn backwards. more »

• videos

  Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform: Part 4 of 4

  The final installment of our 4-part interview on credit card reform with Austan Goolsbee, President Obama's senior economic adviser. In this one we say, hey, what about mandatory binding arbitration? More »

  

  10:47 AM on Wed May 20 2009
  By Ben Popken
  2,854 views, 24 comments

  Most discussed Bladefist: Obama doesn't need a credit card, he prints his money more »

• videos

  Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform: Part 3 of 4

  Are credit cards set up like a horrible game of Chutes & Ladders that plays for keeps? In the 3nd of our 4-part interview series with President Obama's Senior Economic Adviser, Austan Goolsbee, on credit card reform, we ask why credit card companies can raise the APR on stuff you already charged, and go into some of the credit card companies' anti-consumer tricks like liquid and fickle terms and conditions, penalty fees that aren't trying to discourage behavior anymore, they're just pure profit, and teeny-tiny contracts written in "Bank-o-nese." More »

  

  10:12 AM on Tue May 19 2009
  By Ben Popken
  2,342 views, 10 comments

  Most discussed PersonalResponsibility: ...Still waiting for even one hardball question here. Just one that doesn't ask him to spin the political propaganda. It isn't more »

• videos

  Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform: Part 2 of 4

  In the 2nd of our 4-part interview series with President Obama's Senior Economic Adviser, Austan Goolsbee, on credit card reform, we ask, what about the kids? Specifically, what is this bill going to do about those guys giving away shirts on campus in exchange for signing up for credit cards? Because these seems a really great service for college students, who, as we know, frequently go shirtless. Also, how one side of the debate on credit cards is essentially arguing that if you didn't want to get carjacked you should have taken the bus... because an honest business model and a profitable one needn't be mutually exclusive. More »

  

  1:40 PM on Mon May 18 2009
  By Ben Popken
  3,905 views, 32 comments

  Most discussed badhatharry: Ben, why does your jacket have an extra pocket? more »

• videos

  Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform: Part 1 of 4

  We took your credit card reform questions to DC yesterday and interviewed Austan Goolsbee, senior economic adviser to President Obama. In part 1 of our 4-part series, we ask how are banks getting billions in bailouts and can turn around and cut off millions of credit cards and raise rates? How does it make sense that credit card companies can raise the interest rate on an existing balance? And, most importantly, why don't we treat credit cards more like Canadians do cigarettes? More »

  

  3:16 PM on Fri May 15 2009
  By Ben Popken
  4,410 views, 22 comments

  Most discussed DanGarion: FYI, only reason I bring this up, is it seems to happen a lot, that I see a post, and more »

• videos

  Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee About Credit Card Reform: Part 1 of 4

  

  We took your credit card reform questions to DC yesterday and interviewed Austan Goolsbee, senior economic adviser to President Obama. In part 1 of our 4-part series, we ask how are banks getting billions in bailouts and can turn around and cut off millions of credit cards and raise rates? How does it make sense that credit card companies can raise the interest rate on an existing balance? And, most importantly, why don't we treat credit cards more like Canadians do cigarettes? More »

  

  3:15 PM on Fri May 15 2009
  By Ben Popken
  5,371 views, 59 comments

  Most discussed Zclyh3: gn. Mg lks ht! nd n tht's nt why cm t ths st. ND YS dntd lrdy. more »

• internet marketing

  Easy Weight Loss And Free Cash: A Dubious Product Online Marketing Empire Revealed

  I started out looking at the advertising and affiliate practices of one company, CreditReport America, and learned that the company that owns this site apparently produces a solid majority of the ads on the Web that annoy me.

  Meet Just THINK Media of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, and their online empire of dubious products. Magic weight loss tea, free government grants, acai and red wine pills, colon cleanser, free credit reports...if there are incessant ads for it everywhere on the Web, they probably sell it. More »

  

  8:00 AM on Wed May 13 2009
  By Laura Northrup
  6,604 views, 35 comments

• insiders

  Top 10 Reasons Your Chargeback Will Be Denied

  A reader who works in the chargeback section of a major credit card company has just about had enough with people tossing around "chargeback! chargeback!" as the solution to every customer service problem. While it is a great tool, you gotta make sure you use it right. To help you do that, here's our credit card company insider's guide to the top 10 reasons why your chargeback will get rejected. More »

  

  8:00 AM on Wed May 6 2009
  By Ben Popken
  29,100 views, 116 comments

  Most discussed Felix the Cat: I don't recall ever getting declined for any chargeback, but then I don't misuse the system and if I had more »

• saving money

  112 Ways To Save Money

  

  You guys are some thrifty freakazoids. We asked you to submit your money-saving secrets and you dumped like 35 elephants on our heads in comments and emails. We've trimmed that down to 112 . Here they are! Enjoy your savings. More »

  

  3:15 PM on Mon Apr 13 2009
  By Ben Popken
  43,399 views, 450 comments

  Most discussed pecan 3.14159265: Can anyone explain the mason jar in the toilet thing? How does that work? And I'm not getting how buying mitts more »

• credit scores

  Four Unexpected Situations Where Bad Credit Hurts

  If you aren't planning on getting a big loan in the next couple of years, you probably shouldn't be worried about your credit score right? Wrong. More »

  

  2:32 PM on Sun Feb 15 2009
  By Bargaineering.com
  34,376 views, 61 comments

• credit scores

  Debunking Five Credit Score Myths

  Your credit score. It's amazing how one little score can have such an impact on our finances and how misunderstood that number can be. We'll debunk five common myths about it right here, right now. More »

  

  10:01 AM on Sat Jan 24 2009
  By Bargaineering.com
  20,573 views, 46 comments

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