SmartHippo
SmartHippo says the mortgage process is too complicated for consumers, with too much data hidden from plain view. Their service focuses on transparency in the home lending process. Imagine everyone in your company trading info on their salaries before the next employee review—HR wouldn't like it, but it would arm you with info you didn't previously have, to better negotiate for yourself. SmartHippo lets users build lending profiles and share information on their mortgage rates and lenders, so that you can compare notes before you settle on a rate of your own. Lenders also have a presence on the site and can share their rates directly.

The service claims to be truly transparent in collecting and sharing data among users—no bait and switch with interest rates. This month, they're rolling out a revamped rate search engine that pulls data from over 200 lenders. They claim that since lenders don't purchase position in their database, it's a great way to see what are frequently better rates from small banks and credit unions that you wouldn't otherwise see, since they don't have large advertising budgets to get the word out to consumers. If you try it out, let us know what you think.

Credit Karma
We’ve previously recommended Credit Karma, which offers a near-FICO estimate of your credit score for free. Their new tool is a Credit Simulator, where you can play out various scenarios—applying for a new credit card, taking out a personal loan, making six months of on-time payments, declaring bankruptcy—to see how they affect your score.

MoneyAisle
This is an online auction site where banks compete for your CD and high yield savings account business. The banks participate in a true reverse auction in real time, using bots to increase rates until a winner emerges. The founder emphasizes that this is not comparison shopping or sponsored bids—it's basically eBay in reverse, where participating banks compete for you.

The site is four months old and has around 100 participating banks and credit unions, so they admit that they don't always have the very best rate, but the number of institutions are increasing. On the other hand, they also don't allow low-rated rated banks to participate, so bids will only come from "healthy" institutions.

Yodlee
Yodlee's new offering is called PayToday through their BillPay partnership with Western Union. Through Yodlee you can pay immediately-due bills (as in, it's due today) with over 1,000 billers. It's not cheap at $15 per use, but it "solves the problem of last-minute payments."

One interesting note if you're into finding weird little ways to save money: Yodlee says if you're paying $5-10k a month on a mortgage payment, making last-minute payments can actually work out cheaper than regular payments, because it buys you a couple days more float time on your funds each month.

Mint
Mint's big news is that it officially left beta today, and that it now offers lots of investment tracking tools.

Thrive from Loudwater Labs
Thrive—which looks a little like a citrus-flavored version of Mint—attempts to combine the data reporting that every personal finance site offers with some level of advice and financial planning. We're not sure how Thrive makes money, though, and when we checked out the question on their FAQ, they didn't provide much info on that either, although they announced yesterday that they've partnered with Credit.com.

Fun features: a numerical "Financial Health" score calculated based on your data, and interesting factoids like "You can survive without a job for n days," "You can afford a home priced at n dollars," and "You can retire on n per month."

BillShrink
We've discussed BillShrink before—the site finds the most valuable credit card offers for you, and lets you adjust your criteria quickly (and anonymously) to search for specific types of offers.

They've launched a third service called My Account, which lets you register with the site so that it can keep tabs on your criteria and keep updating the best offers for you.

Boulevard R
This is a web version of meeting with a financial planner to develop an investing and saving strategy—they describe their offering as a "3-step process that puts the interests of consumers first and lays out a clear, actionable path to financial security." You start off by dragging-and-dropping your life goals onto a timeline of when you hope to accomplish them, then you prioritize some other goals, then input your monthly savings and liabilities. The site then comes up with an animated chart showing what you'll need to do in the coming years to meet those initial goals.

Once the fun interactive part is over, you have two choices: for free, you can receive a financial plan on one of your goals; for $80, you get a comprehensive plan, access to lots of professional advice, and assorted online tools. As you can imagine from the $80 fee, Boulevard is targeting people making approximately $100k a year with roughly $200k in savings. But hey, even if you're not in that customer demographic, you can still play with the initial goal planning widget.

Inner8
A social site that matches people to people, stocks to stocks, your perception of market conditions to stocks, and and people to stocks. (That's how they described it.) They also said it's like a Match.com for investment advice, and sure enough, they use 45 different criteria to develop a profile of you.

In one example, you enter a stock—say, Apple—and you can see stocks that move with Apple, or stocks that run against it. Inner8 says the value is that some of the stocks you'll see will be counterintuitive, but supported by the data and their fuzzy logic. They said "fuzzy logic" several times. Lots of fuzzy logic in this service, apparently.

Another feature lets you see how other people are doing with stock selections, so you can track their choices. Yet another feature shows stocks that are "appropriate" to your profile.

We'll need someone with better investing experience to check out what Inner8 offers and see whether it looks worthwhile as a suite of investment research tools.

Rate Surfer by My Best Interest
Poor Rate Surfer looked old-skool and kind of ugly compared to the other screenshots being shown this morning. Its also Java-based, so, yay for cross-platform compatibility, boo for being slow-assed Java. (My Mac product ownership is revealing itself here.)

The application runs on your desktop and doesn't connect with any company middle-man, so it theoretically offers better privacy than most everything else on display today. (We're not saying better security, just more privacy.) The app downloads your credit card data, then goes out to bank websites and pulls rate info on comparable products, and then collects all of it into one dashboard for you to compare services.

There's no third-party aggregating being involved—it's just scraping bank websites directly and displaying them for you, so if you really don't want to trust third-parties with your accounts, here's a way to do it from your desktop.

The app also lets you control all of your bank accounts from a single interface, and lets you set up a phone account so that you can execute bank transactions—things like balance transfers—from your phone via text message.

MyMoney on Facebook, by FiServ
Their goal: connecting generation Y with financial providers, because they earn a considerable amount of money, and stand to inherit a lot of ca$h from dying Boomer parents. Hey, that's what the guy said, basically. They're here today to talk about a FaceBook app called "MyMoney" that they introduced earlier this year.

If you're shopping for a place to store your money, MyMoney hooks you up with banks and credit unions, based on search criteria you enter—things like "auto loans" or your zip code. It also shares reviews and commentary from trusted friends (the Facebook version, at least) to help you evaluate offerings.

If you already have a bank or credit union account and it's cooperating with the MyMoney app, you can authorize that account through MyMoney and will be able to see balances and other account info directly on your Facebook page.

The credit crisis as Antarctic expedition from Marketplace on Vimeo.

RELATED:
What Are "Collateralized Debt Obligations?" Watch These Champagne Glasses.
Untangling credit default swaps [Marketplace]

Some of you may remember that I am being laid off in four days, and may wonder why I, of all people, have been assigned to do this extra bout of work on behalf of Consumerist. I know, right? But Ben has asked me to watch the presentations and report their new features for you, the readers, so I have agreed. I have ulterior motives: I have also brought along a pile of business cards to pass out, and I figure I can pocket a bunch of these croissants and freeze them, then live off of them through Thanksgiving.

Here's the first group of customer-facing service being discussed this morning:

QuickenOnline
Intuit's fully free (as of yesterday) online money tracking service has been intentionally simplified—their presenter kept emphasizing that this is not supposed to be as dense or complicated as their desktop software. Features include a "What's Left" summary of your dwindling account balance, as well as a cool-looking and potentially very useful "Spending Money Outlook"—a fancy chart that graphs your budget over a timeline and pegs scheduled payments to your balance, so you can visually take in your budget in the weeks to come in a purely graphical representation. They'll also text you daily balance updates and let you know whether or not you're on track to making your payments.

WeSeed
If you're a bit afraid of the stock market—and we don't mean just this past month, because that doesn't count—then you might really appreciate WeSeed, which is basically a giant sandbox where you can play with investments using fake money with real data.

The site pulls you into investing as soon as you hit the site, by asking you what you like—pizza, dogs, survivalism—and then throwing specific companies at you that you might want to investigate. From there you can read about the company, check out its financial history, or see what other users are saying about it in the comments section. We're not sure what value the comments section will have in real life, but the social aspect will probably be a welcome safety net for beginners who want to talk about investing as they learn.

We're impressed with the concept. It will look too simple for knowledgeable investors, but if you've been putting off investing because you don't know what you're doing, it looks like a great immersion-based way to learn. (We have a feeling it will be good for teens and tweens, too.)

Wesabe
Personal finance site Wesabe now has Twitter functionality—you can tweet data into your wesabe account as you're running around buying those dreaded budget-killing lattes financial advisors are always warning you about.

Another new feature Wesabe is rolling out: graphs you can use to see how you spend in particular categories, then compare to how other Wesabe members (they want you to call them "Wesabeans") spend compared to you. Wesabe says over time the community data will build into a library of spending graphs that you can pull up and map your own data against.

Wesabe also lets you rate your relationship to merchants: fan, user, or captive, although I'm not sure yet how this helps your spending.

ZoneAlarm ForceField by Checkpoint Software
Cybercrime is coming after you! Arrrggh!!! "Hooking into your web browser" is a "new thing this year" that's threatening your way of life. Bleyarg, ZoneAlarm's presentation is kind of vague.

ZoneAlarm ForceField has heuristics, which I think are what causes allergic reactions in your nose, that they use to identify phishing sites as soon as they're created—sort of a SpamSieve for phishing sites. FF also watches out for things like keylogging software.

Basically, ForceField looks like an antivirus program specifically for your web browser, which means it will likely be just as intrusive ("We've just stopped 66 MB of data from being spied upon!") and annoying. Until we look more closely at it, we'd suggest your best defense against phishing and scams is to continue being as careful as we hope you're already being.

FiLife
FiLife says their goal is to help find the best products available to you. To do that, they've amassed a vast directory of "product types," and then huge amounts of supporting content to explain the product types and provide reviews and recommendations.

New navigation tool, a "product picker." Their launch product picker is for credit cards: you enter data on your credit card usage patterns and desires, and FiLife filters out the noise and

FiLife also uses proprietary algorithms to come up with a "Personal Value" of the selected product—for instance, credit card A has a personal value to you of $84. We don't fully get it how that translates into real money for you, but it definitely works as a sort of score you can use to quickly compare choices.

Another fun toy is the Stacker, a graphical representation of your personal data. In the example given, you can enter your salary and your age range, and the Stacker reveals a pyramid of little animated people and shows where you stand among your peers or the nation. It looks like a fun way to explore your own personal data and gain a different perspective on things.

And that's the first batch. Off to grab some more croissants, and then we'll hear from the next batch of presenters.

WooHoo! I got a job! Right out of college and everything. With an awesome sign-on bonus! Now what am I supposed to do with all this money? I know I have options. Stock Market (HA!), bank, and under my pillow. I would put it in the bank but I have a wedding coming up in less then a year to pay for and I want to know my options for making good quick investments. Please help!

Here's what I say:

Since you need the money so quickly, what you need to do is preserve your capital and get a little interest to boot. Your best bet is probably a 6-12 month CD from an FDIC-insured bank, depending on how soon you'll need the money for the wedding. Remember that a CD has a set maturation period and there's a penalty for early-withdrawal. So figure out when you need the money and get the CD timed accordingly. You can find which bank has got the best rates at bankrate.com.

Does your company offer a 401k and match contributions? You'll probably want to sign up, but be sure to find out about the expense ratios and fees first, not to mention if you have to be working there for a while before starting one. If there's no matching contributions on the 401k or the expense ratios and fees are a ripoff, then start a Roth IRA.

Start an index fund from a place like Vanguard. Even if you just put a little in there right now, you'll want to get these things going as early as possible. After you get your wedding expenses figured out and spoken for, use the remainder to pay off any debts you may have. After that, get a high-yield online savings account and save up 6 months worth of expenses. Then fully fund your Roth. Still got money leftover? Throw the rest in your index fund.

That's my shot at it. Got a better idea for Aaron? Let us know in the comments.

(Photo: Getty)

Mint
Quicken Online
What's the best software for keeping track of your personal finances? [Slate] (Photo: Getty)

There is now a dedicated website, and your better check it often if you want to beat out the 150,000 strong mob to win a snazzy hotel room. At least that is what Leading Hotels apologizer-in-chief Ted Tang said in what he promises will be the final update:

Dear Internets,

I would like to once again express my gratitude for your continued support, understanding, and patience with The Leading Hotels of the World. Since October 1, we have explored and evaluated many solutions to the technological failures encountered during the online USD 19.28 Sale.

I am delighted to inform you that today we selected Akamai Technologies, Inc., the world premier web content delivery network, with clients such as Yahoo, Travelocity, and Amazon. Together we are working diligently to finalize a new procedure whereby you, as well as the other 150,000 registrants, will have a chance to secure one of the originally allotted 6,000 room nights that are available at the rate of USD 19.28.

In developing a fair and foolproof platform, we have been faced with various considerations. Timing - both on the developmental front as well as for your trip-planning purposes - has proven to be our major and foremost concern. We chose to preserve the hotel availability dates, which in most cases began on November 1, as to not delay the promotion by several months. We also opted to maintain the promotion on a first-come, first-served basis. To make the offer a random selection or lottery would significantly delay the re-launch due to complicated international regulations. Lastly, we wanted to ensure successful communication to registrants in a prompt manner. We are now confident that, with Akamai, we have found a solution that addresses all of these challenges.

Please note that you will not be receiving any further emails, rather, we have decided to post all future updates and details on a dedicated website at www.lhw.com/1928status, which will go live on Monday, October 13. This will allow all registrants, throughout the various parts of the globe, simultaneous and equal access to the USD 19.28 updates around the clock. All updates will indicate the date and time of posting. Please know that we have intentionally communicated this website address only to registrants in order not to dilute your chances of securing a reservation at the promotional rate. We will announce the details of the new USD 19.28 promotion, no later than Friday, October 17, which will occur the following week. The sale details will be posted at least 48 hours before the promotion begins.

With thanks,

Ted Teng
President & CEO
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.

Sorry, Ted, for posting the link to the super-secret website. We didn't mean to dilute the contest or anything, but since it's out there now, how about an RSS feed?

Keep checking this site, and by Friday at the latest (maybe sooner! surprise!) we'll find out when the mob gathers next.

1928 Status Page [Leading Hotels of the World]
PREVIOUSLY: Leading Hotels Do-Over Postponed
Do-Over Announced By Leading Hotels Of The World
$19.28 5-Star Hotel Room Promo Ends In Fiasco
Book A World-Class Hotel Room For Only $19.28 Per Night
(Photo: Getty)

Stigma by Association in Coupon Redemption: Looking Cheap because of Others [Journal of Consumer Research] (Photo: Getty)

[via WSJ]

Wall Street Really Needs Relief [Gothamist]

* Sell something — Household possessions, nonretirement investments, heirlooms.
* Cash out — Certificates of deposit, whole life policies.
* Earn more — A second or third job, a side business.
* Hit up Mom and Dad — Ask for a gift, ask them to pay a medical or tuition bill, ask for a loan.
* Borrow smart — Tap home equity, reverse mortgage, hit up friends or other family, consider a social lending site, talk to your credit union or bank about a personal loan, borrow from your 401(k), margin loans, use a credit card advance, pawn-shop loans.

A good list, but the one thing MSN misses is finding extra cash by cutting back on expenses. Here's a quick round up of some decent money saving resources from around the web:

* 301 Posts On Saving Money
* Top 10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money
* 30 Easy Ways to Save Money (and No, you are not doing them all!)
* 75 Painless Money-Saving Tips
* 25 Gadgets That Actually Save Money

Sure, there's a fair amount of overlap among these, but by reviewing them and the initial ideas from MSN, you're sure to find at least a few ways to help you create more cash. And these days, more than ever, cash is certainly king.

The best ways to raise cash fast [MSN Money]

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

(Photo: Getty)

• We have the FDIC. Depositors aren't going to lose a dime. Can't say the same for the shoeboxers, though.
• The Fed is cutting interest rates now, not years down the road.
• The bad loans were made against tangible assets, houses, instead of the more intangible asset of stocks. Equity can dissipate in keystroke, but you can't just vaporize a house.

As Dire as the Times May Seem, History Isn't About to Repeat Itself [WSJ]

• Plug the Money Leaks! You know what they are. The fees you get when you forget to pay your bills. The overdraft fees you get when you forget how much money is in your checking account. The parking tickets you forgot to pay. Get organized!

  Recommended Reading: 10 Stupid Ways That Smart People Waste Money

• Stuff You Just Can't Afford But Are Telling Yourself You Need. These expenses include fancy cable packages, restaurants, gym memberships, and, yes, your expensive new car.

  Recommended Reading: 5 Expenses You Can't Afford If You Have Credit Card Debt

• Bad Grocery Shopping Decisions. There are two kids of people in the world. Coupon people and the rest of us. They're great for some people, but you don't have to use coupons to save money at the grocery store. And, if you do use coupons, but are looking to save even more money, these tips can help you too.

  Recommended Reading: 7 Ways To Save On Groceries Without Using Coupons

• Out Of Control "Information Age" Spending. The Pew Research Center says that after housing, cable and satellite TV service was most frequently cited as a regular household expense (78%), followed by cell phones (74%) and internet service (65%). By contrast, just four-in-ten adults (42%) say they make a car payment and just one-in-four say they make a school tuition payment. How much you spend on these ubiquitous bills matters. Just one generation ago, Americans never had to worry about a high-speed internet bill. That's why it's important to negotiate the best deal possible.

  Recommended Reading: 10 Things We've Learned From 'Confessions of A Wireless Sales Rep'
  How Joe Saved Hundreds Of Dollars Using Confessions Of A Cellphone Sales Rep
  Threatening To Cancel Comcast Saves Man $238.92 Per Year
  Cut $20 Off Your Cable Bill
  Video Tutorial For Escaping Cellphone Without ETF
  How To Get ATT Naked DSL (Redux)
  Shhh! Let's All Get AT&T's Secret Naked DSL

• Psychological Toxic Sludge. You may not think of this as an expense, but it is. Hang ups about your money, or laziness when it comes to dealing with your money is costing you money. The Pew Research center says that 51% of Americans don't use any kind of budget. Well, why the hell not? You need to take a good hard look at your finances and understand them, so you're not constantly overspending. Don't like budgeting? Get over it. Let it go. Use a very, very simple budget. If you feel like you can't even face the mess that is your finances... you are not alone. Everyone has felt that way about something in their lives. But you'll feel better if you just grab the box of papers, dive in, and get going. No, really. You will.

  Recommended Reading:
  Use Snowball Method Spreadsheet To Pay Off Debts
  The Zero Based Budget
  How To Budget With An Irregular Income
  Lyn's 2-Person Budget Spreadsheet
  Never Budgeted Before? Here's Something You Can Do Right Now
  Consumerist's 9-Step Beginner's Budget

  (Photo: msmail )

2. Plan for home ownership. Save for a down payment, then buy what you can afford — not what you love.

3. Have skills. "Everyone's really self-employed. If you work for a company, you just have one client," says Gregg Fisher, 35, founder of Gerstein Fisher, a New York financial-planning firm.. "If they fire you, you're out of business."

4. Give to charity. If you buy things to make yourself feel good, why not donate some money to charity instead. Won't that make you feel good?

5. Know thyself. "Having a firm grasp on your priorities and values is one critical component of a healthy financial life."

6. Know smart people. "Knowing a good tax preparer, financial adviser, attorney and insurance agent can save you untold amounts of money and stress."

You can read the full article here.

We'd also suggest a few more specific steps, like start investing in your retirement and build up an emergency fund that's liquid — 6 months of living expenses in a high interest savings account is great. What else should people do before they're 30?

6 financial milestones before 30 [MSNMoney]
(Photo: AdamOndi )

Six Times It's Easy to Ask for a Discount [Free Money Finance] "Here are some occasions when you're virtually guaranteed a discount just for asking."

Beating the Budget Crunch [Smart Money] "Here are ways to reduce spending in five essential categories — without feeling short-changed."

How Do You Turn Passion into a Career? (And Should You?) [Get Rich Slowly] "How have you figured out what your passion(s) is/are in life, and how have you translated that into a successful career involving your passion(s)?"

Will a freezer save you money? [MSN Money] "With food prices rising, it may be tempting to stock up on sale items for later use. But also consider the initial purchase price of a freezer and the continuing cost of running it."

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: donbuciak)

• You can't lose money investing in bonds.
• Stay-at-home moms or dads need life insurance, too.
• Don't buy a red car — it'll cost more to insure.
• Dollar-cost averaging boosts investment returns.
• The percentage of stock in your portfolio should equal 100 minus your age.

If you're a longtime Consumerist reader, odds are you'll score pretty high, because in the past year alone we've discussed 80-90% of the topics covered in the quizzes. But if you're a new reader—or just bored at work and like to take quizzes—you should check it out and see if you learn something new.

Let us know in the comments how you did on the quiz, and which questions tripped you up. You know, so we can all laugh at you learn from your mistakes.

"Financial Truth or Bunk?" [Kiplinger]
(Photo: Getty Images)

[WSJ] (Photo: dboy)

DANNY: Hi this is Danny, is this [your girlfriend]
BEN: No it's not.
DANNY: Can I speak to [your girlfriend]?
BEN: What company are you representing?
GIRLFRIEND: (in background) I'm not here!
DANNY: (low chuckle) What, are you her husband?
BEN: No. What is this about?
DANNY: This is Danny. I'm calling long distance, from Denver, from blahblahBank. I'm trying to reach [your girlfriend]. She was listed as an associate of Jane Terry (name changed), who I'm trying to get in touch with regarding an important matter.
BEN: There's no [my girlfriend] Terry here.
DANNY: I didn't say [your girlfriend] Terry, sir, I said Jane Terry. I'm trying to get a hold of [your girlfriend], she's over there at uh at [this address]?
BEN: She's not here—
DANNY: —What's your problem, pal? Are you having a bad day?
BEN: I'm having a great day—
DANNY: —Tries to talk over me—
BEN: —And it's about to get a whole lot better because I'm going to stop wasting it on mother******* like you. Don't call here again.

Hung up. Phone rang immediately. Muted.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices act, debt collectors are allowed to contact third parties but only to find out your address, phone number, and where you work. This guy didn't break any rules, there's no law against having being condescending and arrogant.

(Photo (no that's not me): Getty)

12. UNCLEAR ABOUT YOUR FINANCES
Not knowing account balances, monthly expenses, loan interest rates, fees, fines, or contractual obligations.

11. ALWAYS "BORROWING" STUFF
Such as books, pens, or small amounts of money from friends and others, and failing to return them.

10. Poor saving habits
Not planning for taxes, retirement or other not-recurring but predictable items, and then feeling surprised when they come due; a "live for today, don't worry about tomorrow" attitude."

9. SHOP TILL YOU DROP
"Good deals" are literally irresistible; making impulsive purchases; leaving price tags on clothes so they can be returned; not using items you've purchased.

8. HARD TO MAKE BASIC FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS
or personal ones, and/or an inordinate sense of accomplishment when such obligations are met.

7. BUYING ON CREDIT FEELS DIFFERENT
than when paying cash, a feeling of being in the club, of being accepted, of being grown up.

6. LIVING IN DRAMA ABOUT YOUR DOLLAR
Using one credit card to pay another; bouncing checks; always having a financial crisis to contend with.

5. LIVING ON THE EDGE
Living paycheck to paycheck; taking risks with health and car insurance coverage; writing checks hoping money will appear to cover them.

4. INORDINATELY INHIBITED AND EMBARRASSED
in what should be a normal discussion of money.

3. OVERWORKING OR UNDEREARNING
Working extra hours to earn money to pay creditors; using time inefficiently; taking jobs below your skill and education level.

2. RELUCTANT TO CARE AND VALUE YOURSELF
Living in self-imposed deprivation; denying your basic needs in order to pay your creditors.

1. HOPING THAT A WHITE KNIGHT IS JUST GOING TO SWOOP IN AND SAVE YOUR BROKE ASS
A feeling or hope that someone will take care of you if necessary, so that you won't really get into serious financial trouble, that there will always be someone you can turn to.

How did you do? Remember, these are all a question of degree. If you can say definitely, yes, that's me, to seven or more of these, you could have a serious problem.

Signs of Compulsive Debting [Debtor's Anonymous]

If you find yourself in one of those moods where you just “have to have it”, and end up in the store staring at it, talk to yourself about it. List all the reasons you want it (want, not need), and all the reasons you don’t want or need it...

Too pricey, have to dust it, won’t use it that often, no place to put it, don’t have the money, don’t want to use credit card, anything to talk yourself down and get out of there without whatever it was you thought you wanted.

I have done this many times, and it really works. I even sometimes talk myself out of things I thought I really needed, but didn’t, I had something at home that would work, or I just needed it ONE time, or something like that. Try it You’ll Like IT.

Nothing like a little dose of rationality to chase the spendthrifties away. What mind games do you find yourself playing to keep yourself from spending?

(Photo: Getty)

In the middle of a chunk of smaller print explainer next to the signup page, you learn that their name should really be FreeTripleScoreForSevenDays. The deal is you get charged $1 to make sure your credit card works, then you get your credit score from all three bureaus. Starting on or after a 7-day trial, you get charged a $29.95 monthly membership fee for continuous access to your credit score.

So if you cancel ahead of time, you really can get your scores for free. They're of course banking on most people forgetting to cancel. At least then it says you can cancel at any time. I wasn't able to find any online complaints from people saying they had difficulty canceling. I would still check my credit card bills afterwards to make sure they didn't somehow forget to stop billing me... anyone who advertises something as "free" when it so very isn't should not be trusted.

There's also a few less "dangerous" ways to get a free credit score or something like it. CreditKarma.com gives you roughly your TransUnion score for free. MyFico offers an estimator as well. Here's 4 other ways to do it, too.

APPENDIX:

The important part of the FreeTripleScore text:

To activate your trial membership to Privacy Matters 1-2-3 you will be charged/debited a $1.00 refundable processing fee and then you can immediately take advantage of the exciting savings Privacy Matters 1-2-3 has to offer! After your 7-day FREE trial period it’s just $29.95 per month for Privacy Matters 1-2-3. Remember, you can call Privacy Matters 1-2-3 toll-free at 1-877-993-6264 within the first 7 days to cancel, and you will not be charged/debited.

The ad:

PREVIOUSLY: FreeTripleScore.com Will Cost You $30 Per Month

1) They won't let you charge anything on the account the whole time
2) They decrease your credit limit.

Specifically, they decrease your credit limit by the amount you pay over the minimum, plus the 10% they toss you.

Assuming you could get one, seems like doing a 0% balance transfer to another card would be a better option. But if you can't get that and you've got a balance on your Citicard you need help with, it could work for you.

Have you tried the Citi Payment Program? Let us know how it went for you in the comments.

Full scan of the mailer below.

ELSEWHERE:
Citi Cards Payment Partner Program Gives One More Reason To Try 0% APR Balance Transfer [PFblogs]
Super Deal !! Citi cards Payment partner program Get back up to $550 [Fat Wallet]

(Thanks to Santos!)

Haven't seen the movie or read the book. Perhaps there's a selfless reason why she's opening open the frozen credit card. In movieland, that's why we call a "round character."

Also, judging by the trailer, their version of a "comeuppance" is for Becky to pad her resume and land a job at a personal finance magazine, and then fall in love with a wealthy young entrepreneur who shares her love of Prada. (Scene: "Oh my god, you speak Prada?" Their eyes meet. Kismet.)

Tales of money struggle, definitely a ripe area to till. Though I would of course prefer something much more raw and real, and punctures the hoax that you can debt your way to the good life, none of which you're likely to find in a Chic Lit flick.

(Thanks to Toland!)

She writes: "This morning I made my very last payment on $14,300 in credit card debt and a personal line of credit for a home improvement project that was completed a few years ago. I paid it off over the last 20 months thanks to applying some of the stuff I learned at consumerist.com. It was tough. It took discipline, but I did it!

Instead of making a bunch of changes at once, I did things a little over time. It looked something like this. It's maybe not in the order that makes the most sense to a financial planner or in the order that someone else would do things; I just know that it worked for me.

MONTH 1: NEGOTIATING BETTER CREDIT CARDS RATES:
I called every single credit card company and tried to negotiate for a lower rate. I was successful with a lot of them. In once case the rate went from 14% to 7.99%. If they would not lower the interest rate, I politely thanked them and then transferred those balances onto lower rate cards. I canceled each card as it was paid off.

RELATED CONSUMERIST POST: Sample Script To Get Your Credit Card Rate Lowered

MONTH 2: GO CASH-ONLY:
I cut up every single card except one for emergencies. I actually put my remaining credit card in a big plastic cup full of water and stuck it in the freezer. That way, I'd really have to work at it to get that card. Cash only was the rule. If I did not have the cash, I did not need it. It's still in the freezer 20 months later.

RELATED CONSUMERIST POST: Paying Cash-Only, Family Spends $1,800 Less

MONTH 3: START DEBT-SNOWBALL:
It really works. I first heard about this method on consumerist and set myself up to pay off the lowest balances first. I used an Excel spreadsheet I downloaded here. I liked this one because it was easy to add extra one-time payments. I know that it would probably save me more money to pay off the higher interest rates first, but it was very, very satisfying to get stuff paid and DONE with. I cannot even begin to explain how highly motivating it was to finally pay something off. It was worth whatever little amount extra it cost me extra to pay the smallest balances off first. It makes for that good "light at the end of the tunnel" feeling. I also set up automatic payments on payday through the online bill pay to make this a seamless process. For the first couple of months, I just started off with just $50 extra because that's all I could afford. Once I started living more frugally, I applied more to the snowball.

Make extra payments to the snowball. They really do help, no matter how small. Every single extra penny that came my way went toward paying down the debt. At the end of the month, if I had anything left over in any of the budget categories, I immediately applied that as an extra payment. The nice thing about online bill pay is that it's just so easy to make as many payments as you want. Sometimes it was $100, sometimes it was $10 or even $3 one month, but every little bit helps. I purchased a printer that was almost free after rebate and applied the rebate to the debt. I did a few side jobs helping a caterer do some prep work; I sold some books on half.com, cleaned out my garage and made $300 from a yard sale, grandma sent me money for my birthday and Christmas, you get the idea. The point is, every single extra penny went right to the debt.

RELATED CONSUMERIST POST: Use Snowball Method Spreadsheet To Pay Off Debts

MONTH 4: SET UP BUDGET:
I made a budget and figured out where exactly my money was going.

RELATED CONSUMERIST POST: On The Money's Budget Calculator Helps Guide Your Monthly Spending

MONTH 5: CUT BACK EXPENSES:
I figured out what I could cut back on or go without. Not only did I figure out what I was giving up would save me I also diligently applied that amount to the snowball. It also really helps to figure out what something is costing you per year. I had no idea I was spending $600 a year just on manicures!

Here's what I gave up:

Cable TV. Got a cheap netflix plan and a roku player instead. Savings: $17/month, $204 a year
Land line phone. Savings: $27/month, $324/year
Gardener. Savings: $40/month, $480/year
Got slower DSL. Savings: $10/month, $120/year
Manicures. Did my own. Savings: $50/month, $600/year
Public Radio Membership. Sorry KQED and KALW, but I have to come first right now. I'll continue to support you later. Savings: $11/month, $132/year
Gym Membership. Savings: $30/month, $360/year
Lunches at work. Savings: $120 month, $1440/year
Starbucks. Savings: $60/month, $720/year

Total extra towards snowball: $365/month, $4,380/year.
Just like that.

RELATED CONSUMERIST POST: 5 Expenses You Can't Afford If You Have Credit Card Debt

MONTH 6:
I worked on cutting my spending in other ways.

I am an avid reader and I realized one of my biggest expenditures was new books. I gave up my Amazon habit and switched to the library. My local library allows you to browse the catalog online and request books be sent to the branch of your choice. I work 2 blocks from a branch so I just picked up things there. I also used paperbackswap.com, bookmooch.com and swaptree.com to give books I no longer wanted and in return get books I wanted. It only cost me the price of shipping books to other users via media mail. I saved unknown hundreds and hundreds of dollars by making this simple switch.

For example, in September, I spent $36 on postage to send out used books, books that would otherwise just be sitting around and in return I received about $300 worth of books had I bought them new at retail price. For those who are into DVDs and CDs, swapadvd.com and swapacd.com are also awesome sites. (Other than being a member, I'm not affiliated with any of those sites)

I stopped buying anything new. If I really, really needed something, I would ask first on freecycle http://www.freecycle.org/ and search craigslist for used items for sale. For example, my hairdryer stopped working about 6 months ago. Instead of running out to buy a new one, I posted an "Item Wanted" listing on the yahoo group and had a new and FREE hair dryer within 24 hours.

Food Budget: I ate the kind of things I normally eat; I just made some simple substitutions. I ate at home instead of eating out. I brought my lunch to work instead of eating out, but I did let myself eat out on Payday Friday. I used coupons and only bought very small amounts of perishable items so there was no waste. I stocked up on items like toilet paper when there was a really good sale, but was careful not to buy too many perishables. Nothing went to waste. I gave up paper towels and used rags instead. I shopped at the grocery outlet instead of Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck)

Instead of buying new clothes (except for bras, panties and socks) I shopped for things at thrift and consignment stores.

I know it sounds like I gave a lot of stuff up, but I don't see it that way - I kept thinking about what I was GETTING instead, which is freedom from debt. I still gave myself a small budget for entertainment and frugal dining out once in awhile, and please, nothing could induce me to give up my hairdresser!

You'd be surprised how much you can actually do for FREE if you just look around.

Free Theatre: Lots of theatres need volunteer ushers. You work in the theatre for an hour or so before the show, maybe stuffing envelopes or something. You help seat people before the show and then you get to see the show for free. You often get good seats too. I saw 3 or 4 free show a month this way. You often have to wear black
slacks or skirt and a white shirt, but that's a small price to pay for free theatre.

Artist's receptions: You get to mingle and talk with people, see some (hopefully) lovely and interesting art, plus get fed wine and cheese.

I also used squidlist to find cheap and free things to do.

HOW IT FEELS
I was disciplined and determined and I did it! Thank you consumerist! As of today I am debt free (except for my thankfully low fixed-rate mortgage) and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my mind. My spirit feels lighter. I am FREE. I am doing a happy dance! My plan is to continue to live frugally and start building up a savings
now. I will never, ever be in that much debt again. I never want to feel the stress an anxiety of owing so much.

Oh yeah, all during this time, I also put just $40 per month away into a savings account (ING) which I set up as an automatic $20 deduction every payday. I now have $800 to spend guilt-free and after 20 months I'm ready for a vacation. So, as my prize for getting debt free, I just booked a $295 flight to Cancun a bit later in October. I really deserve this vacation for a job well done and best of all? It's NOT going on a credit card.

Thanks, consumerist!

-trixare4kids"

Excellent work! We're proud of you, trixare. You really buckled down and make the right decisions to aggressively attack your debt. For anyone who's in debt, even if you just adopt a few things, there's a lot in here to get you further down the path towards true financial freedom.

(Photo: lemonjenny)

Credit card companies know that cash-strapped consumers are likely to start tapping their unused credit cards, and possibly default on the payments, so they're cutting off lines of credit for inactive accounts. Cynthia and her husband, who say they both have "excellent credit scores" and "use their credit wisely," came back from vacation to find three Citicards canceled due to inactivity. The last time they used them was last holiday season, and the cards had $14,500 in credit available on them.

While the credit card companies are completely within their rights, cutting off lines of credit can bring down people's credit scores because it decreases their amount of available credit, a factor in your FICO. And while closing inactive cards has always happened, the pace and scope has greatly increased in response to economic downturn. "I had read in the news that this would be a tactic credit card companies would be using, but I was surprised at how quick it actually happened," said Cynthia.

(Photo: yksin)

Budget Calculator [CNBC]

1. Gather names of at least three planners.
2. Screen for credentials.
3. Understand how the planner is paid.
4. Do a background check.
5. Ask tough questions.
6. Listen to their questions.

As far as advice goes, this is pretty good in our book. However, we still prefer the DIY approach to personal finances, especially for the basics. The principles that will get you well ahead of the pack are simple to understand (a smart sixth grader can grasp most of them), so if you have the discipline to make them work, why not invest a bit of time and become your own financial planner? You can always call in the "experts" for more complicated issues and questions. But no one will look out for your financial interests better than you will. That's why the best financial planner is most often the person you see in the mirror.

How to Find a Financial Planner [US News]

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: Getty)

My brother went to the bank last Friday to talk to the branch manager about his situation which I emailed you about 2 weeks ago. The bank reported the check as fraud, not my brother. His account was cancelled because it was opened with a bad check, and he was charged $10 for depositing a bounced check. There was nothing that was entered as a negative mark on his credit report, and the case is pretty much closed.

The manager even went so far as to type up and sign a memo explaining that it was not my brothers fault and that there should be nothing against him on his credit report.

The Wachovia branch manager also offered to open a new account for him.

So, phew! None of the bad things that could have happened to Fred's brother actually happened, like:

• The bank could have pressed fraud charges against him.
• He could have been reported to the FBI.
• A report could have been sent to Chexsystems and made it hard for him to get a new bank account or keep his new one.

PREVIOUSLY: Always Look A Gift Check In The Mouth (Photo: Getty)

(Photo: darkmatter)

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:

To pay off your debt you will need one, a method, and two, a madness. First, pick a method: Snowball, or Highest-Interest First.

SNOWBALL
1. Commit yourself to making the minimum monthly payment on all debts
2. Figure out what extra amount you have in your budget to put towards debt repayment
3. Take your lowest amount bill
4. Pay the minimum plus the extra on that bill until it is paid off
5. After it's paid off, put all the money you were putting towards that bill to the next lowest bill
6. Repeat until out of debt

HIGHEST INTEREST FIRST
Do the same thing as above, except choose your debt with the highest interest first.

PROS, CONS: Many people find the snowball method to be the more psychologically gratifying. The highest-interest first method will result in you paying off the debt faster and at a lower cost. If you get depressed about your debts and it demotivates you from paying it off, the snowball method might be better to go with if it keeps you on track better.

NOTE: It's important to make sure you're current with all your lenders. This means making regular payments and not dodging their letters and calls. They're not just going to go away like a CD-of-the-month-club, they, or the shady debt collectors they sell your debt to, will keep after you until you pay up or declare bankruptcy. If you don't have enough to make the minimum payment, try calling and negotiating for a lower one. They're willing to work with you if your payments are regular and scheduled and lower than if they're getting no money at all.

HANDY TOOL: Whichever method you use, this free Excel spreadsheet can help. Just enter your credit cards, their balance, and interest rate. Then enter your required minimum monthly payments and the maximum possible amount you could put towards it, based on your budget. Select which style of repayment you want, such as snowball or highest interest first. The program then spits out an effective payoff strategy. It calculates how much interest and the total you'll end up paying, and how long it will take to get out of debt.

THIS IS SPARTA!

The deeper you're in, the more hardcore you need to be about getting out. This is the "madness" to your "method". Suffer, cut back, say no. For instance, you can cut up the credit cards and go cash only. Sell extra things around the house and use the money to pay off debts. Sell the car and get a beater, or a bicycle. Take on a second job or work longer hours. Maybe you even have to move back in with your parents while you pay off your debts. Whatever it takes, attack your debt like a hungry wolf. Intensity is the number one difference between those who become truly free and escape debt slavery, and those left staring out the prison bars.

Share your stories about struggling with debt in the comments.

(Photos: samwilkinson.org, kamshots)

14 useless insurance policies [Bankrate] "Here are 14 policies you can probably scale back — or live without."

How to find meaningful work [Brazen Careerist] "You can push papers for multinational conglomerates and feel like you're doing good for the world. Here's how."

5 Top Green Jobs [Hotjobs] "In-demand jobs that make green industries go."

Your 401(k): A Vested Interest [Yahoo Finance] "Should I still invest in my 401(k) knowing that I will not receive any employer matching?"

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: donbuciak)

Dear Ben Popken,

Thank you so much for your continued patience with The Leading Hotels of the World. We are extremely sorry for the inconveniences we have caused and regret to advise you that the USD 19.28 email promotion scheduled for tomorrow October 2nd shall be postponed.

Although our original back-up plan provided a viable solution for the 150,000 people who were registered, it was met with some confusion over submission procedures and timing. In addition, we have become increasingly concerned that a large number of non-registered respondents plan to submit forms which would inundate the system and greatly diminish your chances of securing a USD 19.28 rate.

In view of this, please do not email your form tomorrow. You will most likely receive an error message we have put in place as a safety mechanism.

We are sincerely committed to restoring your faith in our brand and do not want to risk disappointing you again. We are working tirelessly to develop a solution that will be fair for you and all registered participants. We will email you next week with further details.

Sincerely,

Ted Teng
President & CEO
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.

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