Our sister blog at ConsumerReports.org notes that “current salmonella outbreak caused by tainted peanuts could drag on for as long as two years,” according to the FDA. The Peanut Corp of America may be history, but because peanut butter has such a long shelf life, and because they’re still adding products to the recall list, there may be food items lurking in pantries across the U.S. that are loaded with disease-causing peanuty badness.
advice
By 2.27.09
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Great idea from reader CumaeanSybil: “One thing I’ve been doing lately: every time I buy something on sale, I take the difference from regular price and put it in savings. It keeps me motivated to seek out sale prices and coupons, because I like seeing that account grow.”
Budget Slaps Customer With $500 Repair Fee Months Later
By 2.23.09
When Sean returned a rented truck to Budget Truck Rental nearly a year ago, he went through the standard inspection with an employee, who then signed off on the return. Now the company has sent a $500 bill to collection for damage they refuse to provide evidence of.
Exploding The Myth Of The Bad Credit Card Customer
By 2.19.09
Too often, when we post about undeserved credit card rate hikes, a few readers will justify the credit card company’s actions by pointing out that the OP is, in pure business terms, a bad customer. If you’re a consumer, this is the worst way to visualize your business relationship with your credit card company. Here’s why.
Is Suze Orman Nothing But A Lying Shill?
By 2.11.09
Slate’s James Scurlock has some harsh words for Suze Orman. He says she’s a liar who is more interested in shilling cruises and luxury car leases than anything else.
How A CEO Can Live On $500K A Year
By 2.10.09
Private school: $32,000 a year per student. Mortgage: $96,000 a year. Co-op maintenance fee: $96,000 a year. Nanny: $45,000 a year. We are already at $269,000, and we haven’t even gotten to taxes yet.
Ten Ways To Take $100 Off Your Cable Bill
By 2.5.09
Adam from Free Press sent us his tips for lowering his cable bill. Using these strategies, Adam reduced his monthly bill from $190 to $90, and added three movie networks, a sports package, and two additional boxes.
Don't Draw Genitalia As Your Signature When Paying Via Credit Card
By 2.3.09
After accidentally scribbling nonsense on a verification screen and seeing that it didn’t trigger any alerts, Kingpin at DrunkRepublic decided to start goofing around with his signature when using his credit card. It led to some fun times for a while. Then it backfired. (Warning: the image after the jump is cartoonishly NSWF in a Comcast-at-the-Superbowl sort of way.)
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur Urges Squatting In Foreclosed Homes
By 2.3.09
Last week I was watching Lou Dobbs while scrubbing my dentures and complaining about joint pain (two of those things are true, sadly), and I saw a segment on Ohio congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, who is encouraging homeowners to stay put in their foreclosed houses. She argues that many of the loans made during the subprime fiasco may not be legit, and that you should seek legal counseling and demand a mortgage audit from the bank before leaving. Kaptur admits her advice doesn’t trump the sheriff knocking at your door with an eviction notice, but a real estate lawyer told the Toledo Blade that otherwise she has a point.
Anti-Fraud Websites Emerging To Fight 'Massive Ignorance'
By 2.3.09
The website Scam Victims United warned its readers about last week’s arrested ponzi schemer, Nick Cosmo, nearly four months ago, based on a visit one of its forum members made to Cosmo’s office. Reuters points out that this site and others like it—Fraud Aid and Scam Warners, for example—are enjoying healthy traffic spikes right now, which is great news in the fight against fraud.
Watch Out For Supermarket Price Spikes
By 2.2.09
A penny-pinching reader discovered that Giant Eagle—a supermarket chain that heavily promotes a savings club where you earn slight discounts on gas—has some jacked up soup prices, especially on their private label. Remember, if you’re not comparison shopping among local supermarkets, you can expect easy-to-miss price spikes like this one to wipe out any savings you thought you were getting.
By 1.28.09
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Save money by polishing your shoes with a banana. Monkeys have been doing it for millennia. [Huffington Post] (Thanks to daveburdick !)
How To Tell If A 'Business Opportunity' Is A Multi-Level Marketing Scheme
By 1.26.09
Kevin’s been invited to his friend’s house to hear about a great new business opportunity! He writes, “I did a quick Google search and… while the company appears to be legit, it seems that their way of marketing their products [is] almost pyramid scheme in nature.” The problem for Kevin, and anyone else researching this sort of thing, is it can be hard to tell how much you should trust any specific page of reviews or feedback. Here’s a clear 5-step evaluation to determine whether or not the next big thing is really a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme.
The Secrets Of Liquidation Sales
By 1.23.09
CNN Money has posted an informative article about what happens at liquidation sales. Some of the people quoted are fairly critical, but even the liquidation company execs that are quoted admit that a liquidation sale doesn’t exist for the benefit of the consumer. Here are the highlights.
Understanding Circuit City's "End Of Days" Return Policy
By 1.19.09
Returning something to Circuit City? All sales are final during the liquidation, but if you bought it between January 1st and the 16th, you have a 14-day return window. However, if you bought it before January 1st, the original 30-day policy still applies. Your cashier might not know this, though, and try to deny the return. That’s what happened to Jason today when he tried to return a hard drive.
Which Financial Gurus Are Worth Listening To?
By 1.16.09
We’ve already noted that author Eric Tyson believes Jim Cramer’s stock advice is worse than a coin toss. Now Tyson takes on the advice of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki. In summary, Tyson berates Kiyosaki’s disdain for mutual funds and refutes many of the arguments Kiyosaki uses to favor real estate over them. Tyson also points to a larger review of Kiyosaki’s teachings that is, shall we say, less than complimentary.
Oprah & Orman Give Out Free Book: "2009 Action Plan"
By 1.8.09
“Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan” is free to download from Oprah.com for the next week. Unlike last year’s “Women & Money,” this book is intended for pretty much everyone. We haven’t read it, so here’s a line from the Amazon editorial review: “There are safeguards to put in place, actions to take, costly mistakes to avoid, and even opportunities to be had, so that you are protected during the bad times and prepared to prosper when things take a turn for the better.”
By 1.6.09
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The consistently useful Get Rich Slowly has some New Year’s resolutions for you: 9 Methods for Mastering Your Money in 2009. We especially like methods 3 and 7, as they’re easy fixes that shouldn’t take more than a couple hours to implement.
