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The hot new financing trend that’s taking the mortgage industry by storm: 30-year fixed mortgages! [Bankrate]
BLOGS
"You're Switching My Apartment to Comcast? I'm Moving Out"
By 11.15.07
Last week the apartment complex I live in near Greenbelt, Maryland, sent a letter stating that starting January 1, 2008, Comcast will be the only Internet service available for residents. That’s reason enough for me to move.
How To Not Get Scammed At Live Auctions
By 11.15.07
Should you ever venture into a live auction, you know, gavel, real chairs that you sit in, etc, Consumerama has some tips on auctioneer scams to watch out for. Let’s say the price drops to $300, and three hands shoot up. By law, he’s supposed to just accept one bid at $300 and move on, but:
ABCDEs Of Cutting Down Debt
By 11.14.07
No Credit Needed offers these “ABCDEs” for getting yourself out of debt.
Save Up For Purchases Using Replacement-Planning
By 11.13.07
These days, when some people want to buy stuff, they whip out the plastic. For life’s emergencies, this is sometimes unavoidable (if you don’t have an emergency fund), but there’s some items you know will need to be replaced and you have a decent idea of when. In those cases, Bankrate writes, you can borrow a technique used by condo-associations called replacement planning. To wit:
Skybus Executives' Phone Numbers And Email Addresses
By 11.13.07
Travel troubleshooter Chris Elliot published contact info for five top Skybus executives. Skybus is the new zero frills super cheap airline. One of the ways they save money is by having no phone numbers for customers to call. They want you to just send an email. But by the emails that Elliot is getting, it looks like Skybus isn’t even reading those. We’d be happy to loan out one of our email interns if they’re short of manpower. Barring that, the contact info can help you send you Skybus complaint to a real human being.
10 Black Friday Secrets Stores Don't Want You To Know
By 11.12.07
Black Friday is coming. That’s the day after Thanksgiving when retailers start their Christmas shopping price drops. The basic idea is to whip consumers into a buying frenzy with a few deals and specials and limited inventories, and use the ensuing madness to also offload crappy products they couldn’t otherwise move. You can come out with a deal, but you gotta know the tricks. Mike Elgin has got 10 of them, we like: [More]
By 11.12.07
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“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes.” – Warren Buffet. [via Money Crashers]
Dial Full Force Soap Bars Now 10% Smaller
By 11.11.07
The latest installment of quietly shrinking packages arrives care of Dial’s Full Force Soap Bar. Once 4.5 ounces per bar, Dial now packs a mere 4 ounces of sudsy splendor.
Downsizing is a sneaky way to pass on a price increase because you are getting less for your money but may not catch the change. As is typical for many downsized products, the manufacturer diverts your attention from the net weight statement to something else “new”. In this case, they are calling it a “new grip bar” because ridges have been carved into it.
Soap bars are supposed to shrink in the shower, not on the shelf.
Vote For Gizmodo For Best Technology Blog
By 11.8.07
Our brother blog Gizmodo is in the running for Best Technology Blog in the 2007 Weblog Awards, neck and neck with Engadget. Do you really want an AOL-owned blog to win? Gizmodo breaks all sorts of cool technology news hot and fast and is always a fun read. We know you like clicking buttons so go over here and click the one next to Gizmodo. Apparently if you don’t they won’t let these kittens out of their cups. Voting ends today.
Know Your Passenger Rights When Flying In Europe
By 11.8.07
If you’re flying in Europe, considering printing a copy of this consumer rights document (PDF) and putting it in your wallet. It’s “Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004,” but all you need to know is that it stipulates what airlines have to do when flights are canceled, delayed, or they lose your luggage. Like in America, they don’t have to give you jack if the delays are due to weather. Airfarewatchdog Blog has a good breakdown of what the rules mean.
Get Last Minute Holiday Travel Deals
By 11.8.07
FareCompare found some late-breaking deals good for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel. The deals are on specific routes. If you can be flexible with your dates, there’s savings to be found. You must book at least 7 days in advance, and at least 14 is preferable. Even Johnny-come-latelys can to grandma’s house go.
Reader Run Over By Bus That Slammed Doors In His Face
By 11.7.07
UPDATE: Here is the full video of the incident (32 MB, ZIP).
Comcast Mole Starts Blog
By 11.7.07
The Comcast insider who leaked the BitTorrent memo promises to tell all of Comcast’s dark secrets at Shortnamenowitsgettinglong.com.
Debt Collector Addresses Notice To "SHIT FACE"
By 11.7.07
Collection agency addresses collection notice to “SHIT FACE.” The letter begins, “Dear SHIT…” Below a line where the debtor is supposed to sign, the pejorative again appears. Best of all, the debt is only $16.39, for Columbia House (purveyors of fine 1cent for 624,215 CD offers). The debtor signed an affidavit saying he didn’t sign up under that name, nor did he use profanity in his correspondence. Consumer lawyer and sometimes Consumerist contributing blogger Sam Glover thinks the sobriquet is a deliberate touch by the debt collector. Debt collectors frequently resort to intimidation, though they “don’t usually document their harassment.”
Some Free Laptop Sites Are Apparently Not Total Scams
By 11.7.07
Most of those “fill out these forms and get a free laptop” sites are scams. For one thing, there’s never any “free.” Assuming you wade through all the pages of buttons and entry fields, you’ll invariably find that you have to sign up for some credit cards and charge a certain balance and have the card active for a few months before you get your free stuff. They may also make you sign up other people do the same thing. This guy got a new MacBook pro and it cost him $400. Josh Clark routinely sets up “conga lines” of people working together to get their swag.
Complain Like A Pro In 10 Easy Steps
By 11.7.07
MSNBC has 10 ways to be a more effective complainer. We’ve added some twists of our own and linked back to relevant posts on making them happen.
By 11.7.07
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Companies are racing to take out trans fats from their products. But what of the fats they’re replacing them with? [WSJ via Consumer World Blog]
