New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wrote a letter yesterday to Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), head of the House Financial Services Committee, (which is currently holding hearings Washington on how banks are spending bailout funds.) In the letter, Cuomo expresses concern that Merrill Lynch moved up their bonus schedule so that they could make sure that taxpayers would get the bill.
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Mandatory Binding Arbitration: The Worst Choose Your Own Adventure Ever
By 2.10.09 — Updated: 8.21.13
Mandatory binding arbitration agreements are bad for consumers for so many reasons that, unless you’re the victim of one, it’s hard to keep track of the various ways you can be screwed. So we’ve come up with this helpful illustration: a choose-your-own-adventure-styled trip through the arbitration process.
How To Not Get Sued For What You Said On Yelp
By 1.23.09
Recently, angry chiropractors and dentists have sued Yelp reviewers for defamation, loosely defined as “publicly telling mean lies that hurt more than feelings.” Apparently, no one takes the internet seriously, until all of a sudden someone does. Here’s what anyone who leaves comments online should know about defamation.
GRAPH: The Decline And Fall Of Circuit City
By 1.16.09
Liquidation is a time for reflection, we guess, so we put together a nice little time line of Circuit City’s precipitous decline over the past 2 years. We begin our journey in March of 2007, when Circuit City announced that it was firing everyone who knew what 1080p meant so that they could hire cheaper labor…
A Very Simple Flowchart Explaining The Digital TV Transition
By 12.23.08
There has been some demand among readers for a flowchart that explains how you will be affected by the digital TV switch that will happen this February. Your wish is our command.
49 Banks That Refund All ATM Fees
By 12.22.08
Why pay people for your own money? Via FatWallet, here’s a big daddy list of all the banks that refund your ATM fees, regardless of who owns the ATM.
Top 9 Good Habits For A Deep Recession
By 12.19.08
For many of us, this is the first recession where we are responsible for our own financial well-being. How should we react? What habits are important during a long, deep recession?
DIY ID Theft Protection
By 12.14.08
Do you want to be one of over eight million identity theft victims? No, but most of the services sold by “identity theft protection” companies you can get for free. Here’s how.
Consumer 101: 3 Ways To Lower Your Out Of Control Cable, Internet And Phone Bills
By 11.13.08
How much to spend on cable, internet and telephone is something nobody had to worry about only a few generations ago. Today, 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. If you’re looking for a way to cut the amount of money you spend on these “information age” expenses, we’ve got three of them to choose from.
Timeline: How Circuit City Came Undone
By 11.10.08
Bankruptcy is a time for reflection, we guess, so we put together a nice little time line of Circuit City’s precipitous decline over the past 2 years. We begin our journey in March of 2007, when Circuit City announced that it was firing everyone who knew what 1080p meant so that they could hire cheaper labor…
5 Expenses To Cut Right Now If You're In Debt
By 10.9.08
Let’s say that like so many storied former-investment-banking-giants, you, the average consumer, have found yourself over-leveraged (wink, wink) and are looking to clean up your act before the whole thing falls down around you like the house of cards it is. Well, since you can’t increase revenue at will, you’ll have to decrease your costs. Where should you start? Here are 5 expenses that you can cut right now — so you can take the extra cash and throw it at your debt.
How To Get Out Of Debt
By 10.2.08
J is in a debt hole and needs help getting out. We’re going to give it to him: [More]
Dear New Circuit City CEO: Here's How To Fix Your Stores
By 10.1.08
Yesterday, we asked you to tell us how Circuit City’s new CEO should fix his stores. It’s been a troubled few years for Circuit City. Before the former CEO resigned last week, he’d embarked on an expensive and drastic “turn around” plan that, well, let’s be honest — failed.
How Not To Panic About The Stock Market
By 9.29.08
Seeing the greatest single-day point drop in the Dow is probably not the kind of history anyone wants to be living through right now. The failure of the bailout bill to pass caused a big freakout in the market, which thought we were going to get a bailout today. But before you click the button to transfer all your investments to 0% return T-bonds (aka I give up on investing), first ask yourself if that’s really in line with your long-term investment goals. Secondly, realize that point-wise it might the greatest drop, but it’s not the greatest drop percentage-wise. In other words, we’ve been here, and bounced back, before. If you’re decades away from retirement, today’s plunge is a buying opportunity. Here are some thoughts about fighting the urge to panic.
12 Confessions Of A Home Mortgage Collector
By 9.10.08
A former Wells Fargo Home Mortgage home collector has stepped forth from the shadows to tell you what’s really going on. Here’s his confession:
Starbucks New Healthy Breakfast Tasted, Opinions Formed
By 9.5.08
Starbucks bravely asked us to try their new…
What To Do When A Store Sells You Box Of Crap And Won't Take It Back
By 9.4.08
We get a lot of complaints about people buying things from stores like Best Buy and Target and finding that once they get them home — there’s a bunch of bathroom tiles in the box instead of the item, or that the item is used, broken or smashed. When they try to return the thing, the store tells them that they’re out of luck. When you ask why they think they can get away with selling you a paperweight instead of an XBOX, they point to some bullsh*t policy and send you on your way. You don’t have to put up with this. In this post, we’ll tell you a) How to keep this from happening to you in the first place. b) How to equip yourself with tools that will help you in the event that this does happen to you. c) How to take advantage of these tools so that you never get stuck with someone’s old broken PS3.
Top 3 Most and Least "Fee Crazy" Airlines
By 8.27.08
Airline fees are a controversial topic these days, so we look a look at the fees that airlines were charging and picked the top 3 most and least “fee crazy” airlines. Avoiding fees is hard, so why not try to avoid the airlines that charge them instead?
