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The credit card regulations that the Fed enacted last month won’t take effect until summer of 2010, so Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is reintroducing the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, which offers the same reforms but would come into effect 90 days after the president signs it.
You’re fired! Now what? It’s the nightmare scenario, and you can prepare for it by conducting a financial drill. Take a moment and pretend you have no income. Ask how you would pay pay for rent and food, and what lifestyle changes you could make on two week’s notice. To guide your planning, the New York Times has a few unorthodox and downright scary suggestions that are worth considering in a worst case scenario.
A couple days ago, we wrote about a fake company called Adele that was fraudulently charging 25 cents to credit cards. Personal finance site Mint heard about the scam too, and they reviewed their users’ records and notified them if they found a fraudulent charge.
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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.
The web is full of financial resolutions for 2009, telling us all what we should and shouldn’t do for the next year. And whether or not you’re the resolution type, it’s probably worthwhile to review what some of the leading financial publications are recommending. After all, aren’t we all interested in ideas for improving our financial lives?
Slate’s “The Big Money” has decided it’s time to start educating readers on some core financial principles, and they’re starting with the very basics, presented in a “Schoolhouse Rocks!” style. Their first cartoon explains the four types of bonds. Visually, it’s a perfect match to the style of the original cartoons, but we hope they work on a catchier jingle for their next installment.
Personal finance blogger JD Roth is on a mission to help us all save a bundle during the holidays. First he shared a ton of frugal Christmas ideas, and now he’s posted a list of 34 gifts you can make yourself. A few of our favorites include:
Thanks to state-sponsored 529 plans, friends and family can finally contribute to college savings funds without drowning under long forms and boring paperwork.
Recently, we told you that Senator Levin recommended that the UBS not patronize American citizens who are trying to evade taxes. His wish has come true–UBS has announced plans to close the Swiss bank accounts of such American customers and will lift the cloak of anonymity which has protected its customers for centuries. Details, inside..
Millions of Americans are in debt, so it stands to reason that there are over 6,500 collection agencies in the U.S.. Most of these agencies operate under the law but a growing number of them do not. According to statistics from the Better Business Bureau, complaints filed against debt collectors rose 27% in 2007. Even if you legitimately owe the debt, you should know there are laws that protect you against harassment and the unfair practices often employed by these rogue debt collectors. CNN Money discusses the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and laws which protect the consumer. Details, inside… [More]
Personal finance blog Free Money Finance suggests that employees can improve their incomes by asking for a raise, but you have to make sure to time it right.
n+1: So can you tell me what happened with Bear Stearns? What were the steps?
Today CNNMoney profiles an out of work mortgage banker who has been sending out 10 resumes a day since he was laid off in Feburary. He just got his first interview.
The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee today announced a rate cut of 75 basis points to 2-1/4 percent.
All Presidential candidates should have a plan to wean America off its credit card dependence. We collectively owe almost $1 trillion to credit card companies, but only the Democratic candidates have written plans to reform the credit card industry. Alpha Consumer wrote an excellent summary of their competing plans to strike at some of the industry’s most harmful practices.
New Hampshire will become the latest state to keep payday lenders from gouging their patrons. A measure passed by the legislature will cap interest rates on payday loans at 36%, a drastic change for an industry used to bludgeoning underbanked consumers with interest rates exceeding 500%. Payday borrowers spend an average of $793 trying to repay a $325 loan. Let’s see how the economic leeches spin this as a loss for consumers.
Although December marked a slight decrease in Chapter 13 filings from November, 2007 overall logged a whopping 40% rise in the number of bankruptcy filings compared to 2006, reports the Wall Street Journal—over 800,000 filings in 2007, versus around 570,000 the previous year.
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