Richard writes:I am an MD-PhD, working at a medical center in New York. In 2006 I came here form Wisconsin, and at that point I called American Express (had a credit card with them for about 7-8 years before), explained my move, and the new academic position I was taking on, and asked them if they…
money
Credit Cards Ensnare Naive College Freshmen
By 12.6.07
Eager young college students are ripe targets for the hordes of credit card marketers that blanket campuses every year. But they’re adults, right? They can make rational personal financial decisions themselves and in the absence of any education about how the credit system works, right? Survey results tell a different story:
By 12.6.07
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How to calculate compound growth in Excel using the RATE function. [AllFinancialMatters]
By 12.6.07
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Did you know you can upgrade your credit card with the issuer without losing your credit history? [Bankrate]
Help for the Retirement-Challenged
By 12.5.07
There’s a huge gap between many Americans’ perceptions of what life in retirement will be and the practicalities of what their finances will allow. The former is often a time of limited work, relaxation, and enjoying the twilight years of life while the latter forces decisions about working longer, relying more on relatives, and doing without past pleasures and purchases. This gap exists for good reason — it’s expensive to retire in the United States. The amount of savings needed to support today’s retiree, who can be expected to live a couple decades or so longer, is mind-blowing and, for many, unattainable.
Couple Shreds Credit Cards, Spells "No New Debt"
By 12.5.07
Robert and Helena shredded all their credit cards and arranged them to spell out “NO NEW DEBT” to cement their commitment to getting out of credit and living a debt-free life. According to the blog post over at JosephSangll where this picture appeared, the couple haven’t incurred any new debt in the two months since taking the picture. For some people it just takes a little ritualistic madness to break the cycle of debt dependency.
Find Out What Your IRS Refund Will Be
By 12.4.07
What’s your tax refund for 2007 going to look like? Go to this withholding calculator at the IRS website with your paycheck at your side, answer the questions, and they’ll give you a good estimate of what your refund will be. They will also give you suggestions for changing your withholdings.
Preface From Financial "Life Planning" Book
By 12.4.07
The basic principle of “life planning”—that to succeed at managing your personal finances, you have to incorporate personal elements like your values and beliefs—seems reasonable enough, but rushing to B&N or Amazon to buy yet another financial advice book sure feels an awful lot like more of the same. However, since this excerpt is basically the preface to the book, we thought it was worth sharing. It’s like browsing in a bookstore without having to leave your desk! $avings!
E*Trade Raises Rates On Online Savings Accounts, CDs
By 12.1.07
E*Trade increased the rates on a variety of banking products this week in an effort to woo back depositors spooked by their recent troubles. Here’s how they’re looking:
National Average Interest Rates
By 11.29.07
Here’s a slice of national average interest rates for credit cards, CD’s, auto loans, mortgages, and home equity, via Bankrate.
Citibank's Charge Dispute Forms Have Two Different Addresses
By 11.29.07
Helen writes:
I’m challenging a charge on my Citibank card right now and have to fill out paperwork for their records. The second page of the form I’m filling in tells me to mail the form back to PO Box 6035, The Lakes, NV, 89163-6035. The self-addressed envelope they provided me with to mail the form back in? It has an address of PO Box 6013, Sioux Falls, SD, 57117-6013. A bit different, don’t you think? I’m just going to copy the form and mail it to both. I have 10 days to get this back to them, so I’m sure that having two separate addresses helps to deny claims i.e. “We never got your paperwork.”
Maybe sneaky, maybe honest mistake, either way, just another reason you definitely gotta scrutinize every line of fine print when you’re dealing with a bank.
The "Green" Credit Card
By 11.29.07
Here’s a different kind of rewards card, instead furthering more material consumption, the Brighter Planet Visa card lets you earn “EarthSmart” points. These points are automatically used every month to fund renewable energy projects. Every 1,000 points funds about 1 ton of carbon offsets. (Carbon offsets are a way of breaking the cost of planting trees, reclaiming methane, building windmills, etc, into purchasable units). There’s a 0% introductory APR for the first 12 months, 9.99% or 15.99% APR thereafter, depending on your credit score. You get to feel good, renewable energy gets funded, and Visa and Bank of America get good PR –win-win-win-win. Gotta wonder, if you default on your payments, will they pull the trees out of the ground?
By 11.28.07
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Stocks jumped after the Fed hinted at further interest rate cuts. [AP]
"Free Money" Computer Glitch Leads To Kmart Melee
By 11.27.07
A computer glitch at Kmart leads to everyone being granted store credit cards – and a large-scale brawl erupting.. Two women started scrapping and then several men got involved. A Kmart worker was punched in the nose and smashed through a glass display case. Customers were calling up friends and telling them to come down to get the “free money,” $850 to $4000 in credit After applications ran out, one customer grabbed more from another Kmart and started selling them in the parking lot for $20 a pop. Watch out, when the American Dream is a blue-light special, consumers are liable to get bloodthirsty.
Join The Predatory Lending Association!
By 11.26.07
PredatoryLendingAssociation.com is a clever parody site mocking payday loans and the efforts of groups like the The Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), a lobbying group that tries to make the loan sharks look like respectable financial institutions.
