John is interested in signing up for a currency trading system that says it will turn $10,000 into $100,000 in a year. The service says you have to try it out for 90 days before canceling and he’s worried that that’s just to avoid chargebacks. John should probably be worried about some bigger stuff than just a chargeback. [More]
money
Get A Free FICO-esque Score From Credit Sesame
By 6.7.11
Credit Sesame is an advertising-supported service that gets you your credit score for free. No hidden fees, singers in Renaissance garb or gotchas. It’s not quite your FICO, but it’s close. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 6.7.11
5 Things to Consider Before Taking in Renters [US News] “Before you take the plunge and list your rental property, here are five things to consider.”
Top 5 mistakes on executive resumes [CNN Money] “Five mistakes that executives commonly make when they put together a resume.”
Free Ways to Celebrate Father’s Day [Wise Bread] “Here are some ideas to get you started.”
The Pre-Interview Ritual [Ask Men] “Of all the situations in which you need to be at your best, they are never as crucial as before the job interview.”
How to Protect Yourself After Identity Theft [Kiplinger] “Before paying for an identity-theft-protection service, be sure you know what you’re getting for your money.”
Best Credit Cards To Get Now
By 6.6.11
After a nearly apocalyptic pull-back in the credit card market, with credit lines slashed to the quick and new credit being denied, banks have decided to let a trickle flow out again. To entice the cream of the credit score crop, they’re dangling a new batch of incentives. Via the Richmond Times-Dispatch, here’s some of the best deals out there right now on credit cards: [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 5.31.11
Ready to Retire? Here’s a Five-Year Pre-Retirement Plan. [Wall Street Journal] “We have compiled a checklist of things to do and consider over a five-year timeline before this crucial date.”
How fear can ruin your retirement [MSN Money] “A new study indicates recent or soon-to-be retirees have serious money worries, but they can take steps to assuage those concerns and improve their financial situation.”
Indexing Works [Financial Planning] “Many investors think active managers can shift out of stocks in time to stem losses in bear markets. Not true.”
Million Dollar Homes Across America 2011 [Yahoo Finance] “We checked in with cities across America to find out about their million-dollar dwellings.”
4 Health Myths That Drain Your Wallet [US News] “Here are four health myths that could cause you to overspend.”
What $1 Million Looks Like Around The House
By 5.26.11
Who hasn’t dreamed of holding a million dollars in their sweaty, clammy paws? Beats working! That day may never come for you, but you might be surprised by how kind of quotidian a million dollars actually looks like in person. To give you a sense of perspective, Cockeyed has a gallery of pictures of what a million dollars would look like in various poses around the house. (They used 10,000 one dollar bills to simulate what 10,000 $100 bills would look like). [More]
Why Money Launderers Love Prepaid Debit Cards
By 5.25.11
Gone are the days when it was necessary to transport briefcases full of cash across borders. Now all money launderers need to do is pack a wallet full of prepaid debit cards. [More]
3 Big Banks Launch Pay By Cell And Email System Called clearXchange
By 5.25.11
Three of the nation’s biggest banks have teamed up to offer a new payment service that lets you transfer money from your bank account using only a cell phone number or email address. It’s called clearXchange and it’s being offered to Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo customers. An inkling of how it will work is revealed on the initiative’s placeholder web page. [More]
House Committee Battles Elizabeth Warren Over Consumer Protection Bureau
By 5.24.11
At a hearing held by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today, the committee’s GOP leadership debated Elizabeth Warren, the White House’s pick to run the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As the committee argued that new regulations are required to keep the watchdog agency from having “unchecked discretion” over financial matters, Warren responded that such efforts serve to “undermine the consumer bureau before it even begins its work of protecting American families.” [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 5.24.11
How to Get 55% More Rewards with Your Chase Freedom Credit Card [Free Money Finance] “This [strategy] effectively makes the card a 3.1% cash back card — which is great in almost anyone’s book!”
What to Look for When Researching Your Potential Boss [US News] “You can learn a lot about [your potential supervisor]l by scouring their online profiles and company website.”
5 Tips to Save on Summer Camp [MoneyTalksNews] “The first step is to get your kids involved as early in the process as possible.”
Money Lessons for Every High-School Graduate [Wall Street Journal] “Here are five things every high-school graduate should try to remember.”
Allowances: ‘Welfare’ for kids? [MSN Money] “When children feel they’re entitled to parental payouts, teaching the value of a work ethic becomes even more important.”
Amex Settles Case Alleging They Advertised BOGO, But Charged Double
By 5.23.11
How’s this for a bad deal? American Express Publishing Corp. had an offer for a “free” airline ticket when you bought a companion ticket and a subscription to Skyguide magazine. But a lawsuit brought by five Californian counties says that when consumers went to the website to buy their ticket, they were often charged double what the ticket would have cost them if they bought the ticket straight from the airline. Get it? [More]
Mother Wins $7,500 After Suing Debt Collector
By 5.19.11
Mayling, mother of two, says she was inspired by Consumerist stories and when a harassing debt collector wouldn’t stop calling her family, she took matters into her own hands. With a 6 month-old and a toddler in tow, she sued them in small claims court and won $7,500. This is her story. [More]
Here's A Cookie, America, For Paying Your Credit Cards Off And On Time
By 5.19.11
Good job, America. You are being most excellent at paying your credit card bills and paying them on time. LowCards reports that credit card default and late payment levels fell once again in April to their lowest since 2008. The reasons why are pretty obvious: [More]
When Buying A Home, Get Out Of Your Head And Do The Math On Paper
By 5.19.11
In the heat of house-hunting, it can be easy to keep all the numbers in your head. You debate back and forth over which properties to target and for how much and under what conditions. But as the Trulia blog notes, if you mostly just do this mental math without putting it down on paper it can be easy to talk yourself into less-advantageous deals when the numbers in your head collide with the emotions in your heart. [More]
Skimmers Found Installed Inside Gas Pumps. Inside!
By 5.18.11
If you’re the type of person who already reflexively jiggles every card slot and looks for pinhole cameras whenever you go to swipe your card, despair. There is no 100% foolproof way to protect yourself, as proven by a pair of banditos who stole 3,600 card numbers after installing a credit card skimmer inside several gas pumps, reports the MountainView Voice. [More]
4 Magical Words Debt Collectors Use To Open Your Pockets
By 5.18.11
Debt collection is all about mind games. NotSoDeepSouth blogged about the four magical words that he used to use as a debt collector that acted like a crowbar on people’s wallets, getting formerly relcacitrant people to empty out their pockets. [More]
MasterCard Fixes Merchant Violation Form
By 5.18.11
After a reader noticed that Mastercard’s Merchant Violation report form for consumers only let you put in 100 characters even though it said you had 5,000, we wrote a post about it (in addition to using the form itself to report the error). Now Mastercard has informed us that they fixed it, and indeed it passes our test. Finally, “As a point of reference, consumer questions and issues can be raised on our Twitter page at @MasterCard, as well as the web forms,” the MasterCard rep pointed out via email. That’s right, there’s now at least two ways to talk to MasterCard using over 100 characters. [More]
"Bump The Bonus" And Get More Airline Miles For Free
By 5.17.11
One way to build up frequent flyer miles quickly is to apply for several of the credit cards that give bonus miles for signing up. You buy stuff you were going to buy anyway and meet the minimum spend requirement, get the miles and move on. But then a while later you notice that the same credit card is offering even more miles for newer applicants. Curses! Instead of despairing, though, The Frugal Travel Guy Rick Ingersoll says you should call the credit card company and ask them to increase the bonus miles they gave you to the new level. [More]
