Consumerist

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Personal Finance Roundup

By FMF 5.17.11

Need Job? Try Church. [Wall Street Journal] “Across the nation, local churches and other religious organizations have stepped up their recession-busting efforts with free career workshops, rÃ©sumÃ© clinics and networking functions.”

The ROI Of An MBA [Ask Men] “Choose wisely and you’ll be making the best investment of your life.”

5 things to know about your 401k [MSN Money] “It pays to understand all the details of your company’s plan so you maximize your savings.”

Dave Ramsey’s 12% Solution [Bucks Blog] “Particularly troubling are his statements about the potential returns to be had by investing in the stock market, and his recommendations on how much retirees can safely withdraw from their nest eggs each year.”

3 New Retirement Rules You Can’t Ignore [US News] “Make sure you are aware of these changes in order to adequately prepare for retirement.”

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

merchant violations

Mastercard's Merchant Violation Form Only Accepts 100 Characters

By Ben Popken 5.16.11

I guess Mastercard has gotten tired of hearing long-winded consumer complaints about stores breaking their merchant agreement with them. The form on their website where you’re supposed to make complaints says that you can use a max of 5,000 characters, but when you actually go to type something in, it won’t let you enter in more than 100. Perhaps they would rather consumers tweet their complaints? [More]

credit reports

Do VIP's Get Privileged Treatment From Credit Bureaus?

By Ben Popken 5.16.11

NYT reports that the three major credit bureaus each keep a special VIP list of important people who are given preferential treatment when fixing their credit reports. The list has the names of celebrities, politicians, judges and others on it. When they have errors on their reports, they are fixed by employees who work in America, and fixed swiftly. The rest of us get our requests shunted overseas to be dealt with in a cursory manner. [More]

readers

Debt Collector Evaporates At First Sign Of Resistance

By Ben Popken 5.16.11

Ryan shares with us his consumer kicking booty story of how he got a debt collector to run off with their tail between their legs. It sounded like an amazing deal. He got a letter from a debt collector telling him that they represented AT&T and would cut him a special break and settle for only $69.30 instead of $693.30. Wowzers! Problem was, he didn’t owe AT&T any money at all. [More]

college

Credit Cards Pitches Return To Campus

By Ben Popken 5.13.11

Despite being largely banned by the CARD act, credit card issuers have figured out how to get around its provisions and still reach college kids, reports WSJ. Here’s what they’re doing: [More]

credit cards

Visa Developing "One-Click" Payment System

By Ben Popken 5.12.11

Visa announced that they’re working on a “one-click” payment system that would make it easier for consumers to shop online without having to enter their credit card and billing information over and over again. [More]

credit reports

Never Pay A Debt Collector The Full Amount

By Ben Popken 5.12.11

The dirty little secret of debt collecting is that most of them are not working directly for the original company you ran up the debt with. They’re an outside third party and they bought your debt for pennies on the dollar. The debt collector’s goal is to get the most money out of you for the least amount of effort. This means all you have to do to make this calculus work to your advantage is settle with the debt collector for around the same price he paid to buy your debt. So start low. [More]

michaels

Michaels Debit Card Breach Not Just In Chicago, But Across 20 States

By Ben Popken 5.12.11

Last week we told you about a debit card breach found in Chicago area Michaels arts and craft stores. This week, the Chicago Tribune says that the impact is much more widespread than thought, as it turns out that actually, thieves stole debit card info at Michaels in 20 different states. [More]

money

Jim And Pam Get A Money Makeover

By Ben Popken 5.10.11

Jim and Pam Halpert, the beloved and relatable couple from The Office, could be in financial trouble. Not because DeAngelo Vickers decided to make them head janitors — what wacky office dynamic upset will that guy think of next?? — but because they got married, had a baby, bought a house, and changed their job descriptions, they are in need of a serious money makeover. Over at Bankrate, a certified financial planner takes on the profile of these two fictional characters and gives them real money-saving advice. [More]

college

Class Of 2011 Have Most Debt Of All Time

By Ben Popken 5.10.11

Congratulations, graduating class of 2011. You’ve pulled all-nighters, subsisted on ramen for weeks, and worn pajamas to class, all to achieve the beautiful shining goal of a college degree. Add to that another distinction, one that probably won’t be mentioned during too many commencement speeches. You’re also graduating with the highest debt of all time, an average of $22,000 a person. Hope that business about a degree giving you a higher earning potential is true, because you’re gonna need it. [More]

cash is king

A Tearful Breakup Letter To The Credit Card Company

By Ben Popken 5.10.11

Jon Acuff cut up all his credit cards and cancelled all his accounts. He thought was enough to end his relationship with his credit card company. But one of them wasn’t quite ready to move on. They sent him a letter that was oddly close to something a spurned lover begging for another chance might send. “They hadn’t heard from us in a while and just wanted to see how we were doing, writes Jon. “They promised that they’d change if we took them back. Things would be different this time.” That got Jon thinking that he should write a letter back in the same vein to give their relationship total closure. [More]

roundups

Personal Finance Roundup

By FMF 5.10.11

Best Personal Finance Apps [Ask Men] “Apps can help us lose weight, stay on a fitness regime and, amazingly enough, get our finances in order.”

7 Biggest Money Mistakes College Grads Make [US News] “Whether it’s taking on too much debt or not enough, this year’s graduates are navigating a financial minefield.”

401k mistakes job-hoppers make [MSN Money] “If you’re not careful when you switch employers, you could run the risk of damaging your nest egg.”

Net Worth, Self-Worth and How We Look at Money [NY Times] “How you feel about money can have a significant impact on how you save, spend and plan for your financial future — not to mention on your overall mental and emotional well-being.”

Six Tips to Getting the Best Deal on Your Rent [Wall Street Journal] “Six tips for getting the best deals.”

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

bank of america

Bank Of America Testing Letting You Choose To Overdraft Via Text Message

By Ben Popken 5.9.11

Bank of America currently rejects debit card items that would make your balance go below zero, but Finextra reports they’re going to test out a new system that sends you a text message when you’re about to overdraft. The message will give you the option to let the transaction go through and incur an overdraft fee. [More]

fees

Most Who Opted In To Overdraft Protection Were Wrong About How It Worked

By Ben Popken 5.5.11

One of the results of the regulatory overhaul was that banks couldn’t automatically enroll people in “overdraft protection.” This kicked off a mammoth effort by banks to try to convince customers it was in their best interest to sign up for a program that would let them get charged $35 for overdrafting a $1 candy bar rather than go through the pain and humiliating of having a card declined. But a new survey by the Center for Responsible Lending found that most of the people who did opt in either had a misconception about how the overdraft protection, or simply wanted the ceaseless onslaught of pitches from their bank about it to stop. [More]

money

Tricking Yourself Into Saving By Rounding Up Every Check In Ledger?

By Ben Popken 5.4.11

While trying to find an article in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press archive, I found a letter from one of their readers who had a unique way of tricking herself into saving money. Whenever she writes a check, she rounds it up in the check register. When she deposits a check, she rounds it down. At the end of the year she finds she has a cache of “ghost money” that she uses to buy new shoes, go to the movies, make donations and do home improvement projects. Depending on how you look at it, this is either the dumbest savings method ever, or an incredibly smart one. [More]

free checking

US Bank Replaces "Free Checking" With "Easy" Checking (Hint: It's Not Free)

By Ben Popken 5.4.11

US Bank was one of the last large banks to keep offering free checking but that will be no more after May 15. All customers will migrated over from “Free Checking” to “Easy Checking.” While it’s not certain how it might be any easier, like a US Bank truck drives to your house and picks up your deposits and gives you a free lollipop, it is certain that the checking accounts will have monthly maintenance fees. But you can avoid those fees if you sign up for the right level package and abide by certain behaviors. [More]

money

Why Don't People Share Lawnmowers?

By Ben Popken 5.3.11

Let us disrupt the otherwise normal bucolic sight of everyone in the neighborhood out on a warm afternoon, mowing away at their green lawns. Why does each house need to own their own lawnmower? At around $300 a pop for a new one, they’re not cheap, and households could cut costs drastically if they shared them, but negotiating that can lead to arguments over how much each borrower should chip in, if any, and when. So the Eschaton blog muses on this and wonders, why couldn’t there be a Zipcar for tools? Well there is! They’re called tool rental libraries. [More]

roundups

Personal Finance Roundup

By FMF 5.3.11

7 things you don’t need anymore [MSN Money] “Some tech gear has outlived its purpose. Here are some better, more convenient and less expensive choices.”

Pricing Psychology: 7 Sneaky Retail Tricks [CBS MoneyWatch] “Retailers work hard to manipulate us, tweaking price tags and offering “special” promotions to get us to spend more than we normally would.”

250+ Tips for Small Business Owners [Wise Bread] “Expert tips for sales and operations, taxes and recruitment, tools and hacks, and more!”

When Is It Better to Be Frugal? When Is It Better to Earn More? [The Simple Dollar] “There are times when frugality is the best option. There are times when focusing on increasing earnings is the best option.”

15 Web Sites for Finding Deals Online [Kiplinger] “15 Web sites we think are easy to use and will help you save money all year.”

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

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