It’s not just underwater homeowners just flat out walking away from their houses. Now some mortgage servicers, having decided certain properties would be too expensive to try to foreclose, secure, maintain and market, are just abandoning the properties entirely, to let nature, and whatever else, take its course. [More]
money
Kardashians Sued For Fee-Drenched Debit Card, By The Card's Makers
By 1.14.11
The Kardashians have been sued over their Kardashian Card, a pre-loaded debit card they agreed to put their faces and names on and help promote. The card was slammed by critics and an AG almost as soon as it came out for the high hidden fees it hoped to extract from the teen audience it was targeting. But the plaintiff isn’t a government body or members of a class action, it’s the Kardashian’s former business partners. [More]
Ex-Credit Card Thief Recommends Making Up Fake Answers To Security Questions
By 1.14.11
In an interview, a former credit card thief talks about some of the scams he used to run on unwary consumers. It’s got some good takeaways for protecting yourself, like the one where you make up fake answers to security questions. With all the info that can be found online now some of these security questions aren’t that hard to figure out. So instead of putting down the real answer to “What’s your mother’s maiden name?” put down “unicorn princess.” [More]
Banks To Start Paying Dividends For First Time In 3 Years
By 1.14.11
After a 3-year hiatus, banks, plumped up by big profits thanks to a dizzying array of federal aid programs, are ready to stay paying dividends again to investors. Before they can be restored, the government will conduct a round of secret “stress tests” to evaluate the banks’ financial health. If all goes well, individual investors who had seen their dividends slashed to pennies, could start once again supping from the income stream. [More]
Dirty Debt Collectors Sued Under RICO Act
By 1.11.11
A judge has set an interesting precedent, allowing a pack of skeevy debt collectors get sued under the RICO act, the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization law. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 1.11.11
Eight resolutions for retirement savers in 2011 [MarketWatch] “Now that 2010 year-end statements are arriving in the mail it’s time to get back on the grid — and to make sure you start 2011 on the right foot, especially with your retirement accounts.”
Extra Income Online: 5 Websites That Can Seriously Pad Your Pockets [Wise Bread] “Instead of taking on a second, or in some cases, third job to elevate your earnings, consider making use of these websites that can take you from rags to debatable riches.”
11 Tricks to Cutting Travel Costs in 2011 [NY Times] ” Here are 11 strategies — and some useful Web sites — to help you save on travel this year.”
30 Things Broke People Say (That Keep Them Broke) [Smart on Money] “Why save money? You can’t take it with you when you die!”
Save Money on Gas, Food and Travel: 13 Smart Tricks [MoneyWatch] “Here are 13 ways to trim some of these everyday expenses.”
Win $1000 For Making A Picture About The Dangers Of Debt
By 1.10.11
Make a picture illustrating “The Dangers of Being in Debt” and you could win $1,000 in our publisher Consumers Union’s new contest. Simply submit your Photoshop, drawing of a spider, collage or what have you on this Facebook page. Get people to vote for you and the image with the most votes wins. Then you can use your cash prize to pay down your credit card debit. See, it all circles back… [More]
Southwest's New Frequent Flier Program Rewards Biz Travelers Over Hoi Polloi
By 1.10.11
If air travel was a multi-player video-game, you would call Southwest’s new “Rapid Rewards” frequent flier program “adjusting the game balance.” In this case, the “Pinstripe” class is getting favorably tweaked at “Joe Sixpack” class’s expense. [More]
Apocryphal And Hilarious "Letter A 98-Year Old Woman Wrote To Her Bank" Makes The Rounds Again
By 1.10.11
An amazing letter that a 98-year old woman wrote to her bank to protest a bounced check is making the rounds. She complains about a check getting bounced from her account because it occurred “three nanoseconds” before her pension got direct-deposited. She then says that going forward the bank will have to appoint a special rep to open her mortgage and loan payments, he has to use a 28-digit PIN to talk to her, and will have to go through a lengthy phone tree. It’s quite clever, but it’s not real. Not exactly. [More]
What You Get If You Start Saving Today
By 1.7.11
A lot of people probably made “save more money” one of their New Year’s Resolutions. It’s true, the best day to start saving is right now. Based off of what the average American spends annually, if you set a goal for next January and save $157 a month, you can have all your clothes paid for for the year. [More]
BofA Tests New Checking Accounts With New Fees
By 1.6.11
Bank of America is trying out a new system of checking accounts with new rules—and new fees for breaking them. [More]
Southwest Overhauls Frequent Flyer Mile Program
By 1.6.11
Southwest today announced a major revamp of its frequent flyer mile program. Under the new system, travelers will get points based on their airfare amount. There will also be no blackout dates or seat restrictions (existing members will get grandfathered in). The airline also introduced three new fare buckets, “wanna get away,” “anytime,” and “business select” with increasing points per dollar to redeem and total points required for a free flight. So not only are you getting from point A to point B, you’re also polishing valuable math skills. Southwest came out with 3 videos to explain it all: [More]
SmartyPig Cuts Rate From 1.75% To 1.35% APY
By 1.6.11
In an email to customers, savings site SmartyPig announced it had cut its rate from 1.75% to 1.35% APY. Now it’s no longer the top rate for a nationally available online savings account. Sad day. [More]
More New Debit Card Fees Loom
By 1.5.11
Banks are making less money when you swipe your credit and debit cards because of new caps on interchange rates, the fee that they charge to process each of these transactions, that go into effect on July 1st. They have to make the money up somehow! We’ve seen new fee-incurring tripwires on checking accounts, and now they’re dreaming up even more fees for debit cards. Here’s what’s on their wishlist: [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 1.4.11
8 Unexpected Ways to Generate Extra Cash [MintLife Blog] “Alternatives to help supplement income or even simply maintain it, aside from asking for more job perks.”
How to Take Control of Your Finances in 2011 [Get Rich Slowly] “Here are eleven simple but effective steps to build a better financial future.”
Slow and Steady Saving Still Pays [Wall Street Journal] “Steady savings and the passage of time can benefit younger 401(k) investors.”
Will your pet bankrupt you? [MSN Money] “Before you adopt that cute mutt or exotic fish, be sure you know what the animal’s needs are — and that you have a plan to deal with unexpected expenses.”
25 Toughest Interview Questions of 2010 [MoneyTalksNews] “Some of the weirdest questions employers asked their prospective employees in 2010.”
What's My State's Statute Of Limitations On Debts?
By 1.3.11
One of the first thing you’ll want to check when you get a debt collection notice is the expiration date. No, it won’t be written on the top like a milk carton. But you can check to see when the debt is from. If it’s longer than your state’s statue of limitations on debt collections, they’re unlikely to successfully sue you. Those dates vary by state, so here’s a handy list that gets routinely updated. [More]
Dead Woman Used To Collect Thousands Of Debts
By 1.3.11
Martha Kunkle has been dead since 1995, but that hasn’t stopped her from trying to collect on thousands of debts. Despite being six feet under, her signature continued to be signed on thousands of affidavits filed by Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) in lawsuits against borrowers, lawsuits that are ripe for contesting because the documents they’re based on are fraudulent. [More]
Markets Hit 2011 With A Jump
By 1.3.11
Markets held onto a rally Monday, spurred by news of continuing manufacturing sector growth. The Dow gained .98% in mid-morning trading, the S&P 1.24% and the Nasdaq 1.7%. But don’t start firing up your Scottrades and Etrades just yet unless you’ve got a fifth of Pepto in your desk drawer. 2011 is looking to be just as rocky as ever. [More]
