It sounds like a dream come true: the doors of an armored truck fly open, and cash comes flying out, all over the road, just begging to be scooped up by passers-by. But even when dreams become reality, that doesn’t mean loose money is free money, which is why police in Baltimore are asking the public to return cash that spilled from an armored vehicle earlier this week. [More]
money
Walmart Manager Accused Of Conspiring In $78,000 Robbery
By 7.10.15
In the past, Consumerist has reported on several employees who could certainly take the title of worst employee at Walmart: the man arrested for stealing cash from a customer and food from the company’s deli, the woman who allegedly stole $10,000 in cash and gift cards while working as a cashier, or the long-time employee who stole $250,000 over several years. Today, we add another candidate to the list: an Oklahoma store manager who allegedly conspired to help another man steal $78,000 from the store. [More]
PayPal Buys Online Money Transfer Company Xoom For $890M
By 7.2.15
PayPal appears to be preparing for its upcoming separation from parent company eBay later this month by buying an online money-transfer company to increase its international and online presence. [More]
Airbnb Launches New Tool To Help Rental Owners Make More Money
By 6.5.15
Airbnb launched a new tool Thursday that aims to help owners of properties make the most money possible. Price Tips will create continuous suggestions for pricing based on metrics such as demand for rooms, local events and rental prices for hotels in the area. The company claims that owners who price their property within 5% of the suggested amount are four times as likley to attract a renter. [TechCrunch] [More]
Mystery Drone Operator Drops Cash On Lunchtime Crowd In Michigan City
By 5.26.15
For all those times you’ve wished it would suddenly start raining money, the odds are you haven’t been that lucky… yet. The lunchtime crowd enjoying the great outdoors in Grand Rapids, MI enjoyed a fleeting brush with unexpected fortune when a mysterious drone flew over head, dropping cash as it flew. [More]
Lawmaker Urges Congress To Vote On Bill That Would Put A Woman On The $20 Note
By 5.20.15
You don’t have to look in your wallet to know that no paper U.S. currency features the face of an American woman, but one lawmaker wants that to change sometime soon: Rep. Luis Gutierrez urged Congress today to vote on a bill he introduced last month that would change the face of money as we know it, literally, by putting a woman on the $20 bill. [More]
9 Things We’re So Grateful Mom Taught Us About Money
By 5.10.15
Today is the day we pause to reflect on everything our mothers have given us, from kisses on scraped knees and comfortable laps to sit on, to financial wisdom that has the power to stick with us through adulthood. We asked you to share the personal finance tips your mother imparted to you, because hey, sharing is caring and she’d probably approve. [More]
What Did Your Mom Teach You About Money?
By 5.5.15
When I was in first grade, the lunch lady at my school informed me that my parents had overpaid for my meals for the month, and sent the extra money home with me, as I remember it. I took it to my mom, who said that everyone should have a bank account, and that we could use that $18 or so to start one for me. And to add to that — she said that moolah could grow to a larger amount all by itself through a magical thing called “interest.” [More]
TSA Pocketed $675K Last Year Thanks To Your Loose Change
By 4.7.15
All those pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters we leave behind while dashing through airport security certainly add up. In fact, the Transportation Security Administration pocketed almost $675,000 last year because we were in too big a rush to pick up our loose change. [More]
Troubled Atlantic City Casino Even More Troubled After Bag Of Cash Falls Off Armored Truck
By 8.20.14
Imagine you’re a struggling business that will soon have to shutter your doors after failing to make enough money to survive. Wouldn’t you keep any money you do have left wrapped warmly in your embrace, tucked close to your heart, or somewhere else super safe? And not say, on the roof of an armored truck where it can, and will, slide off and be lost? [More]
Most U.S. $100 Bills Are Not In The United States Right Now
By 8.15.14
$100 bills: what are they good for? Most Americans don’t use them, some stores won’t accept them, and their untraceability makes them tempting to steal. What you may not realize, though, is that two-thirds of all United States $100 bills aren’t in circulation in the United States. Instead, they’re the currency of choice in places where people have no faith in their own country’s government and the money it prints. [More]
What’s The Fastest Way To Beam 10 Bucks To A Friend?
By 4.21.14
Let’s say that you owe a friend money, but you can’t just hand them some cash and call it a day: your friend lives in a different state. What is the easiest, most cost-effective, and most importantly the fastest way to beam money from one person to another? Over at the Wall Street Journal’s Marketwatch, staffers decided to race four different services and see how they differed. [More]
Bitcoin: What The Heck Is It, And How Does It Work?
By 3.4.14
The world of finance and economics is pretty complicated as-is, and now there’s “digital money” in the mix making it even worse. Bitcoin is everywhere in the news lately, from hacks to hearings and everything in between. But there are a lot of questions about Bitcoin — starting with, what the heck is all this, anyway? And so, here is everything you wanted to know about Bitcoin, but didn’t actually want to ask your tech-loving, early-adopter friend. [More]
You Don’t Need Help To Claim Your Unclaimed Funds
By 7.22.13
Since David is a Consumerist reader, he’s probably known in his family as a generally savvy person to check with regarding all things financial. Or he’s just smart. Either way, a relative asked him about a letter offering help claiming an apparently abandoned insurance settlement. Was it a scam? Well, no. Not exactly. [More]
Senators Continue Push To Ultimately Replace Dollar Bill With $1 Coin
By 6.6.13
In spite of decades of studies showing the long-term cost benefits of dollar coins over Federal Reserve Notes, and the fact that most of the world’s leading economies have already switched to coins for similar denominations, the U.S. has remained steadfast in its use of printed dollar bills. So once again, lawmakers in the Senate are making the push to gradually make the transition from print to mint. [More]
We Spend Crumpled Money Faster Than Crisp Bills Because Eww, Other People Have Touched It
By 4.1.13
Look in your wallet. Which bills make you happier — the smooth, crisp new ones, or the dirty, crumpled, well-worn notes that have probably been passed around a bajillion times and handled by goodness knows how many people who don’t wash their hands? A new study says the crisper the money, the less likely we are to spend it because everyone wants to get rid of the old, dirty money as fast as possible. [More]
Is Virginia Really Trying To Mint Its Own Money?
By 2.6.13
Earlier this week, the Virginia legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill that would fund a study to investigate “whether the Commonwealth should adopt an alternate medium of commerce or currency to serve as an alternative” to the dollar “in the event of a major breakdown of the Federal Reserve System.” [More]
If You’re Unhappy & You Know It, Keep An Eye On How You Spend Your Money
By 11.29.12
Pick your head up out of that pint of Ben & Jerry’s and step away from the online sales you’ve been clicking through to fill that hole in your heart. A new study claims that when you’re down in the dumps, sad or otherwise singing the blues, you’re more prone to make silly decisions about your money. And come on, you don’t really need another pair of black boots. [More]
