Out of the soil of the post-apocalyptic credit graveyard shoots the skeletal hand of a forgotten lending practice. Banks are once again busting out “personal loans” to help finance what might otherwise be just out of reach for consumers. Here’s how they work: [More]
money
When Automatic Payments Won't Stop
By 10.12.10
Here’s what you need to do when a vendor won’t stop billing your bank account automatically after you ask them to quit it. [More]
Reporter Lives For Month Without A Bank, Fee Orgy Ensues
By 10.12.10
As an experiment, an AP reporter tried to live for a month without using a bank so she could get a taste of how people who can’t get an account, or choose not to, live. She discovered fees and confusion galore, and found that it would end up costing her $1,100 a year just to spend her own money. That’s not even counting the cost of standing in “Soviet-style” lines in grungy check-cashing places to cash her paycheck alongside the great unwashed, and unbanked. Overall, depressing, anxious, and time-consuming experience [More]
How The Current Foreclosure Fraud Crisis Works
By 10.12.10
A simplified way to understand how the current foreclosure fraud crisis got started. It all became unwound when a foreclosure mill “robo signer” admitted in a deposition to signing more than 10,000 affidavits in one day, little lies on slips of paper that got people thrown out of their houses. [More]
Don't Let These Money Fears Spook You
By 10.10.10
Goblins and poltergeists have got nothing on foreclosure notices and layoff memos when it comes to fright factor. But you needn’t be paralyzed by potential money problems. Instead you should anticipate possible meltdowns and plan coping strategies. [More]
FTC Squashes Payday Site For Putting $54.95 Charge For Empty Debit Card In Fine Print
By 10.6.10
You’re broke. How would you like a $54.95 debit card? It’s empty, but if you ever do get any money, you can put up to $2,500 on it. Yay. If that doesn’t sound like a bargain, it’s no wonder that one internet marketer of payday loan referral sites was hiding the fact that he was signing you up for these dodo cards via a pre-checked checkbox on the signup form, and the FTC smacked him down for it. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 10.6.10
7 Tips to Conserve Heat and Money This Winter [Money Talks News] “Here’s more quick info on things you do to winterize your home.”
DIY? 4 Times It’s Cheaper to Pay a Professional [Money Watch] “Doing things on our own always sounds like a good idea. But the truth is that we often end up spending more money and time.”
8 College Fees You Didn’t Plan For [Smart Money] “Here are eight hidden fees to look for — and what you can expect to pay.”
The End of the 4% Rule? [Wise Bread] “That rule is starting to look kind of iffy.”
7 things you should know about Groupons [Smart Spending] “Here’s how to make the most of deals at the site, plus some interesting trivia.”
Man Gets $126 In Fees Refunded After Bar Charged Him Twice For One Drink
By 10.5.10
Freddy was furious. $126 in overdraft fees? Even though his balance is sometimes down to the wire, he is careful to make sure he has enough funds in his account. Ah yes, but this doesn’t account for when they mess up. [More]
Govt. Notices Rise Of "Debtor's Prisons," Doesn't Like Them
By 10.4.10
An increasing tool of choice for collection agencies is getting folks thrown in jail for missing “financial assessment hearings,” even when the folks had good reason – like moving and never getting the letter – or the validity of the debt is in dispute. In addition, collectors are requesting forfeited bail to pay off judgement, turning our local jails into de facto debtor’s prisons, and the police into deputized debt collection agents. Now regulators and officials are taking notice, and taking action to curb some of the worst abuses. [More]
Park In The Shade And Save Gas
By 10.4.10
One easy way to save on gas is to park in the shade. The cooler your car is, the less the gas in your tank will evaporate. A quality windshield shade helps, too. After all, you wouldn’t want your hard-earned dollars to waft away into the sky, now would you? [More]
Man Gets 87,000 Rewards Points Back
By 10.4.10
Andy and his wife were saving up for a trip for Hawaii. They had 87,000 points, which represented $87,000 they had spent accumulating these points. Out of nowhere, Citibank closed his account and gave him no chance to get his points. [More]
Bank Of America Freezes All Foreclosures In 23 States
By 10.4.10
Bank of America announced Friday that it was halting foreclosures in each and every case that hadn’t gone to judgement. They became the third major bank to put the brakes on foreclosures after revelations that document processing firms were allegedly forging papers and signatures on a massive scale. [More]
Make Cash As A Lab Rat
By 10.1.10
A guy who worked full time for three years just by signing up to be a human test subject for paid clinical research studies tells you how you can make good money doing it. [More]
Deduct Costs Of Stinky Chinese Drywall From Your Taxes
By 10.1.10
You can get some money if your home was ruined by defective Chinese drywall that emitted nasty-ass sulfuric fumes. The IRS yesterday said that homeowners could treat the damages to both their homes and appliances as a casualty loss and deduct it from their taxes. [More]
College Kids Buying Credit Card Cosignatures
By 10.1.10
Tell a college student they can’t do something and someone will figure out a way to monetize it. Thanks to the CARD Act, makers of fake ID’s on campuses may now have a new sideline business: selling real credit card cosigner signatures. [More]
Russian Hotties Collared In $3M Bank Hack Scam
By 10.1.10
Several comely young Russian woman were snagged by the feds in New York yesterday for allegedly working as money mules for hackers who stole over $3 mil from American bank accounts using trojan viruses. [More]
Bar Charges Me Twice For A Drink, I Get $126 In Overdraft Fees
By 9.30.10
Freddy watches his balances like a hawk, so he was surprised when TD Bank hit him for $126 in overdraft fees. Turns out the bar he had gone to had accidentally charged his debit card twice for one of his drinks, and though he was careful to stay within his low balance, it set the stage for a cascade of fees. [More]
JPMorgan Chase Suspends 56,000 Foreclosures
By 9.30.10
JPMorgan became the second major lender after GMAC/Ally Bank to halt pending foreclosures, halting proceedings on 56,000 homes. This follows revelations that “robo-signer” “foreclosure mills” were filing paperwork that would be gracious to call “sloppy,” at the rate of 10,000 a day. [More]
