Fannie Mae yesterday announced that military families with a member who was injured or killed while on active duty can apply for a forbearance of up to six months if they’re having trouble making their mortgage payments. [More]
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Personal Finance Roundup
By 9.29.10
Leaving Money on the Table, or Not, when Negotiating [Free Money Finance] “If you’ve been wondering how to best negotiate a salary with a new employer, here are some great tips.”
9 Places to Get Student Discounts [Wise Bread] “Categories and specific retail chains that are known for their student discounts.”
How to Organize and Host a Gaming Evening [The Simple Dollar] “How does one organize and host a social evening of games with friends?”
5 things to know about health savings accounts [CNN Money] “Here’s what you need to know before signing up.”
5 Habits of Highly-Effective Credit Card Users [Get Rich Slowly] “Here are the five habits common among cardholders who use their cards effectively.”
Collectors, Stop Harrassing Me About Mom's Debt
By 9.28.10
Michele keeps getting nasty letters and phone calls from debt collectors trying to get her to pay for her mother’s debt. One of them told her the local police had said she “should be arrested” and another pretended to be from the U.S. Department of Education. How does she get them to stop? [More]
Children Can Now Stay On Parent's Health Care Policies Until Age 26, And 3 Other Health Care Reforms That Just Kicked In
By 9.27.10
Several of the provisions of the health care bill’s provisions went into effect on September 23rd, one of the most popular of them being the fact that kids can now stay on their parent’s health care policies until age 26, but there also three other important ones too! [More]
Chase Forecloses On Family With Son Crippled By Rare Genetic Disorder
By 9.27.10
A family whose son has debilitating cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy got foreclosed on by Chase, just days after they were told their loan modification was approved. [More]
SmartyPig Slices Interest Rate To 1.75%
By 9.24.10
SmartyPig just cut the interest rate on its online savings accounts from an ahead of the pack 2.15% to 1.75%, unless you have $50,000 or more in your account. [More]
Lauren's Quick And Easy Excel Budgeter
By 9.24.10
It’s hard to beat an excel spreadsheet for quickly shifting between a granular and top-level view of your personal finance situation. Here’s reader Lauren’s account balance spreadsheet she made to keep track of her expenditures, past, present, and future, and itemize her budget. [More]
BofA Forecloses On Man's House, Even Though He Has No Mortgage
By 9.23.10
Bank of America stole Jason’s house from him, putting it through foreclosure even though he has no mortgage, with them or anyone, and he paid for it in cash. [More]
Chase Tries To Pass Fake Money Back To Customer
By 9.23.10
A guy withdrew some hundreds from his credit union to pay his roommate his portion of the rent. The roommate deposited them at Chase, which later discovered that one of the hundreds was actually a $5 altered to look like a $100. [More]
Will New Owners Reduce The Schwab Visa Card's 2% Cashback?
By 9.23.10
Popular cashback choice Schwab 2% Visa card is getting taken over by FIA card services September 30th, and customers fret that the new owners will kick the rewards down to 1%. [More]
Mugging Alarms On ATMs Are Expensive And Useless
By 9.22.10
Anti-robbery systems at ATMs, like an alarm button button or a PIN code used to alert police you’re getting mugged, are rarely installed on the cash disgorgers, and with good reason. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 9.22.10
Personal Philanthropy: Twenty Ways to Improve the World, Even If You’re Broke [The Simple Dollar] “Here are twenty things anyone can donate to make the world a better place without blowing up their budget.”
Growing Your Human Capital: 11 Ways to Boost Your Income-Producing Ability [Get Rich Slowly] “Earning a higher paycheck isn’t easy these days, so it takes deliberate planning [and] extra work.”
10 Tips for Working for Yourself — Without Working Yourself to Death [Money Talks News] “Here’s what I’ve learned, some of it the hard way.”
10 Reasons To Buy a Home [Wall Street Journal] “Enough with the doom and gloom about homeownership.”
Are you misplacing hundreds of dollars? [MSN Money] “Every time you buy a duplicate of something you already own, leave a rebate unclaimed or forget to pay a bill on time, you’re burning money.”
Bank Of America Lets You Keep Get Out Of Jail Free Card
By 9.21.10
Chaz forgot about a check he wrote a month ago and when it got deposited this month, his Bank of America account went into the red. This also caused a transfer he started to get rejected, so he got two $35 overdraft charges. Armed with a “stuff happens” one-time fee refund card Bank of America gave him when he opened his student account, he went in and threw himself at their mercy. [More]
Caller ID Says "Phone Scam"
By 9.21.10
Telemarketing credit card fraudsters aren’t even trying anymore. Reader Chris took a picture of the caller ID for one of them actually showing up as “PHONE SCAM.” [More]
GMAC Bungled Foreclosure Affidavits In 23 States
By 9.21.10
GMAC Mortgage is taking the eye-opening step of stopping evictions in 23 states because the affidavits used to support the kickouts contained information the employees didn’t themselves personally know to be true, and they were sometimes signed without a notary present, according to a company statement. [More]
GMAC Halts Evictions In 23 States
By 9.20.10
GMAC has told brokers and agents to immediately stop evicting homeowners in 23 states. In a memo, the Ally Financial Inc. subsidiary cited “corrective action in connection with some foreclosures” that may need to be taken. Smells like some people got foreclosed on that shouldn’t have, though we’ve been hearing scattered reports about that for a while without the banks doing much, so why drastic action now? Have they uncovered something massive? [More]
Consumerist On Marketplace: Bank Gives You 24 Hours To Fix Overdrafts
By 9.20.10
I was on Marketplace on public radio this morning, chiming in about Huntington Bank’s new 24-hour grace period they’re giving customers who overdraft. If you deposit the funds you’re lacking within a day, no fee, but if you don’t, you’ll get a $23 charge. This program is automatic, you don’t need to be enrolled in overdraft protection. Sounds nice and innovative, but I’d rather the bank deny the charge and get no fee instead. Here’s the audio: [More]
Recession Officially Over. Yipee.
By 9.20.10
The official declarer of such things has announced that the Great Recession is over, and it ended in Jun 2009. So why doesn’t it feel that way? [More]
