After being such prudes for so long, credit card companies are raising their hemlines and lowering their standards. They’re actively deluging customers with credit card offers and using low teaser rates as a crooked finger. However, they’re also coming with new hidden baggage you need to watch out for, like cash back rewards that are high, but have to be opted in again every few months. [More]
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Hundreds Of People's Tax Returns Found Dumped In Front Of Jackson Hewitt Office Because They Were "So Heavy"
By 11.4.11
A soggy pile of hundreds of old tax returns was found in front of an abandoned Jackson Hewitt tax prep office in San Francisco in late October. The papers had social security numbers, names, addresses, and phone numbers, a potential goldmine for any identity thief who got their hands on them. [More]
Here's An Idea: Credit Union Pays Members For Using Their Debit Cards
By 11.4.11
Instead of charging customers a $5 monthly fee for using their debit cards, one credit union is actually paying its members to use their debit cards. In a direct jab against the big banks, First Community Federal Credit Union is running a promotion that lets members earn up to $5 a month for swiping their debit card. [More]
Video Of People Closing Down Their Accounts At Big Banks
By 11.4.11
Tomorrow is Bank Transfer Day. By this date, people all across America are shutting down their accounts at large, costly, name-brand banks and transferring their funds to new bank accounts at their local credit union or community bank. Here is an excellent video made in Portland that follows along with several different people as they close their bank accounts and give their reasons for doing so. One person wants to save money, another disagrees with the bank’s foreclosure practices, a third is mad about the bailouts, and the last is a union withdrawing its funds to show solidarity with holding Wall Street accountable. [More]
Paypal Links Account Missing $2,000 To Yours, Demands You Pay
By 11.3.11
Reader Ben awoke to a rude discovery. Somehow another account had been linked to his Paypal account, and the new account was $2,000 in the red. Paypal was knocking on Ben’s door, telling him to pay up, or else. They locked up his account and froze his cash. When he protested, they treated him like a criminal. [More]
How Lower Credit Scores Cost You More Money
By 11.3.11
People talk a lot about credit scores. Bands play songs about them in TV ads that try to sell you credit reports. It’s generally known that a higher score is better than a lower score. But what really is the difference between a person with a 820 and one with a 620? Is one a better person than the other? Not necessarily, but the person with the 620 score can expect to pay $227 more a month on a $216,000 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Here’s the breakdown. [More]
Private Equity Bets Big Bucks On "Buy Here Pay Here" Dealerships
By 11.1.11
In the second of a three-part series on “Buy Here Pay Here” dealerships, used car lots that target subprime borrowers with easy credit and triple the national average interest rates, the Los Angeles Times looks at how private equity firms have flocked towards the growing industry, lured by 38% margins. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 11.1.11
The Case for the Mileage Based Credit Card [Free Money Finance] “There is a case to be made that, for some people, mileage based credit cards may actually be more valuable.”
5 ways to sabotage your retirement [MSN Money] “You may not necessarily be thinking of retirement when you celebrate a promotion, but maybe you should be.”
The Art of Online Portraiture [Wall Street Journal] “LinkedIn research shows that a page with a profile picture is seven times as likely to be viewed as a page without one.”
Bad Manners Can Cost You A Fortune [Smart Money] “The nicer you are the more likely you are to make money and snag bargains.”
9 Steps To Switch Your Bank Account [One Cent at a Time] “If you are dissatisfied with your bank and want to switch, you might want to follow the steps below.”
Triple Dip Predicted For Home Prices
By 10.31.11
Home prices are headed for yet a third bottom, their lowest yet, says a new report by financial analytics company Fiserv. [More]
"Buy Here Pay Here" Dealerships Investigated
By 10.31.11
The Los Angeles Times has an excellent investigation into the national “Buy Here Pay Here” auto dealership phenomenon. These used car sellers purposefully target bad credit borrowers and offer them what no one else will: the chance to buy a car on credit. All they have to do is agree to 20-30% interest rates, a price well above the car’s Blue Book Value, and aggressive repo practices if they fail to pay up. But it’s not a big deal if they don’t. Borrower failure is baked into the business plan. [More]
Senator Is Victim Of Credit Card Fraud, Thieves Rack Up $12,000 At Walmart
By 10.28.11
It’s a measure of the brazenness and ubiquity of identity theft that a U.S. Senator has become the latest victim of credit card fraud. Thieves stole the credit card numbers belonging to Senator Daniel Inouye (D) of Hawaii, embedded them on the magnetic strip of a fake credit card, and went on a $12,000 Walmart shopping spree. [More]
Banks Agree To Take 50% Loss To Ease Euro Zone Crisis
By 10.27.11
European banks this morning agreed to take a 50% loss on Greek debt, a critical step towards ending the financial crisis gripping the euro zone. [More]
Top 10 States With Highest Debt Per Capita
By 10.25.11
Are you in a state that has saddled its citizens with a big debt load per person? This list tells you. It may surprise you that the state with the highest debt per capita is also the one with the most penny loafers per capita. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 10.25.11
25 Ways to Make Money Today [Wise Bread] “Some are obviously a little easier than others, some require skill, some are a bit silly, but all of them are within reach for most of us.”
How to Be a Better Investor [Kiplinger] “Step one: Recognize — and overcome — the psychological hurdles that influence our behavior.”
How to Work at Home: 4 Ways to Convince Your Boss [Moneyland] “If you’d like to give [working from home] a try, but your employer has reservations, here are four ways to win over the boss.”
6 tips to make your nest egg last. [MSN Money] “Certain steps can help maximize the amount of money you’ll have when the paychecks stop.”
The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012 [US News] “These cities will meet your retirement lifestyle needs and suit your budget.”
Bill Introduced To Let You Keep Your Account Number When You Switch Banks
By 10.21.11
When you switch phone companies, you’re allowed to keep your phone number. So why isn’t there this “number portability” for bank accounts? Well, a bill has been introduced in Washington to let you do exactly that. [More]
BofA Is No Longer Biggest Bank In America
By 10.21.11
After a recent round of selling off assets, Bank of America is no longer the biggest bank in America. [More]
Goldman Sachs Loses Money For First Time Since Financial Crisis Began
By 10.20.11
For the first time since the advent of the financial meltdown, and for only the second time since 1999 when it became a publicly traded company, Goldman Sachs has — Gasp! Horror! Shock! — lost some money. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 10.18.11
How to Know When to Quit [Get Rich Slowly] “Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.”
Weird stuff that hurts home values [MSN Money] “All sorts of factors can diminish what your home is worth, such as the way your house compares with others in the area, your neighbors or a faulty appraisal.”
10 Concrete Tips To Dine Out For Less: Save Money When Eating Out [The Digerati Life] “Here are 10 glorious tips to help you make the most out of dining out.”
Where to Find 7% Yields [Smart Money] “Preferred shares issued by real estate trusts are one of today’s few sources of healthy investment income.”
Best jobs for fast growth [CNN Money] “If you’re stalled or burned out, these fast-growing fields (with relatively low barriers to entry) can help you earn more, get ahead and put life back into your career.”
