Mythbusters host Adam Savage is retracting comments he made at a hackers conference where he said an episode exposing security flaws in credit card RFID technology was squelched by credit card company lawyers. In a new statement Adam says, ” If I went into the detail of exactly why this story didn’t get filmed, it’s so bizarre and convoluted that no one would believe me, but suffice to say…the decision not to continue on with the RFID story was made by our production company, Beyond Productions, and had nothing to do with Discovery, or their ad sales department.”
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BoA Reopens Credit Card Closed 10 Years Ago
By 9.4.08
At Bank of America, your accounts are Buddhist. As in, undergoing “eternal return,” where accounts that have been closed and passed on will reemerge, rejuvenated, reopened, even if you closed them long, long, ago. Reader Chip writes:
Paying Cash-Only, Family Spends $1,800 Less
By 9.4.08
By switching to only paying for everything in cash, as we wrote about here, one family ended up spending 24% less in a month, $1800 less. To get there they cut up 8 of their 9 credit cards. The last one they froze in a glass of water in case of emergency, another technique we recommended before. “I don’t have enough money in my purse to go buy this new dress or this new shirt that I want, so you don’t even step foot in the store, because you don’t have the money…You don’t make all those extra purchases that you really don’t need.” Marissa Farhat told Good Morning America.
Save On Back-To-School With Google Checkout
By 9.4.08
Google has a special back to school promotion where you can get $10 off $60 and $5 off $30 discounts at a bunch of different online stores when you use their Google Checkout payment service. Official Site [via ProBargainhunter]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 9.4.08
Four Ways to Improve Your Resume [Yahoo Hotjobs] “Here are four tips on how you can power up your resume for today’s more competitive job search arena.”
You’re dead: Where’s your 401(k)? [MSN Money] “If you should die before spending all your hard-earned retirement savings, any number of things could happen to the remaining money. Don’t let it fall into the wrong pockets.”
7 Secrets to Picking Great Funds [Kiplinger] “These methods will help you choose wisely and give your portfolio a boost. Some may surprise you.”
When Should You Downgrade Your Car Insurance? [The Simple Dollar] “How do you know when the time is right to downgrade your car insurance?”
4 Ways to Reduce a Gadget’s Power Drain [Smart Money] “Here are four ways to cut your gadgets’ energy consumption.”
— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: PaulBarwick)
Amex Tops JD Power Credit Card 2008 Customer Satisfaction Survey
By 9.3.08
JD Power and Associates ranked American Express at the top of their 2008 Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Customers gave the company high marks in interaction, billing and payment processes, reward programs, fees and rates, and benefits and services, with the first three factors standing out in particular. Capital One and HSBC, which target revolvers with lower credit scores, received the worst marks. Oddly, Discover got second place. People must really like their two-cycle billing (see “Two-Cycle Billing And Why It’s Evil“). Full rankings inside…
ATT Data Network Down, Complain For Credits
By 9.3.08
AT&T wireless is experiencing some kind of data outage in the Northeast, and if you call up and complain, you can get a $10-$20 credit (YMMV), Gizmodo reports. Let us know in the comments if you’re an AT&T user experiencing data outages, where you’re located, and if you have any luck snagging credits. If calling 611 from your phone doesn’t work for ya, here is a variety of contact information to try.
Credit Card Junk Mail Decreases By 260 Million
By 9.2.08
The number of credit card offers clogging mailboxes took a nosedive in this year’s second quarter, 1.54 billion vs 1.8 billion for the same period last year. An aftershock of the credit crunch and sub-prime meltdown, the decrease reflects a shift in the banking industries thinking, trending towards higher standards from its borrowers than merely the fact that they are carbon-based lifeforms. A good way to take that number even lower is to register with OptOutPrescreen.com and stop the tide of credit card offers almost entirely.
Fed Says We Gotta Let Individual Banks Fail
By 9.2.08
A healthy economy “must be able to allow individual institutions to fail,” said Thomas Hoenig, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City president. He’s absolutely right. [NYT]
CreditKarma.com Makes Free Credit Score More Like FICO's
By 9.2.08
The CreditKarma.com site we told you about in our roundup of “5 No BS Ways To Get A Credit Score For Free” has changed its calibration system so the free, advertising-supported, credit score it gives you is now on the 300-850 range, just like your FICO score. It’s still not your FICO score, but it does make the approximation, based on TransUnion data, more relevant. If you’re do some major money moves, like getting a mortgage, you would still want to pay for the FICO score for total accuracy, but if you just want a general sense of how you’re doing, CreditKarma.com is a great way to do it for free.
How Much Would You Spend to Save Your Pet?
By 8.29.08
Last week the Wall Street Journal asked how far people would go to keep their dog (or really any pet for that matter) alive. As an example of the two ends of the spectrum, they suggested the following, starting with the “not much” line of thinking:
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.28.08
Using Your Health Savings Account as a “Super Roth” Investment Vehicle [Free Money Finance] “If you can afford to delay using your HSA funds and instead leave them invested, your payoff in retirement will be substantial.”
Expensive Cars Are Cheap Right Now
By 8.28.08
Consumer Reports analyzed late-summer car deals and the results are none too surprising. The biggest incentives are on gas-gourgers and big vehicles, the cars no one wants right now.
Earn 15.55% Return On Snow Wolves
By 8.28.08
The central bank of Iceland has increased overnight borrowing rates to 15.5%, meaning you can get some damn high yields investing in their currency. Those numbers piqued my interest.
How To Get ATT Naked DSL (Redux)
By 8.28.08
When reader Nick tried to sign up for ATT “naked DSL” or “dry loop” service (getting DSL without having paying for a landline), a curious thing happened.
WaMu's Inability To Mail Letters Costs Man $3,400
By 8.27.08
Wamu’s fraud department has a problem sending letters. Just like another reader, Kristin, we posted about, Rob is having trouble disputing fraudulent charges on his account. He followed their every instruction, except to respond to the second letter WaMu sent out. How could Rob do such a foolish thing? Because it never showed up in his mailbox, a point, WaMu seems to think, is owing to, not their incompetence, but Rob’s general lassitude and weakness of character. Or something like that. Here’s Rob’s story…
Save Money By Starting A Fuel Oil Coop
By 8.27.08
To save money on heating costs this winter, consider joining or starting a fuel oil co-op. What’s that?
