According to reader Caleb, Wells Fargo seems to have recently crippled their loan repayment system in a way that makes it impossible for borrowers to pay off loans the way they want to. That is, unless you prefer to let your highest-interest loans ride for as long as possible while you pay off your lower-interest loans…
money
PayPal Refunds $50 Defraud, Sics Collections On You
By 8.26.08
Last year, Gpotato.com fraudulently took $50 from reader Adam’s Paypal account. He disputed the charge, Paypal agreed it was fraud and returned the funds, and Adam closed the account. Now all of a sudden Paypal’s internal collections agency is calling up Adam and making rude and insistent demands that he pay this $50 immediately.
Use Snowball Method Spreadsheet To Pay Off Debts
By 8.26.08
Do you have so many credit cards that you could sew a pair of pants from them? Confused as how to get rid of them? Try this handy Excel spreadsheet to generate a custom strategy for becoming debt-free.
10 Cheapest Cars To Drive
By 8.26.08
Hybrids are all the rage right now but fuel costs aren’t the only thing you should be thinking about. After taking into account repairs, maintenance, and financing, these 10 cars offer great deals.
4 Unusual Ways To Save Money
By 8.21.08
BusinessWeek has put together one of those accursed slideshows of 25 ways to save money, and while a lot of them are things you’ve heard before (use credit cards wisely! buy generic or used!), there are a few less common tips that you might not have considered. Here are four that caught our attention.
Watch Out For These 5 Overdraft Traps
By 8.20.08
Banks need your money. They’re not doing too well on their own, and you’re not screwing up enough to generate the fees they need to make their shareholders happy. That’s why they’ve set up sneaky ways to maximize your every mistake—or in some cases, ways to change the rules so that you make new mistakes where you didn’t before—in order to penalize you. Here are five things SmartMoney says to watch out for.
6 Unpleasant Truths About Personal Finance
By 8.19.08
Ready for some tough love about how to improve your financial situation? Jeffrey Strain, the man behind SavingAdvice.com, has put together a list of six “awful truths” about personal finance for TheStreet.com. The reason they’re “awful,” he writes, is that “these truths mean that the each person must take more responsibility and make hard decisions that they would rather leave to others.”
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.18.08
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.”
Coinstar Calls Cashing In Change 'Recycling'
By 8.18.08
Douglas writes, “Coinstar wants you to ‘recycle’ your coins in their machines, and save the environment! Minus their 8.9% fee of course.” They even have a little wizard on their website that estimates how many parts of the environment—water, energy consumption, and geological waste—you save by putting those coins back into circulation, instead of hoarding them like the polar bear murderer you are. They don’t provide any source for these estimates, though, and we’re not convinced you’re doing anything “green” other than lining Coinstar’s pockets.
What To Do When Citibank Charges You Interest On A Zero Balance
By 8.15.08
A Consumerist reader was surprised to find that Citibank had applied a finance charge on a zero balance account. She did what every good Consumerist should do: prepared her evidence, jumped quickly ahead to a live person on the Customer Service side, and resolved the issue. Here’s what happened:
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.14.08
When should you spend to save? [MSN Money] “Are warehouse store memberships a good deal? How about extended warranties? It all depends on the products — and on you, the shopper.”
Bank Of America: Exploding Dye Packs Aren't Just For Heist Movies Anymore
By 8.13.08
A Bank of America customer got a nasty surprise after withdrawing cash to pay her employees — a dye pack exploded in her car. When she went back to the bank to complain she says she didn’t even get an apology.
Your Best Investment: Your Health
By 8.13.08
It’s been suggested that your career is your biggest financial asset because it fuels all of your financial progress — it grows your net worth, pays for your living expenses, sends your kids to college,funds your retirement, and the like. That’s why we protect our careers with products like disability, medical, and life insurance, because without the ability to work — even for a limited amount of time — most of us would experience severe financial hardship.
By 8.8.08
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Good Housekeeping has an extensive article detailing the 5 most common money mistakes that people make, from spending too much on “bargains” to letting their children blow their budget by not standing up to whining and teaching their children the value of things. [Good Housekeeping via Digg]
Oil Prices Drop, Sadly
By 8.8.08
The price of oil dropped $2.19 today, to $117.91, spurring a stock market and dollar rally. Sounds like good news. Except that it’s dropping because the market thinks more people won’t be able to afford to drive their cars as much. Who’s up for a “staycation?”
The Only Thing Worse Than '06 Mortgages: '07 Ones
By 8.8.08
Man, remember those mortgages made in 2006? That was some bad juju. Whooee. But if you thought those were bad, wait till you get a load of the mortgages made in 2007. As the graph shows, people are defaulting on them at an even higher rate than the ’06 ones. How could this be? By 2007 the bubble was popping and lenders could all see that they needed to stop giving making loans to underqualified borrowers, right? That was exactly the problem: “Mortgage originators who profited handsomely from the housing boom “realized the game was completely over” and pushed mortgages out the door,” reports WSJ.
Etrade: Hire That Baby To Do Customer Service, He'd Do A Better Job
By 8.7.08
“Maybe I should call the E*Trade Baby. He might give me better customer service.” Matt’s mother died last year and he has been trying since last year to liquidate her E*Trade CD and put it in the family trust. Every other financial institution has been able to liquidate the assets with no problem, but it seems after blowing their wad on funny Superbowl ads, E*Trade has nothing left over for customer service. Here’s Matt’s story, and our advice on how can get his problem fixed:
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.7.08
The Promotion That Got Away: 5 Ways to Bounce Back [Yahoo HotJobs] “Nearly everyone has been passed over for a job they ‘deserved.’ If and when that happens there are five important steps to take.”
