personal finance

Personal Finance Roundup

Personal Finance Roundup

By FMF 11.30.10

Cut Your Taxes: 5 Year-End Tips [Money Watch] “Here are some moves you can make right now to potentially reduce your financial exposure to Uncle Sam come April 15.”

Christmas Gifts That Make a Difference [Get Rich Slowly] “Make this the year when you pick presents that actually help.”

Everything You Need to Know About Christmas Trees [Money Talks News] “If you’re buying from a tree lot, the price, availability and tree types will depend on where you live, but you’ll often find the best deals at warehouse stories like Home Depot and Lowe’s.”

10 Things Your Landlord Won’t Tell You [Smart Money] “There’s more to negotiate than the rent.”

10 Cheap Ways To Get Someone A Great Gift For Under $5 [The Digerati Life] “Here are ten interesting ideas you could try the next time you’ve got a gift giving event coming up and you’re short on cash.”

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

Get Discounts Just By Asking

Get Discounts Just By Asking

By Ben Popken 11.30.10

Everything has two prices. One price is for people who just pay whatever the sticker says. The other is for the ones who have the gumption to ask for a discount. You want the second one. NYT Bucks Blog shows you how to get it: [More]

Kardashians Terminate Krap Kard

Kardashians Terminate Krap Kard

By Ben Popken 11.30.10

After just 3 weeks, the Kardashian Kard is canceled. Lawyers for the K sisters sent a termination letter to the bank that had licensed their likenesses and slapped them on its hidden fee-laden debit card targeted at children. Seems they don’t want to be associated with a card that was almost immediately after it launched the source of an AG investigation. See the full letter, after the jump. [More]

An Animated Takedown Of The Kardashian Kard

An Animated Takedown Of The Kardashian Kard

By Ben Popken 11.29.10

Those wascally NMA folk took a swing at the Kardashian Kard with a new comedic animated video. They waste no time skewering the fee-laden prepaid debit card marketed towards children. My favorite part is when Kim runs away laughing as her tween fans paw ineffectually towards her, their feet shackled to balls and chains of debt. [More]

Buy Your First Car

Buy Your First Car

By Ben Popken 11.24.10

Never bought a car before? Here’s a good guide that covers the basics, from going into the dealership with your price beforehand, the importance of doing all your researcher and resources for doing so, and the best tactic of all: always be prepared to walk away from a bad deal. [More]

List Of Sick Banks Rise To 17-Year High. Is Yours On It?

List Of Sick Banks Rise To 17-Year High. Is Yours On It?

By Ben Popken 11.24.10

The number of banks on the FDIC’s “in danger of failing” list grew to 860 in July-September, a 17-year high. That number is up from 829 the previous quarter. The list is secret but even if your bank was on it, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to fail, only that it might. So what’s a good way to give your bank a checkup? [More]

Scammed In A Refi, Woman Loses Home

Scammed In A Refi, Woman Loses Home

By Ben Popken 11.23.10

A woman who thought she was doing a simple refi for $50,000 and became the victim of an elaborate swindle was just dealt her final savage blow: her house is getting foreclosed on. [More]

Paying With Credit? App Shows You The True Cost

Paying With Credit? App Shows You The True Cost

By Ben Popken 11.23.10

(Android-only) Inspired by our coverage, Consumerist reader Rick came up with a nifty app to show you the true long-term cost of putting that latte on the credit card. [More]

Personal Finance Roundup

Personal Finance Roundup

By FMF 11.23.10

Seven Smart Money Moves for the Holidays [Wall Street Journal] “Here are seven smart money tips to get the most bang for your (diminished) bucks this holiday season.”

Top 10 myths about job interviews [CNN Money] “Here is his list of the top 10 job interview myths, and how to deal with them.”

8 Ways Convenience is Screwing Your Finances [Wise Bread] “Here are a few reasons why we can’t seem to keep our budgets in check even though we keep getting huge raises.”

8 great Black Friday bargains [MSN Money] “Here are our 8 picks of the most awesome Black Friday deals.”

7 DIY Holiday Gift Ideas [Money Watch] “Here are seven out-of-the-box DIY ideas to get your creative juices flowing.”

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

Foreclosures Are Hurting The Children

Foreclosures Are Hurting The Children

By Ben Popken 11.22.10

Children are an overlooked victim in the mortgage meltdown. Experts are growing concerned about the negative social, emotional and academic impact foreclosure turmoil is having on kids. Everything from forced relocation, moving to a new school, seeing your parents at each other’s throats over money, to coming home and finding all your belongs in the trash takes its toll, and there isn’t currently a public policy response to address the issues. [More]

Wise Ways To Use Plastic

Wise Ways To Use Plastic

By Phil Villarreal 11.21.10

Some people like to live on the edge and believe they can “afford” anything they can buy with the amount of plastic credit they’ve managed to fool financial institutions into allowing them. These are the same spend-happy folks who skate by buy paying the minimum balances on their accounts, oblivious to the interest that’s stacking up against them. [More]

Personal Finance's 7 Deadly Sins

Personal Finance's 7 Deadly Sins

By Phil Villarreal 11.21.10

On the American Express-backed Currency blog, Jason takes the traditional seven deadly sins and applies them to personal finance, offering potential pitfalls money-smart people can slip in to, as well as remedies to seek absolution from the misdeeds. [More]

Figure Out How Much Your Scrap Gold Is Worth

Figure Out How Much Your Scrap Gold Is Worth

By Ben Popken 11.19.10

If you have a bunch of broken gold chains and necklaces and want to try selling them to a jewelry store, it’s important to know how much they’re worth first. Here’s how to calculate their value like the pros do. [More]

Don't Use A Debt Settlement Agency

Don't Use A Debt Settlement Agency

By Ben Popken 11.19.10

Steer clear of debt settlement agencies. A good deal charge unnecessary fees and there’s really nothing they can do legally that you can’t do on your own. Some of them are even outright fraudsters. [More]

Strapped To A "Rocket Docket" Built For Max Foreclosure Speed

Strapped To A "Rocket Docket" Built For Max Foreclosure Speed

By Ben Popken 11.19.10

Florida has special high-velocity courts presided over by retired judges that process foreclosures at the rate of 25 per hour. That’s potentially one evicted family every 2.4 minutes. Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi sat in on one of these “rocket dockets” to show what goes on, marveling at the shoddy and fraudulent paperwork the banks are cramming through the courts. [More]

Remember To Reward Yourself For Paying Off Debt

Remember To Reward Yourself For Paying Off Debt

By Ben Popken 11.17.10

Getting out of a debt can be a long slog. It demands willpower and making sacrifices. It’s usually not very fun. So to make it easier, it’s a good idea to give yourself a little treat along the way to reward yourself for sticking to the path. [More]

Debt Collectors Exploit Facebook To Embarrass You To Friends And Family

Debt Collectors Exploit Facebook To Embarrass You To Friends And Family

By Ben Popken 11.17.10

A woman has filed suit, the first of its kind, to get a debt collector to stop harassing her, her friends, and her family through Facebook and other social networking sites. [More]

Keeping Up With The Kardashian Kard's Hidden Fees

Keeping Up With The Kardashian Kard's Hidden Fees

By Ben Popken 11.17.10

Keeping up with the Kardashians comes at a cost. The reality show star is pimping a new prepaid debit card targeted at kids that is as bursting with hidden fees as Kim’s shirt, featured prominently on the plastic, is bursting with integrity. Yeah, I think using sex to sell hidden fees to kids is pretty messed up. Just take a look at all these fees: [More]

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