Trent has fit everything you ever needed to know about managing personal finance onto the backs of five business cards. Really! That’s it! [More]
personal finance
Capital One "No Hassles" Card Actually Kind Of A Hassle
By 10.13.10
Reader Neurocat says he loves the rewards on his Capital One “No Hassles” Visa card. Cashing in points for $100 gift cards to Home Depot, Sears and the like is handy when you’ve just bought your first fixer-upper house. Then he was slightly late on two of his payments and the honeymoon was over. [More]
HER-NAN Saves Kingdom With Powers Of Castle VISAskull
By 10.13.10
VISA is blanketing Argentina with a new ad in which a shopper named Hernan is turned into “HER-NAN,” like HE-MAN, imbued with the powers of Castle Greyskull. You don’t need to know Spanish to experience the awesomeness, but we also have a translation. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 10.13.10
10 Financial Perks of Marriage [Wise Bread] “Here are ten ways that you and your spouse are hooking each other up.”
Best Jobs in America [CNN Money] “100 best jobs based on pay, growth, and quality of life.”
How to Replace Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Personal Paperwork [Money Talks News] “Imagine that your house burns down or gets completely destroyed by fire, flood or other disaster. Would you know how to go about replacing your essential paperwork?”
How to Check the History of a Used Car [Kiplinger] “Follow these steps to make sure it hasn’t been in an accident.”
Four More FICO Score Myths, Busted [MintLife Blog] “So, in my ongoing mission to set the record straight I give you FICO Score Myths, Busted.”
Old-School Personal Loans Make A Comeback
By 10.12.10
Out of the soil of the post-apocalyptic credit graveyard shoots the skeletal hand of a forgotten lending practice. Banks are once again busting out “personal loans” to help finance what might otherwise be just out of reach for consumers. Here’s how they work: [More]
When Automatic Payments Won't Stop
By 10.12.10
Here’s what you need to do when a vendor won’t stop billing your bank account automatically after you ask them to quit it. [More]
Reporter Lives For Month Without A Bank, Fee Orgy Ensues
By 10.12.10
As an experiment, an AP reporter tried to live for a month without using a bank so she could get a taste of how people who can’t get an account, or choose not to, live. She discovered fees and confusion galore, and found that it would end up costing her $1,100 a year just to spend her own money. That’s not even counting the cost of standing in “Soviet-style” lines in grungy check-cashing places to cash her paycheck alongside the great unwashed, and unbanked. Overall, depressing, anxious, and time-consuming experience [More]
How The Current Foreclosure Fraud Crisis Works
By 10.12.10
A simplified way to understand how the current foreclosure fraud crisis got started. It all became unwound when a foreclosure mill “robo signer” admitted in a deposition to signing more than 10,000 affidavits in one day, little lies on slips of paper that got people thrown out of their houses. [More]
What's Your Biggest Stingy Regret?
By 10.10.10
There’s a blurry line between frugality and outright miserliness, and everyone comes to their own working definition of how far one can go to save money without crossing that line. [More]
Don't Let These Money Fears Spook You
By 10.10.10
Goblins and poltergeists have got nothing on foreclosure notices and layoff memos when it comes to fright factor. But you needn’t be paralyzed by potential money problems. Instead you should anticipate possible meltdowns and plan coping strategies. [More]
FTC Squashes Payday Site For Putting $54.95 Charge For Empty Debit Card In Fine Print
By 10.6.10
You’re broke. How would you like a $54.95 debit card? It’s empty, but if you ever do get any money, you can put up to $2,500 on it. Yay. If that doesn’t sound like a bargain, it’s no wonder that one internet marketer of payday loan referral sites was hiding the fact that he was signing you up for these dodo cards via a pre-checked checkbox on the signup form, and the FTC smacked him down for it. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 10.6.10
7 Tips to Conserve Heat and Money This Winter [Money Talks News] “Here’s more quick info on things you do to winterize your home.”
DIY? 4 Times It’s Cheaper to Pay a Professional [Money Watch] “Doing things on our own always sounds like a good idea. But the truth is that we often end up spending more money and time.”
8 College Fees You Didn’t Plan For [Smart Money] “Here are eight hidden fees to look for — and what you can expect to pay.”
The End of the 4% Rule? [Wise Bread] “That rule is starting to look kind of iffy.”
7 things you should know about Groupons [Smart Spending] “Here’s how to make the most of deals at the site, plus some interesting trivia.”
Man Gets $126 In Fees Refunded After Bar Charged Him Twice For One Drink
By 10.5.10
Freddy was furious. $126 in overdraft fees? Even though his balance is sometimes down to the wire, he is careful to make sure he has enough funds in his account. Ah yes, but this doesn’t account for when they mess up. [More]
Govt. Notices Rise Of "Debtor's Prisons," Doesn't Like Them
By 10.4.10
An increasing tool of choice for collection agencies is getting folks thrown in jail for missing “financial assessment hearings,” even when the folks had good reason – like moving and never getting the letter – or the validity of the debt is in dispute. In addition, collectors are requesting forfeited bail to pay off judgement, turning our local jails into de facto debtor’s prisons, and the police into deputized debt collection agents. Now regulators and officials are taking notice, and taking action to curb some of the worst abuses. [More]
Park In The Shade And Save Gas
By 10.4.10
One easy way to save on gas is to park in the shade. The cooler your car is, the less the gas in your tank will evaporate. A quality windshield shade helps, too. After all, you wouldn’t want your hard-earned dollars to waft away into the sky, now would you? [More]
Man Gets 87,000 Rewards Points Back
By 10.4.10
Andy and his wife were saving up for a trip for Hawaii. They had 87,000 points, which represented $87,000 they had spent accumulating these points. Out of nowhere, Citibank closed his account and gave him no chance to get his points. [More]
Bank Of America Freezes All Foreclosures In 23 States
By 10.4.10
Bank of America announced Friday that it was halting foreclosures in each and every case that hadn’t gone to judgement. They became the third major bank to put the brakes on foreclosures after revelations that document processing firms were allegedly forging papers and signatures on a massive scale. [More]
Ways You Can Screw Up Without Messing Up Your Credit Score
By 10.2.10
Your credit can determine interest rates for loans, as well as whether or not you’ll qualify for credit in the first place. Employers also ask you to let them run credit checks on you to see if you’re reliable. So it’s in your best interests to avoid making mistakes that will ruin your credit rating. [More]
