Bank tellers may handle your transactions with smiles, but don’t think there’s not a lot of judgment going on behind those glazed-over looks. They see suckers come and go all day, and watch people make the same ill-informed mistakes again and again. [More]
personal finance
Deduct Costs Of Stinky Chinese Drywall From Your Taxes
By 10.1.10
You can get some money if your home was ruined by defective Chinese drywall that emitted nasty-ass sulfuric fumes. The IRS yesterday said that homeowners could treat the damages to both their homes and appliances as a casualty loss and deduct it from their taxes. [More]
College Kids Buying Credit Card Cosignatures
By 10.1.10
Tell a college student they can’t do something and someone will figure out a way to monetize it. Thanks to the CARD Act, makers of fake ID’s on campuses may now have a new sideline business: selling real credit card cosigner signatures. [More]
Bar Charges Me Twice For A Drink, I Get $126 In Overdraft Fees
By 9.30.10
Freddy watches his balances like a hawk, so he was surprised when TD Bank hit him for $126 in overdraft fees. Turns out the bar he had gone to had accidentally charged his debit card twice for one of his drinks, and though he was careful to stay within his low balance, it set the stage for a cascade of fees. [More]
JPMorgan Chase Suspends 56,000 Foreclosures
By 9.30.10
JPMorgan became the second major lender after GMAC/Ally Bank to halt pending foreclosures, halting proceedings on 56,000 homes. This follows revelations that “robo-signer” “foreclosure mills” were filing paperwork that would be gracious to call “sloppy,” at the rate of 10,000 a day. [More]
Fannie Mae Gives Wounded Soldiers A Break On Mortgages
By 9.29.10
Fannie Mae yesterday announced that military families with a member who was injured or killed while on active duty can apply for a forbearance of up to six months if they’re having trouble making their mortgage payments. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 9.29.10
Leaving Money on the Table, or Not, when Negotiating [Free Money Finance] “If you’ve been wondering how to best negotiate a salary with a new employer, here are some great tips.”
9 Places to Get Student Discounts [Wise Bread] “Categories and specific retail chains that are known for their student discounts.”
How to Organize and Host a Gaming Evening [The Simple Dollar] “How does one organize and host a social evening of games with friends?”
5 things to know about health savings accounts [CNN Money] “Here’s what you need to know before signing up.”
5 Habits of Highly-Effective Credit Card Users [Get Rich Slowly] “Here are the five habits common among cardholders who use their cards effectively.”
Collectors, Stop Harrassing Me About Mom's Debt
By 9.28.10
Michele keeps getting nasty letters and phone calls from debt collectors trying to get her to pay for her mother’s debt. One of them told her the local police had said she “should be arrested” and another pretended to be from the U.S. Department of Education. How does she get them to stop? [More]
Children Can Now Stay On Parent's Health Care Policies Until Age 26, And 3 Other Health Care Reforms That Just Kicked In
By 9.27.10
Several of the provisions of the health care bill’s provisions went into effect on September 23rd, one of the most popular of them being the fact that kids can now stay on their parent’s health care policies until age 26, but there also three other important ones too! [More]
Chase Forecloses On Family With Son Crippled By Rare Genetic Disorder
By 9.27.10
A family whose son has debilitating cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy got foreclosed on by Chase, just days after they were told their loan modification was approved. [More]
Slash Your Budget By Changing Routines
By 9.26.10
One of the easiest ways to go broke is to become used to spending too much on stuff without putting any thought into your bills and purchases. A few phone calls and clicks and new habits can work some wriggle room into your budget. [More]
Use The 'Burrito Factor' To Discourage Overspending
By 9.25.10
It would be easy to stay on a budget if there weren’t so many tantalizing products out there to tempt you away from your hard-earned money. But great savers employ tricks of the trade to make sure their priorities stay in order. [More]
SmartyPig Slices Interest Rate To 1.75%
By 9.24.10
SmartyPig just cut the interest rate on its online savings accounts from an ahead of the pack 2.15% to 1.75%, unless you have $50,000 or more in your account. [More]
Lauren's Quick And Easy Excel Budgeter
By 9.24.10
It’s hard to beat an excel spreadsheet for quickly shifting between a granular and top-level view of your personal finance situation. Here’s reader Lauren’s account balance spreadsheet she made to keep track of her expenditures, past, present, and future, and itemize her budget. [More]
BofA Forecloses On Man's House, Even Though He Has No Mortgage
By 9.23.10
Bank of America stole Jason’s house from him, putting it through foreclosure even though he has no mortgage, with them or anyone, and he paid for it in cash. [More]
Chase Tries To Pass Fake Money Back To Customer
By 9.23.10
A guy withdrew some hundreds from his credit union to pay his roommate his portion of the rent. The roommate deposited them at Chase, which later discovered that one of the hundreds was actually a $5 altered to look like a $100. [More]
Will New Owners Reduce The Schwab Visa Card's 2% Cashback?
By 9.23.10
Popular cashback choice Schwab 2% Visa card is getting taken over by FIA card services September 30th, and customers fret that the new owners will kick the rewards down to 1%. [More]
Mugging Alarms On ATMs Are Expensive And Useless
By 9.22.10
Anti-robbery systems at ATMs, like an alarm button button or a PIN code used to alert police you’re getting mugged, are rarely installed on the cash disgorgers, and with good reason. [More]
