If you pay your American Express bill 7 days after the due date, the credit card company says you’re over 30 days past due. Every other issuer only says you’re 7 days late. What gives? [More]
personal finance
How To Switch Banks Without Screwing Stuff Up
By 9.7.10
Switching banks is like going through a divorce. Lots of paperwork, hurt feelings, twinges of regret and the shaky knowledge that if you press on you’ll end up in a better situation afterward. [More]
Business Credit Cards Not Protected By CARD Act
By 9.3.10
Sorry, small businesses, the much ballyhooed protections of the CARD Act do not cover your credit cards. Only consumer credit cards get safeguarded against the most punitive of the old interest rate and fee policies. No wonder credit card solicitations to small business owners have increased 256%, vs 29% for consumer credit cards – they’re more profitable now. [More]
Simplify Your Life
By 9.2.10
For a guide to simplifying your life, this 7-step, multi-bulleted guide looks a little complex. So pick one tip to get inspired by, like getting some unnecessary possessions out of the house. Feeling overwhelmed is a catalyst for emotional spending and other unwise activities, and the little things building up can be little seeds of unraveling. Sometimes the best way to take care of frayed ends is to snip them. [More]
Student Loans, Gateway Drug To Debt Slavery
By 9.2.10
One of the most important lessons students learn in college is how to get into debt and stay there. It’s crucial to the success of the Republic. An indebted population is easier to control; needing to pay off crushing debt – a debt that if defaulted on has been stripped of many normal consumer protections and rights – graduates more willingly shuttle into cubicles, becoming the square pegs demanded by the square holes. After a few futile years of floundering idealism, their souls have been successfully jackbooted into powder and they’re ready to keep the thumb on the next generation of would-be drones so as to protect their empire of matchsticks. But how did we get here? This chunky infographic examines the origins and (d)evolution of the student loan leviathan. [More]
BofA Pays To Fedex You Multiple Loan Mod Opps You Don't Care About
By 9.1.10
BofA has been Fedexing Eli a loan mod opportunity once every two months for the past eight months. He has no intention of doing a refi, he’s never been late on a payment and likes his 5/1 ARM and low interest late. Wonder how many other homeowners is BofA frittering away their bailout bucks on by FedExing junk mail. Meanwhile, the people who actually want loan mods are stuck in purgatory. [More]
GTD For Money
By 9.1.10
Are you a fan of the GTD personal productivity system? Well if you like “Getting Things Done,” here’s GFD, Getting Finances Done, which shows you how to map David Allen’s same principals to managing your personal finance and achieving your financial goals. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 9.1.10
10 Things Money Managers Won’t Say [Smart Money] “#1: ‘You may have more investing experience than I do.'”
3 Proven Ways to Save Real Money at Garage Sales [Wise Bread] “Here is how I managed to get some awesome deals!”
6 Tips to Stretch Your Back-to-School Cash [Money Talks News] “Here are five tips for stretching your back-to-school dollars.”
Tips on tipping for 63 services [NY Times] “You know how much to tip the pizza delivery guy, right? But how about the fishing guide, tour guide or tattoo artist?”
Getting a Will: Six Common Questions [Bucks Blog] “Some common queries that tend to arise when writing a will.”
Thieves Steal $10 Million, Pennies At A Time
By 8.27.10
These credit card thieves allegedly stole over $10 million by placing bogus charges on customers’ credit cards for amounts between $10 and $.20. Each customer was stolen from only once, spreading the theft out over a million different cardholders. Check your statements, there’s a decent chance you were one of them. [More]
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.25.10
How to Replace Six Vital Documents [Get Rich Slowly] “Here’s how to replace six of the most important documents in your life.”
Is it time to dump your budget? [MSN Money] “If you want to get your finances on track, a written plan is the way to go — but you shouldn’t have to do it forever. Here’s how to tell when you can finally go without.”
Rent or Own Your Home? New Rules [Money Talks News] “It’s time to understand a few fundamentals when it comes to deciding whether to rent or own.”
How to Be Frugal and Still Be Asked on Dates [NY Times] “Saving may be making a comeback, but it still hasn’t gotten its sexy back, particularly if you’re a man.”
8 DIY Projects to Add Value To Your Home [Kiplinger] “These projects shouldn’t take more than a day to complete. And they’re all easy on your wallet.”
Credit Card Interest Rates Hit 9-Year High. Thanks, CARD Act!
By 8.24.10
Average interest rates have hit a new 9-year high of 14.7%, and we have credit card reform to thank for that. Por-kay? Unable to keep soaking you on the backend with hidden fees, tricks, and traps, issuers now have to push their profit-taking to the fore. [More]
Can A Pirate Ship Game Teach Kids About Money?
By 8.23.10
Parsons design and technology thesis students came up with a pirate ship board game that has the twin goals of teaching personal finance to kids and not sucking. [More]
3 Credit Card Act Protections Went Live Sunday
By 8.23.10
Three of the provisions of the CARD Act, the legislation passed this year to improve consumer protection in the credit card arena, went into effect yesterday. Here’s what you need to know to sound smart around the water cooler: [More]
Use Toshl To Manually Track Your Expenses
By 8.20.10
The Toshl app lets you swiftly input and track your spending. Just enter a price, tap a tag, and tap save. Blamo, done. [More]
New Burst Of 0% APR Credit Cards Boast Higher Balance Transfer Fees
By 8.19.10
Banks are stuffing mailboxes once again with 0% introductory APR credit card offers, but this time around they’ve got higher fees for doing the initial balance transfer, rising from 3% in ’09 to 4% in ’10. [More]
Your Age -10 = % Of Your Portfolio That Should Be In Bonds
By 8.19.10
Just subtract 10 from your age and that’s how much percentage of your portfolio should be in bonds, commenter sevatt points out. [More]
Use "Remember The Milk" To Organize Your Bills
By 8.19.10
Keeping track of what bills need to be paid when and how much can be a hassle. Here’s how you can use the long-time fave productivity and to-do list management tool “Remember The Milk” to simplify it. [More]
Your Credit Card APR Might Fall Starting This Sunday
By 8.18.10
Some Americans might be getting a break on their credit card interest rates very soon. [More]
