Ghosts were not only cruising sidewalks looking for candy this weekend, they had also infested some banking balance sheets.
personal finance
Capital One: Waive Your Rights, Get $10 Off Your Next Overlimit Fee!
By 11.2.09
Everett says Capital One called him up and made him an offer. If he opted out of at least one of the consumer credit protections enacted by the CARD act, Capital One would drop the overlimit fees from $39 to $29! Woo!
Airlines Could Start Charging Extra For Credit Cards
By 11.2.09
Could extra fees for using a credit card to pay become the airline industry’s hot new trend?
Revealing The Hidden Cost Of PrePaid Debit Cards
By 10.30.09
With credit cards harder to come by and more annoying to use, the prepaid debit card market is projected to explode from $8.7 billion loaded on the cards to $119 billion in 2012, but a good chunk of that is going to be eaten up by hidden fees and gotchas. This sexy graphic visualization shows how.
Need Affordable Housing? What About A Mobile Home?
By 10.28.09
Mobile homes have a less-than-stellar reputation, deservedly or not. I know my own mom always warned me against them by saying they were just tornado bait, which was enough to make me leery of even stepping foot inside a friend’s mobile home growing up. But if you’re not irrationally afraid of tornadoes, a mobile home might be a great housing option if you’re on a tight budget or looking to save money, writes Michigan Telephone.
Costco Will Expand Food Stamp Program Nationwide
By 10.28.09
It turns out more Costco customers use food stamps than CEO James D. Sinegal originally thought, because after a test run earlier this year the company has decided to roll out the program nationwide.
Personal Finance Roundup
By 10.28.09
Barter for the Services You Need [Wall Street Journal] “Cash-strapped consumers are increasingly bartering to get needed products and services. If you’re considering bartering, here are a few things you should know.”
40 States Ask FTC To Crack Down On Debt Relief Companies
By 10.28.09
Attorneys general in 40 states just asked the FTC to step up the fight against debt relief companies that mislead and overcharge consumers, like Credit Solutions of America (CSA), reports Consumer Affairs.
28 Cash-Saving Ways To Get Your House Winter-Ready
By 10.26.09
Brrrr! It’s getting cold and it’s time to get the ol’ homestead ready so Jack Frost isn’t picking your pocket through your unsealed windows and faulty furnaces. In the comments section on the popular “9 House Fixes To Save $ Before Winter Starts” post you guys left lots of great ideas on how you’re getting prepared this winter, so here’s 28 of the best of them so we can all learn and save together.
Al Franken: How Many Medical Bankruptcies Are There In Switzerland?
By 10.26.09
We stray into politics often at our peril but I had to share this clip of Sen. Franken kneecapping a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute conservative think tank. In what was supposed to be a hearing on the Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act, Diana Furchtgott-Roth instead used her testimony to pillory against health care reform proposals not even being discussed. After Sen. Whitehouse asks her if she even read the bill at hand, Sen. Franken goes: “You said the way we’re going will increase bankruptcies…How many bankruptcies because of medical crises were there last year in Switzerland?”
Here's Your Post-ID Theft Checklist
By 10.22.09
Personal finance blogger Carrie… On the Cheap put together a checklist of things you should do once you’ve found out your identity has been stolen.
Know Your Closing Costs Or Else A Shark Will Eat You
By 10.21.09
Homebuyers looking to save money will try to buy without an agent and deal directly with the seller’s broker, but beware, they feed on your weaknesses, ignorance, fear, and money.
15 Things More Important than Money
By 10.21.09
The recession has caused many people to look at money and reevaluate their lives in relation to it. There’s no doubt that money is important to everyone (after all, it’s hard to eat, buy clothes, and have a place to stay without money), but some have come to realize that having lots of money isn’t the end-all of life — there are many things that are much more important than accumulating wealth.
Personal Finance Roundup
By 10.21.09
Employers Begin Driving Your 401(k) [Wall Street Journal] “Businesses are taking more control of workers’ 401(k)s, retreating from the 30-year experiment with employees running their own accounts.”
Citi Mysteriously Closes Scads Of Mastercard Accounts Nationwide
By 10.20.09
Without warning, Citi decided to close a swath of gas-station co-branded Mastercard accounts nationwide. The trouble seems to have started October 15. Quan was one of the affected customers and the credit card company was pretty disingenuous about it when called.
$8000 Credit For New Homebuyers Might Get Extended
By 10.16.09
Washington is working on getting the up-to-$8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers due to expire in November extended, and perhaps even expanded to current homeowners buying a new house. [AP] (Photo: sflovestory)
TD Bank: Man's $100,000 Misplaced
By 10.15.09
Zach’s $100,000 CD with TD Bank he took out on 10/5 was mysteriously showing a $0 balance and no one seemed able to fix it until we told him what to do. TD Bank PR says it wasn’t related to their clusterfunk of delays that started Sep 28. Zach’s experience says otherwise.
