CreditMattersBlog explains why that new AMEX contract language we wrung our hands over this morning is nothing to fret about.
personal finance
US Bails Out Citigroup
By 11.24.08
Federal regulators took extreme steps to prop up Citigroup, backing $306 billion of mainly real estate loans and securities and directly injecting money by buying $20 billion of preferred stock. The $20 billion of stock will pay an 8% dividend. Regulators will also get an additional $7 billion of preferred stock. Citigroup will basically halt dividend payments for 3 years and limit some executive pay. It will also implement the FDIC’s loan modification plan, which is close to the one it had already announced for itself.
Even Debt Collectors Are Having Trouble Paying Their Bills
By 11.24.08
You would think tough times would be boom times for debt collectors, but debt collection company First American Recovery Services is filing for bankruptcy. “The amount of debt out there is 10 times what it had been, but the ability to pay is less,” Tim Smith, FirstSource Advantage collections vice president told The Buffalo News. Don’t dance on their grave quite yet. The debts will just get sold to someone else, and usually each generation of debt owners has successively less scruples. But you have to wonder, how long before there is just too much debt that’s just too hard to collect in time before the statute of limitations expires?
Kiss Courtesy Overdraft Fees Goodbye With WaMu Debit-Only Card?
By 11.21.08
Whoever came up with the name “courtesy overdraft fee” is one smart cookie. They figured out a way to let you do something you don’t want to do, charge you a fee, and make it sound like they’re doing you a favor. WaMu is one of the few banks that let you…
Personal Finance Roundup
By 11.20.08
4 Common Resume Blunders [Yahoo Hotjobs] “Keep yourself in the running by avoiding these resume mistakes.”
Capital One Inspires Man's Loathing
By 11.19.08
Mr Bill says his latest dealings with Capital One have him “wanting to spit venom.” Whence this reptilian impulse? There is apparently no structure to refinance your loan with them. They consider it makes you a new customer, and they aren’t making any new loans. This takes several hours and several phone calls to figure out. There also seems to be no way to pay off a loan with a credit or debit card. This also takes several hours and phone calls to figure out. It’s really just totally frustrating for Mr. Bill. “What is this, 1987?” he writes. So he’s taking his business elsewhere. His misanthropic misadventure, inside…
Reader Saves $230 On Cable And Phone Bills By Rocking The Cancellation Threat
By 11.18.08
Here’s how Stephanie saved $230 on her cable and phone bills after following the tips in “3 Ways To Lower Your Out Of Control Cable, Internet And Phone Bills“
What Goes Into Your FICO?
By 11.18.08
How the heck do they figure out your FICO credit score? The five different factors, in order of decreasing importance are: 1) payment history 2) amounts owed 3) length of credit history 4) new credit 5) types of credit used. For a bit more detailed explanation on how each of these plays out, the “What’s in your FICO score” at myFico.com is a good place to start.
Escape Sprint ETF-Free Over Administrative Fee Increase
By 11.17.08
Want to break your Sprint cellphone contract without paying an early termination fee? On January 1, 2009, Sprint will increase the Administrative fee to $.99 per line. Because this is what is known as a “materially adverse change of contract,” and because of the basic contractual principle that you can’t change someone’s contract without their explicit permission (not the tacit, “opt-out” kind), you can use it to argue that the fee renders your contract void and you can end service without a termination fee. You do have to be willing to argue without giving up with a number of different Sprint employees first, like Matt did…
Price-Check Your Black Friday "Deals"
By 11.17.08
I’m really interested to see what happens with “Black Friday,” the hectic shopping day after Thanksgiving where retailers traditionally mark down their products for Christmas deal-seekers, this year. As the shark has been so thoroughly jumped on this shopping spree, the deals have gotten worse and the retail trickery more tricky, so can a consumer still make out?
Consumerist Helps Couple Lower Interest Rate On All Their Credit Cards
By 11.14.08
Yesterday I was on a conference call where a lady who’s been writing consumer journalism since before I was even born, in response to me saying how we repackage useful information and make it funny and make jokes and put up pictures of cats, asked me if the site actually helps anyone. I told her quite firmly and loudly that we do and gave examples, and here’s another one to throw on the evidence pile. Kevin writes:
Personal Finance Roundup
By 11.6.08
Back to Basics: Start doing the little money-saving things again [Mighty Bargain Hunter] “Here are thirteen of those little money-saving things that you can do to lessen the pain during these trying times.”
Use Prosper.com Loan To Get Lower, Fixed, Interest Rate
By 11.5.08
Blogging Away Debt wrote about the 7 things she did recently to cut her finance charges from $400/month to zero, and one interesting one was using a loan from peer-to-peer lending site Prosper.com to get a break on interest rates:
5 Inspirational Posts For Living Debt-Free
By 11.4.08
Whether you’re trying to get out, or stay out, of debt, these five posts are a good way to get inspired to stick with your goals:
- Reader Pays Off $14,330 In 20 Months With Our Tips
- How I Talk Myself Out Of Buying Stuff
- How To Get Out Of Debt
- Paying Cash-Only, Family Spends $1,800 Less
- How To Go 30 Years Without A Credit Card
(Photo: .A.A)
Debt Collector Bullying Me To Sign Affidavit Saying I Can Pay More Than I Can
By 11.4.08
Sarah has $40k+ in student debt that went into default after she got sick and had to spend a lot of money on medical care. She’s been paying it off, but one of the companies that owns one of her loans, NCO Financial, has told her that unless she signs a legal document that says she can pay $260 a month, they’re going to place her account back in collections and start harassing her even more than they are now (they’re already calling her daily at home and work)…
