Filed under: Banks, Debt
Many of us have our paychecks directly deposited to our banking account. Many of us run out of money before payday. Now Well Fargo has gotten into the payday loan business with the direct deposit advance, which allows customers to tap into their paycheck early, for a hefty fee. This offering, like tax refund advances, is really a loan; a very pricey loan.
To its credit, the bank’s service agreement repeatedly states that “This is an expensive form of credit.” In fact, you’ll pay a finance charge of $2 for each $20 advanced, which it claims works out to an APR of 120%. However, the terms require repayment in 35 days. The way I think of APR, a vig of $2 on $20 for 35 days comes out to around 120% per month.
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Filed under: Banks, Debt
Many of us have our paychecks directly deposited to our banking account. Many of us run out of money before payday. Now Well Fargo has gotten into the payday loan business with the direct deposit advance, which allows customers to tap into their paycheck early, for a hefty fee. This offering, like tax refund advances, is really a loan; a very pricey loan.
To its credit, the bank’s service agreement repeatedly states that “This is an expensive form of credit.” In fact, you’ll pay a finance charge of $2 for each $20 advanced, which it claims works out to an APR of 120%. However, the terms require repayment in 35 days. The way I think of APR, a vig of $2 on $20 for 35 days comes out to around 120% per month.
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Filed under: Banks
What do you get when you do a mashup of Larry the Cable Guy, Jeff Foxworthy, and the American Banking System? Wait for the punch line……….The Redneck Bank. This online bank is a part of the Bank of the Wichitas, but is designed to appeal to those who find illiteracy amusing. How else to account for its slogan, “Personal bankin’ bid’ness,” and the outhouse on the home page?
Certainly, for those rednecks who never miss an episode of Blue Collar Comedy, the debit card, featuring a braying mule, is a must-have. While the bank does not yet offer a credit card, I can just imagine the options for redeeming the rewards points. The complete collection of Boxcar Willy CDs. A case of Valvoline. American flag stickers. TruckNutz, A gift certificate to Bass Pro Shops. An all-expenses-paid trip to the Budweiser brewery in St. Louis. Anchor cables for the trailer. 500 pounds of hound chow.
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Filed under: Debt, Entrepreneurship, Travel, Fraud, Investing
The re-opening of Myrtle Beach’s spectacularly failed $400 million Hard Rock Park is in danger.
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Filed under: Banks, Bargains, Credit, Shopping
Ask not what your bank can do for you; ask what your bank can do for your country’s sullen consumers.
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Filed under: Debt, Transportation, Recession
I filled up my car today for $2.05 a gallon and thought it was too much. Now I read that much higher gas prices are expected in the near future.
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Filed under: Retire, Ripoffs and Scams, Wealth, Fraud, Investing
Madoff bankruptcy trustee David Sheehan says he’s found more than $1 billion around the world that will hopefully be available to investors scammed by Bernie Madoff. Sheehan is on the hunt to find as much money as possible, and I doubt that Bernie Madoff is inclined to give hints about the secret hiding places.
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Filed under: Banks, Extracurriculars, Recession
Whether you love him or hate him, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is getting dissed in a popular YouTube video that is making the rounds. It was written and sung by Jonathan Mann. It praises New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics last year.
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Filed under: Budgets, Debt, Bankruptcy
I have a friend, Laurie, from Long Beach, California, who is having tax issues with the IRS. Getting the problem resolved isn’t something she can do on her own, she definitely needs legal help. However, instead of hiring a tax attorney at $400 an hour, Laurie went to Legal Grind, a coffeehouse in nearby Santa Monica offering a-la-carte tax services. There, she sat down over cappucinos with a tax lawyer and got a 20-minute legal consult for $45.
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Filed under: Insurance, Ripoffs and Scams, Transportation
Just as foreclosures and deed in lieu transactions are rising, an increasing number of Americans are also abandoning luxury cars they can no longer afford.
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