Filed under: Budgets, Retire, Relationships
On the eve of my friend Bill Frank’s 80th birthday, his wife Winnie announced that if Bill made the decision to retire she would be forced — after 60 years of wedded bliss — to pack up and move in with her sister in Indiana.
Just when you thought credit card companies couldn’t go any lower with deceptive marketing tactics, Discover recently sent out a whopper of a mailer to cardholders. The new mailing focused on the many benefits that cardmembers receive from Discover, including the ability to get Cash Over at select retailers, including Wal-Mart at your current card rate without any extra fees.
Discover claims that Cash Over is a great way to avoid ATM transaction fees and combine two trips without any surprises. But for most credit card users, this is almost as bad as using your credit card for a cash advance. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banks, Ripoffs and Scams, Technology, Fraud, Consumer Complaints
My family knows about cashier’s check scams and other crafty international methods of loosing the elderly and other emotionally fragile types from their money. Over the past few months, both my husband’s great uncle and his sister’s ailing landlord have been the subject of a series of shysters and hopeful perpetrators of fraud; and despite a great deal of effort on my husband’s part, no law enforcement officials, banks or wire services helped in the least. Fortunately, my husband has talked them out of sending money in each case.
Filed under: College, The Dolans, School, Video
Ken and Daria Dolan, America’s first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.
Filed under: Banks, Consumer Complaints
Growing up, I always had the sense that a bank was where you’d go if you wanted to make money, not lose it. After all, I remember watching Mary Poppins on TV, and Mr. Banks’ song, “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank,” where he told his son in song: “If you invest your tuppence wisely in the bank, safe and sound, soon that tuppence, safely invested in the bank, will compound.”
Granted, you can still make money at your neighborhood bank, of course. But you can lose a lot of money, too. Even in these recessionary times, and actually because of these recessionary times, bank fees are going up and getting more punitive toward consumers. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Insurance, Technology, Relationships
No one wants to deal with filling out insurance claim forms, filing for survivor benefits from the Social Security Administration, or the other necessary paperwork when a relative dies. That’s what lawyers are for.
Filed under: Credit, Debt, Career, Recession
Some people are being turned down for jobs because they have bad credit. Nearly half of all employers check credit reports to screen folks during the application screening process, according to the Herald of Monterey County.
Filed under: Debt, Home, Real Estate
Ahh, Mayor Sam Adams. We Portlanders so want to love you, with your yellow bike helmet and your openly gay self-ness. You reflect all that is Portland, bike-geeky and queer and weird, weird, weird.
Filed under: College, Kids and Money, Career, Recession, School
Judy Woodruff was previously the host of Frontline, which aired on PBS, and served as Chief Washington Correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. The co-chair of the International Women’s Media Foundation, Woodruff continues to be one of the most respected journalists in America.
Filed under: Banks, Bargains, Credit, Debt, Shopping, Recession
Even if your credit card company refused to cut you a deal on your credit card balances just a few months ago, you might want to try again. The New York Times reported today that some credit card companies have changed the rules and are giving front-line customer service reps the right to cut your principal balance, as well as interest and penalties, if your balance is past due.