Going to a payday lender can be a good financial decision. That is, if your Attorney General threatens to sue your payday lender, and they settle up, and then you receive your money back.
New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has just announced a $5.2 million settlement with two companies running “payday loan” companies.
Filed under: Banks
As we told you earlier, the Federal Reserve just announced it would begin reigning in the scourge of debit-card users nationwide: overdraft charges. The good news is that the new ruling will prohibit banks from foisting this so-called protection on customers automatically; instead, consumers will have to voluntarily sign up (don’t all line up at once, now!) The bad news: It’s going to be another eight long months before this relief comes.
The government is making Americans wait until July 1, 2010, to get the relief they’ve been literally begging for, even though Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke called the new ruling “an important step forward in consumer protection.”
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Filed under: Bargains, Budgets, Debt, Saving Money
While some are declaring that the recession is over, the good news has not trickled down to my pocketbook. My husband and I are looking closely at all our expenses to cut our overhead. Our wages have decreased in the last year, mostly due to the slow down in my business, but costs have continued to rise. Utilities, gas, taxes, and food are taking more and more of our shrinking paychecks. We decided to take some action after looking at every expense in our budget. Maybe some of these tips can help you too: (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banks, Budgets, Credit, Real Estate, Recession
How well is the government’s loan modification working? WalletPop’s four-part special report continues with profiles of some of those trying to get help. To read the overview, click here.
Filed under: Budgets, Debt, Home, Real Estate
This is the last of a five-part series about how the writer and her husband, Charlie, tackled a major overhaul of their home and the pitfalls they faced along the way. To read the first installment click here.
Filed under: Banks, Budgets, Debt, Real Estate, Recession, Mortgages, Refinancing
How well is the government’s loan modification working? WalletPop’s four-part special report continues with profiles of some of those trying to get help. To read the overview, click here.
Filed under: Banks, Real Estate, Recession, Mortgages, Refinancing
How well is the government’s loan modification working? WalletPop’s four-part special report continues with profiles of some of those trying to get help. To read the overview, click here.
Filed under: Budgets, Debt, Home, Real Estate, Shopping, Special Reports
This is the second part of a five-part series about how the writer and her husband, Charlie, tackled a major overhaul of their home and the pitfalls they faced along the way. To read the first installment click here.
Filed under: Banks
The Federal Reserve announced on Thursday that starting July 1, 2010, financial institutions can no longer allow customers to overspend their account and then charge overdraft fees — in most cases — unless the customers have signed up for a bank’s overdraft protection plan that includes such fees. My guess is, most won’t.
As The Washington Post explains, the overdraft fee won’t disappear entirely. Banks can still charge overdraft fees on checks or an automatic bill payment. But the days of buying a cup of coffee or stick of gum with your debit card without realizing you don’t have the funds and then getting slammed with a $37.50 fee–that will end on July 1, 2010. Instead, you’ll simply have your debit card declined. And if that thought truly embarrasses you, then tell your bank you want that overdraft protection.
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Filed under: Banks, Credit, Debt, Real Estate, Mortgages, Refinancing
How well is the government’s loan modification working? Find out in this four-part WalletPop special report, which begins with this overview and continues with three profiles of those trying to get help.