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Posted
Sep 22 2009, 02:56 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Frank Curmudgeon at Bad Money Advice.
I still don't get the debit card thing. But according to The Wall Street Journal, there is a new trend I do understand: establishments accepting cards but not cash.
Slips of paper and metal disks are an inefficient and archaic form of money. You have to go to an ATM to get some, and often pay a fee. To use it, you have to wait for the clerk to make change. You have to carry it around. And then there is the growing pile of coins most of us have at home.
And don't get me started on parking meters. Offering me a nice parking space for half an hour in exchange for a quarter, and only in exchange for a quarter, is more scavenger hunt than transaction.
Plastic pushing out paper has been a long brewing trend. I can remember when grocery stores didn't take cards. I still feel a little funny charging things there. Today we take for granted that we can use plastic just about anywhere, even in places, like taxicabs, that a generation ago would have seemed implausible as potential users of cards.
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Posted
May 21 2009, 02:40 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Odysseas Papadimitriou at Wallet Blog.
Both houses of Congress have now signed off on a bill to amend the Truth in Lending Act, and now it's off to President Obama's desk, where it's anticipated the legislation will be signed into law. At Wallet Blog, we have been covering the news on this bill as it has evolved. Now that it's headed to the president for approval, we'd like to provide an in-depth analysis on the bill's major features.
They are as follows:
APR changes on your existing balances. Credit card companies won't be allowed to raise interest rates on your existing credit card balance unless you are more than 60 days behind on your payments to them. If you get an APR hike because you were 60 days late, you will be able to get back your original rate by making payments on time for six months in a row.
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Posted
May 04 2009, 05:03 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
On the first day of college, I opened my first bank account.
The gym was filled with registration tables, not just for classes and clubs, but also for local businesses wanting to sell themselves to the students. There were even a couple of banks. Because I was getting a small payment from the school to cover living expenses, I needed to open a checking account.
The two banks had very different methods of attracting students. One displayed a sign that said "free checking." The other was handing out Frisbees. My choice was easy. I wanted the Frisbee. (Free checking? How boring.)
I signed up for my checking account, got my free Frisbee, and spent the afternoon on the quad, tossing the disc back and forth with my roommates. When it was time for dinner, I took the Frisbee up to my room, put it in the closet, and never used it again. But I had that checking account for nearly 17 years.
Classes started. I forgot about the Frisbee, and I forgot about the checking account. The next month, I received my first bank statement. There was a $5 service charge, but I didn't care. It was just $5, right? I accepted the fee as part of the package, and as part of being an adult. My parents had always paid service charges on their bank accounts, and I expected I always would, too.
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Posted
Apr 09 2009, 08:17 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Julie Rains at partner blog Wise Bread.
I had been thinking about shedding my land line for a while. I was attached to the convenience for a long time and, more recently, unlimited calls for one price in the United States. What I wanted most from a land line, though, was reliability; but, for me, neither the cable company nor the traditional bell company could deliver. So, after more than four decades, I cut the cord.
Here's how I'm getting along without a regular phone:
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Posted
Mar 23 2009, 08:16 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We know that gethuman.com can help you reach a real person at a corporation that has an unyielding phone tree. But there are actually many ways -- about 50, in fact -- to get the attention of the right customer-service rep.
Tip o' the hat to "vh" at Funny about Money for directing her readers to "PBX hell: 50-plus hacks and tips to get a real person at any corporation in 10 seconds or less" at VoIP-News.
For those who've been hopelessly lost in the phone-tree maze, this list could restore your blood pressure to normal.
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Posted
Feb 25 2009, 02:01 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Is there nothing credit card companies won't do these days to alienate customers?
Raising rates and paying cardholders to close their accounts are just a few of their tools as they try to reduce customer default rates. Now there's more. Before you think about calling your credit card company to ask for a lower interest rate, read this first:
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Posted
Feb 24 2009, 07:00 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Jason at Frugal Dad.
Talk about kicking people when they are down. Recent news reports have shed light on several large banks charging bank fees to customers for the privilege of accessing their unemployment benefits.
Many states are partnering with banks to issue funds on a prepaid debit card, rather than cutting paper checks, in an effort to reduce costs. The problem is, banks are then turning around and hitting unemployed workers with fees for everything from accessing their money to calling for balance inquiries.
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Posted
Jan 26 2009, 10:14 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We're on the Do Not Call list, but we still get prerecorded calls from the likes of "Heather" and her fellow drones. Why is this happening? It's terribly annoying.
Luckily we came across this post by Herb Weisbaum, aka ConsumerMan at MSNBC, while we were researching another topic. He says you can now opt out of these calls -- and can do it quite simply.
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Posted
Dec 26 2008, 02:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Do you want to pay less for cell service but you're not interested in a prepaid plan? Mobile Maven -- a valuable resource for anyone who wants the most value from a mobile phone -- has some tips for cutting your costs in a post called "10 useful secrets the cell phone carriers don't want you to know." Some apply only when you're getting new service. Others might come in handy right now. For instance, did your service come with free trials on packages that you're now unknowingly paying for?
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Posted
Dec 23 2008, 09:37 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Hardly a day goes by without new warnings issued about common products on store shelves -- pet food, baby food, toys and infant beds, just for starters. How can a savvy consumer be on the alert about products that have been recalled? According to partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com, you can sign up for e-mail updates from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that's supposed to protect us from defective products. Think you don't need this? Check out the long list of recalls for this month before you make up your mind.
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