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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
May 05 2008, 09:17 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Putting all your change in a jar each night is a time-honored frugal hack. One guy bought himself a new pickup after setting aside coins for years. A Smart Spending message board reader named "Amberstorck" wasn't aiming that high -- she just wanted to save some money.
But now she's having trouble unloading the lucre. Local grocery stores refused her rolled change. Her bank charges a 6% coin-counting fee. "What is the point of saving coins if nobody will take them?" Amber wrote in a message board thread.
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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
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
Jan 15 2008, 07:01 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This is an amazing concept: A Web site called gethuman.com gives instructions for avoiding the interminable voice menus used by companies and government agencies -- and reaching a real customer-service person. We're bookmarking this baby. If the company you need to contact isn't listed, a tips page tells you how to find the phone number and gives some suggestions for reaching a person, like punching the zero on your phone repeatedly, mumbling when the machine tells you to speak, or asking for "account collections," which generally is quick to answer the phone. "When you do finally find a human, ask them how to connect directly the next time (in case your call gets disconnected, etc.), and be sure to tell us so we can then list their number here," the site says.
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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
Aug 21 2008, 12:19 PM
by
Ryan MacClanathan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Any personal finance expert worth his or her salt will tell
you to always save your receipts.
Sometimes, though, stores don't make it easy for us. A post at
Blunt Money shows how receipts at some
retailers are getting out of
hand. Two purchases at Sears -- a dress and a drill -- yielded about 70 inches of receipts,
return information and coupons. That's right, seven pieces of paper for two
items.
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Posted
Jan 28 2008, 01:12 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
As The Consumerist explains it, reader Lona has almost Jedi knight mind-control power over customer-service representatives. She's so good that family members and friends enlist her help with consumer complaints. The trick, Lona writes, is: Don't ask; you tell. Explain the situation and then state: "So what you will be doing for me today is (your proposal here)." Lona estimates that her methods have a 99% success rate.
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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
May 16 2008, 05:11 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
What does (fill in name here), our server for tonight, really think of us? For an entertaining insider's look at the restaurant business and the diners who keep those servers hopping (and secretly complaining), check out Waiter Rant. In one of his posts, "Waiter" -- a guy apparently renowned for his 1,000-yard waiter stare (think waiter Daviday on "Curb Your Enthusiasm") -- describes a confrontation between the restaurant owner and a fat guy with a fancy watch and a comb-over who insists on being seated now. This chump doesn't realize that the owner is an ex-cop who still carries a gun. We'll share a few snippets from this post here.
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