Posted February 20, 2009 - 06:36 by Philip Brewer
Frugal Living, Consumer Affairs
We're subjected to constant barrage of unhelpful advice to the effect that what the economy needs is more spending. (The stimulus program is one piece of this.) It's kind of understandable: A recession is all about the downward spiral of people buying less, forcing businesses to shrink, putting people out of work, so that they spend even less. The cure, though, is not just a bunch of extra spending. The cure is to get the economy to the right size.
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Posted February 18, 2009 - 23:13 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Real Estate and Housing, Consumer Affairs
Today President Obama announced a new $75 billion Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan to the world. It is touted as a plan that helps responsible homeowners who have not yet missed payments. However, will it really reward responsibility? Lets take a quick look at what is in the plan.
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Posted February 16, 2009 - 14:06 by Xin Lu
Consumer Affairs
Tomorrow on February 17th President Obama plans to sign the $787 billion stimulus bill recently passed by Congress. One controversial portion of the bill is a clause for the public works and infrastructure projects to "buy American". The logic behind this is that if the money in the stimulus is spent to buy American products then Americans will have more jobs. However, this policy of protectionism is sparking many fears of a global trade war. Will this clause create or destroy jobs?
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Posted February 14, 2009 - 12:50 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Taxes, Credit Cards, Consumer Affairs
On Friday both the House and the Senate passed a new $789 billion stimulus package as a continuation of the efforts by the United States Government to jumpstart the economy. A significant portion of the package gives a tax cut of $400 to each individual worker and $800 to a couple starting in June 2009. This works out to a paltry $13 per week for individuals making $75,000 or under per year and couples making $150,000 or under per year. How will you stimulate the economy with $13 a week?
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Posted February 12, 2009 - 20:11 by Linsey Knerl
Personal Finance, Consumer Affairs
Due to the economy, it’s slow all around. In fact, even those who run some of the most devious and damaging email scams are having to come up with new ways to try to steal your money. The latest? A part promise, part threat email from the “FBI” designed to protect the security of our country. Oh, whatever will I do?
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Posted February 5, 2009 - 09:49 by Paul Michael
Consumer Affairs
You’ve seen the tacky ads; you’ve been entertained by Ed McMahon and MC Hammer; but hopefully, you haven’t fallen for any of it. Cash4Gold has a simple promise; send them your unwanted gold (and we all have a ton of unwanted valuables lying around I’m sure) and in return they’ll pay “top dollar” for it. But as you’ll see from over 260 complaints to the Better Business Bureau, top dollar certainly doesn’t mean what it used to.
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Posted February 2, 2009 - 13:11 by Nora Dunn
Frugal Living, Life Hacks, Shopping, Lifestyle, Budgeting, Credit Cards, Consumer Affairs
Are your credit card interest rates getting to you? Are those monthly cell phone bills a pain in the wallet? How about cable TV? Internet? Even the power bill? Would you like to reduce these charges without the hassle of changing suppliers? Read on, my frugal friend.
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Posted January 28, 2009 - 16:02 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Real Estate and Housing, Consumer Affairs
This week the Federal Trade Commission sent out around $28 million in redress checks to more than 86,000 customers of Bear Stearns and EMC Mortgage Corporation. Apparently EMC Mortgage engaged in a flurry of unlawful practices such as misrepresenting mortgage amounts owed, charging unauthorized fees, and engaging in abusive collection practices. This is obviously a case of a dishonest company, but I am sure some customers were defrauded without even realizing it because they trusted the statements they received. This is a guide to how you can double check that the mortgage statement you receive is accurate.
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Posted January 21, 2009 - 00:05 by Paul Michael
General Tips, Lifestyle, Food and Drink, Consumer Affairs
As a professional ad man, I'm ashamed to say that I'm really not good at advertising, well, me. That goes double in social situations. I never know where to stand, how to eat, how to engage people in an interesting way, even shaking hands never really seems to go as well as I'd hoped. And I am rotten at remembering names. In a world obsessed with first impressions, knowing just how to act can be your ticket to fortune and glory.
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Posted January 16, 2009 - 23:58 by Xin Lu
Deals, Shopping, Consumer Affairs
Circuit City officially announced that it is going out of business today. The number two largest electronics retailer begins final liquidation sales on January 17th, 2009 in all of its stores in the United States. Read on for details.
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