Category: Thrifty Spending Issues

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Car Ads too good to be true? Every day consumers are bombarded with cars ads on the radio and on television that grab their attention and get them thinking about trading in their current automobile.  Consumers are targeted with special finance offers such as, “no money down,” or “if you work, you qualify” [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Bottom-shelf bargains at the supermarket Lots of supermarket chains claim to bend over backward to serve their customers. But experts say consumers can serve themselves by leaning a bit forward — to find overlooked bargains on the bottom shelves of grocery aisles. It isn’t where you’re likely to find imported olive tapenade or balsamic vinegar older [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Looking to earn extra income? Rule helps you avoid bogus business opportunity offers Maybe you’ve seen ads for stuffing envelopes or assembling crafts at home. Perhaps a company says it can help you set up a vending business. Before you sign on the dotted line or send money to buy a business opportunity, [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:   Payday Loans Equal Very Costly Cash: Consumers Urged to Consider the Alternatives The ads are on the radio, television, the Internet, even in the mail. They refer to payday loans, cash advance loans, check advance loans, post-dated check loans, or deferred deposit loans. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  What’s Behind Ads for a New Credit Identity? It Could Be ID Theft Involving Children’s Social Security Numbers If your credit is less than golden, you’ve probably seen pitches from companies promising a fresh start. Some claim you can get a “new credit identity” by applying for credit with a nine-digit number they [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Secured Credit Card Marketing Scams Secured and unsecured cards can be used to pay for goods and services. However, a secured card requires you to open and maintain a savings account as security for your line of credit; an unsecured card does not. The required savings deposit for a secured card may range [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Gift Cards: Use Them Before You Lose Them Some gifts keep on giving. Others – like gift cards – can actually cost you if you don’t use them within a year. If you were given a gift card over the holidays, better read on. The holiday presents have been unwrapped and most of [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Audit-Proof Your Tax Return Is there really such a thing as an audit-proof tax return? A way of preparing your return to guarantee that you won’t be subject to an audit? Of course not. But there certainly are ways to minimize your risk. You don’t want to thumb your nose at Uncle Sam, [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  How to Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report Your credit report contains the following information: Where you live How you pay your bills Whether you have been sued Whether you have been arrested If you filed for bankruptcy Consumer reporting agencies sell the information to creditors, insurers, employers and other businesses that use [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Energy Wasters in Your Home According to Maria Vargas, spokesperson for EnergyStar, a division of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), energy bills can differ depending on the size and location on your home, but the average household spends $2,200 a year. The good news is these costs can be cut dramatically. Energy Star, [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  You can expect more bank fees in 2012 Banks will continue to experiment with fee increases in the New Year, according to our own analysis and industry experts, as they attempt to make up billions in lost revenue due to the bad economy and new regulations. Here is some of what you can [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:    Six tips for saving money on airfare With fees, fine print and blackout dates, locking in a low price on your plane ticket can seem impossible. We have some tips that can help cut the cost of flying, plus help organize your search for the best deal. In addition to setting up [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Get rid of bank fees once and for all There’s nothing worse than getting punished for doing the right thing. And that’s just what happened to a mom and her 18-year-old son when he opened a checking account at a local bank in McCullom Lake, Ill. His mom encouraged him to open the [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  How to Get the Saver’s Credit Low income workers who save for retirement using a 401(k) or IRA can earn a tax credit worth up to $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for couples in 2011 and future years. The saver’s credit can be claimed by workers whose modified adjusted gross incomes are up to $28,250 for singles, $42,375 for [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:   Evaluating life insurance needs. Because life insurance typically becomes more expensive as we age, many people may believe they can’t afford to purchase coverage later in life. However, considering that life insurance is significantly less expensive today than it was a decade ago, you might be able to purchase new coverage and pay [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  What Are Some Smart Ways to Refinance? Recently, fixed mortgages were near their lowest rates in almost 30 years. And if you are one of the many people who took out mortgages in the few years prior to that, you may be wondering if you should look into refinancing. If your mortgage was [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  What Tax Deductions Are Still Available to Me? Tax reform measures are enacted frequently by Congress, which makes it hard for U.S. taxpayers to know which deductions are currently available to help lower their tax liability. In fact, a former head of the IRS once said that millions of taxpayers overpay their taxes [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Can Social Security be garnished? If creditors and debt collectors are hounding you for money, you may wonder: Can Social Security be garnished? The answer is: It depends on who you owe money to. Banks and other financial creditors can’t touch your Social Security benefits, but when the government is collecting on a [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  Buried under your dead relative’s debt? Death is a fact of life, and when someone dies, the deceased’s family naturally may wonder what will happen to his or her mortgage, auto loan, credit card bills, unpaid income taxes and other debts. The simple answer is that debts become part of the deceased’s estate [...]

FEATURE ARTICLE:  8 Things You Should Shred Right Now According to financial  services consulting firm Javelin Strategies and Research, identity theft affects 11 million people a year, at a cost of $54 billion. If you don’t want to become a statistic, a good place to start is to get a shredder. Shredding documents isn’t just [...]