From the monthly archives:
When the doors opened early for Black Friday sales at a Wal-Mart store on Long Island, the frenzied shoppers stormed in, determined to be the first to grab the bargains before they were depleted. The maniacs trampled the unfortunate Wal-Mart worker whose job was to open the door. The shoppers continued to run in, ... Continue reading this article…
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About the author: This is a guest post by Carson Brackney, writer for Personal Finance Analyst. Personal Finance Analyst is an online community of bloggers dedicated to taking the mystery out of money and helping you to live a happier, more successful life with the money you have. In the wake of 9/11, President Bush encouraged ... Continue reading this article…
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About the author: This guest post comes to you from Mr. ToughMoneyLove, a baby boomer who dishes the hard truth about money and personal finance at his Tough Money Love blog. I cannot count the number of times I have seen or heard statements proclaiming with great certainty that Social Security will “disappear” or that “it ... Continue reading this article…
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For those in the United States, tradition and media influence have established today as a day for spending time with family, over-eating, and watching television. What could be more American than Thanksgiving Day? Fast becoming a tradition for consumers is Black Friday (and to a lesser extent Cyber Monday). Retailers have discovered a tendency ... Continue reading this article…
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About the author: Karney Hatch is a filmmaker whose new documentary, Overdrawn!, explores the predatory lending practices of major national banks with Ralph Nader, Joel Bakan, a loan shark, and many others. In all the number crunching and legalese surrounding predatory fees of various sorts, it’s easy to forget the visceral reaction that they cause in ... Continue reading this article…
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About the author: This guest article is presented by Debtkid, who recently begun working part-time for LendingClub. He regularly writes at Debtkid about his journey to become debt free. A few years back, I was playing poker at a bachelor party. There were about 12 guys there, and the pot was around $100. During the course ... Continue reading this article…
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About the author: Margaret is a recent college grad who writes at love God, not money about how she and her boyfriend are saving up money to get married, pay off student loan debt and head to seminary. Money is one of those things you’re not supposed to mention in polite conversation. But if you’re married ... Continue reading this article…
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There’s a story circulating that customers are using cash instead of credit for their holiday purchases this year, more than they have for many years past. I found this story detailed in Newsweek. Here are the highlights you should know:
Credit card issuers are raising interest rates and fees, while lowering spending limits Some analysts are saying ... Continue reading this article…
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About the author: Matt Wallaert is a behavioral psychologist and the Lead Scientist at Thrive, a free financial advisory website that helps people organize their finances and plan for the future with personalized feedback from its behavioral advisory engine. Twenty six and addicted to buying suits at Goodwill and geeking out on psychology, he ... Continue reading this article…
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Reminder: While I am on vacation this week, Consumerism Commentary is featuring articles by other writers. Please read Criminal Charges: Volume XVII, the first of this week’s guest articles. Rescue Deal for CitiGroup. Citi is too big to fail, so the government is preparing an injection of $20 billion in addition to the $25 billion the ... Continue reading this article…
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About the author: This guest article is presented by Jeremy M. Simon, who writes for Taking Charge. Jeremy’s articles focus on payment card and debt trends impacting consumers. Thanksgiving is nearly here, and credit card misdeeds show no sign of letting up, meaning yet another well-stuffed edition of Criminal Charges, my weekly roundup of news items ... Continue reading this article…
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Guest article schedule Here’s a quick administrative note. While I am visiting family in California this week, Consumerism Commentary will be featuring a number of guest authors. The “Take Control of Your Finances” series will be on hold until I return, but I will be around for occasional posts. The guest authors will be ... Continue reading this article…
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Debt is like indentured servitude. You work and earn income, but you hand over that income to someone else. With debt, your finances are controlled by someone else, not you. For example, credit card companies have the right to change your interest rate at almost any time with advance notice. In fact, CitiGroup recently ... Continue reading this article…
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Happy New Year? Not For Some. At the beginning of 2009, employees who take part in a 403(b) plan, which is like a 401(k) plan for non-profit organizations, will have fewer investment options. This change will bring 403(b) plans in line with the expectations for 401(k) plans. The change will probably mean higher expenses ... Continue reading this article…
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This is the next installment in a series at Consumerism Commentary about taking control of your finances. Please consider subscribing to the Consumerism Commentary RSS feed for updates. It’s no secret that budgeting is a chore. Although this piece of personal finance carries an ugly reputation, even a simple form of budgeting will help you achieve ... Continue reading this article…
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5 Money Mistakes in a Bad Economy. Here are the mistakes: continuing to use credit cards, withdrawing or taking a loan from your retirement funds, paying for college without loans, grants, or scholarships, neglecting to invest, and taking home-equity loans. Bid to Ban Sale of Obama Tickets. Tickets to presidential inaugurations have always been free, but ... Continue reading this article…
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Welcome, visitors from The Dallas Morning News! This is the next installment in a series at Consumerism Commentary about taking control of your finances. Please consider subscribing to the Consumerism Commentary RSS feed for updates. If you’re on your way to spending less than you earn, then you’re going to need a good place to put ... Continue reading this article…
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I’ve added more $25 bonus codes for new ING Direct customers last night. If you have at least $250 to deposit into a high-yield savings account, use one of these codes to receive a small boost. You’d Better Watch Out: Gift Cards Can Be Lumps of Coal. If you are considering getting someone a gift card ... Continue reading this article…
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Every Tuesday, Smithee presents an article about his own experiences with and observations about credit cards. Do you have a credit account with Citigroup? I probably do. I think I started one with Rooms To Go when we started paying for our very comfortable bed. They said it would be interest free for however-many months. I ... Continue reading this article…
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Thanks to This Week’s Guest Authors
by Flexo on November 30, 2008. Administration 2 comments.
While I visited with family on the opposite side of the country this past week for Thanksgiving, I offered the opportunity to feature a few guest authors at Consumerism Commentary. The guests provided a number of excellent articles to keep this website going strong while I was away, and I thank them for doing ... Continue reading this article…
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