February 2009

Cash 4 Gold: Scam! Real Tips for Selling Your Gold Jewelry

by Flexo

Consumerist has pointed out a discussion on ComplainsBoard about Cash4Gold, an outfit that promises top dollar for trading in your gold jewelery. With the tight economy and gold prices relatively high, many consumers will find this a good deal. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to get the true value for your traded in items. A ... Continue reading this article…

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The Latest Interest Rate Massacre: FNBO, E*TRADE, HSBC, ING and More

by Flexo

Redirected here on March 8. Ever get the feeling that someone is trying to get you to spend your money, perhaps to stimulate the economy? Banks seem to offer no encouragement for deposits lately. Here are some of the latest interest rate drops over the past few days. Dollar Savings Direct has dropped from 4.0 percent ... Continue reading this article…

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How Citigroup Used $45 Billion from the Government

by Flexo

Citigroup released a report today explaining how it “spent” the $45 billion provided to the company by the government as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). On a high level, the report accounts for $46.5 billion spent or allocated to a variety of programs across five categories: residential mortgages, personal and business loans, ... Continue reading this article…

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What You Need to Know About the FICO Update

by Smithee

Fair Isaac, the company that is responsible for the formula behind your FICO score, has been planning an update for a long time, and it’s now being put into practice, but not without a few wrinkles. Called “FICO 08″, the new re-tooling should provide a more accurate risk assessment for anybody with a credit history. ... Continue reading this article…

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Understand the Recovery Rebate Credit

by Flexo

According to the Internal Revenue Service, 15 percent of 2008 income tax returns that have been filed already have errors involving the recovery rebate credit. Here is what the government wants you to know: Some tax returns erroneously claim the credit, do not claim the proper amount of recovery rebate credit or mistakenly enter the amount ... Continue reading this article…

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Senate Amendment to 2009 Stimulus Bill: Moratorium on Foreclosures

by Flexo

As Barack Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus plan makes its way through Congress, the Senate is taking the opportunity to modify the bill with the intent of providing assistance to the lagging housing market. Rather than allow the market to continue correcting itself, the government would like to encourage consumers to jump into the market, allowing ... Continue reading this article…

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Senate Amendment to 2009 Stimulus Bill: First-Time Home Buyer Credit

by Flexo

This text refers to the original amendment to the stimulus bill, which has now been superseded in the final law. The first-time home buyer tax credit is now $8,000 and is available for people who purchase a house between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009. Here is how to claim the $8,000 home buyer ... Continue reading this article…

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Senate Amendment to 2009 Stimulus Bill: 4% Fixed-Rate Mortgage

by Flexo

Updated March 20, 2009: The stimulus bill is now a law. Read our roundup of the many ways you can benefit. Without any Republican support, the 2009 stimulus package pushed by President Obama passed the House of Representatives. The bill is now making its way through the Senate, and it won’t come up for a ... Continue reading this article…

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Most Popular on Consumerism Commentary: January 2009

by Flexo

Monthly subscription reminder One of the best methods of reading Consumerism Commentary and staying up-to-date with the latest articles and posts is through RSS subscription. By subscribing to the Consumerism Commentary RSS feed with feed-reading software such as Google Reader or aggregators such as My Yahoo, you’ll always be aware of new content here. If ... Continue reading this article…

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