As featured in The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and more!

2010

Discover Open Road Card Review

by Luke Landes

You don’t hear people complaining about gasoline prices as much as they used to. At least, I don’t write about it as much as I did in 2006 (or even in 2000, before Consumerism Commentary). I still remember being able to fill up my first Honda Civic for $12. When a few short years later, ... Continue reading this article…

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Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength

by Luke Landes

A group of millionaires — the definition of which is any individual with an annual income of over $1,000,000, not a net worth of $1,000,000 — has assembled to let the government know that they’d like the tax cuts for that income level expire, in patriotic duty to the fiscal solvency of the United States. ... Continue reading this article…

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New Jersey Ranks Fourth for Innovative Companies

by Luke Landes

This came as a surprise to me. According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, New Jersey ranks fourth for entrepreneurial businesses based on emerging technology. That ranking puts my state, known across the world for Jersey Shore and The Sopranos, behind Maryland, Washington, and first place Massachusetts. California, home to Silicon Valley, ranks ninth. ... Continue reading this article…

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Chase United Mileage Plus® Signature® Visa Card Review

by Luke Landes

The offer you are interested in has expired. Read our review of the United MileagePlus Explorer Card.

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Extreme Boomerang: Heidi Montag

by Luke Landes

I am completely disconnected from the genre of television shows called “reality.” The fascination with people whose celebrity status stemmed from reality television, or most celebrities in general, seems to be built on a foundation of schadenfreude. People love to hear about the failures of famous people. Heidi Montag and her husband, a couple who ... Continue reading this article…

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Electronic Cigarettes Might Just Be Ideal

by Smithee

This is an article by Consumerism Commentary staff writer, Smithee. This article assumes that some people smoke and some people don’t. It won’t address the notion that smokers shouldn’t smoke, and I hope you will also avoid that controversial viewpoint in the comments below. People are vaporizing all over town, but don’t worry, they’re doing ... Continue reading this article…

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Night Owls Are More Intelligent Than Morning Birds

by Luke Landes

If I have to define myself by my productivity tendency based on the time of day, I would have to say I am not a morning person. I imagine my mother is nodding in agreement as she reads this article, as I didn’t make life easy for her while I was a teenager. Though I ... Continue reading this article…

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Takes Shape

by Luke Landes

In July, the federal government passed a sweeping new law to reform the financial industry. One of the biggest and most hotly contested aspect of this new law is the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. President Obama has tapped Elizabeth Warren to oversee the development of this new agency. The new director won’t ... Continue reading this article…

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Podcast 82: Credit Sesame and Betterment

by Luke Landes

Today’s Consumerism Commentary Podcast, features two guests. In the first segment, Tom Dziubek talks to Adrian Nazari, founder and CEO of the online credit & loan analysis tool Credit Sesame. Adrian discusses how the website can help customers analyze their debt situation and assist them by presenting them with multiple loan options. In the second ... Continue reading this article…

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Frequent Flyers, Dangerous Investing Advice, and Supercharged Income

by Luke Landes

A week from today, I’ll be on my way to California. I’ll be visiting my family in Los Angeles and Orange County for Thanksgiving and to get away. It’s not all personal, though; I’ll be doing quite a bit of work on Consumerism Commentary while traveling. I’ll be writing, assisted by a few guest authors, ... Continue reading this article…

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Blue Cash from American Express Review

by Luke Landes

You may have noticed the high ranking for the Blue Cash® from American Express on our best cash back credit cards page. I own the business version of this credit card and use it for all of my business purchases and some bills. In terms of rewards, this card is one of the best around ... Continue reading this article…

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Kim Kardashian Prepaid Debit Card: Worst Product of the Year?

by Luke Landes

Update: The Kardashian Kard has been taken off the market due to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s concern over the prepaid debit card’s over-sized fees. If you’re the type of person to be outraged by credit cards companies marketing to kids, you probably are not a fan of the Kardashian Debit Card (or “Kard”). This ... Continue reading this article…

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Is Annie Leibovitz a Failure?

by Luke Landes

Annie Leibovitz is one of today’s most famous photographers. You may have seen her name in the news recently for her financial problems rather than for her art. Although reports of her annual income included numbers north of $3,000,000, she was saddled with multi-million-dollar debt and exposed to legal problems. The photographer is mainly known ... Continue reading this article…

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Google’s 10% Raise: Fostering Talented Employees

by Luke Landes

Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, announced the good news to his employees. Everyone at the company will be receive a 10 percent raise to boost morale in an environment where Google employees are leaving for greener pastures. According to the Wall Street Journal article, internal surveys indicated that employees consider salary to be the ... Continue reading this article…

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10 Tips For Buying a Rental Property

by Sasha

This is an article written by Sasha, former Consumerism Commentary staff writer. In 2007, Sasha shared her experiences with purchasing and managing residential rental properties and the lessons learned. The articles were published in a series of ten. I’ve re-edited the pieces and consolidated the great advice into one article. Looking to diversify your investments ... Continue reading this article…

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A Return to the Gold Standard

by Luke Landes

Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, is concerned about the future of our global monetary system. Once upon a time, every dollar in the United States needed to be backed by gold and silver because these metals were said to have intrinsic value. If the world is losing faith in the U.S. dollar as ... Continue reading this article…

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S-Corporation Designation

by Luke Landes

Last year, I mentioned my accountant saved me $15,000 by re-classifying my self-employment income from a limited liability corporation (LLC) to an S-corporation. I glossed over the process; in fact, getting to the $15,000 in tax savings was a bit more complicated than simply filing as an S-corporation. I could likely have saved even more ... Continue reading this article…

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Black Friday Onslaught: Truly Frugal Holidays

by Luke Landes

With the first cold weekend after the summer, I can tell just by looking around that people everywhere have begun thinking about the holiday season. I’m not talking about Veterans’ Day or Thanksgiving; Christmas is the day on people’s minds as they erect their gaudy displays. The advertisements are not yet full-force on television, but ... Continue reading this article…

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Podcast 81: Sell Your Crap, Adam Baker

by Luke Landes

Today on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek talks to Adam Baker, founder of the Man Vs. Debt website and author of the Sell Your Crap series of guides. Adam and Tom talk about many topics tackled in the guides, such as admitting that you have crap in your house, finding the true value of ... Continue reading this article…

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Holiday Travel Deals, Consequences, Verizon Promo Codes

by Luke Landes

It has been a long week and I haven’t completed as many things as I would have liked to; however, I did mention to my supervisor at my day job that I plan to take an extended leave of absence. It’s not quite quitting, but this is what works for me for the present. This ... Continue reading this article…

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