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Paying Off Debt: 6 Steps to Building a Better Snowball

by Flexo

The “snowball method” for paying off debt isn’t something out of the movie Clerks. It is a way to organize your outstanding debt in such a way that the funds you have available for paying off debt are optimally distributed in the manner that will allow you to pay off that debt quickly and cheaply. ... Continue reading this article…

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Another Case of Misleading Statistics

by Flexo

Everybody Lies. That’s the mantra from House, a simple but entertaining television show, whose premises are strangely applicable to personal finance. Recently, Liz Pulliam Weston evaluated a survey about consumer credit card debt that used a mistaken assumption to create misleading data about average household debt. When a survey says 90 percent of Americans are either ... Continue reading this article…

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Best Credit Cards for Airline Miles

by Flexo

If you use credit cards for regular expenses rather than excessive spending and pay your balance off each month, you should be getting something back for the money you’re making for the credit card companies. Some of the options out there include cash back, 0 percent APR balance transfers, 0 percent APR on purchases, and sign-up bonuses. ... Continue reading this article…

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A Credit Card With No Late Fees?

by Flexo

Over the last year or two, credit card companies in general have been ratcheting up fees, perhaps to make up for more and more people who are learning to avoid them and to pay for the generous rewards they have been offering until recently. For example, it’s difficult to find full 0 percent balance transfer offers. ... Continue reading this article…

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This Week in the Archives: Solvency, Mistakes, and Loan Consolidation

by Flexo

86.6 percent of regular Consumerism Commentary readers have been visiting this blog for a year or less. That’s a lot of people who have missed articles written this week in prior years. If that includes you, this retrospective is for your benefit. Here are some of the articles that may be worth a read. From June ... Continue reading this article…

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Best of Consumerism Commentary: January 2007

by Flexo

Here are a few selections from the first month of this year that I’d like mention. If you didn’t have a chance to read them the first time around, now is your chance. * Jan. 3: 10 Things Your Gym Won’t Tell You * Jan. 4: Beginning Employee Stock Purchase Plan * Jan. 4: Do ... Continue reading this article…

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0% Balance Transfer: You May Be a Terrorist

by Flexo

If you deviate from your banking habits by initiating a transaction more than $5,000, your bank will help the government spy on you. The federal government wants to catch terrorists and money launderers, and banks are required to assist. Since 1996, banks have been required to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) whenever they detect ... Continue reading this article…

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Best Of 2005

by Flexo

As the year is coming to a close, and I will be less available over the next few days, the opportunity is perfect for taking a look at Consumerism Commentary and compiling a list of “best” (or most popular) entries from the year. This will be the 570th entry in 2005, but only a few ... Continue reading this article…

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