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GAO Report Seems to Back Up Convenience Stores

by Smithee

We told you back in July about the Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2009. To summarize: Visa and Mastercard skims a percentage of the retail price every time you use a card to buy something. It’s called an “interchange fee”. Allegedly, U.S. merchants pay up to six times more for this service than merchants ... Continue reading this article…

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Is a College Degree Worth the Investment?

by Debbie

Over the next couple of weeks, six finalists will be auditioning for the opening of “staff writer” at Consumerism Commentary. Each will be providing two guest articles to share with readers. After the six writers have shared their guest articles, readers will have an opportunity to provide feedback before we select the staff writer. This ... Continue reading this article…

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Avoiding Black Friday Online and Offline

by Flexo

Many retailers — those who have survived the rough economy — have struggled this past year. Companies are looking forward to the holiday season because they know consumers are in a tough position, too. Here is how it works: the economy is recovering, but unemployment is the last piece of the economy to improve in ... Continue reading this article…

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Podcast 31: Peer-to-Peer Lending and Target Date Funds

by Flexo

On today’s Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek speaks with Renaud LaPlanche, co-founder and CEO of LendingClub and Rob Garcia, senior director of product strategy for the same company. The LendingClub teams discusses the benefits and drawbacks of peer-to-peer lending as an alternative to the traditional banking system. Also in today’s episode, Flexo and Tom Dziubek ... Continue reading this article…

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Enforcing Tax Laws Works. Go Figure.

by Smithee

Earlier this Fall, the IRS was offering an amnesty program for offshore tax cheats to come forward and admit their wrongdoing, thereby getting a more lenient punishment. Nearly 15,000 Americans who knew they were cheating came forward and admitted their bad behavior. From Reuters: While IRS officials were still analyzing the amount of offshore assets ... Continue reading this article…

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Ben Stein Offers Four Lessons From the Recession

by Flexo

The United States must be approaching the end of the recession when economists begin offering their retrospectives. Even if the data are pointing to an end to the recession, in technical terms, the economy is a long way from recovery. Just look around at the people out of work. Even those who have maintained their ... Continue reading this article…

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Living It Up… At the Library?

by FruGal

Over the next couple of weeks, six finalists will be auditioning for the opening of “staff writer” at Consumerism Commentary. Each will be providing two guest articles to share with readers. After the six writers have shared their guest articles, readers will have an opportunity to provide feedback before we select the staff writer. This ... Continue reading this article…

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Put Your Finances on Cruise Control, But Stay Alert

by Flexo

My Honda Civic has an option for cruise control. Unfortunately, most of my driving currently takes place on the New Jersey Turnpike and local highways during rush hour and construction, so I rarely have an opportunity to activate this feature. In the slim occasion I find myself driving on a deserted country road, I activate ... Continue reading this article…

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