This is hardly the message families want to hear right after the holidays, when budgets were stretched to the limit to afford parties and gifts and already-forgotten stocking stuffers, and credit cards were used way more than …
We Paid Almost $30 Billion in Overdraft Fees in 2011
They called it the “$39 cup of coffee.” At many banks, customers were automatically — often unwittingly — enrolled in overdraft programs that would permit debit purchases to go through even if it would overdraw their account, to the tune of up to $35 a pop. But a year and a half after new Federal Reserve rules kicked in to protect …
Retiring This Year? Plan Your Time, Not Just Your Money
If you’re planning to retire this year, start putting your finances in order now. That’s a given. But retirement isn’t just about money. It’s about how you will spend your time. So you might also start thinking hard about …
5 Tricks To Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick
A new year, a new batch of resolutions! Alas, these promises to ourselves rarely produce long-lasting results. (Depending on the source, nearly nine in 10 resolutions don’t take.) Worse, failed resolutions could be harmful if …
Ouch — Average Credit Card APR Now Tops 15 Percent
We’ve started 2012 on a troubling financial note: credit card interest rates are hovering near record highs.