Retirement portfolios held up surprisingly well through the Great Recession. But housing declines made for the worst period in several generations for pre-retirees, a study finds.
Personal Finance
The CFPB Wants to Give You Better Overdraft Fee Protection
It’s hard to overstate how much bank customers hate overdraft fees, but we still shelled out nearly $30 billion on them last year. The Federal Reserve attempted to rein in the “gotcha” factor with new rules in 2010, but banks have exploited loopholes in them and increased the fees. Now, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is trying …
The Tooth Fairy Was Kind of Cheap Last Year
The average amount given to sweet, adorable children by the Tooth Fairy last year was a mere $2.10. That’s down 17% from the year before, representing one of the largest declines in spending for the tightwad sprite since 1998. …
5 Ways to Score Cheaper Gas
Housing Recovery at Last? Evidence Mounts
While experts continue to warn that housing has not yet hit bottom, a slew of indicators suggest otherwise. The latest is a stellar quarterly earnings report from Home Depot, which is benefitting from hopeful owners sprucing up …
Why You’re Supposed to Be Extra Focused on Saving Money This Week
If you’re been splurging and throwing money around lately, perhaps you didn’t get the memo: February 19 to 26 is officially dubbed “America Saves Week.” Feel free to go back to your freespending ways starting February 27.
Casino’s ‘Fat Tuesday’ Promotion Rewards Overweight Gamblers by the Pound
We hear a lot about the high costs of being overweight—that, for instance, obesity adds $150 billion to our annual health care costs. Yesterday, though, at a casino in Florida, there was a financial bonus for being heavy: …
‘ING Direct’ Name to Disappear: Customers Disgusted as Capital One Swallows Favorite Online Bank
Ever since the Federal Reserve approved Capital One’s takeover of ING Direct, customers have feared that their beloved bright-orange online bank would change. Turns out they were right to be scared, as a recent notice is circulating announcing that the “ING Direct” name will disappear, probably next year. What else is going to change?
Hey, They Were Listening: Some Banks Reinstate Free Checking
Consumers love to gripe about the scarcity of free checking and ever-increasing bank fees. But something funny happened in the second half of 2011 that belies the narrative of being nickel-and-dimed by the big banks: The …
Which Retailers Have the Most Satisfied Customers?
A new study reveals that people who shop at Amazon, Costco, Publix, and Nordstrom are among the happiest consumers of late. Walmart and Netflix customers, on the other hand, aren’t particularly pleased.
Your Facebook Profile Can Predict Your Job Performance
It can take as little as 10 minutes for someone to go through your Facebook profile and predict how you’ll perform in the workplace.
The Return of Television Rabbit Ears?
Getting TV stations through the airwaves may seem like an anachronism in the age of streaming video online. But actually, the rise of Hulu and Netflix seems to be helping the rabbit ear industry.