Layaway purchases have returned in a big way. More and more retailers are offering layaway, and it’s often being heralded as a way to get more value for your money. Really? I don’t get it.
And the Fees Just Keep on Coming
If you’re a Citibank customer, you may be getting hit with a new $7.50 monthly checking fee.
It’s a Deal: Free National Parks Admission on Veteran’s Day
In honor of America’s service men and women, entrance fees at all national parks and monuments are being waived on Veteran’s Day, Wednesday, November 11. More details here.
Are You Credit Worthy? Millions Are Losing Their Credit Card Privileges
One way banks and credit card issuers are trying to make money—or at least stop losing it—is by getting rid of customers who are bad for business. The number of credit card accounts decreased by 72 million last year.
Larry Fink says we’re already dealing with too-big-to-fail
BlackRock’s Larry Fink, who you’d have to say has emerged as one of the winners from the financial crisis, says we shouldn’t worry all too much about too-big-to-fail financial firms staying too big to fail. That’s because the feds are already shrinking them. “They are doing that by reducing leverage,” he said at a breakfast put on by the …
Get a College Education for Free
Major colleges and universities like Yale, MIT, and Cal-Berkeley offer online courses, lectures, and class notes free to the public. You won’t earn credit—but you won’t spend a penny either. And you could actually learn something. Who needs an actual degree anyway, right?
Are You Mental? Retailers Try to Understand (and Exploit) the ‘Recession Mentality’
Is the recession over? It doesn’t really matter. Retailers and manufacturers realize that frugality will be the rule at least for the near future, and they’re trying to figure out how to reach the newly cautious, newly vigilant consumer.
Designer Dresses in Your Rental Queue? A Netflix for Fashionistas
A new website allows you to rent dresses for a few days from designers like Diane Von Furstenburg for one-tenth of what it would cost to buy them.
The Grocery Game: Play or Get Played
The supermarket is designed to get you to spend more than you need. Product location, packaging, quantities, and promotions are all part of the game. And if you aren’t aware that supermarket marketers are even playing a game, then you’re the easiest mark.
How do we know when it’s time to start getting prudent?
As part of my frightening yet potentially lucrative new career as a Person Who Sits/Stands at the Front of the Room and Says Stuff While Other People Sit in Chairs and Listen Semi-Attentively, I’m on a panel tonight at the Barnes & Noble at Broadway and 66th in Manhattan with Bruce Bartlett, Robert Samuelson and some guy I don’t know …
Credit Card Upheaval: Time for You to Wake Up and Take Charge
Whether you’ve got one credit card in your wallet or 13, whether you carry a balance or always pay your full bill on time, big changes happening to the way banks and credit card companies do business will affect you. What can you do? At the very least, you really ought to take a few seconds to read notifications from your credit card …