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Month: August 2015

RoadTrip

For $900 a month, you can have it all (in Missoula)

August 31, 2015 Bob Sullivan 1

Jim has a two-month old baby. He’s working at 10 p.m. when I meet him, and the baby — his wife stopped in to say hi.  It unclear when she will go back to work. You’d think Jim is sleep-deprived from working long hours or a second job.  But he’s not [Keep reading]

Features

How do you pay off $47,000 in debt? One dollar at a time

August 28, 2015 Bob Sullivan 0

Steve and Jennie Silha ended up in debt the way a lot of young couples do: They had children. Steve, 44, is a realist, and says the problem was pretty simple. “It really came down to the fact that we decided that my wife would be a stay-at-home mom, but [Keep reading]

How To Buy Anything

The way we buy cell phones is radically changing (but they will still cost about the same)

August 27, 2015 Bob Sullivan 3

The next time you buy a cellphone, things will probably be very different. And better, for the most part. Nonetheless, phones have become a necessary part of our culture, with different types of phones to fit almost everyone in the world, for instance, phones for those who are busy and [Keep reading]

How To Buy Anything

Surprise! Used car loans are hot. Here’s a guide to driving away happy

August 26, 2015 Bob Sullivan 0

Used cars have always appealed to the budget-conscious shoppers because of their low prices, but there’s always been a drawback — used car loans. Until recently, bank loans for used cars were tricky to get, and were much more expensive than new car loans. If you find yourself wanting to [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Yes, you can buy a new laptop on credit. But you probably shouldn’t

August 25, 2015 Bob Sullivan 0

A new computer, for as low as $24 a month! That might sound like a steal, but — as with any type of financing — make sure you do the math, and research your options. It may be tempting to buy a new PC in August, particularly with back-to-school sales. Even if [Keep reading]

How To Buy Anything

Eight cheaper ways to book hotels: The latest installment of the ‘How to Buy Anything’ series

August 24, 2015 Bob Sullivan 0

(A note to loyal readers. Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’ve been away for a while — two weeks, to be exact. Well, I’ve proudly managed to take my own advice from The Restless Project and took a break. Thanks for your patience!) For years now, getting a good price on [Keep reading]

Poverty Project

Requiem for the starter home — where are young families supposed to live?

August 6, 2015 Bob Sullivan 2

I had a depressing conversation recently with someone who does big housing construction deals for a big bank. There’s only two types of deals that work, he said. 1) Building pricey, premium granite countertop homes for well-off folks or 2) Building affordable housing with government subsidies. Roughly speaking: construction for [Keep reading]

The Restless Project

Knee-jerk reactions against higher wages are poisoning the important debate we need to have

August 5, 2015 Bob Sullivan 6

Two recent stories about America’s underpaid workers and the effort to give them a break remind me just how much more we need to talk about class warfare, and propaganda, and economics…but most of all, what’s going on at dinner tables around the country.  (That’s the point of The Restless Project.) [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

A bad credit score can raise your driver’s insurance rates higher than a DUI, study finds

August 4, 2015 Bob Sullivan 0

Is your less-than-perfect credit score costing you a bundle on auto insurance? A new study suggests this hidden fee might be costing drivers hundreds of dollars each year. So if you are wanting to get cheap 125cc insurance for your motorbike, then you should make sure that you have a [Keep reading]

Privacy

Most consumers are worried their cars might be hacked; many say they’d pay for car ‘anti-virus’ protection

August 3, 2015 Bob Sullivan 1

Consumers are becoming more and more aware that hacking isn’t just a gadget nuisance any more. Computer security problems, like viruses, increasingly come with real-world consequences — like the potential to screw with an airplane’s flight system, or more recently, a car. Wired’s Andy Greenberg last month revealed to the [Keep reading]

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About me

BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists prestigious Public Service award, a Peabody award, and The Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness award, and been given Consumer Action’s Consumer Excellence Award.

Bob Sullivan

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