The majority of Americans pay someone else to do their taxes — about 3 out of 5 taxpayers. This is tragedy to me on many levels. For starters, it’s insane that our tax code is so complicated that people feel they can’t do it on their own. Those that do [Keep reading]
Ron Lieber has spent the past seven years penning some of the smartest consumer stories you can read at The New York Times in his Your Money column. The last time you saw him, perhaps he was (politely) arguing with Suze Orman’s about her personal-branded prepaid debit card (he [Keep reading]
The first signs of elder financial abuse are easy to miss. Maybe there’s a new, overeager “best friend” who gives off a strange vibe. Or excessive secrecy around an online lover. Paranoia or anger when talking about money can be a tipoff, too. Don’t count on discovering sudden large withdrawals [Keep reading]
It can be boring to read stories about the problems created by Wall Street professionals who don’t want to own anything, but merely make money by moving money around. Once in a while, these traders — rightly called, derisively, speculators — get a little more attention, such as the gasoline [Keep reading]
The next time a company tells you that it wants your information, but “Don’t worry, it’s anonymized,” don’t believe it. A group of researchers from MIT proved this week that it can identify almost anyone using just four pieces of information in a supposedly anonymized database of credit card transactions [Keep reading]
You probably know by now that your credit card balance impacts your credit score. And you might know that even if you pay your bill in full each month, running up high balances can have a negative impact on your score. For example, maxing out a card can cost you [Keep reading]
Once in a while, you hear good news. And often, troubled times lead to fresh wisdom. Here’s a little of of both. Perhaps you remember The Restless Project story of Kimberly:”One income, zero hope.” Mom to a 5 and a 3 year old, Kimberly had been given notice that she [Keep reading]
Comcast seems hard at work making sure it collects all the monthly modem rental fees it can. I’ve already chronicled the firm sending out unwanted modems to consumers, and charging for them; and Comcast’s fee increase from $8 to$10. Here’s comes another fee-capturing technique to watch for: Comcast is conducting [Keep reading]
It’s perhaps not surprising that the older folks get, the better they are at handling money and avoiding penalty fees. But you might be surprised at how stark the difference is between younger and older generations when it comes to that super villain of financial penalties, the checking account overdraft. [Keep reading]
Fighting with a credit reporting agency over inaccuracies isn’t easy, and plenty of consumers simply give up, a new Federal Trade Commission study suggests. Nearly half of consumers engaged in an unresolved dispute with a credit reporting agency wave the white flag, according to a study published this week by the [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan