A new set of Federal Reserve rules went into effect yesterday that now require banks to get your permission before you’re enrolled in overdraft protection. Before, your bank could enroll you without notice in an overdraft plan that would process the transaction but hit you with a fee for every ATM, check, and debit card [...]
If you’ve ever overdrawn your bank account, there’s a decent chance that a company called ChexSystems knows about it. Classified as a consumer credit reporting agency, ChexSystems operates a database that member banks can use to report bounced checks and other activity it classifies as “suspicious.” On the record, ChexSystems is a tool that banks [...]
The Wall Street Journal took a fascinating look this week at how new banking regulations that were designed to protect consumers may instead lead to more fees: Bank of America Corp. and other banks are preparing new fees on basic banking services as they try to replace revenue lost to regulatory rules, in a push that [...]
Welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, Econ4U’s weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps. Making retirement saving a priority is the recognition that it’s easier to go without now (when you’re young and able-bodied) than at the end of your life when your options are fewer. [...]
On the final day of Financial Literacy Month, now would be a good time to explain the proverb “penny wise but pound foolish.” So many other personal-finance blogs focus on ways to save money on things like gas, energy bills, and the ubiquitous $4 latte. But if you’re saddled with a huge car payment, struggling [...]
Posted in Budgeting, Education, Featured Posts, Financial Illiteracy, Housing, Personal Finance
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Also tagged Budgeting, credit cards, financial education, loans, Mortgages, Personal Finance, tips
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Last week we showed you how a seemingly-low interest rate on a loan can add up over time – or how you can end up paying $430,000 for a $200,000 house. This week we’re covering a happier topic: how the same principle can help you build serious wealth for the long haul. You already know [...]
October 16, 2009 – 3:07 pm
I may be late to the party but I only just learned that Microsoft has discontinued its game-changing Money software. I’ve been using Money for years to track my spending, retirement allotments, taxable investments, and savings accounts all in one tidy package. But unfortunately for me and Microsoft, the advent of free budgeting websites has [...]
Overdraft fees netted nearly $37 billion for banks in 2008, and with so many major financial institutions like Bank of America hurting for cash this year, consumers can expect an assortment of banking charges to climb even higher in 2009. It’s a double whammy for money-strapped Americans because the people most likely to get slapped with [...]
You know those “Important Notices” you get in the mail from your bank and credit card companies? The ones filled with 25 pages of indecipherable fine print? Well, it turns out that sometimes there’s actually important information mixed in with all the legalese. At least if you want to avoid paying $119.40 in annual fees. [...]
January 27, 2009 – 5:08 pm
There’s a great post over at My Money Blog which offers a very simple way to maintain a family budget, without the hassle that comes with some of the more complicated budgeting methods. The basic idea is that we only put the amount of money we actually want to spend into our primary checking [...]
