Archives Personal Finance

Ask Sid: Say Hello to Variable Rates

Q. My credit card was switched from a fixed to a variable interest rate “for my benefit.” True?

November 20, 2009

More members of middle class file for bankruptcy

Staci Schubert's career has taken her from New York to California, from graphic designer to website designer to sales executive. Most recently, she launched a business as a designer of handbags and accessories. At 40 and with such accomplishments, Schubert is Middle Class America.

November 19, 2009

Act Now, Save on Tax Day

When you start thinking about pumpkins, turkeys and holiday travel, it’s a good time to think about taxes, too. That’s because the moves you make between now and New Year’s Day can cut the income tax bill you might face on April 15.

November 18, 2009

Ask the Experts: Taking Loans From Your 401(k)

Q. I’m retired and need a loan. Can I get it from my 401(k)?

November 18, 2009

Economy 101: The post-Clunker rise in car prices

The government's Cash for Clunkers program offered a lot of Americans great deals on new cars. Now, those falling prices have shifted into reverse. Prices for new and used cars rose sharply in October, partially reflecting a whiplash from the government trade-in program that winnowed inventories at dealership lots.

November 18, 2009

Ask Sid Archive

The following is an archived collection of Ask Sid columns by Sid Kirchheimer, author of "Scam-Proof Your Life."

November 17, 2009

Federal Reserve Moves to Restrict Fees on Gift Cards

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Federal Reserve stepped up its consumer protection efforts for the second time in less than a week Monday, proposing to limit the ability of gift card issuers to impose excessive fees. The Fed proposed banning any fees for the first year and limiting gift card issuers to one fee a month if the card was not used for at least a year. It also requires clear disclosure to consumers about penalties.

November 17, 2009

Paying Extra for Green Power, and Getting Ads Instead

The solicitations have been flooding people’s mailboxes lately: pay a bit more on your electricity bill for 100 percent clean wind power. Or, the fliers say, buy “green power certificates” to offset your global warming emissions. Close to a million electricity customers have signed up for such payments voluntarily, and the amount of electricity sold in this way has nearly tripled since 2005, amid rising concern about climate change and energy security.

November 17, 2009

Your Financial Future: Balancing Present and Future Needs

Is it wise to tap retirement funds for a child's education?

November 16, 2009

A Free Lunch Could Cost You, Survey Finds

An AARP survey released Thursday found that many older people invited to free lunch seminars were pitched investments that were unsuitable for them or were asked for information that could expose them to financial fraud.

November 16, 2009

At Checkout, More Ways to Avoid Cash or Plastic

For almost as long as Americans have been hearing about jetpacks and picturephones, they have been hearing that money — bills, coins and plastic cards — might cease to exist, or at least become a novelty. Instead of leather wallets, consumers could, sooner than they think, carry virtual wallets, with their credit card and bank information stored on remote computers that are accessible everywhere and anytime. They could use them whenever they want to buy something, whether on the Web, on cellphones or at cash registers.

November 16, 2009

About Half in U.S. Would Pay for Online News, Study Finds

Americans, it turns out, are less willing than people in many other Western countries to pay for their online news, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group. Among regular Internet users in the United States, 48 percent said in the survey, conducted in October, that they would pay to read news online, including on mobile devices. That result tied with Britain for the lowest figure among nine countries where Boston Consulting commissioned surveys.

November 16, 2009

ALL BUSINESS: Can the stock market rally last?

Somebody on a bus asks a friend, "How about that stock market. " The response: "Unbelievable. " Caribbean vacationers lounging poolside check their Blackberries for stock prices.

November 14, 2009

New Rules Would Restrict Overdraft Fees on Debit Cards

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve announced new rules on Thursday that would sharply restrict banks and others that issue debit cards from charging overdraft fees without the express permission of the cardholder. The rules, which take effect next summer, are the latest issued by the Fed after criticism that it did not move quickly and aggressively enough to root out deceptive and abusive consumer lending practices. Under the rules announced on Thursday, consumers must be given a notice that explains the debit card policies, including fees.

November 13, 2009

Fed takes aim at overdraft penalties

The Federal Reserve will begin banning banks from charging many overdraft fees unless customers sign up for the service, an unprecedented move that comes as a wave of consumer reform sweeps Washington. The new regulations, announced Thursday, cover overdrafts from ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases, which account for roughly half of overdrawn transactions, and help to address widespread complaints that consumers who were unaware they had insufficient funds were being charged exorbitant fees for purchasing a cup of coffee, for example. The rules, which take effect July 1, 2010, come as banks have drawn increasing scrutiny in the wake of the financial crisis for charging high fees and interest rates at a time when consumers are financially strapped.

November 13, 2009