Wells Fargo is at it again. It shows why consumers should be skeptical about trusting big banks. The repeat offender has agreed to a settlement that requires it to return more than $2 billion to consumers and pay a $1.7 billion civil penalty for legal violations across several of its largest product lines, the Consumer […]
Just because you’re shopping late for the holidays doesn’t mean you should make a lot of costly mistakes. Take a deep breath, make a list, and proceed with confidence. My top tips include: Ask for a gift receipt. In addition, keep your receipts also in case the gift receipt gets lost. Ask what the deadline […]
On Tuesday, my new Apple desktop computer was delivered. I signed up for Best Buy’s Totaltech program, paying $200, because a tech would come to my house and install the computer. My iMac desktop is heavy and I didn’t want to lug it to Best Buy and also have to get a new heavy computer […]
As a minimalist, I don’t do much shopping. Before the pandemic, I bought most of my clothes from the sales racks at Macy’s. Its clothes seem to be O.K. for older women. I did go shopping several times with my daughter Lisa, who lives in Madrid, and we shopped at H&M, Zara, and other stores. […]
Scams are terrible, especially during the holidays. But scammers are out there every day, searching for their next victim. Scammers will ask you to pay with gift cards. Why? Because they’re like cash: once you use a gift card, the money is gone. A scammer may say they’re from a government agency and you need […]
Identity theft is terrible. It’s ruins your day, week, month, and probably more. The average data breach in 2022 cost a company $9.44 million and took 277 days to contain. To determine where Americans are most susceptible to such crimes, WalletHub, a personal finance website, compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia on […]
For years, I had credit card debt. As a single woman, the expenses of running and maintaining a household, plus some travel to visit my daughter in Spain, were more than I could manage on my salary. However, when I paid off my house early, I was able to pay off my credit cards quickly. […]
Comcast is one of the companies that I dislike the most. I’m using polite language here because it’s the best thing for bloggers to do. I’ve had poor customer service many, many times, and one customer service manager used abusive language, calling me derogatory names. Another thing that irks me about Comcast is mandatory fees, […]
Giving Tuesday is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Founded in 2012, it’s a global generosity movement that inspires people to give back. Every morning I get out of bed and check the news for the latest on what will help people in their financial and consumer lives. Since 2008, I’ve written more than 7,000 blog articles […]
Before the pandemic, I had several small businesses I liked to shop at downtown. But, like many consumers, I’ve turned to the internet to do a lot of my shopping as covid surged. I need to get back in the habit of giving small businesses some of my economic dollar votes. Today is Small Business […]