One decision I made earlier this year that I’m happy with is moving some of my investments into the MSCI KLD 400 Social Index. In a nutshell, it’s an exchange traded fund similar to S&P 500 index funds with a key exception. It parses out companies that are significantly involved in the following industries: alcohol, [...]
My credit union, Trustone Financial, sent me an Overdraft Authorization solicitation today: Correct me if I’m wrong, but when you receive a letter from a financial institution you have a business relationship with that says “ACTION REQUIRED” on the cover, the enclosed information should have something to do with taking action on something that’s, you [...]
A friend of mine recently had her Facebook account hacked. The hacker then started contacting her friends through Facebook Chat with a request to have money sent to her through Western Union. In a nutshell, the person made up a story that she was stuck in London with her family, had been mugged, and needed [...]
After refinancing my home, the bank that handled the transaction sold my mortgage to Wells Fargo. No big deal. Loans are sold all the time. However, I’m now discovering that Wells Fargo isn’t the kind of company I’d like to see profiting from my debt. The five separate investigations were conducted by the Department of [...]
It turns out that your financial situation is being graded on a curve, and the curve is being graded against the economy. The Cleveland Fed breaks it down in this video: So, if all of you could figure out how to improve the economy, while simultaneously ruining your own credit, I’d really appreciate the help. [...]
CrisisOfCredit.com has an excellent video explaining how we got into this credit crisis. But one thing about the video seems a little overdone. They include drawings of what a prime vs sub-prime borrower looks like. Prime: Sub-Prime: That seems a little ridiculous. The number of kids, weight, and smoking habits of borrowers likely has little [...]
Have free online classifieds sites made begging easier? I have no idea if it works, but here’s someone who’s giving it a try (the highlighting is mine): The reason for the highlighting is what I found related to this over on Craiglist: and and What the heck is going on here? How can someone’s family [...]
Jeffrey McManus raises some interesting points about the type of data credit card companies share with their customers along with that they hold back. They’re good at telling you your balance, due date, and minimum payment, but McManus would like to see: * When will I pay off this ding-a-dang debt? * What is this [...]
Prosper.com is a service that allows people to lend money – with interest – to other people, and thus turns everyone into a bank. I’ve put off writing this review for a while because I wanted to make sure this service was legitimate before endorsing it. It is, and I’ll explain why below. Here is [...]
Dear Wal-Mart, When you charge people to issue them a debit card, then charge them to put money on the card, and charge them a monthly fee in order to have a debit card, you’re no longer providing a service. You’re simply preying on your poorest and most financially illiterate customers. This is insane: Walmart’s [...]
