15 more retailers adding PayPal payments system
For some time now, PayPal has been working on a point-of-sale system that would offer an alternative to cash or cards that are being installed at Home Depot locations nationwide. The company has just inked deals with 15 more retail chains.
Getting out of the hardware aisle
PayPal, the online payment system owned by eBay, has been rolling out its own payment system for real-world merchants to use. PayPal’s system, according to Reuters, began testing in the real world in a limited test run at a few Home Depot stores, later expanded to 2,000 stores. So far, it only entails a software [...]
What not to say when negotiating
Negotiation is an inevitable – and sometimes entertaining – part of life. This includes your financial dealings. Whether you’re negotiating salary, vacation days, a loan rate, sale price or anything else, it pays to not only know how to negotiate, but what not to say when negotiating. Avoid these deal killers and show off that silver tongue of yours.
Have information on your side
Prepare yourself before entering into any negotiation. That way, you’ll never have to admit that you haven’t done your research, or conceal the truth yet resign yourself to the fact that if the opposing party knows their stuff, [...]
Credit card companies still want revolvers as customers
The credit card industry puts customers down as either “deadbeats” or “revolvers,” with revolvers being the more preferred type of customers. It isn’t exactly stated business policy, but it could seem credit card issuers are trying to discourage deadbeats from paying off their debts.
The debt trap
According to PBS, the credit card industry has long grouped card-carrying customers into two groups, often called “revolvers” and “deadbeats.” Unlike the usual connotation of the word, a deadbeat in the credit card industry is someone who pays their bills.
Deadbeats pay off their balances on time and completely every month. Revolvers rack up debt and [...]
US Bank announces increased overdraft fees
Banks have been raising fees and eliminating perks at a relatively steady pace for some time because of declining revenues. One of the latest banks to raise another category of fees is US Bank, which has raised overdraft fees, though on a graduated scale.
Loss of one stream of revenue means need for another
The Durbin Amendment, a portion of the Dodd-Frank Act, took effect in October. The Durbin Amendment charged the Federal Reserve with setting a cap for swipe fees, also called interchange fees, which banks charge to merchants to deliver money people spend with debit cards.
The typical swipe was capped [...]
Be careful of mystery shopper jobs
Getting paid for shopping may sound like a dream job to many. However, job seekers have to be careful. Often, the ads for these jobs are actually come-ons for phony check scams that could wind up costing you big. Even when they are legitimate, these jobs often take so much leg work and pay so little that the employee loses money or makes so little that the effort seems wasted.
Proliferating in post recession
These kinds of legitimate jobs, as well as the scams that feign legitimacy, have been around for a while. In the last five years, however, as the job [...]
City of San Jose corrals payday lenders with zoning restrictions
Payday lenders operating in the city of San Jose are now subject to zoning restrictions that will keep the businesses from spreading further in the city. San Jose joins a number of cities that have used zoning rules to restrict the allotted number of payday lenders.
Showdown in Silicon Valley
Payday loans, a common form of credit for unbanked and underbanked people, have a divisive existence. Critics contend the loans are predatory, force borrowers into a debt cycle and charge outrageous APRs. Granted, a loan with a two-week term cannot, by definition, have annualized interest. Lenders and people who oppose bans counter [...]
How to balance your checkbook
How often do you balance your checkbook? Be honest. According to a 2006 report by Moebs Services, 87 percent of Americans don’t do it at all. Manually balancing an account has become a bit of a lost art in our world of e-commerce and online banking. Still, understanding where you stand financially is as important as ever. Banks make mistakes, as do consumers, so taking the time to balance every month is essential.
Record every transaction
Even if all your banking is done electronically, it is important to record every withdrawal and deposit in your check register as they occur. It doesn’t [...]
Facebook IPO fever may be a disease
Facebook is set to become a publicly traded company Friday. Even low and middle-earning consumers who have never risked playing the stock market before are sorely tempted to take stock in one of the most phenomenally popular web ventures of all time. It seems like a no-brainer, right? But hold on. Some experts are not so convinced.
Facebook IPO fever
It is the most-anticipated IPO in ages and could raise Facebook’s overall value to more than $100 billion. In response, the Goliath of social networking sites said Tuesday that it will be upping the price of its initial offerings to a range [...]
Dealing with workplace stress
Stress in the workplace is a fact of life for many people. How can you get a handle on it and maintain your health? Here are some ideas for dealing with workplace stress, before it destroys you.
Recognizing burnout
Workplace stress comes in many forms. What’s important initially is that you recognize burnout for what it is. You may be feeling any or all of the following symptoms:
Fatigue
Depression
Frustration
Loss of motivation
Resentfulness
Helplessness
When this happens, take action to right your ship. You may not be able to quit your job, even if it’s a dead-end – blame the economy and your obligations – but you [...]
Business networking tips to help you break the ice
Business networking is an essential skill, whether you’re looking to get your career off the ground or improve your prospects mid-career. Yet not everyone knows how to do it. Here are some suggestions for striking up and concluding networking conversations smoothly.
Getting started with networking
First, it’s time for introductions. This is your first opportunity to allow your skill in the art of conversation to shine. Most experts in business networking agree that the “keep it simple, stupid” formula is best at first. Share a little about who you are, your company and your job position. If you aren’t currently employed, approach [...]
Yo-yo financing leaves buyer vulnerable
“Spot delivery” or “yo-yo financing” is when an auto dealer allows a buyer with poor credit to take possession of a vehicle before finalizing the finances. While it may be enormously gratifying for the consumer to drive away in a new car immediately, it also allows disreputable dealers to stick him or her with higher interest and/or down payment when the financing falls through.
Consumer groups frown on practice
Many consumer groups have lobbied to enact legislation preventing auto dealers from letting cars go before the financing is in place. Negativeequityauto.com says, “Yo-yo financing is one of the worst problems that plagues [...]
Chase now offering prepaid debit card
A number of banks and other entities are starting to offer prepaid debit cards, the re-loadable payment cards that many unbanked consumers use in lieu of bank accounts. The latest to add the cards to its offerings is Chase, which is rolling out prepaid cards this summer.
Bigger players enter the field
Prepaid debit cards are not the kind of first-tier financial product one associates with the big players in personal finance, but a good number of them already do or are starting to offer them. Visa and MasterCard have prepaid debit cards, as does American Express. In the past few months, [...]
Sallie Mae finally offers fixed-rate student loans
Student loans, subject of a good deal of concern and debate at the moment, come in fixed and variable-rate configurations, just like mortgages. Interestingly, Sallie Mae, the largest private student loan lender, has never offered fixed-rate student loans until recently.
Same as mortgage loans
Just like mortgages, student loans can have variable or fixed interest rates. Just like mortgages, there are benefits and downsides. If the borrower plans to pay the loan off as quickly as possible, a variable rate loan is attractive; introductory rates are usually low, and if the borrower gets it paid off before the rate is raised, they [...]
CFPB looking into overdraft protection policies
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking at overdraft practices at large retail banks. Overdraft fees and protection programs were included in financial reform laws, but it appears not much in the way of reform has taken place.
Study finds many consumers unaware they had protection
Overdraft protection from banks is kind of sneaky; consumers used to be automatically enrolled without their knowledge, until the Dodd-Frank Act mandated banks ask customers for their consent to enroll in overdraft protection.
The trouble, according to CBS, is that a lot of people aren’t aware they have overdraft protection. The Pew Charitable Trust found in a [...]
Consumers next target of anti-counterfeit crusaders?
Homeland Security and anti-counterfeiting groups are cracking down on counterfeit goods that steal the hard-won goodwill of legitimate band names. But for the first time these crusaders have decided to target the consumer. If they have their way, consumers who knowingly buy counterfeit goods could face fines or even jail time.
A $650 billion industry
Knock-off counterfeit merchandise, like fake Prada shoes, Gucci bags and Rolex watches, routinely flood flea markets and bargain outlets across the nation. In recent years, so-called rogue websites have popped up, ballooning the illegal industry into one that, according to Daily Finance, rakes in $650 billion a [...]
Baggage fees likely to get worse
Airline baggage and other fees at this point are not merely an inconvenience, but rather a fact of life. Air carriers are likely to only continue to charge fees in coming years as it gets harder for some carriers to stay in the sky.
Fees getting sky high
Unfortunately for anyone who travels by air these days, most airlines charge a fee to check bags. In some cases, passengers get charged to stow bags in the overhead compartment. For instance, according to Fox Business, Allegiant Airlines charges $35 to stow a carry-on bag in the overhead compartment. Spirit Airlines charges $45.
Spirit has [...]
Wal-Mart bribery scandal hurts consumers
According to a recent New York Times article, Wal-Mart de Mexico — the Mexican branch of the box store giant — was caught offering more than $24 million in bribes to skirt zoning regulations and to unfairly give it an edge over the competition. Once they learned of it, the top executives at Wal-Mart Corporate hushed it up and even promoted some of the players. Such unethical behavior not only hurts fair competition, it costs consumers in the long run.
Viva Zapata
The bribery scandal occurred and was suppressed in 2005. However, thanks to whistle blower Sergio Cicero Zapata, it was finally [...]
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