Money-related posts at Credit.com
People are Easily Manipulated by Price of Goods, Except When They're Not: When people are told that a $10 bottle of wine costs $90, they'll report that it tastes better. When they're told a painkiller (actually a placebo) costs $2.50 per pill, they'll report less pain from electrical shocks than people who are given the same placebo but are told it costs ten cents.
Alarming Dashboard View of U.S. Debt: Watching the U.S. national debt, credit card debt, medical debt, and various entitlement liabilities skyrocket, I envisioned Uncle Sam at the gas pump, pouring greenbacks into a tank that we'll never be able to pay for when the bill comes.
Robo-call Rip-Offs: Patricia Poole of Mineral City, Ohio paid $695 to Mutual Consolidated Savings, which promised to "work with Poole’s creditors to get her interest rates lowered or eliminated." But after she paid the money, Poole says she never heard from anyone at Mutual Consolidated Savings.
Car Dealers' Tricks -- and How to Dodge Them: An especially dirty dealer trick is called "check ransoming." This is when a dealer asks you to write a check before a deal has been made to "prove to the manager you are serious." Then the check gets mysteriously "misplaced," putting you in an uncomfortable position that the dealer will use against you to close the deal against your better judgment.
Got a Plan to Reduce Your Credit Card Debt? Keep it to Yourself!: "Announcing your plans to others satisfies your self-identity just enough that you’re less motivated to do the hard work needed," writes Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby. "Once you’ve told people of your intentions, it gives you a 'premature sense of completeness.'"
Cheap, Good Food: Living on a budget sucks if you feel as though you are depriving yourself. The only way I'll be able to stick to a budget is if it's more fun than blowing the budget.
the latest
latest episodes
does alcohol increases money expending?
Not chronic or anything, i mean hmm, you are about to buy something or play some poker. How does it work there?
Lowers impulse control or anything?
I'm not sure I'd classify garlic and bean yogurt as "good food."
An S9 signal report usually gets lowered to an S3 once you mention that you're running QRP...
A car dealer once tried to force my parents to lease a car they didn't want by refusing to return their drivers licenses (which they had provided for the test drive). He informed them that they were required to purchase the car because he had taken them on a test drive and drawn up a contract (which they had refused to sign because they didn't want to lease, they wanted to buy). My dad laughed and said told the dealer that was fine, but that he was calling the police and would he mind telling them the same story. The licenses were handed back quickly at that point.
Wow: USDEBTCLOCK.ORG should really use a fixed-width font. Yeah, I know, it's not a substantive comment, but wouldn't it look nicer for such a great resource?
"Then the check gets mysteriously "misplaced," putting you in an uncomfortable position that the dealer will use against you to close the deal against your better judgment."
I can't imagine how that would work. If any professional I'm considering doing business with "lost" my check or something similarly shady/inept, I'd take it as a warning sign and take my business elsewhere. Why would this make anyone more likely to do business with them?