Everyone remembers before the recession how things were. There were people who would show how much money they could spend running rampant. Most of those people have been silenced by the recession as everyday average Americans have grown tired of extravagance.

So here are a few of the things that have gone almost extinct through the recession:

1. Unaccountability. People feel as though CEOs and high level executives have had a hand in the recession due to their lack of accountability. We never heard from them or made them accountable for actions they may have done. However, now, they end up being the most accountable and when a company does something wrong, the CEO is the first to blame and the first to go.

2. People flaunting their extravagance. The days of people owning things like Hummers, bling, and having their homes featured on shows like Cribs has come to an end (for now anyway). Even the once very public Paris Hilton has been fairly unseen recently. Hummer has been dropped from the GM lineup and people are cutting back wherever they can.

3. Outrageous Gas Prices. I’m sure this one will end up making a comeback eventually, but as of right now the average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is around $2.65. This is far from the record highs of $4.10 a gallon for the same grade of gasoline from last year. Many people welcome the difference due to lower income levels and higher unemployment.

4. Less junk mail. Before there was a credit crisis everyone was getting credit card offers, including children and cats. Now there aren’t as many credit card offers floating around and credit card companies are being a bit more careful about who they are sending pre-approved offers to.

5. Stores that sell stuff we don’t need. Stores like the Sharper Image have just simply disappeared in the last year because they sell stuff that people don’t need and typically can’t even create a need for.

An article written by Ethan Trex for Mental Floss brought up a few really interesting items that, over the years, Wal-Mart has banned from its aisles.

The first thing on the list was Midge, Barbie’s pregnant friend. Midge was part of Mattel’s “Happy Family” set. It’s not like she was trying to promote some kind of immoral family life either; Midge came with a husband and a son. When people started to complain that there was a pregnant Barbie, the doll got pulled.

A pair of underwear also found itself under fire when a cheeky saying on the pair “who needs credit cards…when you have Santa” got people fired up. Wal-Mart pulled the panties soon after they were released around Christmastime in 2007. With this one, yea, I can see how this could be particularly awful. Like the original poster said, this would be better on a t-shirt; harmless. But on a pair of Juniors’ underwear it’s a bit too much. It’s like seeing “sexy” costumes on Amazon for pre-teens (those get pulled as soon as people start noticing).

Even though 1995 was nearly 15 years ago, it’s not like it was before the Women’s Movement. In the Miami area, there was a shirt with Margaret from Dennis the Menace on the front. The shirt said “Someday a Woman Will Be President” and it was pulled from shelves of the Wal-Mart stores. Luckily, after some idiots got it right, the shirts were put back out on shelves, but not until they had been sitting in stock rooms for months.

Wal-Mart has always been known as a family-oriented store; or at least it has tried to be known as a family friendly store. So, it censors albums and even some movie titles (they required that Zach and Miri Make a Porno be shortened to simply Zach and Miri). Well, for reasons other than the movie being a bit raunchy, Wal-Mart did not sell the movie Superbad in Hawaii. Why? They pulled the movie from shelves after the governor asked them to because the movie came with a little fake ID like “McLovin’” had in the movie.

Wal-Mart really has some strange rules and while trying to maintain the company’s family friendly persona it has really made some interesting choices as to what it will and won’t stock. You can find some other really interesting things that the store has decided are too risque for its shelves at the source.
Source

Also, don’t forget how to learn the easy way to make fantastic posters for various occassions.

A spendthrift is someone who spends money; a lot of money and it can be considered wasteful the way he or she spends it.

Have you watched the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic? I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and while my shopping habits haven’t really gotten THAT out of control I have made a couple of splurges in the past that I know haven’t been the best shopping decisions.

It can be difficult to go from being someone who buys what they need and picks up a few extra things as well to someone who buys the bare minimum of what they need from the grocery store, often foregoing their favorite brands for the cheaper, generics, brands that are on sale, or the brands that have the coupons out that week.

The best, and easiest way, in my opinion, to go from someone who spends money to someone who saves money is to watch the flow of cash out of your bank account, closely. If you can watch that balance drop, then you are going to be far more likely to put down the debit card and head for the door.

Of course, there are times when shopping is more of a habit than a hobby and sometimes you may actually need to talk to someone about your “problem.” In the movie I was talking about earlier, there is a scene toward the beginning when the main character, who has maxed out her credit cards and can’t pay the bills, sees a really expensive green scarf on a mannequin and the mannequin starts talking to her (in her mind). The mannequin tells her that she needs the scarf and somehow she pools the money together to get it.

Thiis is just one example, even though it is a fiction example, of how shopping can actually become an addiction.

My biggest tip that helps me though, and I know I’ve said it a million times, is to MAKE A LIST. If I have a list, I won’t spend as much. If I have a list, there is a lesser chance that I will bring home things that are not on the list. If I make a list and arm myself with coupons, my savings are even greater (however, you have to remember not to buy something just because you have a coupon, make sure that you need it).

Have you paid for a warehouse club shopping card? Do you feel as though you are treated poorly when you are at the store? Well, you’re not alone. Here are some things from Smart Money that warehouse stores may inform you of but not implicitly TELL you when you sign up for your cards en masse.

1. Now that you’ve paid for your dues, it’s time to get in line. Haha! Now they have you and your cart full of groceries, you have to wait in line for those in front of you who have cases upon cases of mountain dew and Pepsi.

2. You should probably have some kind of construction wear to shop at this store. This means that on more than one occasion, shoppers to warehouse stores have had merchandise fall on their heads while they were trying to shop.

3. Don’t sign up for our credit cards, seriously. A credit card from one of these warehouse stores will eat away at your account with an interest rate of 23.15% APR on average. If you have a Sam’s card, your phone will ring and ring with offers from GE money. I find this one kind of funny because I have a Sam’s card and also am offered a credit card every time I shop at the store, but have never been called and offered the credit card.

4.  We got you with our sparkly jewelry, hook, line, and sinker! Jewelry from a warehouse store is too good to be true. I don’t know what kind of lights they use to make those gems sparkle, but even my five year old engagement ring sparkles under those lights…if only they would follow us at all times, right? Anyway, most of the times when they say the diamonds will appraise higher than retail they won’t.

5. You will leave when we tell you to leave. Here’s where it gets tricky…I have only ever had a Sam’s club card and every time my husband and I have gone to leave a Sam’s Club, we have been stopped at the front door for the person to “check” everything in our cart. Are they really able to check what we have purchased? Probably not, but if that is what makes their day complete, than who am I to get in the way of that? There are many people out there who feel as though it is their right not to have to show their reciept to the “checker” at the door and in the eyes of the law; they are right.

However, you can be banned from the warehouse store if you completely ignore the rules of the store, including having your receipt checked by the checker at the door.

I have a warehouse club card (Sam’s Club) due to the fact that is what my parent’s give Chris and me for Christmas. The card is one of those things that we look forward to every year even though we barely use it throughout.

Source

What would you give up to have a highly customized credit card?

Question:

Perhaps the real question is what kind of concessions would you be willing to make on things like APR and benefits to have a card that is uniquely you?

Answer:

I would rather have an ugly card than to have to worry about my 30% APR or not having any kind of benefits from the card. I have seen where people have to pay higher APR’s on the cards that have a cute picture of their cat or dog or kid just because the credit card company went through the “trouble” of putting a customized picture on the card. This isn’t always the case, but, like I said, I would rather have an ugly card.

So the truth is, I would not make any concessions when it comes to my credit cards and how they look. I never see my credit cards anyway because they’re always stuck in my wallet. If I’m at the gas station, I use the blue one. If I’m at the grocery store, I’ll use the red one. This is how I know my cards.

What you can learn from this booklet

As always it pays to shop around, whether you are a first time credit card user or have many. It is always a good idea to keep up to date with the best methods to use and save with credit cards for any purchase that you make.

To download this e-book, or any of our current e-books, please visit the ebook page where you may choose the e-book(s) you wish to download. *Download an e-book by clicking on it’s title.*

Whenever you look at the overall economy and get discouraged, remember that there are a few upsides to the economy being in the gutter.

First, as a while, we’re borrowing less and putting away more. I suppose that we’ve all been a bit burned by not living within our means. As the credit crunch collapsed the world of the credit markets, people began to actually save more money. Yes, there are still plenty of people out there that are having a hard time getting monthly bills paid due to the high credit card payments they have incurred, but overall savings are up for everyone.

Even with gas prices down, we are actually driving less. When gas prices hit record highs last summer, people took notice and curbed their driving habits. Some of it actually stuck and now that gas prices are just over half what they were a year ago, the roads are still a bit emptier and people are carpooling and finding other ways to get from place to place.

Consumers are actually wasting less when it comes to necessities. Everyone is squeezing the last bit of shampoo out of the bottle and wearing shoes that they would have likely thrown away a long time ago. Consumers are shopping at thrift stores more to save money too; so they’re also using up what someone else didn’t. Thrift stores like Goodwill or the Salvation Army are actually running out of items faster than items are donated.

Out of the new home construction, smaller homes are being built. This goes back to wasting less. With smaller homes, we use less electricity and other resources. We’re saving money with smaller homes and leaving a smaller footprint on the earth. The average size for a new home that was being constructed has decreased for the first time in 10 years by 11 percent or nearly 300 square feet. Smaller houses also means that we’re using less resources to actually build the houses; there is less wood, wiring, and piping.

Finally, people are actually eating healthier. Red meat sales are down while the sales of poultry, fruits, and vegetables are up. Consumers are shopping more at local farmers’ markets, where produce is not only fresher, but is also typically cheaper than stores like Wal-Mart. This is also a great way for local businesses to start picking up. When people purchase more at farmers’ markets, they are putting the money back into the local economy.

So you’re trying to take out a loan, get a credit card with a reasonable APR or trying to buy something, anything on credit, but your credit score is too low for your liking? Well, the first place to start when trying to rebuild that score is to find out what exactly makes up your credit score.

35% of your credit score is from paying your bills on time. To help improve this part of your score, start marking due dates on your calendar. This is the single largest section of your credit score. Setting up automatic bill payment is also another way to ensure that your bills are paid on time. This also keeps you from getting interest rate hikes on credit cards and loans. Someone who pays their bills on time, every time, has an average credit score of 706. Someone who pays 99% of the time on time’s average score is 658.

30% of your credit score is how much you owe. You need to make sure that you keep your balances from equaling up to 30% of your total credit line. Your credit score is partly based on the credit utilization ratio. If a credit card company ends up reducing your limit, what you owe actually becomes a larger percentage of your credit line. So, if this happens try to get in touch with your creditor and get the limit reversed to avoid a negative mark on your credit score.

15% of your credit score is the length of your credit history. In this case, someone who has had a credit history for 20 years is going to obviously be doing better than one who just graduated college. A trick to utilizing this 15% is to keep the first credit card you ever open, open. Use it a couple of times a year and pay it off.

10% of your credit score is credit expansion. Here’s a problem, when you apply for too much credit your credit score can be harmed, however having new credit accounts can also help your credit score. Open new accounts over time rather than trying all at once. This will help your credit score in the long run as long as you’re paying your bills on time.

The last 10% of your credit score is credit diversity. If you have all your credit in cards then you’re credit isn’t diverse. However, if you have a variety of credit cards, mortgage, car loans and pay the bills on time while keeping the accounts active, then you’re diversified in this aspect of your credit. The key is to keep the accounts active because not using the accounts won’t help your credit at all.

There are many ways to cut your costs during the summer, especially if you plan on doing a lot (or any) driving. With gas prices going back up, traveling this summer may be looking more expensive than when you planned your trip. Well, there are ways to save a little bit of money on that road trip this year.

As always, what I will start calling the golden rule of frugality, SHOP AROUND!!! Comparison shopping means that you are going to get the best deal. At the same time, don’t drive 30 miles out of your way to save $.02 a gallon, that’s crazy and really not worth it. You can do price comparison on websites like GasBuddy.com and some GPS systems even have gas stations filtered by price. These websites do depend on users to enter in gas prices, so the prices you see may not be what they are for that day (or that week if you’re going to a small town).

Secondly, if you’re a cash carrying member of the population use it. Some gas stations have started trying to pass merchant fees off to gas buyers and have started charging more for gas if someone is paying with a debit or credit card. This is a legal way for the gas stations to help with how much they’re paying for credit card fees. The good news for you is that usually these gas stations that charge more for credit card transactions are usually cheaper than everyone else.

You should also perform regular maintenance on your car. Giving your car a tune up and getting the oil changed according to when the manufacturer says can lead to higher MPGs and more miles on your car. Keeping your tires inflated can also help improve your MPG’s by 3% over the course of a year, which could total to 20 gallons of gas! Air filters are another one of those little things that sometimes we forget about that can increase your fuel efficiency.

A little tip I picked up is that if you like stopping frequently for gas, don’t fill up your tank because the less full your tank is the less heavy your car is and the more miles per gallon you will average. I usually fill my car up to ½ a tank, and then refill at ¾ a tank. It is time consuming, but overall I’m getting better mileage out of it.

Lastly, if you really want to cut back on fuel consumption for your road trips, take it easy and try not drive too aggressively. The faster you accelerate the more gas you are burning.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in the United Kingdom has said that the current credit crisis has wiped out 1.9 trillion pounds in wealth in the United Kingdom alone. The loss equates to 40,000 pounds lost per person in the UK over the age of 18. Home prices in that country have also fallen by 17% to just over 150,000 pounds on average for a home.

Another company, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) estimates that if home prices were to fall 30 percent from their 2007 highs, 2 million United Kingdom homeowners would fall into negative equity. At the end of December 2008, Lloyds Banking Group estimated that one in every six homeowners in the United Kingdom is already having a problem with negative equity in their homes.

Poor credit situations have led to many people being unable to get credit. Every day it seems there are more credit card and loan applications that are rejected. It is hard to watch families find themselves in the situation where they do have to try to hope that credit cards will help get them to the next month.

When there was so much wealth going around just two years ago, it is hard to see how things ended up the way they are now. The credit crunch has eliminated a lot of desire for unnecessary items. Families are starting to have to find new things to do to entertain themselves. Frugality has become the new “trend.” It seems that the more frugal a family can be, the better prepared they are for whatever may come their way. This is the way it should have been though. There shouldn’t have been as much needless spending. There should never have been people getting into mortgages they knew they couldn’t afford, and on the same note, there should have never been banks falsifying documents to make it seem like those people could afford those homes.

Source

The new rules will prohibit payments not be late until the borrower is given a reasonable period of time to pay, playing “too-high” fees for exceeding the credit limit because of a hold on the account, double cycle billing, and making deceptive offers.

The new rules will require lenders to give consumers 45 days notice before changes are made to the terms of a credit account. That includes increasing the interest rate or giving higher rates for penalties.

If you’re just getting started with your financial future, these steps can be useful. I really enjoyed the part about paying off debt by the time you’re 30. I was recently able to pay off my credit cards and am pretty happy about it…just in time to start paying tens of thousands in student loans!

To protect yourself through the holiday season (and throughout the year) here are some tips from the AP about how to keep your identity and credit cards safe while shopping online and offline.

How many times do we need to be told not to max out our credit cards, after the fact? I’m a 5th year senior, of course my credit isn’t as great as it would be if I was a graduate and paying off my student loans…I have to live with my decisions in these hard financial times, and when I graduate (sometime this summer) I have to go out and find a job that will cover my expenses, or hopefully (at least) cover my loan payments.

I have lived within my means, but at the same time, I will graduate college with a large amount of debt.

I guess I’m just tired of every time I go to Yahoo it tells me that I should live within my means when I know I have such a large debt facing me.

At the same time, I don’t carry cash, I can’t carry cash. When I have any cash on me (more than $20) I don’t feel safe. And if someone were to take my cash from me, there is no way to get it back…there is no protection associated with cash, unlike credit cards or most Visa or MasterCard backed debit cards, which can get your money back if your card is stolen or a charge shows up that can be disputed.

If you are going to be using cash for now, be careful, because there are stories coming out about how customers aren’t using cards anymore and I’m sure this will lead to some unsavory behavior by some members of society.

Remember, there are no obligations for companies that have filed for bankruptcy to redeem gift cards. So, now that Circuit City has filed, you would think that they would no longer sell gift cards, but they do. So, any day the remaining stores could decide to no longer accept the cards.

I went to a Linens-N-Things last week to check out the liquidation sale, and all over the registers, doors, and other surfaces said that they were no longer accepting not only gift cards, but also store credit cards.

Good luck with gift cards this year if you decide to give them to your friends and family, and keep an eye on the news to get a heads up as to which stores are in trouble.

The companies can also apply to receive aid from the $700 billion bailout rescue package Troubled Assets Relief Program.

American Express dug itself into the hole it is currently in. After all, last year when the housing market started to go belly-up, AmEx was still giving out credit like candy on Halloween. Trick or treat?

I can’t believe some credit card companies. I am STILL getting pre-approved offers in the mail. Some of the companies are ones that I’ve read about having trouble…should they really be wasting assets to pre-approve me for a credit card, especially if I haven’t responded to the last 200 mailings?

The company said that it plans to scale down marketing, development, and technology advancements to help with the budget cut. As a result, most of the 7,000 employees to be laid off will be management.

Here’s another big company that has to reduce their workforce to cut the budget. It seems like this scenerio is happening more and more. With retail sales down and people more focused on not using their credit cards, American Express is likely not to be the only company to resort to huge layoffs.

I’m not meaning to cause alarm, because some of you have much more to worry about in these troubling times, but here’s some tips to keep your identity safe in the mean time.

Shred all documents. I bought a cross cut paper shredder from Wal-Mart for $20…prior to that many of our personal documents would be torn into maybe 4 or 8 pieces and thrown into the trash. That was obviously not the best option.

Never EVER respond to an email asking for personal information, by now most people know this. However, there are some emails that can look particularly legitimate. For example, the IRS is looking for your information via email and you filed online. They won’t ask for personal information through an email. Call them instead to make sure.

And one little thing you can do: Cover your card number when you pay for something in a check out line. I’ve seen people try to take pictures of my credit card number, but I keep the numbers covered with my index finger and always scan it myself. At the same time, I have to trust wait staff at restaurants, perhaps I shouldn’t (recently a waitress in a Memphis restaurant was caught with a scanner that would scan and save card numbers).

Just remember this is still going on, even if your mind is elsewhere. Keep a watchful eye on your credit.

When the economy is good, people run up their credit up and there are always those who refuse to pay old doctor bills or credit card bills. There will always be those who write bad checks or even accidentally go over a balance and bounce a few checks…

But, when the economy slows down, people begin to default on loans and credit cards. With this particular slow down, (I am careful with the word recession) people are also defaulting on their houses.

Debt collection agencies are always looking for new people. They pay minimum wage plus commissions. Turnover can be high in a debt collection agency, after all who wants to be yelled at all day while they’re at work? Not only that, but it’s nearly impossible for most people not to bring that frustration home.

Now, while the economy is slow and default is high, more debt collectors are needed. This makes work for those who are losing their jobs…the lowest paying jobs anyway.

Well, as long as you are being responsible with your spending and paying off the balance, not just the insane interest rates, credit cards offer several benefits.

First, it helps you build a credit history and improve your credit score. Both of those things are important. Poor credit can make your insurance go up (auto and home owner’s) and can even keep you from getting a job. Employers are looking at credit scores now and having a low score could keep you from getting a job or even a promotion.

Second, credit cards offer a lot more protection than a large wad of cash. If your wallet is stolen, all you have to do is call a number and go through a process and all of the money is restored. If you do a lot of online shopping, they are necessary, not only for the ability to purchase items online, but also for the protection they offer.

Also, some credit cards offer rewards that you would not otherwise get. I don’t spend a lot of money on my credit card, but I have built up enough rewards to get a CD or something, but it is a CD I would otherwise not have.

It isn’t only the pretty card that draws in the freshies, it’s also the free pizza or t-shirt they give away when you apply. When I was a freshman they were basically giving these cards to anyone who would take one. I will say freshmen, because AFTER you’ve been in college for a while you realize what’s going on. They write about it in the university newspaper.

So as we embark on a new school year, I’d like to give a piece of advice to the income freshmen and anyone else who wants to listen:
Go to the Union, buy your posters. Go to half.com (or amazon or wherever online), buy your books, and don’t give these credit card pushers the time of day.

Next week we’ll see the reports from Washington Mutual (woohoo) and Wachovia. They are expected to report losses as well. Of course, you know why everyone is reporting losses? I won’t default on my credit cards because I’m working hard to build my credit.

I’d like to see how my creditors are doing. I can’t think of who they are off the top of my head, but I think I’m keeping them in business with my student loan debt. It could be worse I suppose.

I find it strange that this came the same day speculation about the government having to bail out Freddy and Fannie May came into the headlines. The FDIC says it is going to cost $8 Billion to takeover IndyMac. Another problem the government has to clean up because of the poor lending practices.

This whole mortgage crisis can be avoided in the future if banks would just not lend to people who can’t afford the mortgage. It’s that simple. I mean, yea, people will lose their jobs and foreclosures will happen, but not at the rate they’re happening now. I mean, get a fixed rate… no one can afford to pay a 30 year mortgage at credit card rates.

While it is partially the banks’ fault for lending to people who have poor credit ratings and little job security, I think it’s also the people who are buying these homes’ fault. People have to do lots of research before they buy a house. They should know what happens if they lose their job, can they keep their house? What happens when their variable rate adjusts to 15%??? It’s better to spend a bit more and rent than have a foreclosure on your credit rating.