Alpha Consumer
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Audio: When to File for Bankruptcy
Continue reading… 1 CommentOver the weekend, I spoke to WTOP about when it makes sense to file for bankruptcy, along with some of the pros and cons.
When to File for Bankruptcy
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Swine Flu: Is Cheap Meat to Blame?
Continue reading… 3 CommentsToday's guest entry comes from chef and ecologist Aaron French, whose work focuses on the connection that food forms "between humans and our environment." He has a master's degree in ecology, is the chef of the Sunny Side Cafe, and writes the EcoChef column for 10 newspapers in the San Francisco Bay area.
The recent outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and its spread to the United States gives us consumers one more clear reason to vote with our fork – and our wallets.
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Americans Get Low Marks on Financial Literacy
Continue reading… 14 CommentsTwo in five Americans give themselves a C, D or F on their understanding of personal finance, according to a new report from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. The annual survey also made several other disturbing findings: One in three adults have no savings, and among those between the ages of 18 and 34, almost half have no savings. 28 percent of those surveyed said their mortgage terms turned out to be different than they expected. And one in three Americans don't put any of their income towards retirement.
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How to Calculate Student Loan Debt
Continue reading… 17 CommentsVeronica, a grad student in New York, recently wrote to ask me how debt calculators treat student loan debt. The calculators she used always seemed to ask about debt that is separate from mortgage debt, but since her student loans are as large as some mortgages ($113,000), she wondered why they got special treatment. Since she's getting worried about how and when she'll be paying back all that debt, she wanted a calculator that could help put it in perspective.
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Video: The New Rules of Credit Cards
Continue reading… 2 CommentsI spoke with WUSA9 on Friday about how to balance paying off credit card debts with funding an emergency savings account:
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Donald Trump: Pushing Right Guard
Continue reading… 20 CommentsIf you've ever watched NBC's Celebrity Apprentice, you know how it works: Donald Trump gives the two teams a business challenge, and they compete against each other in an effort to avoid getting fired. Last night, Right Guard enlisted the celebrity apprentices to create a four-page print ad campaign for its new deodorant, Fast Break. Instead of being forced to feature themselves in the ads, Right Guard offered up David Lee from the New York Knicks.
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Obama: Legislate Credit Cards, Now
Continue reading… 13 CommentsPresident Obama lent his weight to credit card reform yesterday as he met with credit card company executives. Obama said he wants credit card fees and policies to be explained in language anyone could understand and to put an end to unexpected hikes in interest rates. "Every credit card issuer has to issue a plain vanilla easy-to-understand, simplest possible credit card that would be the default credit card that the average user can feel comfortable with," he said.
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Explaining China's Quality Control Problems
Continue reading… 4 CommentsIn his new book, Poorly Made in China: An Insider's Account of the Tactics Behind China's Production Game, Paul Midler attempts to explain why some Chinese-made products suffer from poor quality. Part of the problem, he says, is rooted in miscommunication and misunderstandings between American companies and the Chinese manufacturers they are buying from. I recently E-mailed with Midler, a businessman who has worked with American and Chinese businesses, about his experiences. Excerpts:
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Audio: The New Rules of Credit Cards
Continue reading… 1 CommentI recently spoke with WTOP about the new rules of credit card debt, in light of Suze Orman's announcement that she has changed her advice. Instead of making paying off credit card debt a priority, Orman now recommends first creating an emergency savings fund that could last you up to eight months. Why the change? Well, in the past, people who found themselves in a financial pinch after a job loss or other emergency could turn to credit cards to get them through. But now, with more credit cards slashing credit limits and raising rates, that's not always a possibility. So now Orman says that instead of paying off your debt in full, you should first rack up savings, so you could fund your own emergencies in a tight spot.
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Video: Going Green and Saving Cash
Continue reading… 1 CommentThis morning on the Today show, I talked about five easy ways to go green and save money. You can view the video below:
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Go Green -- and Save Money
Continue reading… 3 CommentsGoing green doesn't have to mean straining your budget. In honor of Earth Day, here are five steps you can take today to save energy -- and money.
Put your home on an energy diet. Make sure your home is properly insulated so you can use less heat and air conditioning. Closing doors to unused rooms, like a guest room, helps, too. Also, be sure to unplug appliances, turn off lights, and shut down computers at night. Even televisions can use up power when they're turned off, so either unplug them or use power strips that automatically shut the power off when they're not turned on. A lot of energy gets wasted on technology that we're not even using most of the time.
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Budgeting Babe: Don't Make Saving a Secret
Continue reading… 2 CommentsThe Budgeting Babe recently posted some great spring saving tips for anyone trying to overhaul their finances before summer starts. My favorite is her tip to tell your friends what your money goals are, just like you would if you were trying to lose weight. Saying you want to save money can be embarrassing, especially if you're the only one trying to cut costs on that upcoming bachelorette party, but as long as it's all out in the open, it's easier to explain why you won't be spending $200 on Las Vegas show tickets.
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'Beer Wars' Falls Flat
Continue reading… 8 CommentsToday’s guest post comes from Amy Mittelman, author of Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer.
'Beer Wars Live' was a unique event, which I suppose was what Anat Baron, the director, intended. The film itself was slow moving and rather dated. The two main villains are Anheuser-Busch and the three-tier system of beer distribution. The protagonists were Sam Caligione, the very charismatic and appealing owner of Dogfish Head Brewery and Rhonda Kallman, co-creator of Sam Adams and current promoter of Moonshot Beer.
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How to Take Advantage of Falling Prices
Continue reading… 20 CommentsYesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest Consumer Price Index figures, which show us how much cheaper -- or more expensive -- typical purchases have become. For the first time in 50 years, the index has declined over a 12-month period. While economists generally see such drops as bad news for the nation's economy, it's also partly good news for those of us who are trying to buy food, clothes, or cars.
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Nydia Velázquez Wants Simpler Tax Code
Continue reading… 2 CommentsRep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, says the IRS should do more to help small businesses get on top of their taxes. She suggests educational sessions, flexibility in making payments, and quicker processing of refunds. Yesterday, she sent a letter to the IRS commissioner noting that, according to the Government Accountability Office, entrepreneurs can be stuck with filing 200 IRS forms each year. Simplifying this process could help keep more small businesses open, she says.
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Podcast: Why Customer Service Is So Bad
Continue reading… 4 CommentsFor this week's Alpha Consumer Podcast, I interviewed Emily Yellin, author of Your Call Is (not that) Important to Us: Customer Service and What It Reveals About Our World and Our Lives. She explains why companies force us to spend so much time on hold, or otherwise frustrated, when their products and services give us problems. She also tells us what to do about it. (For more on Yellin, you can read my Q&A with her here.) The podcast also contains the Alpha Consumer Tip of the Week on the dangers of certain Facebook ads.
Why Customer Service Is So Bad
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'Beer Wars' Speaks Up for Craft Brewers
Continue reading… 6 CommentsToday’s guest post comes from Amy Mittelman, author of Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer.
The movie Beer Wars, which explores the challenges of craft beer brewers (and drinkers) in the United States, launches tonight in 440 theaters around the country. I E-mailed with director Anat Baron about the film and what she hopes people get out of it. Excerpts:
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IRS Calling? Probably Just a Tax Scam
Continue reading… 0 CommentsIf you get a phone call sometime in the next few months, and the caller says he's from the IRS, you might want to consider hanging up on him. It could be one of the many scams that the IRS is currently warning consumers about. Sandy Botkin, tax expert and author of Lower Your Taxes: Big Time!, says that taxpayers are receiving phone calls, emails, or letters that appear to be official, and often inform the taxpayer that the IRS owes him a tax refund. In order to get it, the taxpayer needs to provide his Social Security number, mother's maiden name, and other pieces of personal information. Of course, the caller isn't really from the IRS, and now he has stolen personal information that he can use to steal money. The real IRS will never ask for this kind of personal information over the phone, by letter, or in an email, Botkin says.
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On Tax Day, Get Free Food
Continue reading… 30 CommentsIf you filed your taxes in time for today's deadline, now is the time to celebrate, and retailers want to help you do it. Here are a few of the stores that are giving away free food today; if you know of others, please share below.
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Mel Gibson: Will He Fight His Divorce Payout?
Continue reading… 12 CommentsMel Gibson seems to have missed the lesson that John Cleese provided last month when Cleese managed to cut his payments to his ex-wife in half. People reports that the Gibson divorce may, in fact, be the most expensive in history. He has been married to his wife, Robyn Gibson, for 28 years, and their prenup specifies that she will receive half of everything. In Gibson's case, "everything" is about $1 billion.
