Visa and MasterCard have very clear rules with regard to requiring a certain minimum amount before accepting credit card as payment. They can’t. MasterCard will fine the merchant up to $20,000 for the first offense of this type. They take it seriously. (Side tip: If a merchant is obstinate about enforcing a minimum charge, the … Read more
(This information is given courtesy of Accrued Interest. Be sure to check them out, and if you like what you’ve read, subscribe to their feed!) Since Congress created the VA Loan program in 1944, more than 18 million people used it to help purchase a home. Expressly designed for honorably discharged veterans and active-duty personnel, … Read more
If keeping your day job is the cake, then investing in yourself outside of your day job is at least the icing, or maybe even another four or five cakes’ worth. But if that sounds like way too much work, there’s always the chance you can hit the jackpot by suing the entity that consumed … Read more
Smithee, a staff writer over at Consumerism Commentary, gave his opinions on the positive opt-in that’s now necessary for banks and credit unions to enroll customers in overdraft privilege services. In a previous life as a Bank of America customer service representative, he had to tell customers that they couldn’t opt out of the overdraft … Read more
The Amazon Kindle is getting a whole lot smaller, faster, and cheaper: $139 with free Super Saver shipping. That’s quite a bit less than what it began at. Money Beagle, though, isn’t moved at all by the ongoing e-book reader price war: His library is right around the corner and well-stocked. Most of the time, … Read more
David Ning over at Money Ning disagrees with the conclusion of this how-rich-is-rich article from CNN Money (via Yahoo! Finance). The conclusion is that it might be necessary to have $12 million banked to retire. Now, to be fair, the $12 million figure comes from assumptions are out of reach for most people: In retirement … Read more
My wife and mother-in-law are doing some painting in our new house, in addition to a few other things. I have the color coordination sense of a doorknob but my wife more than makes up for this. She’s very creative, and loves to make things pretty. She’s able to do wonders re-purposing items by dressing … Read more
Free Money Finance regularly posts questions that are e-mailed to him by his readers, with the intent of having other readers offer advice. Recently a reader asked about refinancing a mortgage that is currently under water (meaning that more is owed than the house is currently worth). Here’s the skinny: $225,000 is owed against a … Read more