consumers

Smackdown: Consumers vs. Banks

Posted on 09/30/2011 by Deb Silverberg | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Money & Savings | Your LifeWant to see people hopping mad? Then tell them, in the midst of a horrible economy, that you’re going to charge them a fee for something previously free. It’s Bank of America’s turn in the hot seat. A month or so ago it was Wells-Fargo, which floated the idea of merely testing additional ATM fees. We put a link to that story on our AARP Facebook page and asked our members if a fee would make them change banks. The …

Playing the Lotto: Proceed with Caution

Posted on 11/4/2010 by Alejandra Owens | General News | Comments

Money & SavingsMore than $70 billion dollars: that’s the amount of money that was spent on lottery tickets in North America last year. Seems like a lot of money to be spending on a thrill that usually only lasts a few minutes, according to state lottery commissions (and this AARP article), the odds of winning a grand prize in state lotteries can be as outlandish as 1 in 175 million, depending on the game. Is spending money on such a slim chance …

America Wants the News

Posted on 09/13/2010 by Correy Robertson | Archived Contributor | Comments

TechnologyHere’s an article worth reading today from USAToday.com on a recent Pew study about how much time consumers are spending on news these days. (The fact that I got this story perusing USA Today’s website just furthers the point of the study!) The article and study say that consumers are consistently increasing their use of technology to get their news, and consequently are spending more time learning about what’s going on in the world. According to the survey, Americans are …

Investment Fraud 101

Posted on 05/5/2010 by Correy Robertson | Archived Contributor | Comments

Money & SavingsThe economic crisis has not only left financial investments very complicated, but has also left ample opportunities for scam artists. The most recent Inside E Street episode talks to experts about how consumers can protect themselves from dangerous situations arising when investing. Make sure to check it out. http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/24025409001?isVid=1&publisherID=9425444001