• personal finance

    On The Money's Budget Calculator Helps Guide Your Monthly Spending

    On The Money's budget calculator makes it easy to determine how much you should be spending across the seven categories that make up any responsible budget. Regardless of income, tracking and limiting your overall spending is a foolproof strategy for keeping your accounts in the black. Though the percents will vary according to geography and personal situation, On The Money's calculator gives you a quick glance at concrete spending targets that you can compare against your credit card bills and bank statements. Give it a try and tell us in the comments what other tools you use to control your spending.

    Budget Calculator [CNBC]

    5:30 PM on Sun Oct 5 2008
    By Carey
    18,738 views, 49 comments

    Most discussed homerjay- Smiling politely: This is worthless. There are so many variables in peoples lives that you simply can't say "You should be paying more »

  • your government

    How To Write To Congress

    Writing to Congress is the single best way to express your view on public policy. The average consumer has a surprising ability to influence legislation by crafting a well written missive. Let's find out what the common mistakes to avoid are, how the process works, and the best ways to ensure your letter has the greatest impact. More »

    Feature

    4:10 PM on Tue Sep 23 2008
    By Carey
    27,687 views, 47 comments

    Most discussed egoldin: Here's a question. I'd love to write a letter (as opposed to an email), but my handwriting sucks. Like, it's more »

  • personal finance

    Five Sites That Will Help You Recession-Proof Your Life

    Although we are not technically in a recession, it's starting to feel like one. As gas prices and unemployment continue to rise, we've rounded up a collection of useful advice for the current period of economic austerity. More »

    4:25 PM on Mon Jun 16 2008
    By Alex Chasick
    34,465 views, 58 comments

  • how to

    Manage Your Money While Traveling

    Budgeting a key part of travel, but your usual budgeting tricks lose their potency when you leave home. Get Rich Slowly compiled a handy list of budgeting tips to keep you from overspending on your next vacation. More »

    2:42 PM on Sun Jun 1 2008
    By Carey
    4,387 views, 24 comments

  • executive customer service

    Reach Northwest's Executive Management Team

    Meet Doug Steenland, CEO of Northwest airlines. He and his fellow executives can help fix problems left unresolved by tree-bound call center sloths. Here's how to reach Northwest's executive management team... More »

    11:00 AM on Sun May 18 2008
    By Carey
    1,068 views, 2 comments

  • features

    Interview With Ron Burley, Customer Service Avenger

    "There's only one leverage any consumer has with a company. And that's financial." So says Ron Burley, author of UNSCREWED: The Consumer's Guide To Getting What You Paid For. I got to interview Ron Burley to plumb his brain about his customer satisfaction hacks, and the current state of affairs of customer service. His techniques are bold and make no apologies. We're not talking letters, and forms, and complaint departments. These are real methods for real people that work real fast. He also goes into the mindset that you need to develop if you're going to get results. Bookmark this post, it's an epic barnburner. Transcript, inside... More »

    Feature

    12:00 PM on Wed Mar 12 2008
    By Ben Popken
    13,795 views, 40 comments

    Latest by Cliff_Donner: OK, I have not read this book, only this blog and its accompanying posts. Burley's advice does not seem more »

  • e-filing

    I-Can! E-File Not Quite Ready For Primetime

    Last week we wrote about I-Can! E-File, a free electronic filing service for your federal income taxes. It's a great idea, and we're thankful to the Legal Aid Society of Orange County for doing something like this—but you might want to find an alternative this year and give them some time to work out the kinks. Today a reader emailed us to point out that icanefile.org's password system can be easily cracked, because instead of letting you choose an original password, it requires you to use your name and social security number to set up an account. More »

    6:34 PM on Mon Feb 18 2008
    By Chris Walters
    2,900 views, 17 comments

    Latest by WV.Hillbilly: There's absolutely no reason why the IRS can't make a PDF form standard for e-filing. Every tax prep package will generate more »

  • taxes

    I-CAN! Files Your State And Federal Tax Returns For Free

    I-CAN! is a web-based tax preparation tool that will file your tax return completely free of charge. I-CAN has no eligibility criteria or income restrictions and will eFile your state return for free if you live in California, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania or Montana. It almost sounds too good to be true. So why isn't I-CAN! a member of the IRS' Free File Alliance? More »

    11:19 AM on Sun Feb 10 2008
    By Carey
    15,266 views, 46 comments

    Latest by ex-IRS: BURA posted "ex-IRS: How exactly would implementing a national free-file online system stop those goals from being met? Huh? The more »

  • how to

    The Ultimate Consumerist Guide To Fighting Back (Revised Edition)

    We've posted recently about how to fight back when a business screws you over, and we've posted a lot of executive contact info over the years. Now we're packaging the two together into one big mega-post of usefulness: a one-stop-stop for figuring out what you need to do to start a customer complaint, or how to escalate a stalled one so that it can be resolved. More »

    Feature

    11:00 PM on Mon Oct 29 2007
    By Chris Walters
    85,481 views, 4 comments

    Latest by Gonzie: not that i was wronged on a particularly bad problem but i was wronged and incredibly p*ss*d off at the more »

  • identity theft

    Identity Theft: You Can't Really Do Much About It (But Here's What You Can Do)

    You can't really stop identity theft from happening. So many entities have your credit card numbers, social security numbers, date of birth, and address, that it is more or less inevitable that we will all have our identities stolen at some point. If you are lucky, you will just get a credit card cloned. If you aren't so lucky—like many people I see in my line of work—someone will start opening accounts, buying houses, or doing other nasty things in your name. More »

    1:37 PM on Fri Jun 8 2007
    By consumerintern
    3,244 views, 12 comments

    Latest by Boulderdash: Over-the-counter purchases: When you receive a new credit card, instead of signing the back, write: "PHOTO ID AVAILABLE ON REQUEST" In this way, more »