A favorite giveaway to lure you to sales presentations, such as those peddling condos, is the promise of a dream vacation to Hawaii, the Bahamas or Mexico. In fact, what you get is a vacation certificate. To take advantage of it, you must typically deal with an out-of-state travel agency by mail, not by telephone. […]

Also called debt consolidation or debt pooling, budget planning or debt adjusting companies, these people end up increasing, not decreasing, your debts, once you pay their debt consolidation charges. Some of these companies charge outrageously high interest or fees that may amount to illegal loan sharking operations. If you need help paying your bills, you’re […]

  Major credit bureaus offer services that let you check your credit file. Under some programs, you get a copy of your credit file as often as you want for $30-$50 per year and receive notification every time a creditor receives a copy of your file.   Federal law already lets you see your credit […]

Many merchants encourage customers to buy extended warranties when they buy autos, appliances or electronic items. They’re profitable for the merchants, who pocket up to 40 percent of the amount before sending the rest to the insurer. Don’t buy extended warranties on appliances or electronics. While you pay for them in advance, they do not […]

The salesperson who pressures you to buy now or invest here, should trigger a red warning flag in your mind. Consider the friend who drops by to give you an opportunity to invest in a red-hot deal. Unfortunately, you must decide today (they say) because they are going to start drilling for oil in the […]