People Farm Casting, a casting agency that focuses on finding non-actors for reality television shows and commercials, contacted Consumerism Commentary to let us know about a new project. The agency, whose team has experience casting shows like Pimp My Ride and commercials like that Dos Equis ad with the “most interesting man in the world,” has been hired by a large consumer financial institution to cast a new reality show.

I spoke briefly with People Farm Casting yesterday to get a feel f...
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It's that time of year again: the prognosticators are out in full force. What will the year 2010 bring? To find out, all you have to do is turn on a computer or TV. You'll quickly learn that next year we're going to eat fried chicken and whoopie pies, view televised sports in 3-D, witness six to eight hurricanes in the Atlantic, watch as Ruth Bader Ginsburg retires from the Supreme Court and tune in to Sarah Palin's new talk show.

Then there are the financial forecasts. No one loves a look at ...
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Nothing gets a group of people talking like a good “bank screwed me over” story. Dissatisfaction with banks, credit card issuers and stock brokers is so widespread that entire forums are bursting with complaints and horror stories to which most of us can personally relate. While it’s unlikely that any of these companies will listen, we thought it’d be useful to gather the most common (and sneaky) ways financial institutions screw people over into one place so you can keep an eye on yo...
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With two of the largest card issuers making the leap, it is only a matter of time until other banks introduce some form of an annual fee themselves, says Curtis Arnold, the founder of CardRatings.com, a credit-card comparison site. “It’s a monkey see, monkey do industry,” he says. “When one major issuer does a major policy change, the others are likely to follow suit because they’re all desperate for revenue.”

Already credit cards are getting more expensive for everyone: Between De...
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Loraine Mullen-Kress carries a Bank of America credit card and religiously pays off her balance.

"Flawless credit," she boasted.

Yet now, her good credit habits could cost her. Earlier this month Bank of America started notifying customers like Mullen-Kress that they will be charged a new annual fee of $29 to $99.

"There is a big segment of their population that they will have never made money on, which is people who pay their bills on time every month," said Ben Woolsey, Director of Consu...
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Whether a newbie or seasoned budgeter, nearly everyone has spending holes -- leaks in your budget that drain money with you hardly noticing.

These small drips can add up to big bucks. Once you find the holes and plug them, you'll keep more money in your pocket. That spare cash could be the ticket to finally being able to save, invest, or break your cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.

Here are 20 common ways people waste money. See if any of these sound familiar, and then look for ways to pl...

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Buying a prepaid debit card these days is just about as easy as picking up a bottle of shampoo or a candy bar. Walk into a Wal-Mart or almost any major drugstore, and rows of plastic worth $25, $100 and even $500 beckon from kiosks alongside prepaid phone cards and gift cards for retailers.

“No Credit Check. Safer Than Cash. No Bank Account Needed,” says the Green Dot Visa Prepaid Card: Just pay at the register and the card is ready for A.T.M. withdrawals, store purchases and online shoppi...

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"Good Financial Cents…."

1. You Need A Budget, period. Until you see your budget on paper, you’ll never have a full understanding of where your money is going...
2. Use The Budget..helps you live according to your financial goals. By setting spending and saving goals, and adhering to them, you can make sure your money is working for you, rather than you being a slave to your (lack of) money.
3. Before you can get out of debt, you need a positive cash flow. Having a positive cash flow takes so...

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Disgraced financiers like Bernard Madoff attract the headlines, but investment schemes happen everywhere, according to North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

The Securities Division in Marshall's office is investigating 10 such pyramid schemes, and she said the sour economy is helping expose them.

"What we are seeing now in these incredibly difficult times (is) people are wanting their nest egg and they are wanting it out," she said.

Pyramid schemes, which are also known as Pon...

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There have no been no failures of financial institutions, no large scale bailout of banks and the financial system did not undergo severe systemic pressures like it did in the U.S. and UK. Let's review some of the key points from this report.

1. Sound Supervision and Regulation: Regulators follow some of the best practices with respect to supervision of institutions including the new Basel principles for banking supervision. As a result writedowns by Canadian banks have been much smaller when ...

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"Seven Questions to Ask When Picking a Financial Adviser"

As investors look for guidance in these troubled markets, one question looms above all others:

Whom can you trust?

During boom times, it was easy to hire a financial adviser and put your money on autopilot. Now the market is in chaos and thousands of investors have been devastated by fraud, with Madoffed threatening to become an all-too-common verb.

Small wonder that many investors are getting reluctant to put their faith in experts. Mor...

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"Financial Prescriptions"

The recession and souring job market has deepened consumer worries about rising medical costs. But there are things patients can do -- before or after they get sick -- to gain more control of their health-care dollars.

Many unemployed workers are finding that individual health plans are not as generous as their work-based insurance. Even those still covered by group plans may face higher premiums and co-payments, and one costly treatment could push them into medical de...

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