You got burned with frequent flier miles, which were nearly impossible to redeem and hardly worth the hassle, so credit card issuers turned to other kinds of incentives to entice you to charge more. But most rewards programs aren’t much better, and consumers are still eager to sign up for them despite the same old traps.

About 85 percent of U.S. households participate in at least one rewards program, according to a study released Monday by Consumer Reports. And though rewards do spur consumers to spend more, the study found that confusing rules and restrictions make most reward cards more trouble than they’re worth.

“They make it 100 times more complicated,” said a former marketing executive at CitiCards, referring to the popular rewards programs. For example, when you read the fine print, you might find that some rewards are limited to certain brands, or expire if not used within a certain timeframe.

Continue reading…

With gasoline prices hitting record levels, it seems everyone has a tip on how to save fuel. Much of the advice is well-intentioned, but in the end, much of it won’t lower your gas bill.

#1. Fill Your Tank in the Morning

You may have heard that it’s best to fill your gas tank in the early morning while the fuel is cold. The theory goes that fluids are more dense at lower temperatures, so a gallon of cold gas actually has more gas molecules than a gallon of warmer gas.

But the temperature of the gasoline as it comes out of the nozzle varies little during the course of the day, according to Consumer Reports, so there’s little, if any, benefit, to getting up early to pump gas.

#2. Change Your Air Filter

Maintaining your car is important, but a clean air filter isn’t going to save you any gas. Modern engines have computer sensors that automatically adjust the fuel-air mixture as an increasingly clogged air filter chokes off the engine’s air supply.

While engine power will decrease slightly as the air filter becomes clogged, a lack of performance or an increase in fuel consumption will be negligible, Consumer Reports says.

Continue reading…

Let’s face it: The housing market just isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days you can put up your house for sale, sit back, and expect the offers to start pouring in. As inventory increases and buyers decrease, the process is becoming more and more difficult. However, it doesn’t mean your house won’t sell; it just means you’ll have to do a little more work to ensure that you can sell it for a fair price.

Price realistically.

If people think your home is overpriced, chances are, it will go unconsidered. Instead of setting your price at what you hope to sell it for, you should be setting it at a price that is in line with or slightly below the market value. The market is no longer forgiving toward overpriced listings - the properties that actually get bought are those that are priced in accordance with market value. If your house is priced lower than real estate of similar value, it will drive more interest.
Continue reading…

Here’s a few steps to take when trying to verify a bank’s FDIC insured status:

- Check to see if the bank website has the “Member FDIC” logo.
- Go to the actual FDIC site to verify that the bank is indeed a member of FDIC. FDIC insured investments are insured up to $100,000.
- On the verification page compare the office address on record at FDIC with that found on the bank’s website.
- It might also help to check out the performance ratings and financial information of the bank. This is strongly recommend if you are looking for a long term relationship and/or investing a sizable amount into this CD or savings account.

If you’ve been to your neighborhood bank lately, you’ve probably noticed that CD rates have already started to fall. For savers, that’s bad news — especially if you’re on a fixed income and depend on your interest income to cover your living expenses.

In your search for higher rates, one place you might not think about is your brokerage account. After all, most people use their brokers to buy stocks, not CDs. But an increasing number of brokers offer brokered CDs, which may pay you more interest.

How brokered CDs work
The idea behind brokered CDs is pretty simple. In addition to providing CDs directly to their customers, some banks seek to extend their reach by offering CDs in large blocks to brokers, who then resell them to their clients. Many banks participate in the brokered CD market, ranging from well-known names like Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) to much smaller banks.

Just like bank CDs, brokered CDs are FDIC-insured up to $100,000. With the threat of potential bankruptcy hovering over brokerage firm E*Trade Financial (Nasdaq: ETFC), that insurance is becoming more and more important to protect your assets. Lots of brokers sell them, including Charles Schwab (Nasdaq: SCHW), Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade (Nasdaq: AMTD). From the investor’s perspective, a brokered CD closely resembles a traditional bank CD, with just a few exceptions.

Continue reading…