It’s heartbreaking. I’ve seen young people sign up for for-profit colleges and they use their laptops to complete the courses. They expect great things from the programs they choose. However, the results are usually poor, despite what the advertising says. Most colleges will give you a valuable education that can help you achieve your career goals.
Permission Slip by CR, a free app from Consumer Reports, helps users regain control of their personal information and requests that companies delete or stop selling their data. The app is available on iOS and Android. Users can swipe through companies that may have their data, and with a tap, send a request for changes.
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – the three national credit reporting agencies – are permanently extending a program that lets you check your credit report at the agencies once a week for no cost. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to request free copies of your credit reports, the Federal Trade Commission advises. Other sites may charge you or be fraudulent.
Junk fees are everywhere. The fees, which cost American families tens of billions of dollars each year, can strain any family budget. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which looks for junk fees when it examines financial institutions, found the following during its reviews between February and August 2023:
Paying off student loans is bad enough without being ripped off by a dishonest company. Some companies pretend to be affiliated with the Department of Education, charge illegal junk fees, and lure students with repayment programs and loan forgiveness that don’t exist. The FTC is banning two student loan debt relief companies for these illegal activities
History repeats itself as a new product causes a child’s death. It’s liquid candy sold in a container like roll-on deodorant, which children lick off the rolling ball. Cocco Candy and KGR Distribution are recalling about 145,800 Cocco Candy Rolling Candy containers. The candy’s rolling ball can detach from the container into a child’s mouth.
About a year ago, I got the idea that I needed to transfer my emergency fund of $20,000 from the local credit union where it was in a money market fund because the yield was low, 0.54 percent. In a year, the dividends paid were $49.32. I finally got around to it in July. After research, I selected a money market mutual fund at Vanguard.
About a year and a half ago, I started shopping at Trader Joe’s. When my daughter and her family were here during the summer, we went over to a strip mall to sign up for a family phone plan that my grandson and I could be in. He was going to attend college in the United States. Trader Joe’s was next to the phone store.
It’s another example of a new product being sold to kids before it’s evaluated for safety. Water beads, which are often marketed as toys or sensory aids for children, are small, super-absorbent gel balls that, when placed in water, grow in size. If ingested by children, water beads can grow to dangerous sizes in the body.
