Ways to Cut Your Bills Down to Size

Soaring defaults could fell normally resilient industry

(NEWSER) - Credit cards may be the next industry to be pummeled by the financial crisis, Time reports. The charge-off rate—money that lenders don't think they'll collect—is set to hit 10% in 2009. That's double the rate of the last decade and amounts to $96 billion in unpaid debt. Typically credit card firms do well in downturns because late fees and higher rates raise revenue. But that equation breaks down if customers start defaulting en masse. More»

Some simple moves can net $1K or more

(NEWSER) - On the eve of the first serious workday of the New Year, take a hard look at your finances and see where you can cut back in 2010. A relatively small investment in time can result in some serious savings, Kathy Kristof writes for the Los Angeles Times :

• Save automatically: "Try having just $25 a month put into a savings account at the beginning of each month." You can still spend it, but if all goes well, "you'll just find a way to spend that much less."

With unemployment rising, companies modify, reduce debt

(NEWSER) - With unemployment nearing 10%, credit card companies are doing something once unheard of: forgiving debt, or modifying it in the customer’s favor, the Washington Post reports. Companies are loathe to discuss the practice, lest it inspire more delinquencies, but according to one industry report, roughly 3 million people got some kind of modification last year. “Issuers are looking to get something rather than nothing,” explains one analyst. More»

Reliance on volatile 401(k)s breeds reluctance to retire

(NEWSER) - Their retirement savings devastated by the financial crisis, older workers are increasingly postponing retirement, the New York Times reports, creating even more competition for scarce jobs. A recent survey found that four in 10 workers over 62 have remained at their jobs longer than they planned thanks to the recession. Our dependence on fluctuating 401(k)s for retirement is turning out to have a perverse effect on the economy, the Times notes. "It’s a sort of reverse automatic stabilizer,” says one economics prof. More»

A surge in debit-card usage reflects a shift from the days of easy credit

(NEWSER) - The recession has boosted the popularity of debit cards, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the last quarter of 2008, debit-card transactions processed by Visa were 50.4% of the company’s volume, surpassing credit cards for the first time. Rival MasterCard’s debit volume surged 13% last year as credit-card volume declined 2.2%. Consumers seem to prefer the pay-as-you go model to the rising cost of maintaining credit. More»