Archive for November, 2008

There’s no denying the fact that Bruce Banner has a dirty little secret, but how clean are the Hulk’s finances? Would one look at all the statements for his credit cards cause this green giant to see red? Let’s take a closer look at how Bruce Banner lives and if credit cards are really a necessity.

First of all, Bruce Banner is always on the move. This means that he doesn’t have a steady job. Unfortunately, these episodes also destroy Bruce Banner’s outfits. Even if Bruce Banner only experiences one episode a week, he’s charging at least $2,600 worth of clothes a year to his credit cards, and that’s if he’s a frugal shopper—$50 per outfit.

Next, let’s consider housing. Most landlords require at least a $300 deposit, plus the first month’s rent up front. If Bruce Banner arrives in a new town every other week, he’s spending $14,300 on rent. Of course, this low price is based on finding one-room apartments that cost $250 a month.

We’re up to $16,900 and we haven’t even considered food and other essentials, which would cost around $10,400 a year. Even if Bruce Banner could find high paying jobs, which he rarely does, he never sticks around for long. This means he probably leaves many of his paychecks behind.

With so many financial hurdles to jump, Bruce Banner is unlikely to live comfortably. Fortunately his intellect and creativity has served him well thus far. As useful as a credit card would be, it’s only a short term solution: No issuer is likely to give a fugitive a large credit limit. After years of being on the run, Bruce Banner’s credit has been smashed by The Hulk.

Amy Brantley

Credit card kiting is one of the only ways some people see to keep their heads above water.

Similar to check kiting, credit card kiting involves using cash advances from one credit card to pay the monthly minimums on other cards. The debt doesn’t go away; it’s just transferred in a roundabout fashion. It can wreak havoc on your finances, but some don’t see any other way around their bills.

Credit card kiting is a bad idea for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that interest rates are usually much higher on cash advances than on regular purchases. You might be tempted by the pristine courtesy checks you receive in the mail from the credit card companies, but don’t fall for this trap.

Additionally, credit card kiting can lead to investigations by your bank or credit union. Although not necessarily illegal (depending on how you do it), there is legal precident that has labeled it ”nondischargeable”. Also, credit card kiting looks like suspicious activity and could lead a financial institution to believe you are laundering money. This is especially true if you engage in credit card kiting by initiating balance transfers with two credit cards from the same issuer.

“…debtor’s intent to deceive can be inferred from fact that cash advances were used to make minimum payments on other credit cards…”

See 5-19.3.5.1 Remedy: Nondischargeability

Most people don’t have the best of excuses to explain their kiting practices, and this can lead to increasingly worse offenses that could damage your credit and financial stability for the foreseeable future. Most financial experts caution against balance transfers and using courtesy checks in general, but credit card kiting is another animal entirely.

So what should you do in this situation? Rather than credit card kiting, try to live without credit card balance transfers. Design a budget that encourages you to live within your means. Get rid of your debts and any unnecessary expenses.

As soon as you consider credit card kiting to solve your financial woes, you should realize that you’re likely in a financial rut. You need to take steps to permanently improve your situation. At best, credit card kiting is only a temporary fix; at worst, it will further worsens your situation. It is important to leverage your strengths in your favor rather than resorting to less-than-honest behavior like credit card kiting.

Steve Thompson

Using a credit card for access to an Internet pornography site is perfectly legal as long as the content available for viewing is also legal. Still, Internet porn sites regularly use electronic money services, some of which are more professional than others, to accept their credit cards, rather than accepting payments directly. Some of these electronic money services make it extremely difficult to cancel membership at Internet porn sites, while other more secure payment systems (such as CCBill or Epoch) make it relatively fast and easy. Here is some information consumers should know before using a credit or debit card to purchase access to an Internet pornography site.

Beware the “Free Trial”

Some Internet pornography sites offer a free or inexpensive trial period, which usually lasts a few days. To take advantage of this offer, consumers must enter their credit card information. In the terms of service fine print the company states that upon the termination of the free (or inexpensive) trial period, the credit or debit card will be charged a monthly subscription fee. The monthly subscription fee is usually much higher than any fee paid for the trial period. To avoid paying the monthly subscription fee you must cancel your membership before the trial period expires. If the consumer forgets or cannot cancel the subscription within the free trial period, he will be charged heftily for the following month and any months that follow until the customer cancels his subscription.

Remember Your Contract Agreements

The consumer should always be aware that he is entering into a contract when purchasing access to an Internet porn site. That contract may provide for “recurring” monthly, quarterly or annual subscription charges. Unless the consumer cancels his subscription, his credit card or debit card will be repeatedly charged, regardless of whether he continues to access the Internet porn site.

Work Hard to Cancel Your Subscription

Canceling a subscription to an Internet porn site can prove difficult. Most Internet porn sites require the consumer to cancel his subscription at the electronic money service’s site rather than at the porn site itself. The porn site may offer insufficient information about how to cancel a subscription, which may frustrate a user into neglecting to cancel the subscription. Some frustrated customers ultimately cancel their credit or debit cards just to keep from being repeatedly charged.

“One company required user names and passwords and account numbers to cancel. I didn’t take down any of this information or save my emails when I signed up, so after a few months of trying to cancel my subscription, I finally just gave up and canceled my credit card,” says ‘John,’ an Internet porn consumer.

John is not alone. That’s why it’s important for any prospective consumer to adequately review the terms of service contract before purchasing access to an Internet pornography site. Specifically, the consumer should educate himself on (1) whether a subscription requires a one-time fee or a recurring fee; (2) how often and how much a subscriber will be charged; and (3) what needs to be done to cancel a subscription.

Jack Oceano

Washington state is home to such noteworthy companies as Starbucks and Microsoft. Yet, if Dr. Frasier Crane is any indication, the people making the really big money in the Pacific Northwest are working in radio psychiatry. Although no new episodes have been broadcast since May of 2004, the good doctor and his finances are still available through syndication and DVD.

From Beantown to the Emerald City

In 1984, the popular television comedy “Cheers” introduced psychiatrist Frasier Crane as Diane Chambers’ therapist and boyfriend. Dr. Crane, as played by Kelsey Grammer, was a fussy intellectual who became an integral part of the barfly collection at a local Boston bar.

“Cheers” closed its doors in 1993, but Crane, after a very messy divorce from his icy wife Lilith, pulled up stakes and made the move to his own series. “Frasier” was set in Seattle, also affectionately known as “The Emerald City.” Giving up private practice for show business, Frasier became an online personality at radio station KACL, doling out advice to troubled callers between commercials.

Deep Pockets and Huge Credit Lines

After settling in Washington state, Dr. Crane purchased a condo in the Elliott Bay Towers, a fictional building that’s located in a very desirable part of Seattle. A Century 21 Web site lists a comparable, real-life condo in the Emerald City with 3 bedrooms for the princely sum of $610,000.

If the good doctor plunked down $10,000 on his new pad and took out a 30-year mortgage with a fixed interest rate of 6.5 percent for the remaining balance, he would pay approximately $4,667 each month for that gorgeous view of the Seattle skyline. That’s not counting the monthly condo maintenance fees, which should bring his payment to over 5 grand, plus taxes and insurance.

Each week, Dr. Crane also was in search of some new piece of furniture or artwork by a famous sculptor or painter. It’s safe to assume that the radio shrink carries more than one platinum credit card, each with a pretty hefty credit line.

A Live-in Therapist, Housekeeper and Psychic

For the bulk of the series, Frasier shared his luxurious condo with his father Martin, a police officer who retired from active duty after taking a bullet in the hip. Dr. Crane reluctantly allowed his dad to move in with him and hired Daphne Moon, a physical therapist and self-proclaimed psychic, to help with Martin’s recovery.

Estimating that Daphne receives about $400 per week for her services plus room, board and paid vacations, Dr. Crane shelled out between $20,000-$25,000 per year for her salary. Depending on how good KACL’s insurance coverage was, Daphne was a significant, but rather attractive, expense.

Beluga, Beethoven and Ballantine

While his father loved nothing more than a cold can of Ballantine beer, Frasier and his brother Niles had very cultured palates. The Crane brothers favored fine wines, exquisite cuisine, and even shelled out $40 an ounce for good Beluga caviar in one notable episode.

Each day, Frasier and Niles met at least once at the Cafe Nervosa, a local coffee bar, for a caffeinated beverage plus a muffin or biscotti. These daily coffee talks cost approximately $10 per session, which is a staggering $3,650 in a year’s time, not counting the times that Frasier bought coffee for his producer Roz Doyle.

With his love of good food, wine and coffee, Dr. Crane gave his credit cards a workout at the upscale food emporiums in his neighborhood. Based on his eating habits, Daphne most likely purchased at least $500 worth of food for the household each week.

With a hefty mortgage, live-in help and premium food, Dr. Crane needed an annual salary of around $250,000 to avoid slipping into serious debt. That’s not a bad paycheck for someone who works only a few hours per day at an AM radio station and has plenty of time for coffee breaks.

Steven Bryan

First and foremost: It’s illegal to gamble online in the United States. Those interested in gambling online should take the time to familiarize themselves with the legalities related to Internet gambling, and the rules followed by the Internet gambling sites they plan to patronize. Such sites often use loopholes in the law (or violate the law altogether) to allow gamblers in countries with tough laws to fund their bets. Here is some basic information on the laws concerning Internet gambling, and how some Web sites get around them.

The quickest and easiest way to fund an account on an Internet gambling site is by using a credit card or debit card. In fact, many Internet gambling sites reward customers who use a major credit card such as MasterCard or Visa to fund their accounts with bonuses of, say, 20 percent of their deposit. While European gamblers typically experience little trouble with this method, U.S. gamblers often find themselves out of luck because of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 that pressures banks into prohibiting the use of their credit and debit cards for Internet gambling purposes. (This law prohibits the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an Internet gambling site, with some notable exceptions, e.g., horse racing, fantasy sports and online lotteries.)

Some Internet gambling sites use electronic money services to get around this dimple. A U.S. bank that does not allow money to be transferred directly to an Internet gambling site may very well allow money to be transferred to a third-party electronic money service, which takes a percentage and then feeds the funds to the Internet gambling site. Many of the most popular electronic money services have ceased serving U.S. residents.

By now, however, someone would have figured out a loophole, but the complex and ever-changing laws concerning Internet gambling are keeping U.S. residents from risking it. Although federal laws do not prohibit Internet gambling on games of chance, some states have specific laws prohibiting Internet gambling of any kind, including poker, chess and bridge.

Perhaps the most notorious example of Internet gambling gone wrong is the case of BetOnSports.com. That company settled a multibillion-dollar civil lawsuit after criminal racketeering charges were brought against the company and several employees, including its founder Gary Kaplan and former CEO David Carruthers. Many BetOnSports’ customers assets were frozen in the United States while the government wrangled with the company in court.

Other Internet gambling customers have lost their funds when Web sites suddenly went belly-up. Those who engage in or wish to engage in Internet gambling should do their research. Although there are no easy answers in the world of Internet gambling, researching state and local laws, as well as the laws of each site, will save U.S. gamblers time and money in the long run.

Jack Oceano