Stephen Brobeck
Stephen Brobeck
Stephen Brobeck is the director of the Consumer Federation of America...
aware believe build consumer debt trap
Most Americans are now aware of the consumer debt trap and the need to build wealth, but don't believe they can do so.
basically charge traffic
You basically charge what the traffic will bear.
card debt shifting trouble
Shifting debt from one card to another can get you in trouble if you just accrue more debt.
average banks billion cds consumers credit earn funds interest per recommend savings shift
We recommend that consumers shift their funds from traditional savings to CDs and from banks to credit unions. If everyone did so they would earn about $40 billion more in interest annually. That's an average of about $400 per household.
high interest low rather savings small
On some small accounts, the fees are so high and the interest is so low that the savings dwindle rather than accumulate.
despite grew hardly house net rise wealth
Net wealth hardly grew despite a substantial rise in house values.
credit obtained scores
Those who have obtained their scores know significantly more about credit scores than those who have not,
power regular simply small understand
They simply do not understand the power of making small regular contributions.
borrow finding likely personal save wealth
This is an important finding because those who know their personal wealth are more likely to spend, borrow and save sensibly.
banking industry interested radar screen small
This is not on the radar screen of the banking industry right now. They're not interested in small depositors.
additional billions bottom consumers dollars higher interest line lower rates year yields
The bottom line for consumers is potentially billions of dollars a year in additional charges, fees, and higher interest rates and lower yields on savings.
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Banks are hypocritical to seek bankruptcy restrictions when their irresponsible marketing and extension of credit card debt has been an important cause of rising personal bankruptcies.
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Banks are increasingly monitoring profitability. If you have borrowed a lot of money or have tens of thousands of dollars in a money market account, they won't want to lose you.
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Check the terms and conditions, particularly the grace period and fee levels -- whether or not there's an annual fee -- and interest rates.