The New York Times has posted an article that discusses how the credit bureau system- whose reports influence everything from your mortgage approval to a potential job offer- actually has two different systems in place: one for the rich people with connections and another for everybody else.

TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, three of the major credit bureaus, all keep a “V.I.P. list of sorts” that includes judges, celebrities, politicians, and other people who have influence. The people on this list get special help when it comes to fixing problems with their credit reports. The error is usually corrected immediately, and the person will probably never realize they are on a special V.I.P list.

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We tend to forget that it wasn’t all that long ago when people had their kids’ portraits taken several times a year. When I was growing up, the school arranged for a picture once a year and that was pretty much it. Today, we expect to have our children photographed every few months, and it can become a very expensive project.

If you insist on having the kids photographed regularly, you have several options when it comes to cutting costs.

The main studio in our area offers a club for babies during their first year. The parent brings in the child on a regular schedule, about once every three months, and gets coupons, deals, and a least one free sheet of pictures each time. If

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Last month the federal government took a small step towards trying to reign in some of the mortgage servicing abuse that we see on a daily basis. Here is some of the language from the announcement from the OCC:

The eight servicers are Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, PNC, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. The two service providers are Lender Processing Services (LPS) and its subsidiaries DocX, LLC, and LPD Default Solutions, Inc.; and MERSCORP and its wholly owned subsidiary, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS).

“These comprehensive enforcement actions, coordinated among the federal banking regulators, require major reforms in mortgage servicing operations,” said acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh.

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Sheila Smoot is a friend of mine and she has a new website that will have lots of information about her new TV show “Your Side With Sheila Smoot”.

You will find consumer tips about what to do if you are dealing with tornado issues that are affecting so many in Alabama and other southern states. In the articel Sheila and her team include information on “crooks showing up at your door” as well as “the need for renter’s insurance” and “insurance: your steps following a storm”.

You can also find information about various individuals who help consumers (“consumer squad”) including a consumer lawyer who bears a striking resemblance to me…

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My husband received, in the mail recently, an offer to become a mystery shopper. Now, there are plenty of legitimate opportunities to become a secret shopper, as my mom and I were both a mystery shopper one time or another. Unfortunately, this offer was a fake. We assumed that the scammers got his name and address from the PlayStation Network breach, but however they got our name, the offer arrived in the mail.

When Josh opened the envelope, a check for $3,990 was enclosed along with a letter explaining that he was being invited to evaluate the service at a retail store and at Western Union. The scammers claim that all he has to do is deposit the check at the bank.

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The New York Foreclosure Law Blog has posted an article that gives some reasons why some loan modifications are accepted and others are rejected by lenders and pushed into foreclosure.

One reason is that many lenders have poorly trained staff, which also leads to homeowners being told false or inconsistent information. Sometimes lenders even tell homeowners that their packet is missing documents even though they have been sent in multiple times. Some lender reps even encourage homeowners not to pay their loans and later the homeowner is rejected for a loan modification.

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When Social Security was established in 1935, average US life expectancy was 60 for men and 64 for women. Now, it is 75 for men and 80 for women.

This means that when the Social Security system was created, women and men were pretty much expected to work ‘till they dropped. Today, men can expect to live about ten years beyond retirement age, while women can expect to live 15 years after they stop working.

This is a significant development.

In terms of the Social Security system, it explains why the system is heading towards an eventual collapse, unless early retirement is eliminated, and normal retirement age is raised. I

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