Sunday, December 20, 2009, 3:33AM ET - U.S. Markets Closed.

Laura Rowley Money & Happiness

Laura Rowley, Money & Happiness

Be a Squeaky Wheel to Avoid 'Gotcha Capitalism'

by Laura Rowley

Email this Page IM this StoryBookmark this StoryAdd to your Del.icio.us accountDigg this StoryPrint this Story
Excellent (814 Ratings)
4.372248/5
Posted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 12:00AM

When Hannah Montana vanished, it was the last straw.

I'd spent two days in the Kafkaesque world of Comcast customer service. Six months earlier I'd signed up for its "Triple Play" -- high-speed Internet, digital cable, and phone service for $99 ($112 with taxes and fees). The company called in December offering to extend my teaser rate for six months. (Competitor Verizon is bearing down hard, lavishing free HDTVs and digital camcorders on new subscribers.)

The Cable Runaround

Then I got my January bill -- $153.29. I called Comcast and repeatedly got a busy signal, then a message saying that "due to heavy call volume" they wouldn't even put me on hold. I called on three more occasions, waiting 10, 20, and 30 minutes respectively before throwing in the towel. Finally, I called the number for service problems, and got transferred to billing.

"James" told me a six-month extension wasn't available -- but a two-year deal was! Terrific, I said, sign me up. Just as the order was going through, we were disconnected. When I called back, another customer service rep said she saw my discussion with James on the computer -- but thought two years weren't available at the rate he quoted. She put me on hold in James' queue. I bailed after 15 minutes. Then, Friday, when the kids clicked on the Disney Channel to watch their favorite show, "Hannah Montana," a blue screen blazed "no authorization."

Another call, another service rep -- this one telling me I'd received the Disney Channel in error for the last six months, and the mistake was corrected when the new order went through. To ransom "Hannah Montana," I would have to fork over $125 a month for the bundled phone-internet-cable service, including 100 channels packaged with Disney.

I agreed, silently cursing the army of Comcast marketers who force you to take 10 racy music video networks and "Little House on the Prairie" reruns when all you want is the 15-year-old who moonlights as a pop star. Then I called Bob Sullivan, an expert on 21st-century headaches, to commiserate.

Fighting Back

The Red Tape Chronicles columnist for MSNBC, Sullivan is author of the new book "Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day and What You Can Do About It." A survey commissioned for his book found that 85 percent of consumers had complaints about cable fees.

The average consumer pays $1,000 a year in hidden fees, Sullivan says, $5 or $10 at a time. His book is a must-read to avoid getting fleeced by banks, credit card companies, cell phone service providers, hotels, rental car companies, auto dealerships, mortgage brokers, and the like.

Sullivan tells readers what to watch out for -- including a $1,000 line item dubbed the "dumb-ass fee" by the mortgage industry, named after homebuyers who don't notice it on closing day. Sullivan also explains how to fight back, and helps you pick the battles you're most likely to win.

"You and I are lucky because we have access to a telephone and can sit on hold for half an hour," he says of my Comcast experience. "What about people who work outside in construction all day? Or shy people, or old people who can't hear well on the phone? The company strategy is to squeeze as much as they can out of the consumer, to layer on as many fees as possible, and then only refund the noisy people."

Are You Sophisticated or Myopic?

Sullivan cites a paper published in 2005 in The Quarterly Journal of Economics by two economists, David Laibson of Harvard and Xavier Gabaix of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They divide consumers into two groups -- "sophisticates" and "myopes."

Sophisticates are savvy consumers: They comparison shop; ask the total cost before booking travel; scan their monthly bills for unauthorized charges; and exploit credit cards to get cash back and travel perks without ever paying a penny in interest or fees. Myopes blunder through their consumer decisions, paying premium prices and bleeding the financial death of a thousand cuts.

"Overwhelmingly, most people are myopes -- people who are too busy trying to get the kids into their car seats to fill up the rental car tank on the way to airport," Sullivan says, adding that he'd just come across a franchise in New England that charged a $1.50 "top off" fee for returning the tank full. (It charged for returning the tank empty, too.)

Gripe Away

The tendency is to blame myopes for their lack of organization and preparation. But Sullivan offers an analogy: "Let's say you're at the store buying a sandwich. A $5 bill falls out of your pocket, and the deli owner grabs it and shoves it into the cash register. He's a thief. But when people get $5 or $10 bills grabbed from them by companies, people say, 'It's their own fault, they didn't pay attention.'"

Meanwhile, the sophisticates are often out-maneuvered by their better-armed opponents. "The fundamental problem is the death of the price tag," Sullivan says, describing the "shrouding" of real costs. The classic example is the cheap computer printer, which requires ink cartridge refills at $30 a pop. "Even if the cartridges are cheap, they don't say how many milliliters are inside, or how many pages you can print per cartridge -- and in the end, you can't rationally buy a printer," he explains.

What's the solution to Gotcha Capitalism? Be proactive and prepared to complain, politely. The average griper gets a refund about half the time, Sullivan says, and credit card companies are most likely to cave -- about half of consumers are successful. Just one in five consumers got fees waived from cell phone providers and hotels; banks and grocery stores were least likely to cough up cash. (For more tips from my conversation with Sullivan, see my blog.)

A Fee-Hider's Cabal

Aside from hurting consumers, buried fees thwart businesses trying to play it straight. "There are lots of companies who would love to be honest and upfront about things, but you can't be the only honest person in a poker game where everyone is cheating," Sullivan says.

For instance, Sullivan covers the multibillion-dollar 401(k) fee rip-off, which he calls "the biggest swindle in history." I wrote a column on this a few weeks ago, and interviewed Dan Peterson, a Harvard MBA who launched G-Fiduciary, which sponsors low-cost 401(k) plans with total fee transparency.

It hasn't been going as well as Peterson expected. "We thought, where there's chaos and abuse, there's a business opportunity," he says. "Our total plan cost is under 120 basis points per year. The marketing problem is we are explicit about it. We're fully disclosing all fees, and competing with people who don't. The guys on Wall Street are 10 steps ahead of the regulators and the companies that sponsor plans; they've got a million ways to hide fees."

Email this Page IM this StoryBookmark this StoryAdd to your Del.icio.us accountDigg this StoryPrint this Story

Rate This story

Excellent (814 Ratings)
4.5/5
Sign-in to rate!

180 Comments

Showing comments 6-35 of 180<< PreviousNext >>
Sort: first to last

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 12:17PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    My Verizon phone battery would discharge after 5 minutes of use. Verizon put in new battery free (I fussed big time because they wanted to charge me $39.99. My phone was 1 month out of warranty.) I asked them, "Why would you sell me a two-year phone plan and then sell me a phone that only lasts one year?" That got them! I got my new phone! Then I received a notice from Verizon about my new phone and noticed they have been charging me $5/month for textmessaging since 2006. I never signed for this service and have never textmessaged anyone! I'm busy trying to get my refund! They're sly!!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 12:06PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    Great encouragment here to "look sharp" and defend ourselves against sharp dealing. "Let the buyer beware" [Caveat emptor] is a 2000-year-old proverb. Yelling "Uncle" for the government to "protect" us from our own short-sightedness will cost us more than watching what we are doing. And complaining about "capitalism" is biting the hand that feeds us. Hang in there!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 8:32AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Great article and very true. They are so darn sneaky these companies. Im not suprised, they are savvy and want nothing more than to make a buck. The thing that ticks me off most is people are either too lazy or too busy to care. But you should never be too busy to take care of your finances. I got a 50 rebate from verizon for complaining until they couldnt take it anymore...in the end I was right and I fought it until I got my money. (basically they wanted me to pay the 50 dollar warranty charge for the new phone, which is fine if "I" broke it, but it was a malfunctioning phone and not my fault that it broke). They said no intitially but finally I griped and whined enough that they gave me my money back.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Wednesday, February 6, 2008, 3:24AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Nice article!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 8:55PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    i agree with Laura. we have time warner w/all in one package. first couple months-no problem. then our bills gravitated. we called time warner and they told us it was only for first time subscribers ( we weren't) so they give us a break the first couple months so they can stick it to us the rest of the time. why isn't the cable t.v. industry more regulated?

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 6:51PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    The only way to have a level playing field for all the businesses is to legally require all charges/fees/taxes to be disclosed to the customers before the contracts are signed so that the customers can comparision shop.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 5:33PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    What will it take before our government takes this problem seriously? When will our regulatory system actually start regulating and protecting its citizens from spiteful capitalism?

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 3:57PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    For those of us that have switched to e-delivery for bills/statements we also need to carve out time to check them online (and remember the various user id/passwords). Although it's great to save paper - I find that I don't look at my online statements as often as I should.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 2:29PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    There neds to be more consumer protection. Immorality and unethical behavior have been turned into slick marketing programs. There needs to be law enforcement fines with teeth to protect people from "institutionalized" rip-off artists like AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Sprint to name only af ew.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 2:15PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    I guess the only solution is to simplify your life to the point where you have enough time to constantly pursue your refunds. Reduce your bills wherever you can by quitting all your credit cards, cancelling cable, and paying cash for everything, including cars! You'll still have bills, but hopefully also the time to review them.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 2:09PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    I was getting the runaround from a major bank on an late payment fee and reset of my low interest rate and it took me almost a month of talking to different customer service reps before it got corrected. Finally I wrote a letter to CEO and was contacted within a week to make sure the problem was corrected to my satisfaction. I learned about the letter writing solution after reading an article similar to this one. I also have had problems with Comcast. Most recent was finding out I should have been getting the NFL network since I was already paying the Sport package upgrade fee for theSpeed channel. I told Comcast I wanted to cancel that in order to get NFL Network and they said ok and then told me there was no difference in price since NFL Network was already available for what I was paying. I was also being charged for an extra IP address I did not need since I now have a hub at home office. Your article should be must reading for all consumers. The current business atmosphere is really horrible for customer service.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 9:19PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Oh...America.."Land of the Free"..NOT!...Here in Thailand we purchase our cell/mobile device minutes via phone card each month....and for sure each of the 65 million residents has a mobile phone. The amount of money you pay depends on....well, you! My wife buys a 'phone card' every month for 300 Thai Baht...about $7.50 (U.S. $). Every call she make cost 3 Baht (8 cents) for the first minute and less than 1 cent for every minute thereafter. No contracts, so service fees, is usable nationwide and she could if she wanted change her (SIM) card and thus her phone number after every call if she so desired and keep the remaining money she had left of her 300 Baht purchase. And dig this...there is NO TAX on the card...as a matter of fact...TAX is a rarity here in Thailand..only large ticket items purchased at stores owned by foreigners are taxed....virtually NO TAX whatsoever. It's no wonder that Thailand is known as "The Land Of Smiles".....and is TRULY "The Home Of The Free". Thank You American Capitalist Dictators for allowing me to bring my American Dollars abroad and live like royalty.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 6:10PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Very helpful article! Here's another one. I bought an AT&T PrePaid Phone Card Plus for $40 from Wal-Mart. It provides for 1000 minutes as printed in very large numbers on the front of the card. Turns out i get only 200 minutes for instate long distance calling in Minnesota as stated in the fine print that they know you will not read while standing in the checkout lane at Wal-Mart. It's a very devious card because you think you are getting 1000 minutes for all long distance but you are not. You must check the fine print. In my case 1000 minutes reduced to 200 after i read the card rules. The card is designed for point of sale marketing. What i thought i bought was reduced by 80% of the value i thought i had purchased in Wal-Mart. I tried to call customer service by the number given on the back of this card, but it had been changed. I called the new number given and became involved with a never ending stream of telephone numbers, prompts and then after about 15 minutes a person gave me a new number to call for service to answer my questions and i was back to the number on the back of the At&T PrePaid Phone Card which had been changed. I had got nowhere! I tried again, was put on hold and no one ever answered so i had to hang up. So i recommend another Long Distance Phone Card from any company other than AT&T but check the rules and fine print first. Make sure the number of minutes as stated on the front of the card are good for both instate and state to state long distance calling. AT&T's PrePaid Phone Card is NOT. So what you thought you got is NOT. In my case by 80%.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 5:43PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    The other problem with these fees is that the companies spend hours designing layers and hoops one must jump through in order to complain, get refunds or credits. I do not consider myself a myope, but I also do not consider spending 2 hours of my time to recoup $10 to be cost effective. The author spent at least 1 hour 15 minutes by her estimates; What was the opportunity cost of that time had she written additional articles with that time instead? I suspect she lost more than she saved. Make no mistake, these companies have Phd's determining to a statisical certainty just how much overcharging they can get away with and how long they need to stall you before it isn't worth your while. In the meantime, the mechanisms do exist to get errors corrected for the most determined ones, allowing them to avoid any legal penalties.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 4:58PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    I recently learned that I need to actually READ my cable, phone, etc, bills due to this ''fee'' crap. Comcast recently charged me $10.00 for a repair call they made in which they had disconnected my cable while they were in the process of connecting my neighbor. What's worse is that I had to go back and look at my two previous cable bills to even know what it was about because all it said was ''additional fee.'' The Comcast billing "assistant" informed me what the ''fee'' was for, and she freely admitted I should not have been charged for it. HOWEVER, she could not explain why, or even guess how it could happen, that this ''one time fee" for a "service call" had been tagged onto my bill THREE MONTHS IN A ROW!!! In other words, I was ripped off, and had I not noticed that my monthly bill was unusually higher, I would not have thought to question it. This is one of the MAJOR DISADVANTAGES to "autopay" because we tend not to look at the statement when it is automatically paid. (Then they wonder why I refuse to do ''paperless billing." I want to SEE that piece of paper every month because I want to SEE how I've been ripped off). -Gregg

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 3:18PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Loved this article. It consoles us by letting us know that this over-billing is happening to everyone, not just to one or two of us. I just cancelled my cell phone contract with Sprint because of numerous improper billings; and Sprint's punitive method of increasing fees on anyone who dares to protest the improper bills. I had to pay Sprint a $600 fine to cancel my 2-year cell phone contract ( $200 fine per phone for three phone family plan). I'm free, free at last, of Sprint but I have a burning resentment for the Sprint bullies who impose these immoral and criminal fee systems -- may they all be fired into unemployment hell!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 3:16PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    You think you have it bad? We get the same treatment, particularly at Canadian cell phone companies, but we also pay twice as much for our service! I wish a great big law firm would file a class action on behalf of every CUSTOMER (that's a word that seems lost on these companies) who has had to endure not only unauthorized charges but the mind numbing conversations with the $8.00 per hour "customer service" people staffing the outsourced call centers for these predatory companies.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 1:57PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Due to this article, I called my phone company to inquire about a $10.00 charge that had been showing up inder Long Distance minimum charge. After wading through the voice activated system and 10 minutes on hold, I spoke with a customer service rep who said the company had indeed made an error and she was crediting my account. I would not have bothered calling if this article had not reminded me that persistance and being proactive are what it takes to keep from being nickle and dimed by companies.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 1:47PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 3/5

    I'm disappointed the top selling retirement planning book Stop the 401(k) Rip-off by David B. Loeper wasn't part of this article which shows how hidden 401k fees that can be mulitples of all of the Gotcha Capitalism nickles and dimes combined. Also, not mentioning www.fundgrades.com which actually grades mutual funds and etfs on expenses and 4 other prudent fiduciary criteria is an notable omission.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 1:20PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Great article, Laura, and very true! I've heard horror stories about Comcast and I've personally had problems with AT&T. Once when they hosed my local, long-distance and DSL service, I cancelled and they wanted to stick me with a $100 cancellation fee. It took letters to the FCC, Federal Trade Commission, BBB and the state public utility commission to get them to straighten up and fly right. It's a shame that it takes the resolve to whop some heads to make companies behave but if they're gonna act like crooks, treat 'em like crooks, I say!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 2:36AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Comcast has a great product but they have the worst customer service people. Just look how Laura got played in each one of those calls. A lot of the time they are truely inept but quite often its an act used to dump you off on someone else. They promise hot deals then don't follow through. Like Laura you call back and try to get the same deal and they say so and so made a mistake. Its all a game to get as much out of you as possible while still keeping you as a customer. The fun part is when you try to go up the chain to get satisfaction. There is a wall that can't be broken through above supervisor of supervisors and no one seems to know the address for the corporate offices. At some point the person you need to talk to is always out of the office and your voice mails go unanswered. You think the phone is bad just try going in to the local office. They actually had to put their customer service people behind a security window with a hole to talk through. With all the angry customers I am not surprised.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 12:05AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Great article especially the part about Comcast.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Monday, February 4, 2008, 12:02AM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    So consumers are pretty much left to their luck by the government? That's outrageous. Beware of USBank, who charges you big fees for a NSF. They charged me $45 because I was $1.60 overdrawn on my checking account.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Sunday, February 3, 2008, 10:37PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Excellent article. I've had more than a couple of experiences at Walmart wherein the price scanned at the cashier is higher than the advertised price. That's why I'm always on guard when paying at Walmart.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Sunday, February 3, 2008, 10:15PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 4/5

    Great article--here's one time I wish I had questioned some outlandish fees: I took my wife's car to Best Volvo in Rochester, NY for a NYS inspection. The found two rear turn signal bulbs that needed replacing--it was bad enough that they charged $5.72 for each (at least twice what AutoZone charges)--they charged me $17.80 to install them! (no tools required--5-10 minute job at the most--AutoZone would have installed them for free)--Total of $29.24 for two bulbs and labor. On top of this, they charged $3.00 for an "environmental disposal fee" (I should have taken those old bulbs and scraped off inspection sticker with me!!!!!!!) $1.51 for shop supplies (the crummy floor mats or the candy I ate while waiting?). I would be less teed off if they had just rolled those fees into the overhead costs without itemizing them. They lost a future service customer over those fees (and potentially the dozen Volvo owners I have told)--worse for them, I can't imagine ever considering another "Swedish near luxury car" in my garage. Thanks. Signed: no more Volvos for me Rochester, NY

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Sunday, February 3, 2008, 6:11PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    In addition to banks and cable television companies one of the "hidden fees" is the local supermarket. I try to watch the scanning carefully because it is typical not to get advertised sale prices. Rarely are there mistakes in favor of the customer, but almost always there are mistakes in favor of the store. Yesterday, my wife and I saw a cheeseball package marked down a dollar, but did not get the discount when at the checkout. All stores seem to especially screw up on "manager specials" and particularly in produce. What I do is shop on Wednesdays when the new weekly prices go into effect. Oftentimes their computers don't have some of the sale prices in them. When I catch an error at a good store, they will always give me the first item free and that is most likely to happen on Wednesdays. Albertsons is usually good in this regard for giving the first item free without any further hassles and can do it very quickly. Other stores, like Super K-Mart do not extend a free item when a mistake is made and oftentimes their cashiers cannot fix a mistake even when showing them the most frequent advertisement. One oftentimes has to wait for the assistant manager or head clerk to come over. So one stands in line and the poor souls behind you suffer the consequences as well. Heaven help you if you saw a "manager's special" advertising something as being sold at a certain price for "each" item and then going to check-out and finding that they charge you on the per pound basis. Super K-Mart also has tiny screens making it difficult to see what they have scanned so that is a store that I tend to avoid except that sometimes some of their prices are so good that it is hard to stay away. Another "scam" that I ran into at Safeway once was a sign saying all 11.5 ounce dinners on sale for half off. However, the 11.5 ounce packages were mixed with 11.2 ounce packages (or thereabouts) that were the same dimensions and looked exactly the same but were not on sale. An unsuspecting shopper would easily think that all of the packages were on sale from the display. I caught this at the checkout and got the assistant manager over. I could tell that he felt very lame about the store's display and gave me all of the dinners at half price. The local Kroger typically has a buy one get the second one free on meat packages. Even if one finds meat packages of equal costs, one gets the desired amount of discounts only if the packages are scanned in a particular order. I complained to the clerk about this once when I did not get the right discount and got no satisfaction. So, I demanded that the head clerk come and got no satisfaction. I ended up complaining to the regional headquarters and got no satisfaction. However, the regional headquarters sent a copy of their letter that I got to the local manager as well and surprisingly the local manager acknowledged the problem and rectified the matter. His explanation was that the computer was not programmed right--a plausible explanation, but still no excuse. Since people shop every week for groceries, this can be one of the areas where a person gets nickeled and dimed to death so be vigilent in watching the checkout prices.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Sunday, February 3, 2008, 3:34PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    This is why I went with Directv 7 years ago. With all of the companies wanting a monthly chunk of our income, and yet they deliver pretty much the same thing they did the year before. The only way they could get more than a rate of inflation cost increase is to come up with a new scam. same is true for all utility companies.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Sunday, February 3, 2008, 2:44PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 5/5

    Good Stuff!

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Sunday, February 3, 2008, 12:47PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    You did not mention the best responses. 1- Ask to speak to a manager. 2- Threaten to Inform the Better Business Bureau and do it if not satisfied. 3- Threaten to inform the Fair Trade Commission and do it if not satisfied. 4- Threaten to tell all friends and relatives and do it if not satisfied. 5- Never, ever, do business with them again if not satisfied. Try those apples - make the healots sweat for screwing around with you. Turn the tables on them.

  • Yahoo! Finance User - Sunday, February 3, 2008, 12:18PM ET  Report Abuse

    • Overall: 1/5

    Sounds like you fell for the trap also. Why would you not just cancel for poor service. I do not understand you point for the story if you did not take a stand. Sounds like you need a new job.

Showing comments 6-35 of 180<< PreviousNext >>
The columns, articles, message board posts and any other features provided on Yahoo! Finance are provided for personal finance and investment information and are not to be construed as investment advice. Under no circumstances does the information in this content represent a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. The views and opinions expressed in an article or column are the author's own and not necessarily those of Yahoo! and there is no implied endorsement by Yahoo! of any advice or trading strategy.

More From Laura Rowley

Money & Happiness

Discover the secrets to financial happiness. Laura's book offers practical tools and positive strategies to create "the good life" in a meaningful way.

More about Money & Happiness

Learn to identify your values, banish debt, start saving, and investing; plus Laura's favorite online resources.

Order your copy of Money & Happiness today and boost your financial well-being!

More from Yahoo! Sources

  • CNN Money
  • Consumer Reports
  • Kiplinger
  • The Motley Fool
  • Business Week
  • Wall Street Journal

Historical chart data and daily updates provided by Commodity Systems, Inc. (CSI). International historical chart data and daily updates provided by Morningstar, Inc. Fundamental company data provided by Capital IQ. Quotes and other information supplied by independent providers identified on the Yahoo! Finance partner page. Quotes are updated automatically, but will be turned off after 25 minutes of inactivity. Quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes. Real-Time continuous streaming quotes are available through our premium service. You may turn streaming quotes on or off. All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Neither Yahoo! nor any of independent providers is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. By accessing the Yahoo! site, you agree not to redistribute the information found therein.

Yahoo! Answers is provided for informational purposes only, and no Q&A is intended for trading or investing purposes. Yahoo! shall not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, usefulness or availability of any Q&A information, and shall not be responsible or liable for any trading or investment decisions based on such information. View Complete Answers Disclaimer.