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Another data breach, blah, blah, blah. Remember to freeze your credit and never have to worry about this stuff again.

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If you didn't know this already, stores make massive profits on cables and connectors. Most of these cost anywhere from 3 to 60 dollars for the store, but are sold from 19.99 to 179.99 or more!

There's just no way to get a good deal on cables from a regular retail outlet so buy them from an online outlet instead.

For a bonus, head over to the Consumerist for a full price sheet from Radio Shack showing their cost versus your cost on their stock of Monster brand cables.

Sample:

Item | Retail Price | Wholesale Price | Profit Margin

MONSTER 19FT HDMI-DVI | $179.99 | $99.94 | $80.05

MONSTER 8M L 26.24' | $137.99 | $73.49 | $64.5

MONSTER 19FT HDMI-HDMI CA | $169.99 | $105.5 | $64.49

"MONSTER 21' STRAIGHT 1/4""" | $149.99 | $88.87 | $61.12

MONSTER HTS 950 | $149.99 | $90.89 | $59.1

MONSTER SLVR FLAT MNT-37I | $149.99 | $91.44 | $58.55

MONSTER 16FT DVI-DVI CABL | $149.99 | $93.08 | $56.91

MONSTER 13FT HDMI-DVI CAB | $149.99 | $93.08 | $56.91

MONSTER 6M L 19.68' – COM | $114.99 | $61.24 | $53.75

MONSTER 8' DIGITAL FIBER | $114.99 | $61.24 | $53.75

FTC

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According to their annual report to congress, the Federal Trade Commission recieved over 69,000 complaints that debt collectors were violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the law that prevents them from harassing you or using dirty tactics to try and get you to pay a debt). In response, the FTC filed against 3 debt collectors.

Thanks FTC!

Say what you want about Arnold, but there has been some really good laws and policies to come out of California since he became governor. Getting rid of payday loan scammers is another great ideal from the "Governator". (H/T to Public Citizen for the link)

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I'm putting out the call for all people who get money unexpectedly to take the unpopular route and use it to pay down some debt rather than spend it. The very idea that you are in a position to spend new money while you're in debt at all is why Americans and America is in so much trouble right now.

Embrace the philosophy of a total-money-makeover and work towards it. Even if it violates the implanted logic that businesses and the credit industry have forced upon you, work your way out of debt before starting new ones and learn to live debt free.

Now realistically, I will probably spend some of the money on something nice like going out to dinner or a small gift for my wife. Psychologically, many of us will need to spend at least some of the money, but I'm OK with doing that if you still apply the vast majority to outstanding debts.

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For what sounds like a scam if ever there was one, MissingMoney.com appears to be legitimate. The team over at Lifehacker have had a rush of successes listed in their comments after their first post of this service and having tried it myself, I was actually able to find an unclaimed rebate in my name!

I found a record with one of my old addresses and clicked the link they gave me. It led to Washington State's web-based unclaimed funds service.

I had to create an account with Washington state's unclaimed money department, but that was a simple process. There was a point where they ask for a SSN, but they give you the option of providing it offline (which I thought was a nice touch).

Afterward, they asked me to submit any kind of record that shows that I lived at that address (which I did) and it was a done deal. In theory, I should get my money in a while. I will update this page at that time. Of course, if you do this, make sure that you're not providing sensitive documents as proof (I think I sent a bill with account numbers blacked out or such).

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The Consumerist has an article about a reader who has taken big companies to small claims court several times to get resolution to his problem. His average cost is about $24 and 45 minutes of time.

See, in all cases, he hasn't even had to go to court: the company calls him up the day before the court date and gives him a settlement. It seems they prefer to do that then pay to fly a company representative who isn't fully versed on all the facts to court.

See the original article for the full story of how he does it.

These guys are scum sucking thieves. Don't give them your money. And I'm not talking just about no-name place, I mean ALL of them. Do not use payday loans, tax refund anticipation loans, or anything similar.

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Good. Avoiding credit, reading the fine print, and how not to fall for scams would be a good start.

George W. Bush

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I can't remember the last time I heard of a good decision being made in relation to Bush's name, but here's one. The budget will be posted online to save money and ease access by people wanting to browse through the monolithic document.