You’ve heard iPhone users gripe about their mammoth monthly charges — but it’s not just those with the fanciest smart phones who are paying a bundle. “The average consumer overspends by $300 a year,” says Schwark Satyavolu of BillShrink.com, which helps consumers save on expenses. Knocking that much off your tab isn’t hard, experts say: you can do it by changing your plan, your carrier, or the way you use your phone.
Cell phones: Make talk cheaper

Why people want independent financial advisors
A new perception has taken hold: “independent” is better.
Times have changed – and so have financial advisors. Today, people don’t want financial advice from a salesman. Instead, they want a relationship with a financial professional who is candid, trustworthy and thoroughly educated, who provides personalized financial consulting for each client.
That search often leads them to a fee-based or fee-only financial advisor or a Registered Investment Advisor.
A pleasant alternative to Wall Street. a paradigm shift is happening, and the traditional brokerage houses are …

Ed Slott’s Retirement Decisions Guide is a 47-page compact guide that is a perfect read for both consumers and financial advisors.
This week, The Slott Report will be providing a sneak peak at some of the material in the guide. The guide is broken up into “86 Ways to Save & Stretch your Wealth.” Over the next four days, we will showcase 4 of those ways.
CLICK HERE to purchase the guide (bulk options available). The guide is also available on Amazon Kindle eBook.
12. Does a Roth IRA conversion pay?
In many cases, …

By Teresa Dixon Murray, The Plain DealerJune 04, 2010, 5:30PMTeresa Dixon Murray writes this column in The Plain Dealer on Saturdays.To reach her: moneymatters@plaind.com or 216-999-5263. she cannot assist everyone who contacts her. Read previous columns online
The Question: I have about $7,800 in credit card debt and have never, ever been late on a payment. I just got my credit score and was astounded that it’s barely over 700 (actually 710). I don’t understand how $7,800 in debt could be considered risky when my husband and I earn about $160,000 …

Monday, 19, Apr 2010 10:06
Planning for retirement has become the top issue driving consumers towards seeking the guidance of an independent financial adviser (IFA), a new survey has found.
According to figures from Unbiased.co.uk’s Find an IFA service, 36 per cent of searches conducted during March were related to saving for life after work.
The company’s chief executive Karen Barrett said that proposals in the Conservative manifesto to scrap the default retirement age had put investors’ focus on planning for their pension.
Investments and saving was the second most common “advice …

Money Week Education in Illinois (WEEK-TV Peoria) It’s Money Smart Week, so State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ office presented four, one hour seminars on money management in Bloomington today. in an era of easy credit, home foreclosures, and record bankruptcy filings, organizers hope to give consumers more tools to make smart financial decisions. Source: [...]
Students read to make ?cents? (The Herald-Mail)

‘Our money, our rights’ was the theme chosen by Consumers International for World Con-sumer Rights Day 2010. We show you how to protect yourself in some measure.
A firm selling financial products and services has to follow certain rules and standards laid down by the law and the relevant financial regulators. These are designed to protect consumer rights. If a firm doesn’t follow the rules you can complain about it. Your rights are especially protected if you’ve taken financial advice.
The financial regulators need to regulate financial services in Guyana and protect …

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HelloWallet today announced the launch of its revolutionary online financial guidance and management service. with Americans losing over $100 billion in recent years as a result of limited financial advice, HelloWallet now opens the doors of opportunity for all Americans to receive independent, unbiased and sophisticated financial guidance. HelloWallet’s unique structure, defined by its independence from banks and coupled with the site’s powerful analytics, will turn the tables on the financial services market and put banks to work for consumers for the first time. It is now available directly …

THE superannuation industry’s attack on a controversial proposal for a universal retirement fund has widened with financial planners arguing that the market, rather than the government, was best placed to determine super products.
The comments by the Financial Planning Association follow four of the nation’s most powerful retirement savings lobby groups last week joining forces to argue against the scheme proposed by Jeremy Cooper, who is leading a Rudd government review of superannuation.
The lobby groups called on the proposed default fund be scrapped, labelling it expensive and not in the interest …

People like to play hardball when they’re negotiating to buy a new car or a house. but when it comes to investing costs, they turn into timid little puppies.
That’s a big mistake, says Garth Rustand, executive director of the Vancouver-based Investors-Aid Co-operative of Canada.
“The industry has done a good job of making the consumer passive,” he says. “The big thing I’ve found is that many, many costs in the investment industry are negotiable and I think people need to know that because it’s not presented that way.”
Mr. Rustand …