Funny Money Friday: Foreclosure Bullies

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

The latest news out of Michigan is that residents of the northern state who lose their homes are also going to lose their vote this November:

"We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses," party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

Nice one, Michigan GOP. Are there any other mean things you would like to do to people who foreclose on their homes?  Talk about kicking someone while they're down. Let's look to the internet for some advice on how Michigan foreclosure victims can fight back against this bullying:

How to Beat a Bully from eHow.com

1. Stand up to the bully, but do not fight.
2. Make eye contact and be assertive.
3. Avoid responding to taunts and challenges.
4. Inform superiors.
5. Decide when bullying becomes dangerous.
6. Enroll in self defense classes or some other self esteem boosting ability.

Good luck Michiganders! Considering that Detroit has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, you're in for some hard work. We'll been rooting for you in November.

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Funny Money Friday: Bobcats & Foreclosure

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

Here's something you don't expert to hear out of your everyday real estate news: a family of bobcats in California have made their own wild animal habitat out of a foreclosed home.

According to the Los Angeles Times, The two bobcats are assumed to have a litter of bobcat babies in their new McMansion home:

Tuscany Hills has been hit hard by foreclosures, and the house on Vista Palermo has been empty at least six months, neighbors said.

Said Scott Brown, who with his wife, Karen, moved here from Long Beach to be close to nature: "They are great neighbors, and as long as they don't want to baby-sit my kids, it's not a problem."

So maybe foreclosures are bad for your community...but good for your local wildlife ecosystem?

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Funny Money Friday: Credit in the Comics

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

Mary Worth, the long-running soap opera comic strip and frequent brunt of jokes at the Comics Curmudgeon, has recently turned its attention to identity theft.  Over the past month, we've been following the thrills and chills of:

Getting gas with a credit card!

The traps and dangers of online shopping!

Paying a credit card bill!

Receiving a credit card fraud warning!

The excitement is almost too much to handle. Will this weekend's strip include Toby calling the credit bureaus to place a 90-day fraud alert? Or completing an ID Theft Affidavit with the FTC?  Does she know her rights as an identity theft victim? I'm on the edge of my seat.

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Graffiti Artist Takes on the Credit Crunch: Funny Money Friday

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

You know the credit crunch has saturated  culture when even graffiti artists start using it for inspiration. Out of the UK, Syd recently took on the British credit crisis with a mural circling a barn. His short video details the creation process:

If Banksy's next piece is about foreclosure rates, we know we're in real trouble!

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Funny Money Friday: College Credit

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

Summer is winding down and back-to-school season is almost here. 2008 saw the largest ever class of graduating high school seniors. And that translates into a tidal wave of students heading off to college this fall. If you're one of the millions of parents sending a kid to college this year:

A student called up his Mom one evening from his college and asked her for some money, because he was broke.

His Mother said, "Sure, sweetie. I will send you some money. You also left your economics book here when you visited two weeks ago. Do you want me to send that up too?"

"Uhh, oh yeah, O.K." responded the kid.

So his Mom wrapped the book along with the checks up in a package, kissed Dad goodbye, and went to the post office to mail the money and the book. When she gets back, Dad asked, "Well how much did you give the boy this time?"

"Oh, I wrote two checks, one for $20, and the other for $1,000."

"That’s $1,020!!!" yelled Dad, "Are you going crazy???"

"Don't worry," Mom said, kissed Dad on the on top of his bald head, "I taped the $20 check to the cover of his book, but I put the $1,000 one somewhere between the pages in chapter 15!"

For more tips to help your college student start on the right financial footing, visit the Starting Out section of our Life Stages guide. Have a great weekend!

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Funny Money Friday: We're in the Money

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

Who else is tired of the recession (or economic downturn, or weak economy...pick your linguistic poison)? It is certainly making it tougher to come up with something funny for this piece each week. Maybe CreditBloggers could something to increase consumer confidence? Let's see what we can do:

Hey, did you hear that gas prices are falling?! And the stock market is rising?! There's no need for concern at all! Why don't you watch this video clip a couple dozen times:

Do you feel better? Want to buy a house? Make a costume out of quarters?

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Worst Credit Card Ever: Funny Money Friday

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

Gamers of America: hear me now! A new, powerful credit card has been bestowed upon thy universe. Boost your honour points and your credit limits with the World of Warcraft Rewards Visa from First National Bank of Omaha.

For your loyalty to the realm of Azeroth, you will be granted game time at the rate of 1% for every dollar you spend and a free month of game time with your first purchase. {translation for you mortals: a month of game time costs about $15} And for your financial questing, you can choose from 13 different character designs.

This chalice of gamer credit comes with a 13.99-17.99% APR and no annual fee. But take caution, for fee ogres abound in the dungeons of the fine print. The cash advance rate, minimum finance charge, late fees, over limit fees and foreign currency fee and balance transfer fees are higher than standard accounts. It's actually a fairly weak rewards card...but will your love for the game outweigh your logic?

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Funny Money Friday: Summer Vacation Ideas

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

Summer is here and, with the economic downturn, many of us are facing challenges in planning our vacations. Rising airline costs make air travel unappealing. Gas prices make a road trip in the ol' SUV a nightmare. The low dollar makes Europe almost impossible. It's time to get creative!

For funny money Friday, we're brainstorming three affordable summer vacation ideas for your family:

Bike Vacation - You'll save up to $1,000 on gas by biking from coast to coast instead of driving! And there are even tandem bikes that seat up to four riders.  Think of how much your kids will love seeing the American landscape with the wind blowing through their hair and the bugs in their teeth!

Walk Vacation - Save even more by not buying a bike at all and setting out on foot. You can lose weight along the way and even land yourself a documentary movie deal!

Staycation - Everyone's least favorite new word for 2008! Stay at home and enjoy your own backyard with the kids. Who needs a fancy hotel with a swimming pool when you can buy a"Summer Escapes"  inflatable pool online for only $29!

Sim Vacation - Take a virtual vacation with your family via a video game! Sims Castaway lands you on a deserted tropical island where you can lounge on the beach and soak up the digital rays. Mix up a pina colada and grab a controller. Think of how much you'll save over a trip to Hawaii!

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Funny Money Friday: Budweiser Credit Cards

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

Perfect for your new economic hardship drinking habit and subsequent switch to cheap beer: Budweiser has released three credit cards with US Bank.  You can choose a Budweiser, Bud Light or Clydesdale design and start charging!

The card lets you earn 3 reward points for every $1 spent at Budshop.com and any other Anheuser-Busch park or retailer. 1 point for every $1 spent elsewhere {Ed: why would you ever need to spend elsewhere?}.

Once you hit 25,000 points you get a $25 gift card to buy more beer merch from Budshop.com. That's halfway to getting the free King Cobra Performance Mock Turtleneck you've always dreamed about. Why would anyone choose cash back or a gas rebate over this sweet deal?

But wait, it gets worse.  The card's introductory APR could be as high as 20.24% and there's a $2.00 minimum finance charge (most cards set this at $0.50).

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Financial Expert and former TransUnion credit insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

Funny Money Friday: Cash Trivia

Money doesn't have to be boring! Each week, CreditBloggers.com takes a look at the lighter side of the personal finance world in a series called Funny Money Friday.

Let's celebrate this Friday with some fun money trivia from around the world. How many of these facts did you know?

The highest currency currently in circulation is the Zimbabwe $50 billion note. Inflation in Zimbabwe is 9 million percent and the current exchange rate is $102 billion to $1 US dollar.

The highest currency in circulation in the US is $100 bill.

The lowest paper currency ever issued in the US was the 3 cent note used during the Civil War. The highest was the $100,000 gold certificate used for federal transfers only.

When the US first issued paper currency in 1861, each bill was hand signed by by representatives of the Treasury. This practice was replaced by printed signatures a year later.

The largest paper currency ever issued was issued by the Philippines in 1998. The 100,000 Piso note was about the size of a legal sheet of paper.

The US dollar earned it's "buck" nickname from Old West buckskin traders.

Have a great weekend!

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Communication Director and former TransUnion credit expert. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.