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As buyers ease back into the battered real-estate market, they're often hitting a stumbling block: fibbing by home sellers.

Eager to unload their abodes, some sellers exaggerate the size of their lots or their houses. Others minimize their property-tax or utility bills, conveniently forget about pests, or downplay flooding problems or noise.

Real-estate experts say that while such misrepresentations aren't new, the tough market of the past few years has m...

"New Year's Spending Resolutions That Could Save You Thousands"

When it comes to getting your financial house in order, sometimes a simple spending resolution or two can make a big difference.

Consider adding some of my "Top 10 for 2010" money-saving resolutions to your list in the new year:

1. Review Your Insurance Policies: It pays to conduct an annual review all of your insurance policies carefully and discuss cost-saving possibi...

The Long Island couple who won a $162 million Mega Millions jackpot will today receive $1 million less of their winnings, the million bucks being put aside to pay back the public for a scam they ran while operating homeless shelters, sources said.

A lawyer for Suffolk County got a court order last night – after officials went to a judge to get back the money they say William and Mary Morrison, of Miller Place, took under false pretenses in 2000, officials said.

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"Credit card companies squeezing customers"

As new law approaches, banks rush to raise rates and boost fees

The Credit Card Accountability and Disclosure Act will be a real game-changer – for both banks and cardholders – when it takes full effect next month.

The law, which goes into effect Feb. 22, will (among other things) prohibit raising the interest rates during the first year a credit card account is opened, ban int...

After almost two decades of decline, 2009 is on track to mark the first year that coupon use has increased in the U.S. since 1992.

Coupon clipping for the millennium isn't just for detergent and cereal. Retailers of all stripes, from Walgreens to Neiman Marcus, have latched onto the coupon to entice consumers to spend. And the Internet and mobile devices are making coupons more widely available.

"Coupons are just more accessible to more consumers than eve...

"Suit Claims Fraud by New York Debt Collectors"

The first notice that a debt judgment had been entered against her came in July, said Monique Sykes. Big red letters were splashed across the top: “Marshal’s Notice of Execution.”

“I was in a panic,” recalled Ms. Sykes, 29, of the Bronx. “For like 5 or 10 minutes all my eyes could focus on were those words, ‘Marshal’s Notice,’ ...

If you're the type of person who carries debt on your credit card from month to month, you should always have one "clean" credit card in your wallet, says Bob Sullivan of Red Tape Chronicles in his new book, Stop Getting Ripped Off: Why Consumers Get Screwed, and How You Can Always Get a Fair Deal. A "clean" credit card is one that you know can always get paid off in full if you use it, and you only whip it out for emergencies. For some consumers, this results in paying less interest and fewe...