Subject:

Personal Finance

  • Blogs

    April 23, 2012

    Brian Greenhouse: Son of Man Killed on Rodeo Amusement Ride to Get $1.9 Million

    A state judge has approved a $1.9 million settlement for the son of the man killed on a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo ride in 2011. Brian Greenhouse, 46, was thrown 28 feet to his death on the Hi-Miler roller coaster at the 2011 rodeo. His family sued the rodeo and Ray Cammack Shows, which oper ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 12, 2012

    Tim Gunn Joins ABC's Daytime Ensemble The Revolution January 16

    Tim Gunn is coming to network television on January 16 with ABC's new lifestyle/reinvention daytime talk show The Revolution. ABC describes the new show as an "uplifting, inspiring, and groundbreaking new daily show about health and lifestyle transformations co-hosted by a stellar team of experts wh ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 3, 2011

    Money-Hungry MLB: Author Says the League is Treating Some Retirees Like Garbage

    David Clyde: $10k richer but still no MLB retirement benefits for the Houstonian​Specific Major League Baseball retirees are getting the shaft, according to the author of the controversial A Bitter Cup of Coffee: How MLB and the Players Association Threw 874 Retirees a Curve. The crux of Dou ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 25, 2011

    Pasadena, Home to Some Sickos, Is Also a Nifty Place to Retire

    Retire to this in Pasadena.​The economy blows, especially for old folks, who aren't as able to kick it with an umbrella drink at some beachside hang like in the old days. No worries, according to Tom Corley, author of The Top 100 Cheapest Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2012. Instead of sink ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 13, 2011

    Thieves Suck: How to Protect Yourself When Your Stuff Is Stolen

    ​Sunday evening while I was out for a jog, my car was broken into and my purse was stolen. By some miracle of paranoia, I happened to have both my cell phone and wallet with me on the run, not for fear of them getting jacked, but because I'm always worried I might get lost, or need my ID if I ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 13, 2011

    Christian Lopez, Overtaxed Yankee Fan, The Sequel (Where He Becomes A Charity)

    Christian Lopez: Now sponsored by the champagne of bottled beers​That's it, you win, Christian Lopez. I give up. You all remember, Christian Lopez, right? (It's only been like 24 hours since I last wrote about him. Please tell me you remember.) Just in case, Lopez was the ample Yankee fan wh ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 5, 2011

    Comment of the Day: Your City Bureaucracy at Work

    ​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 24, 2011

    Payday Lending: Texas Takes Teeny, Tiny Step to (Barely) Regulate

    Gary Elkins: State Rep, payday lender.​Payday lending, where lower-income, lesser-educated, financially strapped people get some instant cash but sometimes end up paying 500 percent interest, is an industry ripe for some regulating, you would think. But that's why you're not a member of the T ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 13, 2011

    For Friday the 13th: Five of the Unluckiest Texans Ever

    Investors held on too long.​Beginning with LaSalle, the French explorer who survived shipwrecks and cannibal Karankawa Indian attacks only to perish at the hands of his own men near Navasota, some people in Texas have had some pretty damned hard luck. You might lay some or all of the blame at ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 11, 2011

    Space Tourists Can't Sue: And Take a Look at Their Insurance Policy

    Using any of these will void the policy.​With NASA getting out of the shuttle business, the next big thing is expected to be space tourism. It can be a dangerous thing, but luckily there is the Texas Legislature to make sure, as they always do, that no one can sue a company for pretty much an ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 19, 2011

    Texas Publishes Their Social Security Numbers, Now Someone's Trying to Scam Them

    Just give 'em John Doe's number, he won't mind.​Attorney General Greg Abbott is warning any Texans whose Social Security numbers were inadvertently exposed by the state government to, ummm, not just hand out that info to anyone calling to try to "confirm" things. More than three million emplo ... More >>

  • News

    March 10, 2011

    Betting Their Lives

    It's easy for a three-time felon to get $20 million for his investment company, as long as no one asks any questions.

  • Blogs

    March 9, 2011

    Howard Judah and Greg Jablonski: If They Are Scam Artists, They're Pretty Bad Ones

    ​Say your insurance agent or financial adviser asks you to invest $25,000 on a sure thing with a "guaranteed" rate of return, with a company you never heard of. Do you cut a check right then and there, without asking a single question? Well, that appears to be what nearly 300 folks in Tex ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 18, 2011

    Christopher Purser: Indicted for Huge Fake-Insurance Scheme

    Insurance fraud for a tour boat that sank and killed 20​A Houston man is one of six people indicted for selling bogus insurance policies, including one to a tour boat that sunk and killed 20 people in a New York lake in 2005. Christopher Purser, 49, was one of the people who sold an insurance ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 14, 2011

    Lack Of Social Safety Net Tying Many Musicians To Day Jobs

    "I fantasize sometimes that my musical career would hit gold and help us escape these grim realities, but it's not something I really expect to happen." ​There are few issues in the current political climate more fraught with contention than whether or not the U.S. government will take a more ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 21, 2010

    Fishers of Men: Pastor And Associates Get Prison Time For Fraud

    Go thou and defraudeth FEMA....​It was almost two years ago that we wrote about the Fishers of Men scandal, a church in southwest Houston whose pastor and associates were charged with various financial shenanigans.It sparked a comment war between defenders and accusers that lasted so long and got ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2010

    As A Big Student-Loan Deadline Looms, Be Sure You're Using The Right Web Site

    ​Do you enjoy wasting hours when you're trying to meet a tight deadline to get federal aid for a college loan? Just log on to www.fafsa.com, and sign up for an ID, then spend hours getting material to answer all their questions. Ignore the many times an ad pops up, trying to sell you "professional ... More >>

  • News

    October 29, 2009

    No Justice

    We've bailed out the banks. When do we go after the crooks behind our financial collapse?

  • Blogs

    October 29, 2009

    Two Pastors And A Deacon Admit That Their Church Was One Hell Of A Scam

    ​Some blog items never die.Almost a year ago we wrote about the fraud charges filed against officials of the Fishers of Men Worship Center in Houston. To this day, barely a week goes by without someone throwing up another comment on the case, either defending the officials or saying they got what ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 1, 2009

    Houston Woman A Star (Unfortunately) In The New Michael Moore Movie

    ​Michael Moore's new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, expectedly serves up a quick and dirty glimpse at the consequences of unfettered corporate corruption and exploitation. But the most disturbing story of corporate greed in the film, unfortunately, comes right from our own backyard.Houston widow ... More >>

  • News

    July 30, 2009

    Missing the Mexican

    Did we underestimate the popularity of Gustavo Arellano's column?

  • Blogs

    July 21, 2009

    Moratorium Is Over, So Foreclosures Spike Locally

    Photo by Paul KnightHarris County is seeing the result of failed government efforts to fix the housing crisis by issuing 90-day moratoriums on foreclosures.July was the worst month for foreclosures in the county since the savings and loan debacle, just 73 properties short of the record month -- Octo ... More >>

  • News

    July 16, 2009

    Cover Me

    Kathern Cathey thought she had an insurance policy that would save her life. Not exactly.

  • Blogs

    July 14, 2009

    Is the Honor System Dead?

    Photos by Robb WalshDriving back from vacation, I noticed a honey stand along the highway in the town of Shirley, Arkansas with a sign that said "Self-Service." I pulled over and took a look. There was sorghum, local honey, bee pollen, beeswax and honey candy for sale. You took whatever you wanted a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 6, 2009

    Amegy Bank, Very Concerned About The Health Of Its Employees

    A ghoulish lawsuit filed against Amegy Bank just got a little, uh, ghoulisher. In February, the Chron brought us the story of Irma Johnson, who sued Amegy after finding out the bank took out a life insurance policy on her ill husband, a bank employee, in 2001. After brain surgery to partia ... More >>

  • News

    June 25, 2009

    ID Theft

    Someone gets your social, ruins your credit, upends your life. And gets away free and clear.

  • Blogs

    May 6, 2009

    Dastardly Plan To Make Poor Put Money Into Banks Apparently Working

    The Bank on Houston program, founded by City Controller Annise Parker in conjunction with area banks, credit unions and nonprofit organizations, says it's boasted early success. In three months 10,264 new accounts were opened; the goal for the entire first year was 10,000.People putting their money ... More >>

  • News

    April 2, 2009

    Mortgage Papers and Foreclosure

    It's easy for a homeowner's payments to fall through the cracks.

  • Blogs

    November 20, 2008

    Be Thou Fishers Of Men, Or Scammers Of Government

    There's no scam like a religious scam. And there's no religious scam like one where the church involved has a really churchy name, like Fishers of Men. And that's what we have (allegedly) in Houston -- the US Attorney's office has indicted the heads of Fishers of Men for skimming millions in fa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 10, 2008

    Freddie Mac Helps Out Bankers (And A Couple Of Home Owners)

    There's no scam like a religious scam. And there's no religious scam like one where the church involved has a really churchy name, like Fishers of Men. And that's what we have (allegedly) in Houston -- the US Attorney's office has indicted the heads of Fishers of Men for skimming millions in fa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 15, 2008

    Silver Lining Huh?

    There's no scam like a religious scam. And there's no religious scam like one where the church involved has a really churchy name, like Fishers of Men. And that's what we have (allegedly) in Houston -- the US Attorney's office has indicted the heads of Fishers of Men for skimming millions in fa ... More >>

  • Calendar

    July 24, 2008

    Marilyn Logan

    “The Money Lady” reads from I Can’t Afford to Marry You

  • Blogs

    June 11, 2008

    The Curious Incident of the Dog on the Internet, Part Two

    “The Money Lady” reads from I Can’t Afford to Marry You

  • News

    May 15, 2008

    College Immaterial for High School Students in Vocational Training

    Good paying jobs, no huge loan burdens, exciting course work — the new vo-tech attracts more and more hi-tech students

  • Blogs

    September 24, 2007

    Countdown to the 2007 Houston Press Best of Houston® Issue

    Good paying jobs, no huge loan burdens, exciting course work — the new vo-tech attracts more and more hi-tech students

  • Calendar

    August 16, 2007

    South Pacific

    Summer never sounded so sweet

  • News

    May 17, 2007

    In the Sub-Prime of Life

    Homeowners complain that Litton Loan is quicker to foreclose than it needs to be

  • Music

    September 21, 2006

    Jet Stream

    Chris Cester on Jet's new CD, Shine On

  • News

    February 9, 2006

    Letters to the Editor

    Chris Cester on Jet's new CD, Shine On

  • News

    January 26, 2006

    Costly Advances

    Payday lenders take care of you till your check comes in, and for a long time after

  • News

    January 26, 2006

    Eaten Alive

    Rent-to-own stores, pawnshops, payday lenders -- it's hope for sale, with interest

  • Calendar

    May 26, 2005

    Fun with Guns

    Have a blast at the Lone Star Shoot

  • News

    March 20, 2003

    College Credit

    Shopping spree for your first apartment: $2,500
    Spring break in Cabo: $1,000
    Avoiding college credit card debt: priceless

  • News

    March 28, 2002

    Living in a House of Cards

    Rank-and-file employees suspected something was wrong at Enron. Now they want someone to pay.

  • News

    February 28, 2002

    The Bust of Kenny Boy

    Plus: Powers to Be, Japanic's Surrender

  • Best of Houston

    September 21, 2000

    Best Place to Get Impressive Art Cheap

    Glassell School of Art Fund-raiser and Auction

  • News

    October 28, 1999

    Placed in the Discard Pile

    About to be booted from the Fourth Ward, poor people are being told they are too poor to qualify for public housing in Houston

  • News

    August 27, 1998

    Easy Money

    Is a state rep taking Houston's poor for a ride on the law of the lend?

  • News

    December 28, 1995

    Lil' Stevie's Year in Review

    Is a state rep taking Houston's poor for a ride on the law of the lend?

  • News

    October 6, 1994

    Art of the Mortgage

    MFA's one-of-a-kind home loan program

  • More >>
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