How to Open and Manage a Checking Account
(Separate Website)
A checking account is a very convenient tool for managing your money. With it you can pay bills, purchase items and withdraw funds as needed. This workbook has been designed to teach you: (1) the benefits of a checking account, (2) how to pen a checking account, (3) how to make a deposit, (4) how to endorse checks, (5) how to use a check register, (5) how to use an automated teller machine, (6) how to write a check, (7) how to read your monthly statement, (8) how to balance your checkbook, and (9) what happens if you bounce a check.
By: Consumer Credit Counseling Service
What You Should Know about Your Checks
(Separate Website)
An informative resource on checks.
By: The Federal Reserve Board
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Spanish / Español
When Is Your Check Not a Check? Electronic Check Conversion
(Separate Website)
Suppose you’re at a store making a purchase and decide to pay by check—at least, that’s what you believe you’re doing. The clerk asks you for a check that is completely filled out, partially filled out, or even blank. The clerk then runs the check through a machine and hands the voided check back to you with your receipt. What just happened? Did you pay by check? Why did the clerk return the check to you? The answer is, you just experienced electronic check conversion. The following questions and answers explain how electronic check conversion works and what your rights are as a consumer.
By: Federal Reserve Board
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Spanish / Español
Automatic Teller Machines and the Law
(Separate Website)
Downtown, at the mall, at the superstore—everywhere—an automatic teller machine (ATM) is there, ready to give you cash in exchange for a swipe of your plastic and a few magic numbers. That convenience, however, comes with a certain amount of expense and some exposure to risk as well.
By: American Bar Association
Community Reinvestment Act: Does Your Bank Measure Up?
(Separate Website)
Community Reinvestment: Does Your Bank Measure Up? Under the Community Reinvestment Act, the Federal Reserve Banks evaluate banks' records of meeting the credit needs of communities—including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. When banks apply for permission to expand, merge or acquire another institution, the government takes into account whether the bank has been meeting the credit needs of its community.
Learn about the Congressional Act enacted in 1997 to encourage insured banks and other depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of their communities.
By: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Protecting Yourself from Overdraft and Bounced-Check Fees
(Separate Website)
This website explains the best ways to avoid overdraft and bounced-check fees
By: The Federal Reserve Board
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Spanish / Español
Credit Cards
Don't Pay to Borrow Your Own Money: The Risks and Costs of Tax Refund Anticipation Loans
(Separate Website)
How would you like to pay a super-high price to borrow money that already belongs to you? Sounds ridiculous, right? But that's pretty much what happens to many folks at tax time. You may be tempted by tax-time advertisements for "Fast Cash Refunds," "Express Money" or "Instant Refunds." Beware! Many of these "fast refunds" are really LOANS, refund anticipation loans, with extremely high interest rates!
By: National Consumer Law Center
Read this in:
Chinese / 中文
,
Korean / 한국어
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Russian / Pусский
,
Spanish / Español
,
Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt
Credit Card Catch
(Separate Website)
You might think that as long as you pay your credit card bill on time, your credit card company can’t raise your interest rates without giving you fair warning-guess again. Increasingly common among credit card companies is what’s known as a “universal default” policy. These policies are often hidden in the fine print of your credit card agreement or may be tucked away as a policy update in one of the many flyers or special offers you receive from the company throughout the year.
It's bad enough that credit card companies aren’t usually up front about their universal default policies, but what makes universal default even worse is that it may have nothing to do with your payment history on your credit card account or any of your other debts.
By: Barnes Law Group
Pay Day Loans, Title Pawn, Other High-Cost Loans
Advance-fee Loan Scams
(Separate Website)
Advance-fee loan sharks are preying on unwary consumers, taking their money for the promise of a loan or credit, and leaving them in hot water. The scam artists often impersonate legitimate lenders to entice consumers into falling for their bogus offer.
By: Federal Trade Commission
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Spanish / Español
Borrower Beware: The High Cost of Small Loans, Pawn Brokers and Rent-to-Own Stores
(Separate Website)
When you need cash, you should beware of some of the companies and people who make loans. This web page tells you what to watch for when you do business with small loan companies, pawn brokers and rent-to-own stores.
By: National Consumer Law Center
Read this in:
Chinese / 中文
,
Korean / 한국어
,
Russian / Pусский
,
Spanish / Español
,
Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt
The High Cost of Payday Loans
(Separate Website)
Payday loans go by a variety of names, including "deferred presentments", "cash advances", deferred deposits", or "check loans", but they all work in the same way. The difference between the amount of the check and the amount of cash the customer gets in return is interest or a loan fee that the lender is charging. These types of short-term loans are always very expensive.
By: National Consumer Law Center
Mortgage and Real Estate Loans Information from the Federal Trade Commission
(Separate Website)
This web site contains documents relating to: (1) home equity loans, home equity credit lines and common home equity scams, (2) high rate, high fee mortgages, (3) reverse mortgages, (4) payday loans, and (5) mortgage discrimination. You may view the documents on-line and print them out or print them in PDF format.
By: Federal Trade Commission
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Spanish / Español
Know the Risks When Co-Signing a Car Loan
(Separate Website)
Almost everyone I know believes in supporting the people they love during times of need. Sometimes, however, offering a helping hand can mean going out on a limb, especially when you’ve been asked to cosign a loan.
By: Consumer Credit Counseling Service
Consumer Information and Rights
Basic Debt Collection and Consumer Protection in Georgia
This document describes the law relating to debt collection and basic consumer protection laws, answering the following questions: Why do you need to understand your contract before signing it? How can creditors collect debts? How can consumers protect themselves? The document is an excerpt from An Introduction to Law in Georgia,
Fourth Edition, published by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, 1998 (updated 2004).
By: Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia
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Spanish / Español
Basics of Borrowing and Credit in Georgia
This document discusses the basic law relating to borrowing and credit, including: What do people do when they do not have the cash to buy something they need? What is credit? What is the difference between a loan and a credit sale? What is the difference between secured and unsecured credit? What is open-end credit? What is closed-end credit? What do you do if you find a mistake in your monthly credit card statement? The document is excerpted from An Introduction to Law in Georgia, Fourth Edition, published by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, 1998 (updated 2004).
By: Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Basics of Obtaining Credit in Georgia
This document discusses the basic law relating to borrowing and credit, answering the following questions: How do you get credit if you do not have it? What happens if your credit report is wrong? What if you are denied credit because of discrimination? How much does credit cost? What does a creditor have to disclose to you before you sign up for a credit card? How do usury laws regulate credit cards? The document is an excerpt from An Introduction to Law in Georgia, Fourth Edition, published by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, 1998 (updated 2004).
By: Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Building Wealth: A Beginner's Guide to Your Financial Future
(Separate Website)
Building Wealth: A Beginner's Guide to Securing Your Financial Future offers introductory guidance to individuals and families seeking help to develop a plan for building personal wealth. While a comprehensive discussion of accounting, finance and investment options is beyond the scope of this workbook, it presents an overview of personal wealth-building strategies.
By: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Consumer Credit Counseling Service Debt Management Plan
(Separate Website)
Consumer Credit Counseling Service's repayment plan has been designed to help you make the transition to debt-free living a gradual and smooth process. It allows for one monthly deposit for all creditors, provides relief from creditor calls, reduces personal stress, and may lower interest charges on some debts. The repayment plan is in PDF format.
By: Consumer Credit Counseling Service
Credit
(Separate Website)
The use of credit is a way of life in the United States. At any one time, about three-fourths of American households have some form of debt, including credit purchases of cars, appliances, clothing, vacation trips and other goods and services. Just over two-fifths of households have loans secured by their homes—in other words, mortgages. This web site will help you understand the rules, regulations, and laws about consumer installment credit, designed to protect you, the consumer.
By: American Bar Association
EarnBenefits Online
(Separate Website)
How to get free checking accounts, homebuying resources, repairing your credit
By: Seedco
Fast Facts on Consumer Rights
(Separate Website)
Quick tips on your rights in certain consumer issues
By: Barnes Law Group
Financing A Car
(Separate Website)
Buying a car, whether new or used, can be complicated and overwhelming. If you?re going through a dealer, it can be tempting to deal exclusively with the dealership on both the purchase and financing of the car. In fact, many dealers try to entice buyers with dealer financing specials, although these specials often have restrictions or conditions that make them unavailable to many consumers. Just because you buy a car from a particular dealer, doesn?t mean you have to finance it through that dealer as well.
By: Barnes Law Group
Home Page
Intake Workers
(Separate Website)
