Gotcha Capitalism by Bob Sullivan

Please scroll to the bottom of the post for several updates.

I heard about Bob Sullivan's Gotcha Capitalism on NPR. Although I didn't listen to the story, I was intrigued by the short description of the book, so I found it at the library and checked it out.

Even if you don't read much nonfiction or financial books, Gotcha Capitalism is well worth your time. It exposes many of the sneaky ways that companies are managing to have their cake and eat it too — broadcasting a low, competitive price but making it up in the official-sounding fees they add to your bill.

Sullivan discusses all of the major players who use sneaky fees to screw consumers: credit card companies, banks, retirement plan brokers, mortgage brokers and real estate agents, cell and home phone companies, cable companies, and more. It's really quite alarming how pretty much every company we come into contact with is finding sneaky ways to get even more money from us.

Gotcha Capitalism also has some great tips for how to get refunds for some of these fees, such as late fees and increased interest rates on your credit cards. He provides sample letters and even sample scripts for calling customer service. This is definitely a book you won't want to miss!

Update 3/2/2008:

An article about undisclosed bank fees appeared in the Washington Post today. The article talks about problems that are described in Gotcha Capitalism: the increase in fees, banks' failure to clearly disclose them, and "gotcha" fees such as overdraft fees.

Of course, the difference is that the article simply reports the existence of these problems, whereas Gotcha Capitalism talks about what you can do to avoid and, if necessary, recover sneaky and hidden fees.

Update 3/3/2008:

Today I noticed another headline related to a subject discussed in Gotcha Capitalism: an article on student loans. Apparently the credit crisis is causing some banks to think twice about their criteria for granting student loans. The article also mentions predatory lending, which is rampant in school loans.

Again, the article is primarily just reporting on the subject. Gotcha Capitalism offers a much more thorough discussion of the difference between student loan programs, and advice on how to protect yourself from predatory lending.

Green with Envy by Shira Boss

I heard about Green with Envy when NPR ran a story about Shira Boss back in November. I promptly placed a hold on the book at the library.

The book was a quick read, but very compelling. Boss's writing style is very readable, and she knows how to create just enough interest in tension to keep you reading.

In fact, I would say that she uses the very same aspect of human behavior that she is warning against — a morbid interest in other people's finances — in order to hook her readers.

Regardless of why you want to keep reading, the simple fact is that this book is hard to put down. My husband read it after me, and finished it in about 24 hours — not a frequent occurence for him.

Green with Envy is one of those books that makes you think about your spending habits and your debt. Most of us are not as bad off as the people Boss features in this book, but it reminds us how easy it could be to become them. Running up credit card debt is actually a pretty painless process — it's after you've run up more than you can handle that the pain begins to hit.

I always like reading books (or watching documentaries) about the evils of overspending, as it usually encourages me to be more careful with my finances for a while. (Not that I'm all that bad about it — I don't buy much for myself, actually, but I still need to focus more on paying down my debt.) Unfortunately, the effects of Green with Envy were destined not to stick with me for very long, because I read it just before Christmas — when Christmas shopping was in full swing.

Still, it did galvanize me into creating a game plan for paying off my credit card debt, and following that will be one of my New Year's Resolutions this year.