money

You remember the Bing Cashback program, right? It handed out cash rebates for stuff you purchased via the Bing portal. So, for example, if you were going to buy something like the 50-inch LG 50PK540 plasma HDTV from TigerDirect for $799.99 (a mighty nice deal today, by the way), you might get back 10 percent of the purchase price--just by clicking through Bing before placing your order.

Alas, Microsoft pulled the plug on Bing Cashback last June--but the concept lives on. In fact, before you buy another thing, head to CashReporter.com. The site aggregates rebate info from various … Read more

The bill organizing service Manilla launched at Demo this week. The pitch: it's a portal for your household bills. It will collect bills from your service providers, as well as bank statements and other financial data for you, and remind you what's due, to whom, and when. Furthermore, it'll keep records of all your bills and statements for you securely.

It should work with nearly any billing company, and in some special cases, you can use it to turn off your paper bills, doing your bit for the environment.

Using Manilla to receive and file electronic statements (… Read more

A former manager at Apple has pleaded guilty in a major kickback case that could land him 20 years in prison.

Paul Shin Devine, once employed at Apple as a supply manager, admitted guilt yesterday in federal court in San Jose, Calif., on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. He was accused of taking kickbacks from Apple suppliers in exchange for information, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Devine, who worked at Apple from 2005 through 2010, sent forecasts, roadmaps, product specifications, and other confidential information to Asian suppliers and manufacturers of Apple components, according to … Read more

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret: I love math. It may seem out of character for someone who spends her days manipulating the English language, but there you have it. This is a roundabout way of explaining that I actually enjoy tinkering with budgets, which is why I'm a big fan of the Mint app for Android and iOS.

I know financial software isn't the most titillating subject for most people, but Mint's mobile app is worth a download no matter what your predilections. This handy program lets you track all … Read more

WhatsApp Messenger has been around for quite a while, but it's still an app that's extremely useful to texting addicts. With this chat app installed on your iPhone, you'll save a considerable amount of money on text charges through your carrier. The only catch is that you'll have to persuade your most frequent texting partners to download the app, too, but once they see WhatsApp's advantages, they'll probably pony up a buck.

Much like the texting app that comes on the iPhone, WhatsApp Messenger shows your chats in little text bubbles, gives you a … Read more

Cybercriminals buy and sell stolen information using a vast network of online stores, forums, and even social-networking accounts, according to a report released yesterday by PandaLabs.

Posing as a cybercriminal to gain access to this online black market, PandaLabs researchers uncovered a world where the bad guys work together to buy and sell stolen bank account information, credit card numbers, passwords, and other products. Much of this illegal enterprise is done through online stores and forums, but PandaLabs found criminals using Facebook and Twitter accounts to set up shop as well.

Though this black market is relatively open, the security … Read more

If you, like me, sometimes wander around Sephora and find that all the perfumes seem to smell the same, I bring you the odor of change.

It's called Money. It's the nosechild of Microsoft VP of Sales Patrick McCarthy. And it gives off a fragrance of brand new bills.

His Money Cologne and Her Money Eau de Parfum are, quite clearly, what the material world has needed for a long time.

Sometimes, it's hard when you're out on the town, in search of someone who can pay their own cab fare home (or yours), to know … Read more

The 404 is back with our first show featuring all three of us back in our home studio, and it feels great! CBS MoneyWatch's Financial Decoder Jill Schlesinger, aka #AuntJill, makes her 2011 debut and answers a few listener questions about the uphill economic battle in 2011 and planning for your retirement.

We haven't had a chance to talk to Wilson about his month away in China, so he tells us how he got hit by a bus in Guangdong, and would you believe it? His iPhone was not to blame! Sounds like the Asian driver stereotype might actually be true when it comes to Chinese bus drivers.

Speaking of stereotypes, Amy Chua from the Wall Street Journal sparked some controversy for an incendiary article entitled Why Chinese Mothers are Superior so Jill posted her response that examines the surge of wealthy women in China and the effect that strong parenting can have on a country's economy. We all agree with Chua when she says that "nothing is fun until you're good at it." Sage advice!

Finally, Jill answers questions from listeners wondering about reporting taxes without a Social Security number, the best way to save for retirement, how to refinance or purchase a home, and what kind of economic growth we can expect in the new year!

Dwolla is a relatively new online payment system that's designed to hit PayPal where it hurts: the transaction fees.

PayPal transactions, as well as credit-card payments, incur fees based on a percentage of the transaction amount in addition to a transaction fee. Dwolla transactions cost 25 cents each.

The whole idea is to move cash cheaply--for businesses and for consumers. Dwolla founder Ben Milne says his retail payment kiosk is cheap, too. It's virtual, relying on Web-connected point-of-sale systems on one side and consumers with smartphones on the other. A consumer selects the store he or she wants to pay and enters the amount on the smartphone app; the register clerk can see a payment come in and close the transaction. In the future, Dwolla's mobile app, which is currently very bare-bones, will get location awareness so it will know what store you're in when you go to use the system to send a payment.

But Dwolla is about more than saving consumers and retailers money on fees, Milne says. It's also closely tied in to social networks, today's de facto address books. From the Dwolla site, you can pay anyone in your Facebook or Twitter circle. All you have to do is start typing in their online name to find them.

With Paypal, you can pay people if you know their e-mail address. Back in 1999, the company that eventually became PayPal had a strong person-to-person angle, except instead of relying on smartphones and the Web, the original PayPal made it possible for Palm Pilot users to "beam" money to each other over their devices' infrared links.

Can Dwolla become the next PayPal--the scrappy payment company that's more convenient, more personal, and cheaper to use than the big guys (debit cards, credit cards, and PayPal itself)? And, more importantly, when you're dealing with a service that connects to your bank account, is scrappy what you want?

… Read more