Kardashian Kard killed - but prepaid cards set to take off

By Peter Andrew

Call me old-fashioned (no, really--everyone else does), but I know next to nothing about the Kardashian sisters. However, even with the tiny amount of knowledge I have, I struggle to picture a family breakfast scene in which Kim, licking maple syrup from her perfectly manicured fingers, glances up from her copy of The Wall Street Journal, and remarks to Khloe and Kourtney: "It says here that analysts are forecasting explosive growth for the prepaid card market. I think we should establish an aggressive presence in that sector."

No, I suspect that some Svengali-like figure on the sisters' business management team persuaded the family that launching the Kardashian Kard was a good idea. And it might be fairer to blame him or her than the girls for the fact that the Kard is likely to end up entering the record books as one of the shortest-lived products in the history of financial services.

Kard killer

The Kard was withdrawn Nov. 30, just three weeks after its glitzy launch. And its cause of death was the sheer weight of negative publicity that followed a blistering attack on it by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. He's quoted as referring to the product's "pernicious and predatory fees," saying, "Among the prepaid debit cards now on the market, the Kardashian Kard is particularly troubling because of its high fees combined with its appeal to financially unsophisticated young adult Kardashian fans. Keeping

By Clark Schultz

I have always thought of banks as the bad guys. They charge too much on my credit card balances. They pay too little interest on my savings. And they charge me fees for every little thing. In the last couple of years we even had to endure our tax dollars going to bail out banks that went a little crazy with their lending.

Lately, though, I have started to look at banks differently. In the last year, banks have become more responsible with their lending and have implemented features and services that are useful to me. And it looks like that is just the tip of the iceberg. I think 2011 is the year that banks become the good guys again.

Here are six banking innovations to look for in the coming year that can help make life easier:

By Clark Schultz

The Apple iPhone is the one of the world's biggest technology phenomena. Behind the popularity is a wide selection of unique mobile applications that can be easily downloaded. This includes banking applications that are about to take mobile banking to the next level.

Setting up mobile banking

Mobile banking has been around for close to 10 years. Up until this year, the most popular way to access banking information with a phone has been through using SMS text messages or mobile Internet browsers. Both methods have limitations and can be frustrating for users.

All of that looks set to change with the explosion of applications being developed for the iPhone by some of the best online banks. Banking applications allow a faster and more secure connection to a bank's server than if you use a mobile browser or SMS. Developers are continually adding more mobile banking features and security enhancements to banking apps.

If you have an iPhone, you can check the iTunes store or your bank's website for the most current mobile banking applications. Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Bank, PNC Bank and USAA Federal Savings Bank are just a few of the financial institutions that have applications that can be downloaded for free. After your application is up and running, you can check balances, pay bills, transfer money, set up banking reminders and find the closest ATMs.

Securing your financial data

Accessing

By Jim Sloan

Our family loves the holidays, but every year after the tinsel and pine needles have been vacuumed up, we find ourselves with a couple of small problems: Too much credit card debt and a couple of heart-felt gifts we really don't want and can't return.

The answer for us has been pretty simple: eBay. By selling some of our unwanted stuff--sometimes it's Christmas gifts and sometimes it's just items we find in the garage when we put the decorations away--we're able to put a dent in that debt, even when we've used zero percent credit cards.

If this sounds like something you'd like to try, here's a 12-step program to help you use eBay to whittle down that credit card debt:

1. Start small. If you're new to eBay, begin by selling something that's easy to price, easy to photograph and easy to ship. This way you can practice setting up an auction, monitoring your sale and making sure you get good feedback from your first buyer right off the bat. This small transaction will also give you an idea about how costs and commissions work on eBay.

2. Sell something new. New goods are easier to price and sell than used goods. If your Aunt Florence gives you linen napkins every year and you're starting to

By Priscilla McEver

Now that you've graduated from school, you may find yourself acquiring not only a diploma, but also heaps of debt and a whole new set of responsibilities. Credit card payments, car insurance, utility bills and maybe even student loans that were once covered by your parents are now resting squarely on your shoulders. You have a lot of choices to make and perhaps not a lot of money to make them hastily.

So, if you've decided to use a debit card to track most of your spending, you know there is nothing more infuriating than getting hit with an overdraft fee. And now you may be asking yourself, "Should I sign up for overdraft protection?"

Why overdraft protection?

Here's help to decide if enrolling in overdraft protection is right for you. Overdraft protection may be a good option for you if:

• You have a lot of traffic in your account. If multiple checks or several automatic payments go through your account each month, overdraft protection can provide you with an extra layer of safety to ensure that everything clears your account. Now that you're on your own or starting over, you may notice that everything seems to be due all at once: high-interest credit card debt, compounded by your student loan payments, utilities, cell phone bill, and rent payments. If you're feeling unsure about making withdrawals from your account because of

By Richard Barrington

Think of it as the iceberg of the tax code. And your tax return may be the next Titanic.

The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is like an iceberg because it often represents a hidden danger, and one that can have severely damaging effects. You can be sailing along, thinking you've conscientiously filed your tax return and paid your taxes. Then, BOOM! You get a letter from the IRS, assessing penalties because you failed to pay the alternative minimum tax. You've just hit the AMT iceberg.

If you want to avoid hitting the AMT iceberg, you'll need to know a little background about the alternative minimum tax, and how to cope with it.

Defining the alternative minimum tax

Think of the alternative minimum tax as an alternative tax code, existing outside of normal federal tax brackets and rules. The AMT was created in 1969 to prevent people from claiming so many deductions that they paid little or no tax.

Basically, the AMT is a tax calculation which ignores many common tax deductions, and also ignores lower federal tax brackets for certain types of income, such as capital gains. Your taxable income is re-calculated under AMT rules, and then a standard AMT exemption is subtracted -- $33,750 for single tax payers, $45,000 for married tax payers filing jointly, and $22,500 for married tax payers filing separately. An alternative minimum tax rate is then applied to the remainder -- 26 percent on the first $175,000 for