Getting married anytime soon?  How 'bout divorced?  Considering that 1 out of 2 marriages ends up in divorce court (and 60% of the second trips to the altar), knowing how to plan a financially sound divorce just makes sense.  Check out some terrific resources that'll help you (or a friend or a family member) avoid further brain-damage:

    Terri Cullen's recent article "Don't Make A Bad Split Worse"

    Ben's Divorce checklist

    Avoiding Scams, Schemes & Crimes of the Heart [story Ben covered for The Leeza (Gibbons) Show on NBC, 1998]

    Wanna catch a cheating spouse?

    I don't care what the judge signed: Why you never agree to a divorce until you're off the hook on all joint debts

 

Cable or satellite?  You may already know why Ben dropped his cable company in the grease after being a loyal customer for 16 years...but now The New York Times did their own comparison last week that's really worth the read.

 

If you do decide to cut the cable, or hook-up with satellite TV, the choice really is simple: First off, it's probably not as expensive as you might think...and those satellite TV installers ["great service or else"] put the cable guy to shame.  Here's Ben's easy pick.....

 

 

Renting a car at the airport?  Be careful...because some of the biggest airport rental facilities don't even kiss you when you return the car.  But they sure do it to you on local taxes, and DFW airport (Useless, I mean, the DFW Airport suburb of Euless) really piles on the fees.  In fact, it saddens me to report that 4 of the top 5  (actually it's 6 out of the top 10) worst "let's put the screws to out of towners" offending airports are in Texas.  Read the entire story here.

 

So if Texas airport municipalities are the worst, which state's the best?  This one's easy...California, with the Top 8 out of 10 spots for lowest airport car rental surcharges.

 

Wanna avoid getting your brains beaten out on surcharges?  Always check off-site rental facilities.  Enterprise and Thrifty seem to deliver the consistently-lowest prices. One of Ben's best resources?  Hotels.com helps with more than just hotel rooms.....

 

 

Speaking of Hotels.com...are you planning to do any traveling outside of U.S. borders?  Don't get hosed just because "yer a fereigner!"  Our buddies at Hotels.com are expanding their consumer-friendly reach...and they've launched 14 websites for Europe, Canada and Australia...and they'll be adding SARS-friendly Asia by year-end.  [Read all about it here.]

 

 

 

Have you ever gone to Microsoft's website and checked your computer for security updates? (Of course my own family members are the absolute worst about this.) If not, it's a matter of when (not if) some hacker takes control of your computer: I'm dead serious...[yes, you McSnobs are exempt from this byte of insight, so move on...], you really need to get off your head-buried-in-the-sand rear and click here to let Bill Gates' Big Brothers see what updates your system is lacking...especially after this story broke last week about the realities of a wide-spread, Internet-based attack that's brewing. 

 

Besides the warnings about the security holes in Internet Explorer, there's a new virus on the loose, and it appears to be reaching epidemic proportions: Read about it here...and then commit to do something proactive about protecting your computers on a 24/7/365 basis.  (Or else suffer the consequences.)

 

 

How easy is it to find out all about you on the Internet?  Stop squealing about the phone book listing function on Google...do you know how to de-list your name and info?  I do...and now you do, too.

 

From the good, no...GREAT department: Wouldn't you love to sue your doctor for all of the time you've wasted waiting for your turn?  (Especially when you're there on time.)  The longer you wait, the madder you get!  The little guy strikes back: I'm not trying to pick on the doctors...they're already abused enough by the insurance companies.  But there are some docs with a severe case of the "God Complex" who continually force patients to wait far longer than is proper or necessary...so you'll love the story about this Greek guy (just a guess) in Las Vegas: Aristotelis Belavilas got ticked off over his 3-hour wait, he sued his Doc for $5,000...and won!  Read the whole story here...

 

Let me attempt to defend the medical profession: These folks really are over-worked and under-paid...especially in these days of Mafioso-like HMOs and PPOs that continue to tool the Doc around and make them take less dough for the same [or more] work.  The insurance companies should be investigated for the way they treat both the health care providers and the patients.  But since our lawmakers seemed to be more interested in campaign contributions than protecting our interests, don't hold your breath.

 

So what can you do if you're dealing with a Rude Doc?  Here's what I did about 12 years ago: I was seeing one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country (hoping to fix my motorcycle accident-abused shoulder) and, after he performed the surgery, I returned to get the stitches out.  I had a 1 p.m. appointment and was there on time.  Unfortunately, he wasn't...and after waiting for almost 4 hours, I'd had it..and I walked out.  A friend of mine (a neurosurgeon) removed the stitches for me...and I never saw that jackass again.

 

But I did get a bill from him: An invoice for the +/- $600 balance which exceeded the "usual and customary" charges allowed by my insurance company.  So I fired off a Certified Letter to this clown and told him, in essence: "It's real simple Keith.  I waited (in vain) to see you.  I was there on time...and you weren't.  After 4 hours, I had enough and left...because my time is just as valuable as yours.  Since I bill at $250 an hour and burned almost 4 hours waiting on you to fulfill your side of the surgical-bargain--and you never showed up--I'll tell you what I'm gonna do.  Let's call this deal a wash...I won't bill you if you won't bill me and we'll just walk away with no fouls.  Fair enough?"

 

I received a "zero balance" statement from him 30-days later: Don't ever take any crap from anybody.  I don't care who they think they are...if they're consistently and egregiously late and force you to wait for hours on end, tell 'em to stick it.  And be advised: The Docs are very concerned about this precedent-setting lawsuit outta Las Vegas.  Stand-by for new attitudes, a reversal of this judgment on appeal...or more lawsuits just like it.  Stay tuned.....

 

From the "sounds too good to be true" department comes another Dover Warning: Don't be a dope!  If your credit stinks and you get a "pre-approved" offer in the mail, DON'T bite on it.  Not only are you setting yourself up for disaster, but fraud's a real probability.  You'll enjoy reading about the bottom-feeders that got popped by the Attorney General's office for illegally-debitting the target-dupe's bank accounts for $99 "administrative processing" fees.  Remember...if it sounds too good to be true.....

 

 

How much would you pay to be able to give the most perfect eulogy at the most important time? How big's your wallet?  From $29 to $275, you can have your own personal speech writer, just like the politicians do!  Read how.....

 

 

Awwww, they buried poor Saddam's sons last weekend: Before you start feeling too sad about this walking-cancer's loss, you might wanna read a very insightful article about this century's Hitler Youth from my biggest resource of reliable news [okay...so maybe that's a bit of a stretch], Maxim Magazine's pre-9/11 issue...

 

 

Did you know that the airline ticket you're holding could be absolutely worthless?  Unless you know the [new] rules of the airfare game, you could be holding a piece of paper worthy of lining a litter box...I know. It happened to me!  It's nobody's fault but my own...and I've got 400 reasons why you need to learn from my lesson.  Here's what you MUST know before you ever buy a ticket on-line from any airline in America!!!  Check out the Thursday, August 7, 2003 edition of Ask Benjamin Dover from The Dallas Morning News right here!