We told you about the debt collection hassles endured by people shouldering a large amount of credit-card debt. Then we invited debt collectors to tell their side of the story. Both sides had a lot to say about just what goes on in the debt collection industry, but one assertion -- by the head of a collections industry trade group -- that debt collectors were courteous and professional raised many eyebrows. Many of you vociferously disagreed with this in the comments section.

As it turns out, government watchdogs agree with you. A new report has led to the Federal Trade Commission stepping up its enforcement of debt-collection abuses.

"I'm pleased the FTC is cracking down on debt collectors, and has identified harassment and targeting the wrong debtors as examples of what's wrong in the industry," Linda Sherry, director of national priorities for Consumer Action, a consumer advocate group, told WalletPop via email.

I've always found it much easier to meet people while we're enjoying recreation together; golf, whitewater rafting, bicycling, all put me in a convivial state of mind.

If you feel the same, and if you're looking for romance, you might wonder what kinds of recreation would offer you the best opportunity to find a mate? We have the answers, thanks to a study that the National Sporting Goods Association was kind enough to share with us.

Tuesday Feb. 9, is the day Denny's is offering free grandslam breakfasts from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. You might have seen the commercial announcing the freebie during the Superbowl when the Saints spanked the Colts.

Get to Denny's early or be prepared to wait! Last year when I walked by my local Denny's at about 10 a.m. the line was wrapped around the restaurant, stretching 40 people deep into the parking lot. Um, no thanks.

If you can stomach the line, the free Grand Slam breakfast includes four choices from this list: bacon strips, buttermilk biscuit, one chicken sausage patty, two egg whites, two eggs, English muffin, grits, hashbrowns, two wheat pancakes, oatmeal, two pancakes, or two sausage links. A free Grand Slam breakfast is also available on your birthday with identification.

Not that luggage is a very romantic gift (unless it is a teaser for a surprise vacation), but you can get $20 off purchases of $100 or more at the Luggage Pros now through Feb. 12.

Use code VDAY at checkout. The site also sells handbags, luggage accessories, locks, duffel bags, and back packs. Shipping and returns are free.

Remember to log in or register at eBates to maximize your discount. eBates is currently offered a 6.5% percent cash rebate on your total purchase price when you shop at Luggage Pros.

Caveats: cannot be combined with other discounts or coupon codes. Not valid on past purchases. A number of brands are excluded, including Adidas Golf, Burton, Dooney & Bourke: Sale, International Traveller, JanSport Sale Items, LeSportsac, Luggage Pros, Patagonia, Samsonite, Travel Concepts, TUMI, and more. The exclusions amount to about a quarter of the brands the site sells.

More and more consumers are saying no to credit cards and shifting to debit cards, but are they permanently changing spending habits or finding a way to make do because lenders aren't lending? It's probably a little of both.

Whatever the reason, new credit card origination was down by 54.5% in November 2009 compared to figures from November 2007. In November 2007, 64 million new bankcards were issued year-to-date. In November 2009, that number was down to just 29.1 million new bankcards year-to-date, according to Equifax's January 2010 new account trends report.

Now through Feb. 20 you can get 40% off any regular-priced item with this Michael's coupon.

You can print multiple coupons but only use one per day. You cannot combine them with other offers. If you plan to make any Valentine's Day cards or crafty gifts, this is the coupon for you.

There are a number of caveats, unfortunately. The discount does not apply to sale items, special orders, class fees, in-store activities, birthday party booking fees, buy & get items, brushstroke portraits, books, magazines, Gypsy brand products, Yudo machines, and all Cricut and Slice products.

Michael's stores have two upcoming V-Day events. On Feb. 9 purchase a pink gift bag for 79 cents and the store provides decorations to turn the bag into a romantic gift bag.

During the second event Feb. 13 you buy a wooden frame for $1 and paint it with various enamels provided by the store. For info on these events click here then scroll down until you see "Family Events."

Californians who get their individual health insurance from Anthem Blue Cross, the largest insurer for individuals who don't have access to group health insurance in California, got notice of increases in their premiums of as much as 39% on March 1. This is the second year in a row for many who faced an increase of 41% last year.

Anthem Blue Cross would not comment on the number of members it currently has, but last year when it raised its rates as much as 68% it reported it had 800,000 members. With those types of increases, one might speculate that Anthem Blue Cross wants to get out of the individual health insurance marketplace.

I was recently having dinner with an old friend, discussing astrology over steamed dumplings. While my friend was skeptical, I insisted I believe in it.

I suggested she check out the only published horoscopes I swear by -- in Elle magazine. They have proved, in my experience, uncannily accurate. The next day I received an e-mail from Susan Miller, the famous astrologist who writes the horoscopes for Elle!

Miller invited me to cover her event, "Susan's Year Ahead 2010," an all-day program raising money for the Red Cross efforts in Haiti. Susan contacted me after running into a mutual friend at a coffee shop who suggested I might want to attend.

The very next morning, I cleared my schedule and I was there, sitting front row with editors and marketers of Elle, there to support their colleague and hang on Susan's every cheery word. (It's impossible to convey in print just how upbeat she is).

For the past two years, I've been chasing down a crazy goal: to reduce my family's trash enough that I could call the company which collects our garbage and tell it that, instead of picking up our one 32-gallon can every week, we'd need the service only once a month. Even though we've always been obsessive about recycling, it had taken our family of five a long time to reach this place.

First, we'd started composting all of our kitchen waste, feeding the tastiest scraps to our backyard chickens. Then, I'd begun a serious and totalitarian campaign to stop buying things with excess packaging, toting my recycled glass jars to the co-op to fill with dried cherries and black beans and brown rice flour from the bulk bins; baking cookies and breads instead of buying them; saying 'no' to single-serving foods. It didn't hurt that we were on a "financial fast" that had us buying very little we didn't need.

Break out the duct tape, fire up the glue guns and get the sewing machine out of the closet, it's prom season! Crafty, college-bound prom goers can win serious scholarship dollars for designing dream dresses and tuxedos -- no fairy godmother required.

JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores is offering a $50,000 grand prize, $10,000 second prize and significant runner-up prizes for the winners of the Own Your Look Prom Contest 2010. Similarly, Duck Brand duct tape is celebrating the tenth year of its "Stuck at Prom" design competition to find clever couples with style and stick-to-it-tiveness in the US and Canada .

Part MacGyver, part Project Runway, entries for both contests will be judged by panels of experts looking at workmanship, originality and level of detail. For those whipping up a little something out of duct tape, contestants will also be judged on use of color (choose from pink, green, orange, yellow, silver, camouflage, aqua, red, blue, black and white, to name just a few), accessories and the quantity of duct tape used to create their attire.

In a reality-TV-style twist, Stuck at Prom's top ten finalist couples will be judged during online public voting (June 18-July 26) to determine the grand prize winners ($3,000 for each contestant and $3,000 for the school whose prom they attend). Staying in the competition could prove tricky however, since couples with the lowest votes will be eliminated a la American Idol if they don't get enough support from their fanbase.