The CFPB Isn’t What It Used to Be…

by | Mar 26, 2019 | Money Matters

…Thanks to its recently departed head, Mick Mulvaney. As a congressman, Mulvaney railed against the bureau’s very existence, and vowed as its appointed leader to soften its ostensibly anti-business edge. But the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is...

Two Safety Nets for the Price of One

by | Jan 11, 2019 | Money Matters

According to recent reporting, about one in four Americans is underbanked, meaning they rely on expensive, potentially predatory financial products and services like payday loans and prepaid debit cards. Approximately 7% of Americans is totally unbanked. They’re...

You Need a Plan

by | Jan 7, 2019 | Money Matters

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not much of a planner. I’m fortunate to live with someone who, among many other wonderful qualities, is an above-replacement planista. It’s not at all clear to me where I’d be without...

There’s No Wrong Answer Here

by | Jan 7, 2019 | Money Matters

How many credit cards do you carry in your wallet? Do you have any other active card accounts lurking in a lockbox or secure filing cabinet at home? In a recent post for Money Crashers, I gamed out multiple answers to a question that you’ve probably wondered at...

What Did We Get Ourselves Into?

by | Jan 6, 2019 | Money Matters

And you may find yourself in a beautiful house /With a beautiful wife /And you may ask yourself, well /How did I get here? /The Talking Heads captured the zeitgeist better than their contemporaries, but they didn’t have a crystal ball. They couldn’t...