The CFPB Isn’t What It Used to Be…
...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 still around —...
Two Safety Nets for the Price of One
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 cash...
You Need a Plan
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 her. That's not why you're reading...
There’s No Wrong Answer Here
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?
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 imagine that, 30...
Fear?
I managed to avoid political reporting until earlier this year, when I published a series of candidate profiles and issue pieces for OZY. Some of my conclusions have held up better than others. Nothing is written, but this story, about the GOP's efforts to maintain...
Your IP Won’t Protect Itself
First off, some sad news: the last issue of Minnesota Business magazine has rolled off the digital presses. Minnesota Business was, in the words of former editor-in-chief Steve LeBeau, the Twin Cities' true "community business" monthly: an inclusive, supportive...
Righting Wrongs in St. Paul
In early April, I wrote about the wide, wonderful world of freeway caps, also known as highway lids (because, of course, not every limited-access roadway is free to use). Born of the urban freeway backlash of the 1970s and lately enjoying a resurgence in urban cores...
3 Fam 3 Biz
There's not much about my work that I actively dislike. If you put me on the spot and asked me to name the one part of the job I could do without, I'd finger those long, silent stretches spent wrangling staccato thoughts into fluent sentences. I'm not the only solo...
Timelier Than Your Average Deep Dive
Most of my work for Money Crashers is evergreen, meant to last for months or years without going out of style. With a few tweaks, my piece on safety tips for international travelers will probably be useful a decade from now. Barring some catastrophic change in lending...