For years, I’ve been arguing that a simple, broken economics formula has put millions of middle-class Americans in a state of perpetual economic anxiety: Families with average incomes can’t afford average homes. In fact, families with really good incomes can’t afford average homes. Here’s new data to support that [Keep reading]
The concept of Moneyball is so simple and self-evident that it should never be controversial. Don’t overpay for things; and it’s possible you do, and haven’t realized it yet, because of the way you value things. In baseball: Maybe it’s better to have two decent platoon players cover third base [Keep reading]
Recent data leaks have everyone spooked, especially celebrities. There’s so much worry that I had a brief exchange with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban last night on Twitter. Cuban, it turns out, tells me he did a bit of self “penetration test” (or pentesting as its also known) on his [Keep reading]
At-risk homeowners trying save their homes from foreclosure during the mortgage meltdown complained for years that banks were systematically stonewalling them. On Monday, federal regulators accused a financial institution of doing just that, alleging that Michigan-based Flagstar Bank intentionally frustrated homeowners and pushed some into foreclosure. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [Keep reading]
“Its hardest for me to swallow because my husband and I are only 26 years old and never imagined we would be making this much money at this age.” Julia Dawson and husband Jacob are raising two small children on one pretty good salary near Sacramento, Calif. Their personal finance [Keep reading]
Jennifer’s paystub is downright depressing. It’s bad enough that she earns less than $11 an hour as a single mom in Wisconsin. Her gross pay of roughly $800 every two weeks would challenge anyone trying to run a household, but that’s not the half of it. Jennifer is one of [Keep reading]
“Something is wrong. Very broken. We are doing our part. We rarely splurge, we never go out as a family to the movies, we aren’t taking wild holidays, we don’t spend foolishly, and yet every month is painfully tight.” Matthew Brada is a software consultant and he is doing great. [Keep reading]
Happy birthday to my website! To celebrate, I am offering a signed copy of my book, The Plateau Effect, at no additional cost to anyone who signs up for my 30-Day Getting Unstuck email challenge, which costs $10. So, $10 gets you the email and a signed hardcover book at [Keep reading]
Happy birthday! I’m one year old. Well, this site is one year old. After almost 20 years working in the NBC/MSNBC universe, I struck out on my own last year, with great trepidation. The Red Tape Chronicles became BobSullivan.net. Honestly, I was worried that nobody (outside my mom) would follow [Keep reading]
A new, brazen fraud begins with a twist: Instead of losing money, consumers get money, which is unexpectedly deposited into their checking account. But the surprise windfall turns into a big headache, and even bigger bills, the CFPB says in a lawsuit disclosed Wednesday. The cash comes from a payday lender owned [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan