In this story The Department of Education will no longer play nice with the consumer-friendly CFPB on student loan complaints It could get harder to complain about problems repaying student loans The move follows a pattern of industry-friendly steps, including putting a former exec at a disgraced for-profit school as [Keep reading]
In this story New apps aim to cut down on accidental overdrafts and cash flow issues. Will the apps end up like Payday loans, or a better deal? Steps you can take without needing an app Remember when banks feared that new consumer protections would make it harder to charge [Keep reading]
You arrive at a party at an unfamiliar home. As you ring the bell, you rehearse the next few moments — explaining who you know, why you’re there, where you’ll place the bottle of wine you’re holding. Then the door opens, the hellos begin, and suddenly, there’s a powerful [Keep reading]
When you were in math class as a child, teachers usually wanted more than the correct answer to a problem. They also wanted you to demonstrate, on paper, how you got the answer. They wanted you to “show your work.” Turns out, adults want that too. In fact, something kind of magical [Keep reading]
The Syrian refugee crisis had been raging for nearly five years, and millions displaced, when one photograph changed the entire global conversation. The lifeless body of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi, lying face down on a beach after drowning while attempting a dangerous escape to Europe on a flimsy raft, cut through [Keep reading]
Beer bars are all the rage. Perhaps you’ve experienced actual rage yourself, the last time you saw someone approach a highly trained beertender and ask this simple question: “What’s good?” Maybe there was even an audible gasp in the bar. Egads! Inevitably, the beertender escalated the situation with a [Keep reading]
It’s Labor Day. I hope you aren’t working this weekend. Far too many Americans will be. And thanks to a court decision this week, millions of them will continue to work over, for free. Before the court ruling, and what the Trump administration might do about it, let’s talk about [Keep reading]
Now is as good a time as any to talk about America’s failing infrastructure, and the possibility that President Donald Trump could make good on a promise to rebuild America. Once upon a time, the United States faced down an existential crisis by making massive investments in its people and [Keep reading]
America is about to learn, again, the sad insurance lessons of wind vs. water. When hurricanes hit, standard homeowners insurance covers damage caused by wind — a tree blown down on a house, for example — but not damage caused by water from flooding. This means you should double-check your [Keep reading]
I’ve written several times about the connection between domestic violence and mass murder. Nearly every time a heinous event involving a mass shooting occurs, the murderer has a history of violence at home. We just had a chilling reminder of this in Charlottesville — James Alex Fields, who drove through [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan