You probably won’t be surprised to hear that there isn’t a single state in the U.S. where a worker earning minimum wage can afford the rent for a two-bedroom apartment — or, for that matter, a one-bedroom apartment. You might be surprised to learn that there isn’t a state where renters [Keep reading]
In the days when there were newspapers, every cub reporter’s first job was to go to the local police station and mine stacks of police reports looking for good stories. In my first job, as is common, a desk sergeant sat with me once a week and sifted reports for [Keep reading]
Young would-be home buyers are still sitting on the sidelines of America’s housing market, with first-time homebuyers representing a decades-low share. Student loans, high prices, low credit scores and a lack of knowledge when it comes to the financing available to them such as bridging finance have all been blamed [Keep reading]
How bad has the ransomware problem become? The state auditor of Ohio held a press conference yesterday because local government agencies keep falling for ransomware attacks. And a firm that tracks domain activity found a 3,500% increase in ransomware-related domain name registrations in the past quarter. Hacker love to cut and [Keep reading]
Tell the truth: when people say “lifetime service awards,” you think “retirement.” So it is with mixed feelings that I share with you I will be honored with one on Wednesday. The Consumer Federation of America, which represents 300 non-profit consumer organizations around the country, will be presenting me with the [Keep reading]
By Dan Maccarone and Bob Sullivan Have you ever wondered how tips get shared in a busy bar when multiple servers help you? Well, with so much cash changing hands so quickly, it’s not exactly scientific. And sometimes, it gets messy — or downright ugly. Here’s an example of both: “I worked [Keep reading]
The stolen glance at a watch or phone. The fiddling with the coat on the back of a chair. The lingering over a one-third full drink. The “one last look around.” A well-trained bartender spots the signs right away. The “Should I Stay or Should I Go” look. This crucial [Keep reading]
I did a fun story for the folks at Grow last week about athletes who’ve managed their money well. LeBron James and Steph Curry — who will be squaring off for perhaps the last time this evening — are obvious choices. But I had more fun writing about the NFL [Keep reading]
Tinder is kicking young teen-agers off its service, the dating app firm has announced. Currently, anyone 13 or over with a Facebook account can use the app, which popularized the term “swipe right.” Other dating apps or sites, like Bumble or Match.com, require users to be 18 years old. Tinder announced that [Keep reading]
Those new chip-enabled credit cards are working, says Visa: counterfeit card fraud dropped 26 percent in a year at merchants set up to accept the cards, Visa told me this week. You didn’t think criminals would stand still, did you? In a mad dash to squeeze every last dollar out [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan