What’s the harm if someone gets your zip code wrong in a database? Well, that question ended up at the center of a Supreme Court ruling today — and a popular Twitter hashtag, #zipcodeharms. I’ll get to that in a minute. But first, is it a good or a bad thing when [Keep reading]
I call it “21st Century Moonlighting.” Others call it the “sharing economy,” the “gig economy,” etc. Whatever the name, I think one key to thriving (surviving?) in the digital economy is finding ways to supplement your full-time income. Etsy. Uber. Airbnb. Whatever. We all know incomes are stagnant, so the [Keep reading]
Frequent readers know that I often complain about the “death of the price tag.” Companies say something will cost X, but it really costs X+Y. Or sometimes, X+Y+Z+1A+2B……etc. Sometimes that means writing about tiny amounts of money that can create large amounts of bad feelings. Like surprise $1 surcharges. A [Keep reading]
It’s that time of year when I play the role of stick in the mud and tell college graduates and other young people that the 20s are by far the best time to save for old age. While groups like Key can give you help financially once you retire, it [Keep reading]
How can a bank – or any organization — become less secure in its attempts to become more secure? Let me tell you how. Security must do two things: Protect and enable. If your security doesn’t enable people to do what they have to do, they will inevitably circumvent it, [Keep reading]
Much has been made of the student loan problem. While you’d be hard pressed to find disagreement that it’s an issue, there is plenty of disagreement about how bad things really are. On the one hand, it’s easy to find stories chronicling massive default rates (12%), oppressive $800-a-month loan payments [Keep reading]
May is the month of Pomp and Circumstance. Of graduation parties, caps thrown in the air and dreams thrown even higher. It’s also the month where many seeds of financial destruction are sown. Student loan borrowers who are graduating have six months to figure out how to start paying back [Keep reading]
Ever wonder what your smartphone would look like if it got run over by a bus? Well, you don’t have to wonder any more. I found out for you. It looks like this. I’m going to tell you exactly how it came to pass that I metaphorically, and almost literally, [Keep reading]
Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com Here is your every-four-year reminder that most of what you hear from the chattering class about the Presidential election is misdirection. The next president will be chosen by a handful of voters in a handful of states: Florida, Ohio, Virginia, and perhaps [Keep reading]
It’s a good time to sell a home. Buyers are back to fighting over properties in hot markets. Some sellers find reputable buyers and get quick sales because of it. That means less time sellers need to wait around. Realtor.com says homes stayed on the market 14 days less in [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan