Home borrowers got a reminder Thursday that the mortgage process remains a potential minefield. A nationwide mortgage firm accused of paying employees bonuses to steer borrowers into less-favorable mortgage terms has agreed to pay $13 million in penalties to settle the charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday. Utah-based Castle & [Keep reading]
Spanish bank Banco Sabadell announced last month that it was the first financial institution in the world to release a banking app for Google Glass. Months earlier, a Ukrainian bank demoed its Glass app. Analysts are predicting that here in the States, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Fidelity are [Keep reading]
Sometimes, all you need to avoid getting ripped off is a reference point. To wit: I love FlightAware’s average flight cost tool. You pick two cities, click a button, and see the average one-way cost of a flight between the two. For example, I just checked flights between Newark and [Keep reading]
Dealing with the death of a parent is sad and complicated enough without having to deal with bills from a student loan servicer. But as Axton Betz-Hamilton helped her widowed father deal with the death of her mom Pamela, she found herself lost in red tape trying to beat back [Keep reading]
Shop for a cell phone these days, and you aren’t buying a cellphone plan. You really shouldn’t be buying a gadget, either. Shop like you are first and foremost buying a data plan. Data will cost many of you $2,000-$3,000 during the next two years — a lot more than [Keep reading]
Can a hip Chicago 20-something spend only $100 a week? That’s $50 for food and $50 for fun on the weekends? We’re about to find out. Nicole DiVito is imposing the strict budget limits voluntarily as part of “No-spend November.” She’s slamming her purse shut, limiting herself to $400 for [Keep reading]
Cell phone bills are now the second-highest monthly cost for some American families, trailing only mortgage or rent. That means it’s worth the effort to poke and prod on a regular basis looking for a cheaper option. You can probably find one. Change is afoot in the industry. With family [Keep reading]
The young math teacher’s online footprint is an incredible celebration of life, of wit, of enthusiasm. Math geek jokes are particularly near and dear to my heart, and a week ago, she tweeted a doozy: “Parallel lines have got so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet.” Now, [Keep reading]
It’s true — if you want free shipping from Amazon now, you’ll have to spent at least $35, up from $25. Just in time for holiday shopping! Amazon says it implemented the change on Monday. Hope you have a bunch of $10 items on your wish list that you can [Keep reading]
What will happen this week if the U.S. government has maxed out its credit cards, as is expected to occur on Thursday? Here’s the truth: No one really knows. It’s quite likely Oct. 17 will come and go and no one will notice. Markets may yawn that day, and Americans [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan