Many Americans still find themselves visiting a bank branch at least once in a while — to deposit a large check, for example. When big bucks are involved, dealing with a human being can be a nice security blanket. But that may be about to change. Banks are closing local branches at [Keep reading]
Remember the BillFixers brothers I wrote about last month (and I’ll write about each month in The BillFixers Files). That story got a lot of attention: I did a version for NBCNews.com, the New York Times picked it up, and NBC Nightly News is going to feature the brothers on national [Keep reading]
Let’s say you could use some extra cash, and someone offered you a quick-and-dirty part-time gig with OUTRAGEOUS pay. Say …$200 an hour. SCORE, right? Well, I’m here to tell you that just about every one of us has a $200-an-hour job lying somewhere nearby, if only we know how to [Keep reading]
Starbucks’ app and gift card attacks. Comcast’s “free” modem, surprise fees, and free hotspot complaints. Mobile deposit problems. Where the heck can families afford to live in America? Why Ubernomics is destined to fail. These topics and stories form the core of my most popular posts in 2015. The list [Keep reading]
In the annals of what I like to call “Dear John Data Loss Letters,” this one takes the cake. “Experian North America today announced that one of its business units, notably not its consumer credit bureau, experienced an unauthorized acquisition of information from a server that contained data on behalf [Keep reading]
I am well aware that I’m very lucky. Every time I mention that I’m about to set out on a cross-country drive, I hear, “I wish I could do that,” over and over. I’ve been privileged to complete the trip a dozen times or so. In exchange for occasional back soreness and [Keep reading]
There’s a reason people live on America’s east or west coast: That’s where the opportunities are. But New York / Washington / Los Angeles / San Francisco have a lot of other natural advantages. There’s something primal about being near the ocean. There’s something historic about being near New York. [Keep reading]
Co-signers for private student loans have had significant difficulty handing off the obligation to the primary borrower, despite what the lenders’ marketing materials say, according to a report issued Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Of those who applied for release from their co-signing agreement, 90% were rejected, the [Keep reading]
There’s a huge blind-men-and-the-elephant problem when talking about the economy. Writers can’t help but talk about it like’s it a single thing, that’s either doing well or poorly. Basically, if you’ve lost your job, the economy stinks. If you have a good job, it’s hard to understand what everybody is [Keep reading]
They might not be hiding listening devices in our cheese, as overly paranoid Rob Lowe frets in the famous TV commercial. But they are hiding microphones in our cities. Perhaps I’m being Overly Paranoid Bob Sullivan, but I’m unconvinced we’ve had a decent public conversation about this. On St. Patrick’s [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan