Why is it that auto loans may be harder to come by? In recent weeks, a number of prominent lenders, from JP Morgan Chase, to Ally Bank, to Wells Fargo, have announced their auto loan originations have dropped sharply. At Wells Fargo, new loan origination for auto purchases dropped 29% in the first quarter of 2017 […]
This morning, we are answering listener questions! We are. A number of your loyal listeners have sent in their questions about money matters, and we are here today with some answers! The first question here is about a recent change to a major credit score. Can you tell us about this? Absolutely! Recently, VantageScore – […]
In this edition of Money Mondays, Mellody Hobson covers the latest news surrounding student loans. What’s the latest in the student loan front? Just over a week ago, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, rescinded some Obama-era memos aimed at reforming the way student loan borrowers interact with their servicing agents, the companies charged with collecting […]
You have another story about financial disparities between rich and poor? I do, and this time it comes from the auto insurance industry. According to a recent study by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative news agency, and Consumer Reports, there is evidence to suggest auto insurers charge more for auto insurance for those living in […]
What can you tell us about helping our kids understand money? April is Financial Literacy Month. You know how important financial literacy is to me, and there is no better place to start building a money-smart society than our children. It is remarkable how early kids begin to grasp financial concepts, so the […]
What tips do you have for those of us who have procrastinated on our taxes? This is becoming a tradition. Today, we are 15 days away from the filing deadline, because this year it is April 18. For those of you who are last minute filers out there, that gives you an extra weekend to […]
What is ransomware, and why are we talking about it? We have all heard of malware, right? It stands for malicious software, and includes viruses that infects your computer if you click a link, or spyware that gathers information on you without you knowing. But malware also includes an emerging, and very troubling type […]
We are talking retirement again this week, but from a different perspective. This morning, you are here to give us some tips for retiring single. Why? There are simply more people facing retirement without a spouse – either by choice, or because they are divorced or widowed. In 2015, for the first time in the […]
This morning’s topic is an important one – the retirement savings gap between blacks and whites. What is the latest? The news continues to be bad. According to an article in Forbes last week by Rodney Brooks, Black Americans continue to lag far behind whites when it comes to retirement savings. Data from 2013 – the most […]
This morning we are discussing the labor market. Why is the labor market making news right now? Right now, the labor market is making news because it is on a tear, Last week, we learned the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is closing in on a 44-year low, signaling that the job […]
You want to make sure consumers don’t let our politics influence our investments. Why is this on your mind? In the current political environment, it can feel like everything is political. But if you mingle your politics and your money, it can have real financial consequences. I cannot overstate the importance of divorcing personal politics […]
We’ve come back to a recurring topic: credit card debt. Mellody: Reversing the positive trend we saw in the wake of the financial crisis, when Americans were paying down credit card debt, we are now racking up debt on plastic again in a big way. According to a new report from the Nilson report, credit […]