The Glass-Steagall Act is a piece of financial legislation that dates to the Great Depression and has been partially dismantled but remains strikingly relevant today. The act has popped up repeatedly in a political context in recent months, and its future remains an open question. Glass-Steagall was part of a broader set of 1933 regulations that prohibited FDIC-insured banks from investing in anything other than government bonds and similarly low-risk vehicles. The law has spent the last 20 years under near-constant debate…

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Big life decisions await you in your 20s. Should you get married? Change jobs? Start a family? Buy a home? Travel the world? No matter what path you choose — and when — building healthy habits around money management now will help you meet your goals later. “Habits are really what’s important,” says Jason Kirsch, a financial advisor in Santa Monica, California. “If you build a habit of doing something, day in and day out, those compound over years.” Preparation is key for most…

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For many of the 44 million Americans with student loan debt looking to buy a home, qualifying for a mortgage just got a bit easier. Housing giant Fannie Mae this week issued new guidelines about how lenders should evaluate mortgage applicants who have student loans — particularly borrowers on income-driven repayment plans. The changes are a response to anxiety among student loan borrowers that having student debt takes homeownership off the table, says Jonathan Lawless, vice president of product development…

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Restaurants and bars attract people from all walks of life. A good meal and a strong libation seem to have a fairly universal appeal! As we stated last week, while each guest is unique, there are common needs that pop up around similar types of people. When I was slinging beef and California Cabs, our most frequent guest was of the corporate/expense account variety, so for the sake of this particular exercise we will use a “suit” as our test…

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Marcus Garrett is a natural spender. Saving money, on the other hand, was more of an acquired skill, the importance of which the 34-year-old audit manager learned only after getting into $30,000 worth of debt. Despite having dug himself into a hole, he managed to claw his way out. Whether you’re saving money to eliminate debt or for a different reason, Garrett’s process could work well for you. Marcus Garrett didn’t get out of debt overnight, but his process could…

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Student loan refinancing can save money and simplify payments. But because of tough eligibility requirements, many borrowers don’t qualify. When you refinance, a private lender pays off your existing loans and replaces them with a new one. The goal is to save money by qualifying for a lower interest rate, but lenders generally won’t work with applicants who are between jobs or have a low credit score. If you don’t meet the qualifications for student loan refinancing, use these strategies…

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Greetings friends! After spending a decade at a couple of NYC’s top steakhouses, I managed to learn a thing or two. One night, I realized that in virtually every shift, at least 2 of my coworkers would pick my brain on how I managed to always get some great wines down on my tables, so I decided to put together a simple sales tutorial. My teammates found it very helpful, so I figured why not share it with you guys!…

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Navient Corp., the nation’s largest student loan servicer, is facing three lawsuits alleging that it harmed student loan borrowers throughout the repayment process. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Illinois and Washington attorneys general sued Navient in January. Among other things, the CFPB alleges that since at least January 2010, Navient misallocated payments, steered struggling borrowers toward multiple forbearances instead of income-driven repayment plans, and provided unclear information about how to re-enroll in income-driven repayment plans and how…

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The best financial advice tends to apply to pretty much everyone. You don’t need a spreadsheet of pros and cons and complex scenarios. What you need is a rule of thumb. There’s no shame in using one-size-fits-all advice. A study of West Point cadets, for example, found teaching rules of thumb was at least as effective as standard personal finance training in increasing students’ knowledge and confidence as well as their willingness to take financial risks. Researchers found money rules of thumb were…

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Consumers have a new reason to check their bank accounts for fraudulent charges. On Wednesday, FICO reported the number of debit cards compromised at ATMs and merchant devices in this country rose 70% in 2016 over the previous year. And compromised cards can lead to money being drained from your account. The number of hacked ATMs and merchant card readers also rose, by 30%, over 2015, according to the analytics and credit scoring company. Criminals often attach skimming devices to…

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