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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We all know the drill, you get off of a double shift and you go home to a feast of night cheeses and pasta.  Sooooo tasty but most likely as you lay down to snooze your stomach is flipping you the double birds.  What’s a hard-working citizen to do?!?! Going to bed hungry is NOT an option.  Feel free to toss out the age old idea that you don’t burn calories in your sleep.  Your metabolism will certainly slow down…

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Bikini season, right around the corner for wait, not you…your abode.  That’s right our homes need to train for beach body weather too.  Lighten your load and take a day or two to freshen up your space.  I promise you will feel accomplished AF like the Power Rangers do after a day of fighting putty men, morphing into dinosaurs, AND battling the stress of high school.  And you thought YOU were busy?    I recently read “The Life-Changing Magic of…

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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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