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Driver’s Ed: How the DMV Could Make Teens Learn About Money
As a parent, I would never dream of handing my car keys to a teenager who hasn't first completed a driver's education class and...
12.6 Million Reasons Why Identity Theft Matters
If you still believe identity theft is a marketing gimmick, it's time to take a look at the Federal Trade Commission report released this...
5 Ways to Prepare for the Coming Cyber War
This spring, the term "cyber war" turns 20. In his seminal 1993 paper "Cyberwar is Coming!" master military strategist John Arquilla envisioned an entirely...
10 States that Gouge the Unemployed (and the Existing Solution)
Right now more than 5 million Americans receive unemployment benefits. And right now, in many states a big chunk of those unemployment benefits are...
7 Ways to Avoid Identity Theft Before Facebook Gets Hacked
We're coming up on three years since Mark Zuckerberg famously announced, "The age of privacy is over." Some of us, however, still value our...
The 10 Dumbest Risks You Can Take With a Smartphone
If you think of your smartphone as just a phone, rather than a very powerful mini-computer that happens to make phone calls, you may...
Should Obama Pull a ‘W’ on the Obstructionist Assault?
I hate to say it, because I wasn't a fan, but this never would have happened under George W. Bush. There was a president...
Who’s Behind the Latest Bank Giveaway?
Last week offered a very good snapshot of the state of things in the wake of mortgage crisis. On the one hand, there was...
Can Lessons From Lance Pump Up Your Finances?
Now that the interview has aired and Lance Armstrong is the poster boy for the dangers of running (or bicycling) from the truth, you...
Forget Your Money Resolutions! You Need a Plan in 2013
We live in uncertain times. Uncertainty spooks financial markets and keeps a lid on lending. It gives millions of businesses a legitimate argument to...
9 Ways Disconnecting Doesn’t Make You Any Safer
A funny thing happened on my way from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. this week, I found myself on a flight without Wi-Fi. The...
Welcome to the Fiscal Blip. Demand More in 2013
In what Democrat pundits are trying to spin as white-flag politics today, it would appear a deal is imminent and each side will spin...
It’s Not You, It’s Your Credit Score: 7 Ways to Improve...
The dating world has been turned upside down (yet again). There is no new feature on Match.com, eHarmony, or Christian Mingle. Believe it or...
Cybergeddon or Cybersanity? Identity Theft in 2013
In 2013, we'll have to make a choice: Either we acknowledge we're at war and push back hard, or we keep pretending nothing's wrong...
The Dodd-Frank Act Paved the Way for Effective Gun Laws
I admit that I am no expert on the gun industry, but I am sufficiently experienced in politics, lobbying, finance and public advocacy to...
How to Fix the Student Loan Crisis (for Real This Time)
As Washington slides ever closer to the fiscal cliff, financial vortex, or whatever will be the next term du jour, and our national focus...
The Disturbing Inaction of Congress on the Mortgage Cliff
With the presidential election over, the fiscal cliff is all anyone can talk about. The "cliff" is actually a drastic metaphor for a chronic...
When Your Identity Is Tossed Out the Window… Literally
The scene of the crime is the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year was spectacular --- great entertainment with many new balloons and...
What Black Friday and the Fiscal Cliff Have in Common
Black Friday is upon us. Yes, it's time once again for intrepid American consumers to hit the stores like there's no tomorrow --- nudging...
How the SEC Almost Shut Down Wall Street
Here's a fun fact: Hackers, just like bankers, real estate agents and collectors of Star Trek memorabilia, attend conferences. Even better: they play games...