A few weeks ago, I came across a particularly annoying click-bait pop-up ad from a well-known online lender. “Do the math (the banks wish you wouldn’t do),” their ad said. In Australia, where free speech laws are less absolute than they are here in the United States, it is illegal for a business to “make […]
This month’s Smart About Money is featured in the Canton Citizen’s annual Financial Fitness Guide, included with the March 1 edition. That was the headline of an article in The Washington Post in January. Considering that millions and millions of homeowners have home equity lines and loans (and love them), it was pretty alarmist. “Did […]
I recently heard a story about a businessperson who discovered that the check a client had sent them had been intercepted somehow and cashed by a stranger in another state. This story had an odd twist. When the businessperson reported that the check had never been received, the company that had written the intercepted check […]
At a recent banking conference, a banker from the north shore told me about a particularly unfortunate situation she had run into. A young man came into her bank to cash a check. He did not have an account at that bank, but the check was from an account holder. Apparently, everything about this young […]
Up until about the mid 1980s, a homeowner who wanted to borrow against the equity in their home had to take out what was known as a “second mortgage.” And there was a stigma against second mortgages. Then some enlightened bankers started thinking about homeowners and their equity differently. And so two of the most […]
These big data breaches — like the recent Equifax hack — are very frustrating. Especially when they happen to huge companies that you’d think would have multiple layers of systems in place to protect themselves and their customers’ information. And why did it have to be one of the credit reporting agencies that got hit, […]
A few weeks ago, there was a radio commercial for some sort of money-making opportunity. I don’t remember the company or what they were selling. I do remember very clearly hearing the commercial say, “You can’t get rich by saving.” What? Huh? The simple fact is that even if you win a monster lottery or […]
Usually when people have a visit from the U.S. Secret Service, it’s not a positive thing. But when the Secret Service came to see us at Canton Co-operative Bank a few weeks ago, it was at our invitation and I think it’s fair to say it was one of the most fascinating presentations I have […]
As I recall, it was the late WBZ radio host Lovell Dyett who used to say, “Spend your time wisely. It’s the only money you’ve got.” I found myself thinking about that when reading a page 1 Wall Street Journal article about people who get credit cards to chase bonus points and credit card rewards. […]
A gentleman came into the bank to get an objective opinion on a car loan he was considering. “The people at the dealership asked me what I was looking to pay a month,” he told me. “And that’s the amount the payment is. I can see that. But it looks like this car loan goes […]
