The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

New York Times editorial rips Trump administration for failing to protect borrowers

With the Trump administration proposing to reduce federal oversight of mortgage lending, perhaps the most obvious lesson from the 2008 financial crisis, the need for stricter supervision of mortgage lending, has been lost, the New York Times editorial board said in an editorial Thursday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created in 2010 to protect borrowers, and it increased the reports mortgage lenders are required to file each year. The new information makes it easier to identify predatory lending and discrimination.

The Trump administration is proposing to increase the number of small lenders exempt from the requirements and has announced it won’t penalize lenders who don’t comply with the requirements this year, the first year the new reporting requirements went into effect.

Tell federal consumer protection agency to support strong action against payday lenders

Photo: Aliman Senai

In 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau approved protections against payday debt traps with triple-digit interest rates, requiring lenders to make sure customers have the ability to repay the high interest rates.

But earlier this year, the new CFPB director reversed course.

The CFPB plans to roll back the heart of its own protections against sky-high payday loan interest rates, but maybe enough comments from the public could stop officials from revoking these important rules, said Elise Orlick, director, US-PIRG.

The CFPB is accepting public comments until May 15. Click here to fill out a form to send the CFPB your opinions.

How to plan a cruise

Going on a cruise is quite an adventure, I learned as a first-time cruise goer in late March. It was a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean with stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island, Costa Maya, Mexico, and Cozumel, Mexico.

The purpose of the cruise was to celebrate my sister’s 80^th birthday. My niece arranged the cruise, so all I had to is get out my credit card and pay. And pay I did.

Since it’s an expensive and time-consuming endeavor, here are tips to help you have the best cruise possible:

Decide where you want to go.

The possibilities are endless, with a cruise industry expanding its offerings to serve 28.5 million passengers a year. Once an unusual sight, you now see cruise ships in many major ports. The Caribbean, Alaska, and the Mediterranean are the most popular destinations.

Be careful using Angie’s List, consumer group warns

Angie’s List, an online rating service, has many shortcomings in addition to potential value to consumers, according to a Consumer Federation of America report.

Angie’s List, founded in 1995, was originally supported mainly by annual consumer subscriptions and prioritized service to these subscribers. Today, while consumers can join for free, Angie’s List gets almost all its revenue from advertising purchased by some of the local businesses that the online service lists and rates. Angie’s List recommends and gives preferential treatment to these advertisers and that can easily mislead consumers into thinking these businesses are the best ones and should be selected.

The report, “Angie’s List: An Evaluation of Its Usefulness for Consumers” shows that these profiled businesses are often not those rated the most highly by consumers and by a nonprofit rating group.

American Banker publishes article trashing financial education during Financial Literacy Month

April is Financial Literacy Month, a time when hundreds of organizations and agencies step up their efforts to help people improve how they make decisions about their money.

An ironic article posted on the American Banker website during Financial Literacy Month contends financial literacy education doesn’t work.

Jennifer Tescher, president and CEO of Center for Financial Services Innovation, said in the article that consumers need to “trust that financial institutions have their best interests in mind and are working with policymakers to eliminate systemic barriers that prevent them from achieving financial health.”

How to improve your finances during Financial Literacy Month

It’s a good time during April’s Financial Literacy Month to take a look at how you handle your finances.

What is financial literacy? It’s knowing how to manage your personal finances.

How are Americans doing with financial literacy? In a survey of 1,500 people, respondents estimated that lacking knowledge about personal finances cost them an average of $1,230 in 2018, according to a study by the National Financial Educators Council.

What can you do to improve your financial literacy?

Take a look at your finances.

If you don’t have one, you need a budget. It’s a financial plan that will help you reach your goals. To develop a budget, you’ll need to keep track of your spending. Write down what your fixed monthly expenses are such as car payments and rent or mortgage payments. Determine what your periodic expenses are. They include items such as vacations and tax payments. Then you’ll need to track your variable expenses – food, clothing, transportation, and entertainment, costs that probably change every month.

Under Trump, enforcement of consumer financial laws drops sharply, especially in areas with the highest complaints

The number of publicly announced enforcement actions under the Trump administration at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is dropping sharply, according to a report by the Consumer Federation of America.

“Law enforcement activity at the CFPB has dropped precipitously under the Trump Administration’s leadership,” said Christopher Peterson, director of financial services for the federation and author of the report.

The bureau is charged with enforcing federal consumer financial law and bringing legal action against companies that violate that law. The bureau also has the authority to seek restitution for consumers and levy fines when it finds violations. The report finds that activity in both of these areas is on the decline – overall enforcement activity is down by 80 percent from the bureau’s peak in enforcement actions in 2015 and average relief to victims is down by 96 percent per case.

As credit card debt reaches a record high, do you need help getting out of debt?

Consumers racked up $67 billion in credit card debt during 2018, an all-time high, according to the “Credit Card Debt Study,” a report by WalletHub, a personal-finance website.

Since the end of the Great Recession, consumer have increased their credit card debt in six of every 10 quarters.

WalletHub also released a “2019 Debt Survey,” which highlights consumers’ thoughts about over-borrowing, including the fact that 156 million Americans admit they’d go into debt for frivolous purchases.

The current credit card debt situation is similar to the period just before the Great Recession. However, WalletHub’s analysis of the latest data indicates the nation is in for another $60 billion-plus in new credit card debt during 2019. That would push the average household’s balance from $8,788 currently to $9,295 by year’s end – higher than it has ever been.

How Wall Street influenced Congress last year

Ten years after the financial crisis, a majority of members of the Congress in 2018 voted again and again for bank-backed bills that endanger financial stability, undermine consumer and investor protections, and enable racial discrimination in lending, according to a report by Americans for Financial Reform.

The report, “Where They Stand on Financial Reform,” shows how each lawmaker voted in areas affecting Wall Street and predatory lenders. It also identifies those members of Congress who most frequently voted with Wall Street or predatory lenders, and against the public interest.

“Majorities in the 115th Congress voted repeatedly for measures that benefit Wall Street and predatory lenders over consumers and investors,” said Rion Dennis, financial reform advocate at AFR. “Strong public opposition and the 60-vote threshold in the Senate ensured that many of these measures passed in the House, but not the Senate. But when some Democrats joined the solid block of Republicans – or where only 50 votes were required – dangerous deregulation became law.”

What are the best and worst cars to buy in 2019?

Photo: EurovisionNim

The Consumer Reports 2019 Top Picks in cars list includes six new winners – the Hyundai Kona, Subaru Ascent, and BMW X5, and three Toyotas – the Yaris, Prius, and Avalon.

The all-new Subaru Ascent is Consumer Report’s Top Pick in the midsized SUV category. Its smooth power delivery, comfy ride, functional interior, and suspension performance that rival some luxury cars helped put it to the top of the pack, said Jake Fisher, senior director of Automotive Testing at Consumer Reports. The top luxury SUV, the BMW X5, is among the best SUVs that CR has ever tested, Fisher said.  

“The Ascent really impressed in our rigorous tests and is a great all-around performer,” he said. “It’s a highly functional and comfortable three-row vehicle that will appeal to many families.”

Toyota led all the automotive brands with four Consumer Reports Top Picks for the second consecutive year. The Prius earned Consumer Reports Top Pick honors for a record 16th time, this year including in the newly created Hybrid/Electric Car category. The fourth-generation of the pioneering hybrid gets 52 mpg overall in Consumer Reports’ fuel economy tests, and maintains an outstanding track record for reliability and owner satisfaction, Fisher said. The Camry is the top midsized sedan for second straight year. This is the second time that the Yaris has been a Top Pick; the first time it made the list was in 2017. The Avalon is on the list for the very first time.