Archive for December, 2020

TBT: New Year’s resolutions for cynics

December 31, 2020

I realize resolutions are supposed to be positive.[1] But a look at their lighter side may offer respite to those of us who are weary of feigning belief and encouragement each time we hear yet another “I’m going to lose weight” or “I’m going to give up [insert vice here].” Here are a few of […]

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A farewell to 2020 …

December 28, 2020

Odds are I’m not the first to observe that the year 2021 is slated to begin a few days hence. For pedants, that’s the real debut of the decade. Either way, I know I am but one of billions hoping 2021 will prove boring in comparison to 2020. 2020 has been a year of, shall […]

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TBT: Bootstraps and the unbanked

December 24, 2020

I shall open this week’s post by quoting Neal deGrasse Tyson. Tyson is a bestselling author, director of the Hayden Planetarium (part of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History in New York), and, according to People magazine, the sexiest astrophysicist alive*. But this post isn’t about astrophysics or sexiness. It’s about banking and bootstraps. So, anyway, […]

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Google’s tightened targeting rules may be for the best

December 21, 2020

In a move with serious marketing implications for the financial services industry, Google has revised its targeting policies for housing, employment, and credit. Here is the latest from Google’s “Advertising Policies Help”: In an effort to improve inclusivity for users disproportionately affected by societal biases; housing, employment, and credit products or services can no longer […]

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TBT: Just in time for that impossible to shop-for person in your life

December 17, 2020

Can’t come up with the right gift? These offbeat services probably won’t help. (But they’re funny.) Originally posted December 23, 2019. You’ll recall that online merchants pulled in $7.4 billion in sales on the day following Thanksgiving. Biggest online Black Friday to date.  Thanks to Fiserv’s 2019 SpendTrend® Holiday Snapshot, we now know a bit more. For instance, […]

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