Posted by Richard on July 20, 2023
Maybe you are not a detail person. You sit down, look through all your spending and, suddenly you are caught up in tiny details. Making a category for new socks doesn’t sound right, but it’s not like it was a frivolous spend like a ‘clothing’ category suggests. Pretty soon you just get so confused that […]
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Your student loans don’t necessarily disqualify you from getting a mortgage, but they can affect your finances, and your finances directly impact your ability to get a mortgage. One of the biggest ways student loans affect a mortgage is with the Debt to Income ratio (DTI). Lenders use DTI to determine loan eligibility. The DTI […]
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Posted by Richard on June 21, 2023
Baby boomers are about to make one of the largest transfers of wealth in history. Trillions of dollars will go to the next generation, and somewhere in all that money is a china hutch that no one wants. The sad truth is that the kids don’t want the stuff. They don’t use china, silverware, or […]
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If you are watching the real estate market lately and trying to decide whether to buy or sell, you may feel a little dizzy. Sales are up. Then down. The housing bubble has popped — wait, no it hasn’t. Mortgage rates are up and then they drop. Some say rates are poised to drop a […]
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On their third date, the dentist asked if she would sign a prenuptial agreement. Her reply, “I will if you will,” made sense to them both, especially since both had assets to protect. Financial advisor Suze Orman says love can drown out any thought that a marriage won’t work. But the divorce rate in America […]
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Is artificial intelligence coming for your job? Could AI soon spy on you and your data all the time? Might small businesses be pushed out of the market? Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently warned that AI does indeed pose threats and could disrupt society at large, according to CNBC. He also argues that it shouldn’t […]
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Posted by Richard on May 17, 2023
When Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed, stock markets around the globe went into a tailspin, with some fearing a wider financial meltdown. Analysts also warned of a startup apocalypse because so many Silicon Valley companies banked with SVB. Many of those startups held large deposits at SVB and, without that money, they might not have […]
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Landscaping is a no-brainer to add curb appeal to your home, but the value is more than just cosmetic — researchers at Virginia Tech found that it can increase property value by as much as 15 percent. According to the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS, landscaping can significantly affect the perceived value of a home. And […]
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During the Great Depression, people supposedly stuffed money in their mattresses. That may have been wise, since about 9,000 banks failed between 1929 and 1939, wiping out the life savings of many millions of Americans. People simply stopped trusting banks. That’s why the government established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1933. FDIC guarantees […]
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Home sellers have been in the real estate driver’s seat for some time, since there was more demand for homes than homes available to buy. However, as 2023 opened, sellers were making some concessions to buyers. According to Redfin, 42 percent of sellers in late 2022 offered at least one concession to buyers. That is […]
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