Prostock-studio / Shutterstock.com Home prices remain high and low inventories of houses for sale have many metro real estate markets stuck in low gear. What are first-time home buyers — who are making 45% of today’s purchases — to do? Zillow’s winter 2022/spring 2023 ranking of best cities for first-time homebuyers has a suggestion: Consider … Read more
Mladen Mitrinovic / Shutterstock.com America has become a nation of sleep-deprived zombies. About one-third of the country’s citizens do not get enough sleep, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts generally recommend that adults get at least seven hours of sleep each night. Failure to do so not only leaves you tired … Read more
fizkes / Shutterstock.com Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Living on the Cheap. Are you wasting your money? Too many of us get to the end of the month, look at our dwindling bank account balances and wonder where all the money went. If you were to go back and really look at where … Read more
Vadym Pastukh / Shutterstock.com Amazon is one of the biggest retailers in the world. When it comes to shopping on Amazon, many people look for cost efficiency and convenience. However, you might be making some common mistakes when you shop at the giant online retailer. If you want to avoid losing out, avoid these errors. … Read more
This year has brought us a mix of continued and new financial challenges. Inflation stuck with us, with the annual inflation rate ending 2022 at 7.1%, compared with 6.8% at the end of 2021. And due to continued inflation, the Federal Reserve started hitting the economy with rate hikes this year — seven rate hikes, … Read more
Zoriana Zaitseva / Shutterstock.com One of the biggest financial stories of 2022 was inflation The annual inflation rate was 7.1% as of November, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is one of the federal government’s gauges of inflation. But inflation hit some items more than others — shooting as high as 254% … Read more
At a Glance The Consumer Financial Bureau has fined Wells Fargo $3.7 billion for repeated legal violations. These violations include misapplying loan payments, charging incorrect interest and fees, and wrongfully foreclosing on homes and repossessing vehicles. This is just the latest in a long series of scandals for the bank over the past decade. On … Read more
A little someone named Warren Buffett (ever heard of him?) has often expounded on the benefits of long-term investing, having once said: “Our favorite holding period is forever.” And yes, the benefits of long-term investing— normally meaning ten years or more—are numerous and well-documented. A well-structured, diversified portfolio might include a mix of assets suitable … Read more
Inside Creative House / Shutterstock.com As we age, our health risks increase. After all, none of us is going to live forever. However, we all can improve the odds of a longer, more healthful life simply by avoiding the following deadly health mistakes that people tend to make after age 50. One note: Consult your … Read more
Research suggests that — contrary to popular wisdom — money can indeed buy you happiness. But it also offers another gift: a sense of calm and control. Researchers from four prestigious institutions — Harvard Business School, the University of Southern California, Groningen University and Columbia Business School — recently conducted a series of experiments that … Read more