Posted by Richard on March 5, 2020
Baby Boomers (aged 54 to 74) are holding on to their beloved homes, but selling and downsizing now could not only save a lot of headaches, it could also make a tidy profit. Interest rates are low with the national average rate hovering around 3.6% to 3.9%. Buyers are plentiful. In most areas, there are […]
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Generation Z (ages 18-22) is in the workforce. The hyper-visual, technological natives see little, if any, distinction between working at home or office, physically or digitally. Gen Z’ers are skeptical, in a good way, and with the worldwide web at their fingertips, they’ve always been free to explore their options and alternatives. A Northeastern University […]
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A relatively new financial movement aims at financial independence and early retirement, sometimes extremely early retirement. And that’s the name of the movement: Financial Independence; Retire Early. Adherents say people can retire in their 40s or even 30s if they practice extreme saving and investing. The key idea is to enlarge the gap between necessary […]
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For thousands of years, possibly in every culture, humans carried cloth handkerchiefs. They were the privilege of wealthy humans. Evidence of handkerchiefs dates to 2000 BC, when wealthy Egyptians carried bleached white handkerchiefs made of expensive linen. In western culture, the handkerchief became art by the 14th century. Queens embroidered silk, lace handkerchiefs. They were […]
Read More →Posted by Richard on February 12, 2020
As of Jan. 1, those with a 401(k) or IRA can start withdrawing the required minimum at age 72. Previously, account holders were required to take the minimum distribution at age 70.5. The new rules, arising from President Trump’s Secure Act, update the old rules, which were based on life expectancies in the early 1960s. […]
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As much as we love our home renovations, there’s no denying that the process can nevertheless be a stressful one. Some of that is due to the myriad of details, ranging from large choices like siding color and style to the smallest, like door stops or light covers. And a good chunk of the stress […]
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Those forms look daunting. And those crazy tax words seem intimidating. But, the fact is, 100 million workers probably don’t really need a tax person to do their returns, according to the IRS. They can do their taxes with the easiest forms (such as the 1040EZ — available online) or just hop to the IRS […]
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After an unexpected late-year jump in single family housing starts in 2019, the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group has predicted higher single family housing starts and sales for 2020 than previously announced. Housing starts represent the number of new homes begun during a period of time. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the […]
Read More →Posted by Richard on January 8, 2020
The cost of retirement can vary dramatically depending on where you live and what choices you make before you retire. Ideally, you want to have enough social security and investments to maintain your current lifestyle. While investment advisors routinely say $1 million in investments will ensure a happy retirement, this is not necessarily true. In […]
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According to Forbes, today’s mortgage rates — at about 3.75 percent — will stay low in 2020. At the same time, market watchers expect home prices to continue to escalate due to low inventory and high demand. Without more listings on the market, competition will increase early in the year. Entry-level home prices will rise […]
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