What Rising Prices Could Mean for Your Retirement Plans
Published: May 26, 2022
About 1 in 8 Gen Xers and baby boomers say they've postponed or considered postponing retirement due to inflation, according to a March 2022 survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute. With an inflation rate over 8% and hitting a 40-year high, coupled with a stock market that's seen a double-digit percentage drop since the start of the year, people's concerns aren't misplaced. If your stop-work date is on the horizon, here's what you should understand about how inflation affects your retirement.
Should You Fly or Drive This Summer?
Published: May 18, 2022
With the cost of everything rising faster and faster, it can be hard to build a reliable travel budget. Will gas prices rise or fall by the summer? And will airfare costs keep pace? The question of whether it's cheaper to fly or drive is an old travel conundrum, but the many factors affecting travel in 2022 make it a challenging one to answer simply
For Summer Travel Deals, Stay Off the Beaten Path
Published: May 11, 2022
With so many factors pushing travel prices upward, where are the deals? And what destinations should budget-conscious travelers avoid altogether?
Is 0% Credit Utilization Good For Credit Scores?
Published: May 3, 2022
Maintaining a 0% utilization rate on all your credit card accounts can help your credit scores, but you can achieve excellent scores without doing so. A low utilization rate, preferably under 10%, is ideal. You do risk hurting your credit scores if your utilization exceeds about 30%, but also if you never use your credit cards at all. Here's the rundown on utilization and credit scores.
Small Home Fixes Can Have a Big Impact on Safety
Published: April 26, 2022
If it ain't broke, maybe you should fix it anyway. That's the message consumer advocates and insurance experts want you to hear about your home's hidden dangers. Too often, they say, people put off relatively inexpensive repairs or improvements that could prevent significant damage, injuries or even death. While you can't eliminate every potential hazard, some small moves can have a huge impact on home safety. The following fixes typically cost $200 or less.
How Home Equity Loans Work - the Pros and Cons
Published: April 21, 2022
A home equity loan is a type of second mortgage. Your first mortgage is the one you used to purchase the property, but you can place additional loans against the home as well if you've built up enough equity. Home equity loans allow you to borrow against your home's value, minus the amount of any outstanding mortgages on the property.