Photo by Jeremy Keith . If you’re a millennial and having trouble saving up for a home, Australian millionaire Tim Gurner has some simple advice for you: stop eating so much avocado toast . You’ll never be able to save for a home that way. Advertisement “When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado … Read More
Late Spring Is the Best Time to List a Home for Sale
Photo by Mark Moz . If you’re thinking about selling your home, the iron will be hot enough to strike fairly soon. According to a new report from real estate marketplace Zillow , homes sold in late spring fetch more money and sell faster. The report found that homes listed near the end of the normal home selling season, or … Read More
The States With the Best and Worst Property Taxes In 2017
Photo by Nicki Dugan Pogue . American households spend an average of $2,149 in home property taxes every year. Tack on another $400 on average in vehicle property taxes for residents of 27 states and that’s a big chunk of change. If you’re looking to buy property, it might help to know which states are less expensive than others. This … Read More
The Words Experts Say You Should Avoid When Selling a Home
When listing your home for sale, you want to use the right words to generate the right kind of interest. Over at Trulia, a few real estate agents weigh in on which words you should avoid. Trulia points to three specific words you should avoid in your listing: gorgeous, luxury, and charming. Gorgeous tends to be a vague, overused word, … Read More
“Superfund” a 529 College Plan for Even More Compound Interest Savings
With a 529 plan, you can save for your kids’ college and score some tax benefits in the process. It’s basically an investment account you can only use for future college costs. While there are limits to how much you can save, an IRS rule lets you save even more at once so you can earn more over time. Any … Read More
An Age-By-Age Guide to Teaching Your Children Financial Lessons
Kids are ready to learn about saving, spending, and more at fairly young ages—but they need your help to really understand. This graphic gives some great suggestions for lessons you can teach kids at each age. For example, they suggest that three to six-year-olds may be ready to save up for a toy by putting money into an envelope with … Read More
Mortgage Rates Are Going Up, But Don’t Get Pressured Into Locking in a Rate
Mortgage rates are still pretty low, but in the past couple of weeks, they’ve jumped a significant amount . If you’re shopping for a home, now may be the time to lock in a low rate, but don’t let that pressure you into buying. According to CNN, rates have increased to 3.94% from 3.57% following the election. Using their own … Read More
Money Market Funds Are About to Get Some New Fees
If you’re invested in a money market fund, you’ll want to pay attention to some new rules the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will establish this week. Specifically, the rules allow some of these funds to charge their shareholders fees of up to 2% for withdrawing money. A money market fund is a type of mutual fund with a return … Read More
When It Makes Sense to Talk to a Financial Advisor
Most of us consider the services of a financial advisor a luxury reserved for only the wealthiest, for people with money that they need help managing, which well, is no one who knows it all comes in and all goes back out with the bills. But there are times even you or I should seek one out. We’ve mentioned in … Read More
Cities With the Biggest Return on Home Value in the Past 30 Years
Contrary to popular belief, real estate barely outpaces inflation over time. On the other hand, it’s hard to make generalizations like this because some areas have seen huge returns in housing. Trulia looked at 100 metro areas to find the places with the highest and lowest home appreciation values. http://twocents.lifehacker.com/why-the-rent-v… They examined annual home prices from the past 30 years—between … Read More