Retailers across the country expect big sales for the first quarter of the year. They know this is the time of year when 75% of Americans get a big check in the mail courtesy of Uncle Sam. Nobody likes filing their taxes, but everyone likes getting a refund. It’s free money, right? Whoa … hold […]
Q: I’d like to take out a loan against my home’s equity, but I’ve heard that interest rates are expected to climb soon. What are the differences between a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and a typical home equity loan? How does an environment of rising interest rates impact each choice? A: It’s true […]
When you’re making improvements to your home, you’re not just making your life better in the short term. You’re also making an investment in your future. Ideally, the increase in the value of your home will exceed the cost of the improvement. However, it seldom works out like that. The most efficient home improvements don’t […]
As Halloween gets closer and you want to avoid the chilly darkness of October evenings, grab a blanket and stream a marathon of scary movies. Horror flicks are classic fun, whether they’re good enough to keep you up all night when you’re home alone or bad enough to laugh at while with a group of […]
You may have noticed a surge in the number of ponytails and slightly exposed tattoos around the workplace water cooler. Or perhaps you find you now need to get to the office earlier if you plan to land a space for locking up your bike. Maybe you’ve had to make peace with the fact that […]
It’s time to be calm, but you know that already. The market has had a crazy week, filled with ups and downs flowing at a quick enough pace to ensure – if you were going into a meeting to discuss market forecasts – you really couldn’t write up an actionable plan. You could have just […]