In 2020, housing market interest rates hit and remained at historic lows. Government-backed home loans and refinance loans plunged into the low two percent range with a 52-week average for these mortgages and refinance loans at roughly 2.25%. I wrote about these conditions all through 2020, and the number of people including those in my own family who refinanced their home loans last year or in early 2021 was probably higher than any time in … [Read more...]
Where To Exchange Saved Coins to Dollar Bills?
Where to exchange saved coins to dollar bills? This is a no-brainer for some, who just use the local branch of their bank, credit union, etc. But banks frequently require their customers to bring in change in rolled form, not loose coins in bags or other containers. This can be, frankly speaking, a right pain in the backside for those who tend to let their loose change pile up until it gets into the $100 or above range. That’s a lot of coins to … [Read more...]
Does Motley Fool Investment Advice Measure Up?
I’ve been using premium services for investors offered by the Motley Fool and writing about my experiences with the company’s resources, stock picks, investment advice, and tools. So when I write about these, I do it from a unique position--I’m not an expert in picking stocks and I do not invest for a living. In other words, I am a lot like a typical reader who is looking for good information about such investment tools. That means I’m not … [Read more...]
Risks of Having Weak Bank Passwords
What are the risks of having weak bank passwords? Obviously, we’re looking at the hacker community here; white hat hackers warn that complex passwords are a more effective barrier to black hat hackers than you might think, but people who don’t understand the methodology of hacking might not understand why a complex password is better and may be led astray by bad information or fake news about hackers, malware, and virus issues. The dangers are … [Read more...]
Save Money In 2021
I woke up on New Year's Day knowing I wanted to take steps to save more money and save better in 2021. But how to do it? I decided to break down my plan into four basic steps. Identify New Risks And Save Accordingly I have a savings plan that includes an emergency fund, savings for travel and “pay yourself first” purchases, and retirement. That’s an over-simplified version but those are my three major areas. In my emergency fund, I’ve tried … [Read more...]