What goes up must come down – when considering the effects of gravity. That principle doesn’t typically apply to federal or state taxes. In the rare cases where taxes do go down, other taxes tend to go up to compensate government coffers. Because state taxes are often linked to the federal tax code in different ways, changes in the federal tax law have ripple effects

Average Homebuyer Score Rose from 700 in 2005 to 732 in 2016 Welcome to the 2018 home-buying market: Rising demand and an extremely tight supply of homes, especially in the critical starter-home market, make it difficult to realize your goal of home ownership. In this market, you’ll need two important things to land your dream home – more money and a higher credit score. Data

It’s difficult to purchase a home in today’s market. Pent-up demand and an extreme shortage of homes have led to a rapid increase in prices that outpaces recent wage gains. The problem is acute in the market for starter homes and critical in high-value markets like San Jose, Seattle, and Austin. Desperate homeowners are stretching their finances to buy a home, and lenders and mortgage

Are you planning to work in retirement? If so, is it because you need money? The recent American Working Conditions Survey (AWCS) from the Rand Corporation think tank suggests another reason – you want to be there. A Rand brief on the AWCS survey compared working conditions and expectations of older workers (age 50 and up) to those of workers in their prime working years

New Proposal to Fund Retirement and Delay Social Security Benefits Let’s face it: Americans are woefully unprepared for retirement. Surveys consistently tell us that far too many workers have insufficient retirement funds or even absolutely nothing saved for retirement at all. Sadly, these workers will be too dependent on Social Security benefits to have a comfortable retirement. Many of these workers will claim benefits before

Who’s thinking about retirement when they’re young? Only about a third of millennials have retirement accounts. They’re typically not a priority for young workers – but they should be. That’s precisely the time to take the greatest advantage of compounding interest by contributing as much as your fledgling budget can afford. A new study from the University of Missouri suggests that millennials, the youngest working

Are you considering bypassing the hotel or resort experience for your summer vacation and opting for a summer home rental instead? Home rental networks are on the rise and have never been easier to use, thanks to the increased web presence and sites like Vacation Home Rentals, Airbnb, VRBO, and Vacation Rentals. However, just because travel agents and middlemen are being squeezed out does not

You’ve saved for retirement and built up a sizable nest egg. However, you forgot to consider one factor – excessive debt as you approach retirement. Too many seniors are facing that grim scenario. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the share of families age 75 and above with debt shot up from 31.2 percent in 2007 to almost half in 2016. The average

President Trump promised changes in Washington upon his election. Whether you are a Trump fan or foe, there’s no question he’s succeeded in that goal. Sometimes the change is precipitated by the President’s choice to lead an agency, as in the case of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB was born out of the Dodd-Frank legislation in 2010 as a vehicle to both