In 50 of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, median June rental prices rose 8.1% year- over-year to $1,575 per month, which means renters are paying an additional $118 each month, Realtor.com said on Thursday. Since 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, June median rents have increased by 10.4%, or $149. In the 50 areas Realtor.com looked at, 44 recorded their highest median rental prices ever. As the chart below shows, rents typically fluctuate less than 1% per month, but in May and June of this year, prices rose 3....

By 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the American labor force will grow to approximately 164 million people. This projection includes about 41 million people who will be age 55 and older—of whom 13 million are expected to be ages 65 and older. Planning for Retirement In a perfect world, the 41 million baby boomers still in the workforce would have been planning for retirement since the 1980s; having no major health crises, debts, or legal problems; buying and holding profitable, diverse investments with financial allies who didn’t defraud them of their hard-earned money; and working steadily all the while....

How to Write a Resignation Letter What should you include in your resignation letter? And where should you place it? While giving your two weeks’ notice, mention the last day you will work for the company, so there’s no ambiguity in your employer’s understanding that you are quitting your job. If you’d like, keep the door open by saying you’d like to return to the company in the future. You may want to rejoin the company later, even if it’s not in the same position, and there’s no need to burn any bridges....

If you meet the requirements to drive for Uber, Lyft, or another ridesharing service, you can earn money as a rideshare driver. But once you start welcoming strangers into your car, you’re officially driving commercially, which means that your personal auto insurance policy might not cover you if you get into an accident. If you’re thinking about driving for Lyft or Uber, it’s essential to understand what rideshare insurance is so you can make sure your policy provides the protection you need....

That’s what’s happening now with retirees collecting Social Security, according to a nonpartisan seniors group. Their true cost of living is rising much faster than the bump they got from the government this year, the group says, which could leave many of them facing a financial crunch. “Inflation has exploded,” Mary Johnson, a Social Security policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League, said in a recent statement on the group’s website....

“It is our belief that this week’s potential resolution on the debt ceiling simply moves the problem from October to December,” Michael Pugliese, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities, said in an analysis Thursday. ”Congress may find itself in early December in the same place it was in late September: facing a possible government shutdown and looming debt ceiling deadline.” The debt ceiling was reached on Aug 1., and since then the Treasury Department has used financial maneuvers to avoid defaulting on the government’s obligations while warning that it would run out of ways to do so around Oct....

Economists cited supply chain bottlenecks such as the cargo situation as a reason that prices have been increasing so fast lately and that consumers bought less stuff in December, according to Friday’s report on retail sales from the government. After all, it’s hard to buy something if it’s stuck in the middle of the Pacific. It was only in November that the port complex, which consists of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, started incentivizing ships to slow their voyages instead of anchoring near the port....

What Is Landlord Insurance? Landlord insurance is the kind of insurance for when your home is being rented to others on a regular basis. It takes into consideration the risks associated with having a rental property, including protecting your rental income. Depending on the kind of property you have, there may be various coverage options or endorsements available to choose from in your landlord insurance policy. Examples of Landlord Insurance or Rental Property Coverage:...

Is It a Good Idea To Use Home Equity To Buy a Car? In general, using a home equity loan to purchase a car is a risky move you should avoid, according to Leslie Tayne, founder and head attorney at Tayne Law Group, a debt solutions law firm. If you default on the loan, the bank could foreclose on your home. “Plus, since your vehicle will depreciate fast, you’ll quickly owe more on it than it’s worth,” Tayne said in an email to The Balance....

What Is a Sole Proprietor? A sole proprietor is a one-person business that has not registered with a state as a business entity, such as a corporation, partnership, or LLC. In other words, a sole proprietor is the default business type, for income tax purposes. If you start a business and you do nothing to register your business with your state, you must pay your business taxes on your personal tax return....

Even small movements in rates can have a significant impact on home shoppers’ buying power, with buyers being able to make the same monthly payments on significantly more expensive homes when rates are low. Those rates have been low by historic standards and have helped fuel the pandemic’s housing boom. The recent rise in borrowing costs hasn’t done much to quelch the enthusiasm of homebuyers so far, but that could change if they get back to pre-pandemic levels, and if Redfin’s poll is any indication....

Some localities call them different names, such as earnings taxes or wage taxes, and some have much higher rates than others. Alabama Alabama has four local taxing jurisdictions: three cities and one county. Two cities, Bessemer and Birmingham, levy an income tax of 1%. Gadsden’s rate is 2%. Macon County imposes a 1% tax as well. The tax is imposed on both residents and nonresidents who work in these locations....

Gifts Are Not Income The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) doesn’t consider gifts to be income, even if the gift is cash. Your wealthy grandmother can give you a million dollars, and you won’t owe the IRS a single dime. You won’t owe the IRS a gift tax, either, if your grandmother gives you a non-cash gift. You will only owe this tax if you decide to give the gift away or if you sell it for significantly less than its fair market value....

Connecticut residents who contribute more than the maximum deduction for any year to a CHET plan are permitted to “carry it forward” for up to five years. In other words, a single parent who makes a $6,000 contribution to the CHET plan could deduct $5,000 this year and the remainder the following year. And as with most states, distributions from the Connecticut Section 529 plan that are used for qualified education expenses are not subject to taxation....

Your contacts will let you know about job openings, write recommendations, help you network, interview you for open positions, and more. How to Say Thank You When you need to say thank you, it’s important to choose the right words. You also need to send your message in the right format. Often, that means sending an email. It’s fast, and most people expect business correspondence to be emailed. A LinkedIn message is also a good option for sending a quick thank you....

The Fed is widely expected to hike rates by 75 basis points, bringing the rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%, its highest since 2008, in its fourth unusually large rate hike this year. Many consumer loans like credit card debt and car loans are indirectly determined by that rate. Many banks use the fed funds rate as a benchmark to set their own prime rates that they use to determine interest rates on loans....

Advantages of Trading on Margin The advantage of trading on margin is that you can make a high percentage of gains compared to your account balance. For instance, let’s assume that you have a $1,000 account balance and you are not trading on margin. You initiate a $1,000 trade that nets you 100 pips. In a $1,000 trade, each pip is worth 10 cents. The profit from your trade would be $10 or a 1 percent gain....

Your financial situationThe willingness of the bankYour desire to keep your home It becomes further complicated if the bank refuses to consider the present market value of your home. If you truly want to stay in your home, regardless of its value, then a loan modification might be the better option. Terms of a Loan Modification The goal of a loan modification is to reduce a homeowner’s mortgage payment and make that payment affordable....

Surveys show people are more likely to skip a credit card bill than utility or cell phone bills and more likely to skip the mortgage payment over a credit card payment. Before you make a decision about putting off bills until next month, think about what will happen in each case. Miss Your Mortgage Payment Your lender begins the foreclosure process. Some lenders start the process after a single missed payment while others will give you 90 days....

The minimum payment is the lowest amount you can pay on your credit card balance and avoid a late payment penalty. As long as you pay the minimum by the due date, your account remains in good standing. While the minimum payment is the easiest payment to make because it’s so low, paying only the minimum month after month is the the slowest way to pay off your credit card balance....