Hilarey has worked as an editor in the digital media industry for more than a decade. She began her career at TripAdvisor, and has since held full-time and freelance roles at both start-up and legacy brands such as Odyssey, realtor.com, Bankrate, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (now part of Accenture), Swirled, and SmartAsset. She has been at The Balance since September 2019. When she’s not editing articles on subjects like the best time to buy a home or how to plan for retirement, Hilarey works as an adjunct professor at The College of New Jersey....

Financial slip-ups impact your score, such as failing to make timely payments or letting your mortgage payment slide. If you suffer a short sale or foreclosure, your credit score will suffer too—you’re a potential increased risk for a lender. If you’re considering a short sale or foreclosure for your home, here’s how much your credit score could drop, how long a foreclosure or short sale will stay on your credit report, and what you can do to reduce the damage....

Amortization actually has several meanings. In relation to loans, it’s the process of paying down the loan by making payments, which include both principal and interest. Amortization of expenses spreads out the expense of an asset over its useful life for tax purposes. Amortization vs. Depreciation Depreciation and amortization use essentially the same process but for different types of assets. While depreciation expenses the cost of a tangible asset such as a piece of equipment over its useful life, amortization deals with expensing intangible assets like trademarks or patents....

Mutual Funds For all intents and purposes, mutual funds serve as an alternative for investors who can’t afford an individually managed account. Mutual funds are formed when investors with smaller amounts of ​capital, pool their money together and then hire a portfolio manager to run the consolidated pool’s portfolio—subsequently buying different stocks, bonds, or other securities in a manner consistent with the fund’s prospectus. Each investor then receives their respective piece of the pie while sharing the expenses, which show up in something called the mutual fund expense ratio....

Sincerely, Rowdy Rangers Fan Dear Rowdy, This is a great question and one that we hear a lot. Let’s start with the first question: How do you know when you need a financial advisor? The answer, in short, is that it really depends on you. Do you want to invest, plan for retirement, or just get your financial life in order but don’t have time or the desire to research the details yourself to perform this work?...

A HELOC is a revolving line of credit with a variable interest rate, similar to a credit card. A borrower can then withdraw from that line of credit as needed. Your home serves as the collateral for a HELOC, meaning you could lose your home if you don’t keep up with your HELOC payments. Learn more about HELOCs and how they can potentially boost or harm your credit score....

Generally speaking, employers are not legally required to give severance pay, even after a layoff. However, many choose to do so to maintain goodwill among departing employees. When you receive a severance package, it may impact your unemployment benefits. Here’s what you need to know. Severance Pay and Unemployment As a recently laid-off employee, you’d probably be glad to learn that your soon-to-be former employer offered a severance package. However, it’s important to know how severance works, in order to reduce the chances of financial surprises down the road....

How an Easement Works When you buy property, there might be a nearby landowner or business that needs access to portions of your land. They may need to pass through your property to get to their own property or conduct business. An easement is a legal ability to use someone else’s land for a certain purpose. In many cases, a transferable easement is listed on a deed or other legal documents....

Both the timing and method of your credit card payment affect how quickly the payment is applied to your account. Which Payments Post Faster? Electronic payments made online or by phone on a business day and during business hours will post to your credit card account faster than a mailed check. With electronic payments, you don’t have to wait for the mail to reach your credit card issuer. Since payment posting and processing times can vary by the credit card issuer, the best way to figure out when your credit card payment will post to your account is to contact your credit card issuer....

Generally, it takes about two months to close on an FHA loan. According to August 2021 data, for example, it takes an average of 51 days (about seven weeks) to close on an FHA loan, compared to just two weeks if you were to pay in cash. Learn more about why you still might want to choose an FHA loan and how the different requirements affect the time it takes to close on a loan...

Follow this step-by-step guide to buying a house and find out how long you can expect it to take based on various factors. Getting Ready To Buy a Home It’s important to take a few preliminary steps before you get too far along in the homebuying process. This will ensure that you get approved for the financing you need at an affordable rate. Check Your Credit (Minutes to Months) Check your credit reports and scores first....

We’ll discuss what cash on hand is, why it’s necessary for your business, and how to figure out the appropriate amount to keep on hand. What Is Cash on Hand? Cash on hand consist of finances set aside specifically for an unexpected use—this could be rainy day funds for an emergency, for example, or money to put toward unanticipated investment or expansion opportunities. Having cash on hand can help to keep your business afloat during tough times....

You can take several approaches in deciding how much to save for retirement. Determining the right number means honestly assessing your current and future income, and identifying your ideal retirement lifestyle, along with its associated costs. Why You Need a Retirement Target Establishing a clear retirement savings goal can help you stay in financial health during your retirement years. One in three Americans say they feel “very confident” about having enough money to last through their retirement years, according to the 2022 Retirement Confidence Survey by EBRI....

Luckily, there are a few different rules of thumb that you can use to answer the question, “how much should I spend on a mortgage?” We’ll go over them in detail and help you decide which one might be best for your situation. How Much Can You Spend on a Mortgage? Rather than looking at the total amount of money you can borrow for a house, it’s better to look at how affordable your monthly payment might be....

LLC and S-Corp Structures for Tax Purposes LLC’s (classified for tax purposes as a sole proprietorship or a partnership) and S corporations are considered pass-through business entities. This means the taxes of the business are reported on the business tax return but are passed through to the individual owners. The owners receive a tax form that’s included with the owner’s tax return. LLC A limited liability company registers with a state but the LLC isn’t recognized by the IRS as a tax entity....

The best way to answer interview questions about yourself is to be honest. You are who you are. However, you also want to keep the company and the specific job in mind when you answer. Read below for more specific tips on how to answer interview questions about yourself. Also see below for a list of the most common interview questions you’ll be asked, and sample answers. Tips for Answering Interview Questions About You Every interview question about you requires a slightly different answer, but there are a few useful tips you can keep in mind whenever you are asked a question about yourself....

What the Interviewer Really Wants to Know At your interview, prospective employers are trying to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and determine how they will affect your ability to do the job. You may be asked many different questions about yourself, requiring you to reflect on what kind of an employee you are. When interviewers ask why you weren’t promoted, they want to know if there is some skill or qualification that you are missing, or if your performance at your current role is poor....

If you’re one of the many Americans facing long-term unemployment, it’s still possible to maintain a budget that will sustain this newfound reality for you. These five tips will help as a starting point, and possibly increase your income as well. Start Early As soon as possible, take charge of your situation. “If your job will be affected long term, it’s better to immediately reassess your budget rather than wait until you use up the majority of your savings,” Steffa Mantilla, a certified financial education instructor (CFEI) who runs financial blog Money Tamer, told The Balance in an email....

The problem with the relationship between risk and reward is that the reward is always a potential reward. The rewards for investing don’t take place in the present, and they’re never completely guaranteed. Investors need a way to estimate what their reward, or earnings, on an investment should be so they can invest accordingly. There’s a quick and easy way that you can get a reading on an investment’s potential reward if you’d like to assess the potential risk you’re taking on....

If the decedent died in the same county where all their property is located, there’s no issue – this is where probate should be opened. Unique situations can arise, such as when probate isn’t required in the county where the decedent lived because they don’t own property located there, but they do own real property in another state. In that case, you might do your best to consult with an attorney in the state where the property is located to determine the correct course of action....