Homeowners can gain access to significant chunks of cash with a HELOC—but there are limits to be aware of in order to avoid being surprised by them when you apply. Here are the ins and outs of a HELOC and how to estimate how big a HELOC you might get. How Does a HELOC Work? A HELOC works much like a credit card. Your home is used as collateral, or the item that secures the loan if you don’t pay....

Debt collectors typically announce themselves by contacting you through phone calls, letters, or other means. However, when you know you have an account in collections but don’t know which agency has the debt, there are four ways you can find out. Asking the Original Lender The lender you originally had the account with may be able to tell you which collection agency purchased or otherwise acquired your account. However, it’s also possible the account has been transferred to a third agency, and in that case, your original lender is unlikely to be of assistance....

Learn whether a vanishing deductible is as good of a deal as it sounds and when it might be right for you. What Is a Vanishing Deductible? A vanishing or “disappearing” deductible is a way that insurance companies reward their customers for accident-free driving. Basically, the longer you go without a claim, the lower your insurance deductible becomes. Depending on your policy, your deductible may disappear altogether. How Vanishing Deductibles Work While dollar amounts and the time at which you earn your first credit vary among disappearing-deductible programs you’ll typically find the same general parameters:...

The job description will do more than just list the job requirements and duties associated with the role: It will specify skills, education, training, work experience, and other requirements for the job.It may even provide a sense of where the role falls in the reporting structure and give a sense of what the day-to-day responsibilities will look like. For example, the job description might say whether you’ll be required to travel and what your goals would be, should you be hired....

If you’re new to digital currencies, then it’s important to understand how bitcoin works and how it is created. Here’s a deeper look at the bitcoin blockchain and the bitcoin mining process. What Is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a digital currency. Unlike government-backed currencies, known as fiat currencies, bitcoin isn’t backed by any central bank or government. Bitcoin’s value derives from both the security of the underlying technology, global adoption by the community of bitcoin users and the fact that its supply is capped at 21 million....

Why Does My Income Affect Student Aid? When filing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), you provide financial information including your own earned income. “The student’s income is a piece of the calculation used to determine a family’s ability to pay,” Dana Kelly, vice president of professional development for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, told The Balance via email. Your income, savings, and assets reported on the FAFSA are used to calculate your expected family contribution, or EFC....

What Does Affect Your Credit Score There are five key factors that affect your credit score: payment history, level of debt, the age of credit history, types of credit accounts, and inquiries to your credit report. Your employment status and salary are not factors that directly impact your credit score. Your creditors and the credit bureaus may not even find out you’ve lost your job unless you tell them. However, creditors typically request that you update your income annually, so if your income has taken a hit due to a job loss, they will become informed....

Let’s review some of the business records that the IRS may request, how long to keep each one, and why these records are so important. What Business Records Should You Keep? Businesses of all sizes are required to keep up-to-date records that reflect their gross income, expenses, deductions, and transactions. It’s best to maintain your records with the help of an experienced bookkeeper and electronic accounting software. Another great resource is your business bank account, which shows your income and transactions....

In addition to the down payment, closing costs, and other fees you’ll need to pay your lender, you may also need cash reserves on hand. Here’s a rundown on what that means. What Are Cash Reserves? Even if you have plenty of income to meet your loan obligations, your lender wants to feel confident that you have enough cash on hand—or in “reserve”—to pay your mortgage in the event you lose your job or experience a decrease in income....

These transactions are verified by solving complex cryptographic and mathematical problems for which bitcoin miners use a lot of power. Together, they use more electricity than many countries. Here’s a look at how much power it takes to create new bitcoins and how much power the bitcoin network uses every day. Why Do Bitcoin Transactions Require Energy? Solving complex problems requires a fair amount of computational power and, in theory, nearly any computer can be used to mine bitcoin....

To help you better embrace the idea of filing taxes on your own, here’s a cheat sheet to help you figure out how much help you really need to get the job done based on your tax situation. File for Free If you’re an individual taxpayer with a W-2 form from your employer, you’ll likely need to file a 1040 form and the filing process can be pretty simple and straightforward....

The rest of the price of gas is based on refinery and distribution costs, corporate profits, and state and federal taxes. Crude oil prices accounted for 61% of the price tag at the pump in February 2022. Another 14% of the total price of a regular gallon of gasoline went to refining, while the rest went to distribution, marketing, and taxes. The nationwide average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $4....

The top individual tax rate dropped from 39.6% to 37% under the terms of the law, and numerous itemized deductions were eliminated or affected as well. The TCJA also cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% effective 2018. How the TCJA Affects You The TCJA is complex. Its various terms affect each family differently depending on their personal situations. High-Income Earners When the TCJA was proposed, the independent tax policy nonprofit Tax Foundation found that those who earn more than 95% of the rest of the population would enjoy a 2....

Apples to Apples: Compare Funds to Appropriate Benchmarks The first piece of information to analyze with mutual fund performance is the fund’s returns compared to an appropriate benchmark. For example, if you want to see how well your fund is performing, it’s best to compare it to the average return for funds in the same category. Suppose you were to look at your 401(k) statement and notice that one of your funds had a large decline in value, but the others have performed well in a given time frame....

Being asked about why you were terminated is among the most challenging interview questions to answer. It’s uncomfortable to talk about losing your job under any circumstances, and it’s even harder when you’re trying to explain it to someone you are hoping will hire you. Review advice on how to answer interview questions about why you were fired, with examples of the best answers. What the Interviewer Really Wants To Know What does the hiring manager want to know?...

Employers will often ask why you have been out of work for so long, and it’s important to be prepared to answer. What the Interviewer Wants to Know Simply put, interviewers are looking for an explanation: Why were you out of work, and for how long. For instance, do you use it as an opportunity to disparage your past employer? Have you been using the time out of work productively?...

Through Your Broker If you have a brokerage account, Roth IRA, traditional IRA, or another account with a stockbroker such as Charles Schwab or Merrill, you can buy most mutual funds just like you would stocks. The easiest way to do it is through the broker’s website. Many online brokers offer free trades nowadays, including for mutual fund purchases, and they usually don’t require you to have a certain minimum balance....

Consider Whether It Will Impact Your Credit Score Before calling your credit card issuer to have your credit card closed, consider whether closing that card will impact your credit score. Closing a credit card doesn’t remove it from your credit report, nor does it remove any associated payment history from your credit report. So if you were hoping you could close your credit card to make the credit bureaus “forget” that you were late, you’re out of luck....

That being said, closing a joint bank account when it no longer serves you is a financially smart and relatively painless activity. Understanding when and how to close a joint account can help you terminate yours without hassle. Reasons to Close a Joint Bank Account Terminating a shared account makes sense if you have an unresponsive or uncooperative co-owner on the account, or simply no longer need it (your banking needs changed or the relationship ended, for example)....

This article explains the process of filing a tax extension for different kinds of businesses and business owners, including an easy way to file by going online. How To File a Business Tax Extension Application You may request an extension on filing your business tax return by using Form 4868 or Form 7004, depending on the type of business you own. Even if you apply for an extension for filing your business income tax forms, you can’t extend the payment deadline....