Whether solar panels will work for your lifestyle depends on a lot of factors, such as how much sun your roof gets, how much electricity you use, whether you can get any tax credits for your solar setup, and more. We’ll give you the rundown of what factors to consider as well as how to easily calculate for yourself whether solar panels are worth it for you. How Much Do Solar Panels Cost?...

Sales of electrified vehicles tripled in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, Kelley reported Monday. While electrified vehicles still hold less than a 10% share of the U.S. market, the trend is decidedly up. In the second quarter, 375,000, or 8.5%, of the 4.4 million vehicles sold in the U.S. were pure electric (called EVs), hybrids, or plug-in hybrids—up from 7.8% in the first quarter and 4....

Here’s what you should know about auto loan delinquencies and how to avoid them. Trends in Auto Loan Delinquencies Serious auto loan delinquencies have been on an upward swing in recent years as subprime borrowers have increasingly struggled. According to the New York Fed, 5.1% of car loan balances were 90 or more days delinquent in the first quarter of 2020. That compares to 4.64% at the end of the second quarter of 2019, which was already the second-highest percentage since 2011, according to the report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York....

“He is looking at other executive authority options he has to bring relief to people who have student loans,” Psaki said during a press conference Tuesday, when asked about reports on discussions he had during a meeting Monday with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. According to the Washington Post and other news outlets, Biden signaled to lawmakers in that closed-door meeting that he was prepared to take significant action on student debt, potentially granting some amount of forgiveness or extending the freeze on loan obligations beyond Aug....

Learn how to calculate the book value of an asset, how it helps businesses during tax season, and why it’s less helpful for individuals who don’t run a business. What Is the Book Value of Assets? The book value of an asset is the value of that asset on the “books” (the accounting books and the balance sheet) of a company. It’s also known as the net book value. Businesses can use this calculation to determine how much depreciation costs they can write off on their taxes....

Spreading options is the process of trading one or more options against others. Option spreads are often volatility spreads. They are a bet on increasing or decreasing volatility. Long option spreads generally have limited risk while short option spreads have unlimited potential losses. One spread that option traders often use is the butterfly spread. The Butterfly Spread The butterfly spread is a neutral strategy that is a combination of a bull spread and a bear spread....

Lender Exchanges Can Be Made for You It is possible for a loan officer to call on your behalf to make a change to your car insurance. Typically the agent will ask to speak with you to verify you are in fact requesting the change. It is not unheard of for an agent to process the change without ever even talking to you. The lender relays the info to your agent, and you will soon receive the paperwork in the mail stating the changes to your policy....

LWA / Getty Images The answer depends on whether the offer is legally binding, and the definition for that varies from state to state. What’s true in Arizona might not be true for real estate in New Jersey. Typically, the contract is binding once the purchase agreement is signed. Learn more about when and if a seller can accept a higher offer. When Can a Seller Sell to Another Buyer?...

What Is a Noncompete Agreement? A noncompete agreement (sometimes called an agreement or a covenant not to compete) is an agreement between two parties in which one party compensates the other party for agreeing not to compete with them for business purposes. The agreement includes details on the type of competition that’s barred, along with the time period and the area over which the person cannot compete. The individual who signs the noncompete agreement must receive fair compensation in exchange....

The only people who may be able to claim a deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses include Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, and employees with impairment-related work expenses. If you are self-employed, though, there may be some deductions you can still take for mileage. Changes to Mileage Deductions In previous tax years, self-employed people, most businesses, and even many individual taxpayers were able to deduct mileage for business purposes....

There may be unemployment requirements to keep in mind. And if you take the leap in a down economy, you may find financing and demand for your product or service in flux. Having a solid plan that takes the economy into account is essential. Can You Collect Unemployment and Start a Business? You can start a business while collecting unemployment, but it may affect the amount of your weekly benefit and could be impacted by the time you need to spend searching for a full-time job....

While CDs can seem pretty simple, they’re subject to a few rules and regulations you should understand before you invest. From FDIC insurance coverage to call options, learn what’s often in the fine print so you make the most of your CDs. FDIC Coverage for CDs The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created by Congress to provide insurance on the deposits made to American banks. In short, if you deposit money into a federally insured U....

The process of clearing checks involves moving money from the check writer’s account to your account. Once this process is complete, it should be safe to spend the money. Did It Really Clear? Unfortunately, the term “clear” sometimes gets used prematurely. An item has only cleared after your bank receives funds from the check writer’s bank. Bank employees might tell you that a check has cleared, and your bank’s computer systems might show that you have those funds available for withdrawal, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can spend the money risk-free....

“Buying a home involves more money out of pocket than just the down payment,” Michele Hammond, vice president of lending with Cross Country Mortgage, told The Balance via email. For many homebuyers, coming up with that significant amount of cash at closing can be a barrier to homeownership. The good news is that it’s possible to get assistance with closing costs to make them more manageable. “While there is no way for a buyer to completely avoid paying these fees, there are ways that home(buyers) can save on them,” Hammond said....

One way is to look at how stock and bond performance compares over time. The chart below shows the annual returns of stocks represented by the S&P 500 and Baa-rated corporate bonds since 1928. Are Annual Returns a Good Measure? The years that stocks outperformed bonds are in blue, and the years that bonds outperformed stocks are in orange. The chart is an ocean of blue. It would seem that investing in stocks is an easy choice—why would anyone invest in bonds?...

While some banks, such as Citi and Synchrony Bank, are no longer outlining formal pandemic-related relief programs, those having a hard time making payments can still ask for help. Relief options will depend on individual situations. In some cases, you may qualify for additional help even if you already had payments deferred or fees waived in 2020. What Major Card Issuers Are Offering Struggling Consumers If you’re finding it difficult to manage credit card payments and debt these days, here are some relief options you may have: American Express Amex has a coronavirus support page on its website, which directs cardholders who need help to its standard financial hardship program webpage....

According to the FCRA, inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. Also, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old. Options for Disputing Credit Report Information You have two options for disputing credit report information. You can file a dispute with one of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) which are the companies responsible for compiling your credit report based on information received from your creditors....

Earlier in the year, as the economy reopened, economists expected mortgage rates to keep rising from the record lows they hit this winter. Instead, they headed back down and then stayed there. The average rate offered for a 30-year loan this week was 2.86%, a hair’s breadth below the 2.88% logged in July and not very far off from January’s record low of 2.65%, according to Freddie Mac’s measure. So what changed?...

There are three main types of indexes: price-weighted, value-weighted, and pure unweighted. 1. Price-Weighted Indexes With a price-weighted index, the index trading price is based on the trading prices of the individual securities (stocks) that the index basket comprises (known as “components”). In other words, the stocks with higher prices will have more impact on the movement of the index than those with lower prices. That’s because their price is “weighted” higher....

The all-time high was a result of the Federal Reserve (the Fed) raising the federal funds rate (the interest rate used for banks loaning to each other overnight) to combat stagflation (a high rate of inflation combined with economic shrinkage and high unemployment). Second, it means that the dollar rate may have increased over a short period. For example, the dollar strengthened by 21% between July 2014 and December 2016....