In the go-go housing market that prevailed leading up to 2008, many people came to believe that they couldn’t go wrong investing in a home (i.e., buying a house and throwing as much money as possible into maintaining and improving it). When home prices were rising steadily—one could say precipitously—for nearly 35 years leading up [...]
Becoming a DIY investor isn't as easy as painting your kitchen or rigging up a new light fixture--but it's not impossible, especially with a little training. It can be difficult to translate financial news into a stock portfolio. You can watch CNBC all day long and still not have a clue how to buy and [...]
If you are one of the millions of homeowners who received a loan modification during the Great Recession, you may now be receiving letters from your home loan servicer with new information about future rate adjustments. How does this affect you? If your rate adjusts, the interest rate on your modified loan could increase by [...]
“How long should I keep my tax paperwork?” This is a tax question people ask me regularly, often while they are pleading to be released from the towering burden of mounds and mounds of tax records. It’s probably not practical to store the paperwork forever, but you know my “rule of records”: the minute you [...]
I remember buying my first home. It was a Victorian cottage on Long Island that I painted creamy yellow and carnation pink. I didn’t think about the cost of insurance when I bought it. I was young and naive; I only saw the beauty of that house. I didn’t even consider the insurance costs. As [...]
Kristi Ross, Amanda Setili, Austin Allison and John Heithaus join Ilyce this week to discuss how to improve your small business on August 17, 2014 on WSB radio. Kristi Ross - CEO, President of dough, Inc In April 2014, tastytrade and dough combined to form a new company: dough, Inc. Formerly president of tastytrade and CEO and president of [...]
When my husband and I were preparing for the birth of our son nearly 12 years ago, we were daunted by everything we were told we were supposed to have. It looked as though having a baby would bankrupt us. Today, costs are higher, and the list of things you should supposedly have for baby [...]
Getting an inheritance can be such a bittersweet experience. You might receive lots of money or special mementos from the deceased, but the person with whom you’d like to share the experience is gone. During this trying time, it’s likely that the last thing on your mind is taxes. But taxes are an important consideration [...]
Every real estate investor makes mistakes, myself included. But you learn from them and ultimately build experience for the next time. On my radio show this week, I asked Brandon Turner, the vice president of marketing and communications at BiggerPockets.com, a real estate investing social network, about some of the biggest mistakes investors make. “The [...]
I have counseled numerous families on how to manage their finances, and there’s been a common issue among many: how to best help an adult child with his or her financial issues, from struggling to make mortgage payments to managing overwhelming credit card and student loan debt. Adults face a tough job market today—even with [...]
