Daryl Shows The Poconos
Buying a home is a major financial and life commitment that you’ll be living with for the foreseeable future. While that can sound a little daunting, being aware of this, and zeroing in on what exactly you need in a home can make the process a lot less stressful.
The first step is to define what the “perfect” home is to you. Start by making a list of your “must-haves,” “would likes” and what would be nice, but not necessary. If you’re buying with a partner, make sure you compare lists to furt...
A late payment on a credit bill or other debt such as a mortgage can have a significant impact on your credit score. And the higher your credit score is to begin with, the more it can fall after a late payment.
Paying your bills on time is the best way to avoid this. If you don’t make your payments and your account is turned over to a collections agency, you won’t be able to get that account current again. Late payments can stay on a credit report for seven years.
Before it gets to that point,...
Moving is largely about looking back and looking forward. We make meticulous lists of everything before the move: from what has to be packed up or tossed out from the old house, to the utilities turn-off dates and the moving van’s pickup time. Likewise, we do our best to make sure that everything in the new home is ready to go so that we can seamlessly start our new life.
And an important part of that post-move plan is to be prepared. Sure, you’ll probably have a good idea of what you want to p...
When we think about lottery winners, we likely imagine new cars and mega-mansions. But according to a recent survey conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC®), most of us would actually use our lottery winnings to pay down our debt.
Among the 1,729 people who took part in this online poll, 87 percent indicated that they would use their winnings to become debt-free. Conversely, only 8 percent would use the funds to invest and grow savings before considering other priorit...
If you submitted a claim to your homeowners insurance company and received a payment, the company most likely sent you a letter stating that your claim was closed. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the issue has been completely settled, however. The insurer might reopen your claim, even if it has already sent you a payment, if you present evidence that the company didn’t adequately compensate you for your losses or introduce new information that wasn’t available when you initially submitted you...
A cellphone bill is an expense almost everyone has to pay each month. Even if you set up automatic payments to make paying it easier, it’s still money you have to come up with monthly—and it can be a big bill.
Here are five ways to lower your cellphone bill:
Switch to no contract. One of the big costs of a contract plan with your phone provider is paying a subsidized price so that you can get the latest phone every two years. Some companies run the contract for 30 months, which lowers the payme...
