The Latest Breaking News from Everybody Loves Your Money

The Seller Cut The Price 20K, Should You Offer Even Less?

A seller just cut $20,000 from the asking price, and suddenly the temptation appears: Why stop there? If the seller has already moved $20,000, maybe another $10,000 or $20,000 could disappear with the right offer.

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 9

The Power-of-Attorney Wording That Lets One Adult Child Move Your Money — Fix It Before You Sign

A power of attorney can make life dramatically easier when someone needs help paying bills, managing investments, or handling a bank account. But wording that gives an agent authority over “all financial affairs” or broadly authorizes banking transactions can put an enormous amount of control in one person’s hands, especially…

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 9

Turning Your Garage Into a Bedroom? Check These Rules Before You Start

That empty garage may look like a bedroom waiting for a bed, a lamp and a fresh coat of paint. Unfortunately, building officials tend to see something different: a space designed for cars that someone wants to turn into living space, which can trigger a surprisingly long checklist of requirements.

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 8

Your Property Tax Bill Jumped $1,200. Here Are the First 5 Things to Check

A property tax bill that suddenly costs $1,200 more deserves more than a frustrated glance before it gets shoved into a drawer. Property taxes can rise because an assessor changed the property’s taxable value, a taxing jurisdiction changed its rate or levy, an exemption disappeared, or something on the property…

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 7

7 Signs Someone May Have Changed Your ACA Marketplace Coverage Without Permission

An ACA Marketplace health plan should not mysteriously morph into something different while its owner is busy living life. Yet unauthorized enrollment and plan changes have become a serious consumer protection issue, particularly when someone gains access to Marketplace information or acts without the consumer’s permission. CMS has taken steps…

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 6

You Bought a $400,000 House 5 Years Ago. Did You Actually Make Money? Let’s Run the Numbers

Buying a $400,000 house five years ago may look like a pretty good financial move today. Depending on where that house sits, its market value could have climbed substantially, but the number on a real estate website does not tell the whole story.

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 6

Got a Letter Promising to Lower Your Mortgage Payment? The FTC Says Homeowners Are Being Targeted

A letter promising a lower mortgage payment can look awfully tempting, especially when it arrives with your name, property information, and a very specific offer printed neatly on official-looking stationery. The Federal Trade Commission recently warned homeowners about a mortgage relief operation that allegedly mailed letters nationwide promising lower mortgage…

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 6

8 Income Sources That Could Leave You Owing an Estimated Tax Payment This September

A paycheck can make taxes feel wonderfully automatic. Money arrives, taxes disappear, and the whole thing seems pleasantly handled until a new income stream shows up that never bothered to bring a tax withholding system along with it. That can leave taxpayers scrambling when the third estimated tax payment deadline…

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 5

7 Signs Mortgage Trouble Is Growing in Your Local Housing Market

A housing market can look perfectly normal from the sidewalk while trouble quietly builds underneath it. A few homes sitting longer, some sellers trimming their asking prices, and a handful of foreclosure notices do not automatically spell disaster, but several of those signals appearing together deserve attention.

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 5

Your SNAP Eligibility Could Look Different After September 30—Here’s Why

September 30 marks the end of the current SNAP eligibility year, which means October 1 brings a fresh set of income standards, deductions, benefit amounts, and other program rules. For a household that sits close to an eligibility line, even a routine annual update can matter.

Everybody Loves Your Money · Sep 5