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Understanding how to navigate through these changes isn’t guaranteed to be easy, but planning can help you build a strong financial foundation for your relationship. Following are five key questions many couples ask, along with answers to shed some light on how you and your partner can best proceed with your financial plan. Should We Set Up Joint Checking or Keep the Accounts Separate? One of the first questions newly married couples should ask centers on their bank accounts....

Some companies offer group health insurance, but others do not. You may want to consider a group health plan from an organization if you’re unemployed, self-employed, or a freelancer. Looking for Group Health Insurance Many groups offer health plans or services to their members. As a group member, you may be eligible for discounts or even have to access a group health insurance plan. You’ll be able to get coverage even if you’re not working if you have a membership because group plans are based on being a member of the group, not on your work status....

But those days are pretty much gone. Most people don’t use checks except for specific circumstances, and you can instantly check your account on your banking app or your computer. And not only can you see what’s going on instantly, but you can also actually have your bank proactively send you bank alerts through your app. But which alerts should you enable, and which should you eschew to keep from being bombarded with information you don’t need?...

Ariel Skelley / Getty Images The average for the week through Thursday was 2.97%, down from 3.04% last week and the lowest since Feb. 25, data from Freddie Mac showed. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) also reports weekly data, saying Wednesday that the average 30-year rate last week dipped to 3.20% from 3.27%. While Freddie Mac’s rates closely track the MBA’s, Freddie Mac’s reflect loans made rather than applied for as well as a more recent time period, among other slight differences....

Here’s what you should know about how mutual fund short-term capital gains are distributed. What Are Mutual Fund Capital Gains Distributions? Mutual fund shareholders face the prospect of receiving capital gains distributions from their mutual funds each year. They’re the result of the mutual fund selling securities within the fund. A mutual fund might start out the year holding a stock like General Electric then, during the year, the fund manager may decide to sell those shares at a capital gain....

However, if you are not paying a buyer’s agent and you are negotiating only with the buyer, you might need to help the buyer find a For Sale By Owner contract. So stock up on for sale by owner contracts that you can easily complete for the buyer to sign. Purchase Contract For Sale by Owner Negotiation If a buyer does not have an agent, you can offer to help the buyer write the purchase contract....

One good benchmark is your current net worth, which is roughly calculated by adding up all your cash and other assets and subtracting your debts. Don’t worry about keeping up with your buddies on this crucial number. Instead, learn the net worth targets you should hit at each age. For reference, here’s an in-depth breakdown of where you should aim to be when it comes to net worth goals by age and percentages of income to have saved....

How No-Credit-Check Loans Work With a no-credit-check loan, the lender will factor in a wider variety of data points to gauge your creditworthiness, including your credit score and non-credit-related information such as income, employment, and the standing of your bank accounts.  To obtain your credit score, lenders usually run a “soft” credit check on your credit file with one of the “big three” credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion....

fstop123 / Getty Images Agents on the front lines of the pandemic’s residential real estate boom say going without home inspections is not only a more common, though perhaps ill-advised, gambit, but is even becoming the norm in some places. While one real estate firm, Redfin, said the proportion of successful offers around the country that waived home inspections nearly doubled to 13.2% for the six months through February (compared to the same time period a year before), individual realtors in some areas report it’s the vast majority....

Review the benefits and drawbacks of PearBudget’s free spreadsheet below. PearBudget Basics PearBudget is a budgeting tool that offers an online budgeting interface as well as a free budget-tracking spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is built for use with software like Microsoft Excel or Open Office Calc (or any spreadsheet software that supports .xls files). Once it’s set up, the spreadsheet will help track your spending from month to month. PearBudget can track either a personal or a household budget, and it accommodates envelope budgeting by using irregular expense categories for annual, quarterly or other non-monthly expenses....

Pollution is an externality, for example. Drivers of non-compliant vehicles don’t suffer immediately from their exhaust, but everyone behind them does. Their exhaust also increases pollution for everyone in the community. The government imposes Pigouvian taxes on non-compliant vehicles to impose a higher cost on the drivers to compensate for the suffering they cause. The revenue from the tax is often used to ameliorate the external cost. British economist Arthur Pigou developed the concept of externalities....

Trading Terms Points Points typically refer to futures trading. One point is the smallest price increment change that can occur on the left side of the decimal point. For example, S&P 500 E-Mini (ES) futures might experience a price change from 1314.00 to 1315.00, which is a price change of one point. If Crude Oil (CL) moves from 68.00 to 69.00, that is one point. Each point of movement has a dollar value attached to it, but the exact value varies by exchange....

Most of us have heard of the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the race to the moon. JFK is known more for his foreign policy than anything else. After all, he was the American president who stood at the Berlin Gate and said, “Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner.’” West Germans felt his support for their city that had just been divided by the Communists who held East Berlin....

10'000 Hours / Getty Images And while you’re unlikely to find yourself directly involved with private equity or venture capital in the future, it’s important to understand how these deals may affect investors. What Is Private Equity? Private equity refers to the investment in a private company in exchange for controlling interest in the firm. A private equity firm often takes an active role in the management of the companies it invests in....

As the chart below shows, the volume of overall mortgage applications has fallen sharply, hitting its lowest point since December 2019 last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s index of mortgage activity. Refinancing applications continued to drop off sharply (down 29% since the start of the year), data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows. That’s no big surprise given the recent rise in mortgage rates, since one of the main reasons homeowners refinance their loans is to get a better rate, and fewer borrowers could still get a better rate as rates head north....

The surge in call volumes and talk time is a reflection of how complex a pandemic year has been for filers and for the IRS. At the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, the IRS pivoted, like most Americans, to sheltering in place and working from home when offices closed. During this time, the IRS not only processed tax returns but took on the extra burden of distributing various rounds of stimulus money and facilitating new tax laws, including an unemployment income exclusion that came after tax season started in February....

As a recent grad, it can sometimes be hard to know how to prove you will be an excellent candidate since you probably do not have a ton of on-the-job experience. However, between summer jobs, campus jobs, internships, campus involvement, and volunteer work, you likely have more experience than you think. Tips for Writing a Strong Cover Letter There are two things to consider when writing a cover letter. The first is the content of the letter:...

What to Include in the Letter In your letter of reference, describe the job responsibilities, contributions, and accomplishments the person held during your association, and why you are happy to provide a recommendation. Mention the time frame of your acquaintance as well. Ask the person you are writing the recommendation for to describe the job or type of job they’re applying to so that you can highlight the qualifications and hard and soft skills, including examples, that will be the most helpful in capturing a hiring manager’s attention....

As with most large financial decisions in life, the answer is complicated—but we’re here to help make it easier. A Car Is a Depreciating Asset Before you decide whether or not to trade in your vehicle, you should understand that it is a depreciating asset which means that, unlike a house or a stock, it only decreases in value the longer you own it. According to data from Carfax, a car depreciates about 10% of its value in the first month, 20% in the first year, and about 10% more of its value each year after that....

We’ll explain the value of having a plan in place, discuss your options for exiting the business, and weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each scenario. Why Small Businesses Need Exit Strategies All businesses need an exit strategy at some point, even if that just means transferring ownership of the company when one owner decides to retire. Leaving a business can be stressful, and emotions can often cloud your judgment....