Agent Versus Broker Agents and brokers act as intermediaries between you (the insurance buyer) and your insurers. Both have a legal duty to help you obtain appropriate coverage at a reasonable price. Each must have a license to distribute the type of insurance he or she is selling. Each must adhere to the regulations enforced by your state insurance department. Agents Agents serve as representatives of insurance companies and may be captive or independent....

If given a chance to choose, you may be tempted to take LPMI over standard PMI, but you should know that names can be deceiving. What Is Private Mortgage Insurance? Private mortgage insurance is coverage that protects a lender when a borrower doesn’t pay their mortgage. When a buyer can put less than a 20% down payment on a mortgage—leaving an 80% loan-to-value (LTV)—they are seen as being more likely to default on the loan....

The timing of credit report updates largely depends on when lenders, credit card issuers, and other companies you have credit accounts with send your account information to credit bureaus. If you have multiple accounts with several businesses, your credit report could update daily. How Credit Updates Work The businesses you have accounts with—credit card issuers and lenders—send your updated account information to the credit bureaus at different times throughout the month based on their own schedule....

It has never been cheap to raise kids, but the recent spate of inflation has ratcheted up the cost of necessities and made it a much more expensive prospect. According to the government’s Consumer Price Index, groceries are up 21% since February 2020, gasoline and natural gas for heating both up 60%, and electricity up 22%. All that’s driven the average cost of raising a child born in 2015 to the age of 17 to $310,605, up from $284,594 when the figure was calculated in 2020, according to an estimate published recently by the Brookings think tank....

The additional bonuses combined with the salary or the job itself may make this pay structure worth it. However, bonuses can be tricky to factor into your budget. If you opt for bonuses instead of having it worked into a pay increase, it is important to create a budget without making your bonus a part of it. Here are five things to consider when dealing with a job that includes bonuses....

Because retirees have already paid federal income tax on the contributions they make to Roth accounts—either a 401(k) or an IRA—distributions from those accounts are tax-free. That means you won’t pay federal income tax on all the gains you made over the years in those accounts. Distributions from traditional 401(k)s or IRAs are taxed because the contributions were made with pre-tax dollars. Contribution Limits Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updates the maximum amount that can be contributed to retirement accounts, including Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s....

Questions about strengths and weaknesses can provide an opportunity to show how your skills are a perfect match for the job—or they can be a trap. Give the wrong answer, and the interview might go south in a hurry. What the Interviewer Really Wants to Know You may hear these questions phrased in different ways, but the underlying reason employers ask remains the same. They want to know what you see as your strengths and weaknesses and also observe how you respond to a challenging question....

What Kind of Homebuyers Seek a Closing Cost Credit? Many buyers who ask for a closing cost credit are first-time homebuyers. They might be obtaining a Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loan or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan, programs whose generous terms enable people with little in the way of upfront reserves to become homeowners. The FHA requires buyers to make a down payment of only 3.5% of the home’s purchase price, and the VA requires no down payment at all....

A job referral can be the best way to get a hiring manager to give your resume a closer look when you are applying for a job. Jobvite’s Recruiter Nation Report says that employee referrals follow internal hires on the list of top-rated hiring sources. Job boards are third on the list. While Zippia reports that employee referrals are four times more likely to receive a job offer. When you’re referred for a position by someone at a company or by a connection you have in common with the hiring manager, and you mention this referral in your cover letter, you’ve got a built-in recommendation for the job in the first paragraph....

What Is the Envelope System? In a nutshell, the envelope system is what it sounds like—dividing up your monthly or weekly funding budget into various paper envelopes. Each envelope is assigned to a specific category, and is designed to manage discretionary expenses. Discretionary expenses, also called variable expenses, are amounts you spend every week or month but might change from month to month. How to Set Up an Envelope System Budget Learning how to budget using envelopes isn’t that difficult, even if you’ve never budgeted before....

Can You Buy a House Without a Mortgage? While it is possible to buy a house without a mortgage, doing so is not an option for everyone. In fact, a study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that 87% of recent buyers financed their home purchases. It all depends on your unique situation. Even if you’re able to buy a house mortgage-free, it’s important to determine whether or not you should....

The COVID-19 pandemic has made choosing the right platform harder. Parents should always keep a few key considerations in mind when making their choice. This includes the cost of each type of program, the time required for parents and students, and the type of learning experience children can receive. In-Person Learning In-person learning can take place in public or private schools. Trained teachers conduct classes, which children attend along with other kids....

Use a Good Fund Screener Before you begin looking for the best mutual funds, you’ll need a good tool to help you do your research. There are several different mutual fund research sites you can use to find the best funds. You can locate and choose all of the usual mutual fund selection criteria with Morningstar’s Basic Fund Screener. This fund screener is free if you sign up for the basic membership....

In their attempts to collect from you, debt collectors may use an aggressive tone, display no sensitivity or concern for your finances, or talk to you disrespectfully. Some collectors cross the line and use threats or scare tactics to try to get you to pay up. If you happen to talk to a nice debt collector, consider yourself lucky. Since the opposite is more likely, knowing how to deal with rude collectors can keep you from being bullied into a payment you can’t afford....

The good news is, there is a way to make an informed decision with a tried-and-true method—a good, old-fashioned list. How To Evaluate the Job Offers On a piece of paper (or a spreadsheet, or a word-processing document), make two columns, one for each employer. Under each column or employer, enter each of these factors: Salary The job offer should include exactly how much each organization will be paying you....

Shared branching is an under-appreciated benefit of belonging to a credit union. Many transactions are free, but small fees might apply—so check with both credit unions if you have any questions. What You Can Do If your credit union is part of the shared branching network (formerly known as CU Service Centers), you can complete most routine transactions from anywhere, including: Make deposits at any credit union that’s part of the network....

Is a Will Public Record? When you write a will, it isn’t automatically in the public record. This is true whether you’ve written it yourself or a professional has. “Even if you’ve created a will, there’s no central repository for registering it,” said Christopher Olsen, an estate lawyer based in San Diego, California, in a phone interview with The Balance. “It’s only once someone has passed and their will has been filed with the court that it becomes public record....

Two Approaches to Fixing an Erroneous Credit Report The most effective way to fix your credit report is to attack it from two directions: Let’s start with the first option: correcting the information at credit reporting agencies. Doing so will require that you know how credit reporting agencies work and what information credit reporting companies store. First, you need to know what’s wrong. If you haven’t seen a recent copy of your credit report, get a free government credit report and find out exactly what it says....

You don’t have to do it that way. You can get a mortgage once you are retired. Determining Income for Retirees Retirees assume that if they don’t have a paycheck, they won’t qualify for a mortgage, due to lack of income. In reality, lenders have two methods, described below, they can use to calculate income for a retiree who is drawing on their assets. Drawdown From Retirement Method For retirees who are following a plan where they are now retired but may be delaying the start of Social Security or pension income, the most favorable option is to use the “drawdown on assets” method of determining income....

But there are several options for you actually to get paid to attend college. Yes, really. We take a look at the most common ways students can get paid for attending college, including corporate tuition reimbursements, career-specific tuition benefits, college financial aid, no-loan colleges, even scholarships, and grants. Corporate Tuition Reimbursements Corporate tuition reimbursement is when your employer helps pay for you to attend college to continue your education or earn your degree....