Thanks to two home purchases and refinancing my mortgage five times, I've become very familiar with that eternal home loan enigma known as the mortgage junk fee. As a result, I always challenge the more questionable junk fees -- and you should ...
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5 Ways to Fund Your Small Business Without Bank Loans
Most people dream of opening the doors to their own bookstores, record shops, accounting offices, and more, but very few ever achieve such a feat for a very good reason: lack of funding. Small businesses require quite a bit of capital to get off the ...
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Lost Checks: Is Not Stopping Payment Worth the Risk?
I wish I was as smart as my kids. They're never wrong.
Never.
If you don't believe me, just ask them.
As a matter of fact, I was reminded of that little "fact" last month after the Honeybee noticed that a couple of checks hadn't been cashed ...
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Why the Economic End Game Is Finally Upon Us
Let's face it, folks: If the world economy was healthy it wouldn't be stuck in a period of excruciatingly slow -- if not downright negative -- real growth while trillions in central bank currency are being printed and poured into the international ...
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10 Old Wives’ Tales Masquerading As Financial Rules of Thumb
It's been said that if the palm of your right hand itches, you'll soon be coming into money. On the other hand (seriously, no pun intended), it's also been said that if your left palm itches you'll soon be paying out money.
Don't laugh. There are ...
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6 Cheap Ways to Send Money Abroad
Sending money to people or accounts held in foreign countries comes with its own set of complications and costs. Whether you're doing business with a foreign contractor or vendor, sending money to a relative living abroad, or just making sure that ...
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The Latest Home Buying Survey Shows Increased Optimism
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Chase Mortgage Banking. All opinions are 100% mine.
Owning a home has always been a big part of the American Dream. In fact, with the wide variety of homes on the market and interest rates still ...
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Basic Factors to Consider When Shopping for a Home Loan
Today, almost everyone understands that the last recession had its roots in domestic mortgage borrowing. Many home loans were effectively toxic and were almost completely dependent upon the increase in real estate values providing lenders with their ...
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What Girl Scout Cookies Can Teach Us About Mortgages
I love this time of year because the Girl Scouts are out selling their cookies. Of course, that means they'll soon be knocking on my door -- and I'll once again spend 10 minutes agonizing between the Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos and Caramel deLites before ...
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100 Words On: Why Money Is NOT the Root of All Evil
So you think that money is the root of all evil? Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle ...
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Is It Finally Time to Get Rid of the Penny?
A while back I moved into a new office at work. When I looked in the desk, I found 162 pennies in one of the drawers. I can only assume that the previous owner used the desk as his chosen repository for all the pennies he received in change whenever ...
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A Primer to Help You Unravel the True Meaning of a Dollar
Have you ever looked really closely at the US one-dollar bill? It may not buy much anymore, but there's a lot of stuff going on with that humble bill -- and some of it is actually kind of creepy.
Today I'm going to unravel some of the dollar ...
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Important Considerations for Prospective Home Buyers
Buying property is expensive, which is why most people have to work a long time before they earn enough money for their dream home.
Of course, before one can find their dream home, they usually have to search through hundreds of homes to find a ...
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Why Getting Preapproved for a Home Loan Is Important
Buying a home is always a stressful time and you're going to want to make sure you have the funds for closing on your dream property.
The best way of making sure your funds are in place to transfer when your house purchase closes is to follow the ...
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3 Ways to Obtain Loans for Your Small Business
Small business owners often think that raising capital is necessary for business expansion; however, the key metric for growing business operations is the amount of money available to mitigate financial risks arising from unforeseen events and ...
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Why Bank-By-Phone Programs Can Help Those Without Checking Accounts
Even with all the advancements in banking technology, there are still millions of Americans without so much as a checking account. Luckily, more bank-by-phone programs are becoming available for those without the ability to bank. Here are just a ...
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What’s an Emphyteutic Lease? (And Why You May Want to Avoid One)
The other day the Honeybee and I were watching the two-millionth episode of House Hunters when the featured owners of a condo who were trying to sell their place got some chilling news from their real estate agent: First, their outdated kitchen's ...
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18 Astounding Facts You Didn’t Know About Money
You probably already knew that, long before the ubiquitous paper currencies we use today to pay for goods and services existed, man used various items as a medium of exchange including cowrie shells, leather, amber, rice, salt, thimbles and even ...
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The 5 Worst US State Quarter Designs
It’s hard to believe, but the US Mint’s very successful 50 State Quarters program ended five years ago. It was a 10-year initiative that honored each of the nation’s states in the order that they ratified the Constitution or were admitted into the ...
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Brazilian Hyperinflation: A Reader Explains What Life Was Like (Part 2)
(In Part 1, Leasi shared her account of life in Brazil during the hyperinflation that raged there between 1980 and 1994. For Part 2, I have a Q&A with Leasi that sheds a little more light on what she endured during that time.)
Len: Thanks for ...
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