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FDIC survey: Unbanked households hit record low

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A record low number of households in the U.S. are unbanked, according to the 2023 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households released Nov. 12, 2024. A household in which no members have a bank account, is how unbanked is defined by the FDIC.

This number has steadily decreased — from its ...Read more

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5 ways to tell if you're on track for retirement -- and 5 things to do if you need to catch up, according to experts

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Just because retirement planning involves some guesswork doesn’t mean it has to be a total mystery.

Whether you’ve been saving since your first job or you’re getting a late start, you can leverage expert-recommended strategies to gauge your progress on the road to retirement. And if you’re not quite on track, don’t sweat it — the ...Read more

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10 Warren Buffett dividend stocks for passive income investors

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Dividend stocks can be a great way to generate passive income as an investor, and what better way to find dividend stock ideas than by sifting through the holdings of arguably the world’s greatest investor, Warren Buffett?

Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio is filled with dividend stocks, which should come as no surprise to Buffett followers. ...Read more

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Rocket Mortgage sues feds over discrimination allegations

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Rocket Mortgage is suing the federal government, seeking dismissal of a law suit that claims the Detroit lender discriminated against a Black homeowner who received an allegedly low appraisal when seeking to refinance her property loan.

Rocket Mortgage said Thursday that its federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban ...Read more

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Chicago biohub backed by Mark Zuckerberg publishes its first research, discovering way to continuously monitor inflammation

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A Chicago biomedical research hub backed by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, has produced its first published research — on discovering a way to monitor inflammation in real time using sensors implanted under the skin.

The study, co-led by Northwestern University researchers at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub ...Read more

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What's next for the 2025 real estate market? We may see better prices and more inventory

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Whether you’re a renter, homeowner or potential buyer in South Florida, the new year may present you with some favorable changes in the housing market, according to real estate experts.

This could include better prices in 2025, as well as more options to choose from when deciding where to live, whether that’s renting an apartment or buying ...Read more

Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

What the 2025 housing market might look like

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The 2024 housing market was unpredictable.

Economists at the multiple listing service Bright MLS expected a busy market and for home prices to soften this year. But that hasn’t been the case across the Mid-Atlantic.

Sales have been slower than expected — nearly flat compared to last year. And home prices grew rapidly. In the Philadelphia ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Can we sell our Florida condo remotely?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: We want to sell our condo in Florida, but traveling is getting more difficult because of our age. Is it possible to do this without being there in person? — Anne

A: Yes, many people sell property remotely. Selling from afar requires a bit more planning and some additional caution.

The easiest option would be to use a trusted relative or ...Read more

Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Inside the procedure at the heart of a multibillion-dollar race to a safer AFib treatment

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Under a canopy of eight heart-monitoring screens in a cardiac catheterization lab on a recent Monday, Mayo Clinic doctors briefly paused a procedure treating atrial fibrillation to inspect a new tool: a long tube with what looked like flower petals made out of wire at its end.

That wiry flower is the focus of a multibillion-dollar innovation ...Read more

Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

$1B in homes: Las Vegas leads nation in investor purchases of homes

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The Las Vegas Valley posted the biggest increase in the nation in investor purchases for the third quarter of this year, according to a new study from Redfin.

The valley posted a 27.9 percent increase from the second quarter, the biggest jump of any metro in the country, according to the study. This was higher than Seattle (21.8 percent) and ...Read more

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7 ways to invest like you're rich, even if you're not yet

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The average American says they need an annual income of $520,000 to feel rich, according to Bankrate’s latest Financial Freedom Survey. While earning a lot of money may make you feel rich, there’s no amount that you can’t outspend. So, if you’re not transforming your high earnings into actual wealth, then you’re not a member of the ...Read more

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How to start investing in cryptocurrency: A guide for beginners

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Cryptocurrencies are enormously volatile, but that volatility can create opportunities for profit if you’re looking to trade these digital assets. Cryptos such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen a lot since their debut — but they’ve also experienced tremendous boom-bust cycles along the way. Experienced traders have been speculating on ...Read more

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Apple Cash: How to use it to send and receive money

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

If you’re an iPhone user, you might not realize that you already have access to Apple Cash. It’s a digital cash card that’s built into Apple devices and can be found in the default Wallet app. (Note: You must link an eligible debit card to use this service.)

The main function of Apple Cash is to make it easier for Apple device users to ...Read more

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Bankrate's 2024 holiday spending report

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

This winter, amid the holiday parties and gift-giving, many Americans will be doing their best to keep holiday celebrations within budget. While the current annual inflation rate is back to levels seen in early 2021, prices of common goods going into the holiday season are still much higher than they were pre-pandemic, according to the Bureau of...Read more

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As you're shopping this season, beware these common holiday scams

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Imagine you’ve got the perfect holiday gift idea for your kiddo, but it’s sold out in stores. Luckily, you found a seller online who can ship the gift for a low price! They send you a link to their digital payment account so you can pay for the gift in advance. After all, the item is popular, and you want to get it before someone else does. ...Read more

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1 in 4 people say they'll go into debt for the holidays. Is social media to blame?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Americans are used to being bombarded with holiday advertising in shopping malls and TV commercials. But now, ads have infiltrated our evening scroll. Companies and influencers tell us to buy this gift or that decoration to impress our friends, get a great deal or have the best-decorated yard on the block.

More than 1 in 4 holiday shoppers (27%...Read more

John T. Greilick/The Detroit News/TNS

Detroit's Renaissance Center would lose two towers, add apartments, riverfront park under new proposal

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

DETROIT — The Renaissance Center would shrink to three towers with residential, office and hotel tenancy to create space for a six-acre riverfront park in a more than $1.6 billion redevelopment plan dependent on $250 million in state support that would make billionaire mortgage mogul Dan Gilbert's real estate firm shared owner of the complex ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

The holidays are full of potentially awkward money talks

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

There are plenty of conversational landmines to avoid around the holiday dinner table. Money leads the way, according to a recent Bankrate survey. We found that only 38% of U.S. adults are comfortable discussing their bank account balances with family members and close friends. Fewer than half (47%) are comfortable discussing their love lives, ...Read more

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What are commission-free annuities and are they good for retirement?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Annuities are often popular with retirees and those looking to retire because of the steady income stream they can provide. But annuities tend to come with high costs and commissions for salespeople, often masquerading as financial advisers, that eat into investors’ returns.

Some firms now offer annuities without commissions, which could be ...Read more

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Jonathan Levin: Trump is making the 60/40 portfolio great again

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The post-election stock market is already giving investors a wild ride. Big individual stock selloffs, massive rallies, and a dizzying array of market narratives built on Wall Street’s best attempts to read President-elect Donald Trump’s mind. All told, the S&P 500 Index is up almost 4% since Election Day, but the numbers don’t do justice ...Read more