Saving to Buy a House? 9 Free Things to Do in Minneapolis

Check out NerdWalletâs guide to getting the best car insurance in California, ranked by factors like coverage and discounts offered and customer satisfaction.
Step into a Norman Rockwell painting and live your best life in a suburban neighborhood.
The post Your Complete Guide to Suburban Neighborhoods appeared first on The Rent. Blog : A Renterâs Guide for Tips & Advice.
To fight climate change and the California’s housing affordability crisis, Gov. Newsom signed a bill that will bar cities from setting minimum parking requirements near transit stops.
Amid a tight labor market, many employers continue to look for ways to counter staffing shortages and lure potential hires back into the workforce. While some use creative benefits or work-from-home options as hiring draws, others hope to attract employees quickly with immediate cash in the form of a signing bonus. Many notable, large corporations […]
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
The BIG 3-0. The age that you’re really an adult. In your 20’s, you could still swing being a bit immature. Once 30 comes it’s game over. And now that I’m 35… Dang! Am I really 35? <sigh> Halfway through my 30’s and I’ve been rocking it the best way I can. As a result, […]
The post 30 Financial Rules That Every 30 Year-Old Should Know (or risk going broke) appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the costs associated with getting an abortion (travel, lodging, child care, etc.) are expected to rise.With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the costs associated with getting an abortion (travel, lodging, child care, etc.) are expected to rise.
The post The New Financial Costs of Getting an Abortion appeared first on Money Under 30.
Luxury housing planned along streetcar route sparks fears of displacement in Santa Ana’s Latino neighborhoods. Others welcome transit-oriented development.
While visiting Raleigh earlier this month, I spent a morning with my pal Justin (from the excellent Root of Good blog) and his wife. As we sipped our coffee and nibbled our bagels, the conversation turned to cost of living. (Money nerds will be money nerds, after all.)
“Things are cheaper here in North Carolina than they are in Portland,” I said. “Food is cheaper. Beer is cheaper. Hotel rooms are cheaper. Your homes are cheaper too. Last night, as I was walking through the neighborhood next to my hotel, I pulled up the housing prices. I was shocked at how low they are!”
“Yeah, housing costs are lower here than in many parts of the country,” Justin said.
“Take our house, for instance. We bought it in 2003 for $108,000. Zillow says it’s worth around $198,000 right now. But I’ll bet that’s a lot less than you’d pay for a similar place in Portland.”
He’s right. Justin and his wife own an 1800-square-foot home on 0.3 acres of land. Their place has four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. There’s only one place for sale in Portland right now that matches these stats and it’s going for $430,000 — more than twice the price the same home would fetch in Raleigh.
Housing is by far the largest slice of the average American budget, representing one-third of typical household spending. Because of this, the best way to cut your costs (and, therefor, boost your “profit margin”) is to reduce how much you spend to keep a roof over your head.
One obvious way to cut costs on housing is to choose a cheaper home or apartment. But if you truly want to slash your spending, consider moving to a new neighborhood. Or city. Or state. If you’re willing to change locations, you can supercharge your purchasing power and accelerate your saving rate.
Cost of living is one of those factors that people seldom consider, but which can have a huge impact on the family budget â sometimes in unexpected ways. According to The Millionaire Next Door:
Living in less costly areas can enable you to spend less and to invest more of your income. You will pay less for your home and correspondingly less for your property taxes. Your neighbors will be less likely to drive expensive motor vehicles. You will find it easier to keep up, even ahead, of the Joneses and still accumulate wealth.
It’s one thing to talk about the effects of high cost of living, but another to actually experience it.