An aunt of mine is a world-class collector. She keeps stacks of magazines from the 1960s, owns thousands of books and dozens of bookshelves, multiple copies of the same CDs and DVDs because she’s forgotten that she already owns a copy, and, no kidding, has enough VHS tapes to open her own video store. Continue reading
A central pillar of the American Dream is to own your own home. But as we all know the nation-wide housing crisis has made a lasting, sometimes devastating, impact on the concept of home ownership. In response to the housing catastrophe, some have wondered if renting a home will become more acceptable over time and possibly even become the new American Dream.
No doubt that house ownership has dropped in the last few years. But this trend doesn’t mean that a shift in the American psyche is taking place, or that we’re completely moving away from homeownership. Continue reading
I know a family, which I’ll call Todd and Jill Merrill. During the economic downturn of 2008-2009, Todd lost his job, and the family decided they needed to move. When they prepared to sell their home, they discovered, like many others, that the value of their house was less than the money they owed on it.
The Merrill’s have done their best to move on and rebuild their lives. Although they lost money on their last home, their goal is to buy another in about a year. If you’re coming out of a similar situation, and looking to buy another home, realtor Richard Martinez addresses common questions you may find helpful.
Talking with my friends and calling on my own observations, here are a few strategies that can help anyone like the Merrill’s reach their goals much faster. Continue reading
It nearly broke my heart to toss out a beloved computer chair at the time I was moving across country. The faux leather chair was comfy and practical for a home office, but it just wouldn’t fit in the car. Worse, it was the second of its kind that I’d owned, and because it was too big, it was the second time I had had to leave a chair like this behind.
While it isn’t exactly economical to keep buying the same chair over and over, in the moves I’ve made crisscrossing the country, I have learned a number of tricks to save money. Continue reading
