Property tax assessments are government estimates, and government estimates are not always correct. Unfortunately, an error in a property's valuation can become a recurring expense for homeowners who fail to notice it. Incorrect square footage,…
Savings bonds have long occupied a dependable, if somewhat unremarkable, position in American personal finance. Backed by the federal government, they offer a predictable means of accumulating interest without exposure to ordinary stock market fluctuations.…
Old savings bonds can look like the sort of investment that only becomes more valuable with time. Maybe it was a birthday gift from a grandparent, or something a parent bought decades ago and tucked…
A $400 flight costs 40,000 points. At that price, each point buys one cent of travel. Months later, that same $400 seat costs 50,000 points. Your account still shows exactly as many points as before,…
Look at a modern paycheck and federal income-tax withholding barely seems remarkable. Money is deducted before wages reach the employee, sent to the Treasury, and later credited against the worker’s annual income-tax liability. Much of…
I grew up hearing terms like public housing and Section 8 without ever really wondering how different those programs actually were. Subsidized housing sounded like one category, almost as if every program worked through the…
Bill Gates can afford almost any watch ever made, yet he has long been associated with inexpensive Casio models. A billionaire wearing a watch that costs less than many people's monthly phone bills makes an…
Few financial products feel as ordinary in American life as a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Someone buys a house, borrows the money, and agrees to make payments for three decades. American housing finance is actually an…
Two homeowners can live a few doors apart in California, own houses worth about the same amount, and still receive property tax bills separated by thousands of dollars. San Diego offers a clear example. Martin…
Georgia motorists began a new 30-day suspension of the state motor fuel excise tax at 12:01 a.m. on September 29, after Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency amid volatile global energy markets and…
