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Promotion and writing ad copy is an art, but there are specific guidelines you can follow to make sure your home advertising reaches your targeted audience and increases buyer traffic. There’s a saying that to find out where ants are coming from, you’ve got to watch where the ants go. With that in mind, answer these two questions: Magazine Advertising Unless you’re trying to sell a home that appeals to a small audience and can afford to wait months for results, magazine ads are not likely to produce an immediate buyer....

There is a long list of things that can affect your car insurance. Because it is so dangerous to yourself and others, a drinking and driving conviction is a major traffic violation and it will without a doubt have a negative effect on your premiums and, in many cases, your ability to get car insurance at all. No insurance company offers an easy “out” for such a major violation....

For example, if you negotiate a debt settlement, your credit card issuer might agree to accept a $2,000 payment on a $5,000 debt. If the issuer is willing to come to the negotiating table, a lower lump sum may not be the only option to settle the debt. However, when you settle a debt that’s on your credit report, it can negatively affect your credit. Credit Score Impact Most of your credit and loan obligations are reported to the credit bureaus each month....

Sincerely,Robyn Dear Robyn, This is a great question. Many high school students will have college acceptances rolling in over the next few months, and with them, the big question of how to actually pay it. According to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the average cost for one year of public college was about $11,000 for a two-year institution and upwards of $26,000 for a four-year institution in the 2018-19 school year....

Maybe it’s because we tend to associate vandalism with a misbehaving neighborhood kid breaking a side mirror with a baseball bat, throwing eggs, or snapping off an antenna—things that are small and annoying but relatively cheap to fix. The fact is that auto vandalism is a very big problem, and it often results in hundreds and even thousands of dollars in claims and repair costs. Most of these tips might seem pretty obvious, but given the millions of dollars paid out annually in vandalism-related insurance claims, they’re good to keep in mind....

Here is how inflation-protected bonds work and how you can invest in them. What Is an Inflation-Protected Bond? An inflation-protected bond is one with a payout that increases or decreases in step with the effects of inflation, while guaranteeing either an inflation-adjusted principal or the original principal, whichever is greater. The design is intended to protect the investor from the purchasing-power erosion caused by inflation. Alternate names: Inflation-linked bonds, inflation-indexed bonds, real return bonds, Treasury inflation-protected securitiesAcronyms: ILB, TIPS...

Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 5.4% on a year-over-year basis last month, up from 5.0% in May, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The core inflation rate—which excludes prices for food and energy that tend to be more volatile—rose to 4.5%, from 3.8% in May, and hasn’t been this high in nearly 30 years. Part of the sharp rise in inflation is due to the fact that the economic crash last spring made the baseline for comparison with this year unusually low....

You can request a new installment agreement online through the IRS website or by submitting Form 9465, but you must contact the IRS directly to add tax liabilities to an existing installment agreement. All agreements are subject to certain rules. Guaranteed Installment Agreements The IRS will automatically agree to an installment plan if you owe no more than $10,000 and meet all of the following criteria: You (and your spouse if you’re married) haven’t filed a late return or paid late in the previous five years....

Learn more about the legal obligations of insurance agents. What Are Insurance Agent Legal Obligations? Insurance agents are governed by common law, state law, and contract law. Common law requires agents to act in good faith, to exercise reasonable care and diligence, and to carry out the client’s instructions. State laws determine the licensing requirements insurance must meet. These laws are enacted by state legislatures and enforced by state insurance departments....

What the Interviewer Wants to Know The interviewer also want to make sure you know what they are looking for in a job candidate, and that you have the ability to do the job if you were to be hired. One of the goals of the interview is to determine whether you are a good fit for both the role and the organization. On the flip side, you’ll also need to decide if the job is a good match for what you’re looking for in your next role....

It’s critical to show the hiring manager not just that you have the qualifications, but that you can apply them. Go beyond simply reminding the interviewer of your relevant certifications, for example, or even the jobs you’ve held that have prepared you for this role. Be prepared to make a case for why your unique experience makes you the best choice. The good news is that the hiring manager will most likely give you plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your aptitude for the role....

Definition of Long-Term Investing Long-term, with regard to investing, generally refers to a period greater than ten years. This is also generally true for categorizing investors as well as bond securities. For example, if an investment adviser asks questions to gauge your risk tolerance, they are seeking to determine what investment types are suitable for you and your investment objectives. Therefore, if you are young and you don’t expect to make withdrawals from your brokerage account for at least ten years, you may be considered a long-term investor....

“It’s a middle-class tax cut,” President Joe Biden said at the White House Thursday. “This can make it possible for a hard-working parent to say to his or her child, ‘Honey, we can get you new braces now. Or, ‘We can get you a tutor to help you with that math class you’ve been having trouble with. We can get you the sports equipment you need to sign up for the first team you’re going to play on....

However, the general rule of thumb is: investments make you money. Where a home appreciates in value over time and stocks pay a dividend and appreciate in value, a car depreciates over time and depreciates in value each year. Why Is It an Asset and Not an Investment? Your car may be considered an asset because you can sell it for a large amount of money. This can help in emergency situations and may help you to get out from underneath the loan....

But after paying $160 a month to drive the car through December, Asuncion found that his car had increased in value dramatically, and was now worth far more than its residual value—the amount that Asuncion could buy it for from the leasing company, per the terms of his contract. In fact, he had the right to buy the car for $20,995, but it was actually worth $25,375. He chose to sell it and pocketed $4,380, which was more than enough to cover the monthly payments he’d made....

Find out why job poaching happens, who it benefits, and what companies do to limit it. What Is Job Poaching? Job poaching is the intentional action of one company to hire an employee or group of employees currently employed at another competing company. Poaching talent from another company is a corporate move that can bolster a company’s workforce while simultaneously depriving a competitor of talent. The term “poaching” is a reference to illegal hunting, but job poaching is not illegal....

That leverage allows a small company to borrow funds to buy a much bigger company without much risk to itself. All the risk is carried by the bigger target company. That’s because the debt is put on its books. If there’s trouble paying the debt, its assets will be sold off first and it will go bankrupt. The smaller, acquiring company goes scot-free. These deals are usually done by private equity companies that purchase a public company to take it private....

An additional insured is someone who has partial ownership of an auto or is liable for an auto that’s insured by another party. A driver on a policy is not automatically an additional insured. Additional Insured vs. Listed Driver An additional insured is not the same as a listed driver. Don’t assume that you’ll be compensated for a loss because you are listed on someone’s policy as a driver. Only named insureds, loss payees, and additional insureds are listed on insurance claim checks for total losses....

As if this were not confusing enough, the trust-maker can also name themselves as trustees and beneficiaries in certain situations. There are many reasons that those who establish trusts do that, but the most common is for health purposes. Quick Definition of a Trust A trust is a financial tool designed to ensure that a person’s assets are held, managed, and distributed in accordance with their wishes. Trusts can be used for many purposes....

Buying the stock at a discount gives you an instant return on your investment, but what should you do about selling it? To answer that question, you must consider two factors regarding selling ESPP shares: risk and taxes. Risks of Holding Company Stock Holding a lot of your wealth in a single stock is riskier than other investment approaches. On an investment risk scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing the most risk, owning a single stock is a 5....