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Fewer people applying for financial aid this year will need to complete a process called verification, the department announced Tuesday, a change it says will help approximately 200,000 more students from low-income backgrounds and students of color enroll in college. Though the change is just for the 2021-22 aid cycle, the department said it is considering long-term improvements to ensure the process is more equitable while still preventing fraud. This year, aid verification will focus only on suspected fraud or identity theft....

In addition, it’s often easier to get focused work done at home than in a busy or loud office environment. Still, your manager or human resources department may be leery of allowing you to work remotely, especially if it’s not common in your company. Many managers prioritize face time or have concerns about productivity. How to Ask Your Manager to Work Remotely If you would like to work from home, you’ll need to be able to make your case and it’s best to put it in writing....

With mortgage borrowers set to lose forbearance protection in September and October, the number of homes for sale could increase by 15% over the next three months, according to a report released Tuesday by real estate company Zillow. That translates to an additional 211,700 listings, the analysis said, or 13.1% of all predicted sales between now and the end of October. Home prices have soared to record highs as people looking for more space during the pandemic moved away from crowded cities....

What are Entertainment Expenses? If it’s entertainment, it’s not deductible, Entertainment is a general term that the IRS says is “entertainment, amusement, or recreation, such as entertaining at night clubs, cocktail lounges, theaters, country clubs, golf and athletic clubs, sporting events, and on hunting, fishing, vacation, and similar trips, including such activity relating solely to the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s family.” “Entertainment” may also include costs for personal, living, or family needs of a business customer or their family....

On Fair Isaac Corporation’s FICO 8 model, the latest version of the FICO scoring model used in 90% of lending decisions, a score of 800 to 850 is considered “exceptional.” On the VantageScore 3.0 scale, an excellent credit score is 781 to 850. Excellent credit scores are well above the average score of U.S. consumers and tell lenders that a borrower has an extremely low risk of default. How Excellent Credit Works A credit score is a three-digit number calculated using the information in the credit reports created and maintained by the three major U....

Among the more than 100 economists and housing experts polled by Zillow, 69% expect inventory to start growing in the second half of 2021 or the first half of 2022 thanks to vaccines becoming more widely distributed, according to a survey released Wednesday. The experts polled expect the increased supply to help rein in home prices that have risen by double-digit percentages over the last year amid the pandemic’s counterintuitive residential real estate boom, although price growth will continue to be elevated for a while....

For over 100 years, yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes (“T-notes”) have varied considerably. In the fall of 2020, T-notes reached a 100-year low. In August 2020, the 10-year rate fell to 0.52%, its lowest level in the history of 10-year Treasury rates. U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) have also varied a great deal. T-bonds reached a high of 8.26% in January 1990. They hit a low of 0.99% in March 2020....

We don’t have the easy answers to those questions…sorry! However, after 14 years of trading, we do our best and most consistent trading when we stick to what we call 5-Star Setups. 5-Star Setups are pretty simply defined, in that they have positive catalysts in each of five different categories. Here are those categories: Daily Chart Before we even look at intraday charts, we filter a bunch of names every night that have actionable daily charts....

There is probably a clause in your homeowner and renter policy that covers your items while in transit, or in temporary storage. However, these clauses are subject to the terms and conditions of the contract. If you are a first-time homeowner, your current renter’s insurance may also cover your items for basic perils while in transit if you are sticking with the same insurance company. Keep in mind that if you use your home insurance and have to file a claim, your premiums will increase, and that’s an ongoing cost....

Benefits of a Home Insurance Inspection There are three specific benefits a home inspection can offer. First, it can help identify potential risks that could cause safety issues or losses, so that you can address them and avoid claims. Second, it can help identify different areas where you would be eligible for discounts on your home insurance policy that you do not already have. And third, it can help make sure that the insured dwelling value is not too high or too low....

While becoming a homeowner may not return much value in the short term, sticking with a property for the long run can be a sound financial decision. But as with any investment, it’s important to consider a number of factors, such as your time horizon, expected rate of return, costs, and risks. Here’s how to consider homeownership as a long-term investment, how to build equity, and the various factors and risks to consider before buying....

What Does it Mean to ‘Rebalance’ a Portfolio? When you finally finish building your portfolio of mutual funds, you’ll still need to do some maintenance on a periodic basis, even if you are a buy and hold investor. Rebalancing a portfolio of mutual funds is simply the act of returning one’s current investment allocations back to the original investment allocations. Rebalancing will require buying and/or selling shares of some or all of your mutual funds to bring the allocation percentages back into balance....

Closed-End Credit vs. Open-End Credit With open-end credit, you can keep using the same credit over and over as long as you make the minimum monthly payments on time each month. Closed-end credit is a type of loan that you only take out once, such as an installment loan. After you repay your balance, you can’t use the credit or loan again. You’ll have to apply for new credit if you need to borrow again....

What Is American Express Pay Over Time? American Express’s Pay Over Time feature essentially lets you turn a card with no preset credit limit into a more typical credit card, to a degree. If your card is eligible, qualifying purchases will be rolled into your Pay Over Time balance, up to a limit established by American Express. At the end of the month, you can either pay your balance in full or the minimum required, which will also lead to interest charges....

What Is Severance Pay? Severance pay is money that many companies remit to their employees upon involuntary termination, such as a layoff. It’s typically calculated based on the length of time you worked for the terminating organization. Employers are under no obligation to grant severance pay to terminated employees, but many choose to do so. Severance pay is negotiated between the employer and the employee at the time of termination....

How Linear and Log Charts Differ The difference between linear and logarithmic charts is how the y-axis (the price portion) of a chart is spaced. Candlestick and OHLC (and most other chart types) have time plotted along the bottom of the chart (x-axis) and the price is along the y-axis. On a linear chart, the price spacing is equal. The reference points along the y-axis ascend in equal increments with equal spacing between them....

When You Need to Buy Your Own Auto Insurance Unlike health insurance, a child can remain on a parent’s car insurance policy indefinitely. This applies to all ages of children, whether you’re an 18-year-old high school senior, a 35-year-old living with Mom and Dad, or a 50-year-old supporting aging parents. In fact, if you live with your parents, you may be required to be listed on their policy, even if you have your own policy or don’t drive....

It Takes a Team When it comes to how long an insurance claim takes, it might be longer than you think. This is because insurance claims aren’t dependent on just one person. The process involves a team. You need to be available to answer questions. The claims adjusters need to do their jobs. The body shop needs to be available to work with both you and the claims adjuster. If one of the players isn’t cooperating, the entire process can get delayed....

Know Your Rights Putting all of the other details aside for a moment, take a look at the facts. In the U.S., you are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This is all you will get, as the U.S. is one of three nations in the world that does not offer paid leave but hopefully, that’s changing with the proposed FAMILY act bill that is working its way through Congress at the moment....

How Much Should I Keep in Cash Reserves? It wasn’t all that long ago you could open a brokerage account, select a money market account or a similar alternative, and patiently wait to find an attractive investment while you collected 4%, 5%, or even 6% on your money. You could collect dividends and interest as a reward for keeping liquidity on hand. The logic behind the cash question can be dangerous....