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Judging by the TV commercials, most home improvements are a blast. You waltz into a store, throw a bunch of new faucets and buckets of paint in your shopping cart, without sweating about the cost, then transform your dingy kitchen into something out of, well, a TV commercial. Frequently, those...
07/26/2013
June was only just a little less hot than May, at least as far as the area's real estate market was concerned, according to a new report. Sales of houses and condos were up 14.1 percent in King County and 8.5 percent in Seattle from a year earlier, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported...
07/23/2013
For several years, the economy limped along because of me. I scrimped on everything, did it myself if I could do it myself, and hoarded money out of fear that the recent recession had another dip or two left in it. Things are different now. I’ve turned my savings into spending, rung up thousands...
07/18/2013
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Money can't buy you happiness, but can knowing how to handle money get you a spouse? That's the theory behind a couple of dating sites that use credit scores as a way for people to find Mr. or Ms. Right. This is just the latest way credit scores -- which are based on a person's outstanding debt ...
07/16/2013
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An unrelenting surge in interest rates for home mortgages pushed borrowing costs to their highest level in two years, stymieing demand from potential homeowners, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. Interest rates on fixed 30-year mortgages rose for the ninth week in a row to average...
07/15/2013
When it comes to home sweet home, sometimes TV gets it just right. And other times, the small screen is oh-so-wrong. Face it: The titular “2 Broke Girls” couldn’t afford the rent on their apartment in a trendy neighborhood of Brooklyn (if they paid the rent, that is). So what would it cost to sn...
07/12/2013
Millennials are the most connected generation in history. In fact, The Pew Research Center calls them "history's 'always connected' generation, treating their handheld devices 'almost like a body part.'" So when it comes to buying a home, Millennials (those born after 1982) are more likely to do...
07/11/2013
Low inventory and interest rates are why realtors call Seattle one of the most competitive housing markets in the country. “Seattle is just crazy bonkers. Most of our listings are going in 30 days,” said Al Uyeno, a local realtor. According to Uyeno, a declining unemployment rate of 5 percent an...
07/10/2013
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The difference between people who are financially secure and those who are not often comes down to one thing: Whether or not they make a budget — and stick to it. Of course, there are many other factors, but that is a consistent one. Not only does budgeting lead to security, but it also can play...
07/08/2013
As human beings, there are some traits that we all have in common — two hands, one heart, red blood, and, unfortunately for most of us, a wealth of debt. The average American carries a $47,000 debt load, and as a nation, nearly $2 trillion of our collective debt is either delinquent or 90 days...
07/03/2013