Posts Tagged With ‘ Housing ’

Things are busy, here in my corner of the USA. I’m behind in reporting on what’s happening for National Consumer Protection Week. A lot of my time has been taken up since the first of the year taking part in the Dean Ornish heart health program. It ends Wednesday. I’ll be reporting on its many benefits soon. Activities for National Consumer Protection Week Here are some activities the Federal Trade Commission if offering for the consumer week: Wednesday, March 8 (In-person event) 10am – 2 p.m. HAST: Visit the FTC table at the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs NCPW Fair at... Continue Reading

Most landlords and property managers use tenant background checks to decide whether to rent to someone. Two federal agencies want to hear about your experiences with background checks used to screen tenants. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission have received thousands of complaints about the background checks including people being rejected for housing because someone else’s negative information, such as a criminal record or eviction, incorrectly appeared in their report. Other complaints have reported it’s difficult to have tenant screening companies fix... Continue Reading

It’s the holiday season and Christmas Day will be here soon.  For more than a year now, I’ve been writing a newsletter offering readers 10 money tips every week.  The response has been very positive. I scour a variety of websites to look for the latest information to help consumers make wise financial decisions.   I thought I’d post a copy of this week’s newsletter because it has several tips for the holidays that could be helpful to my blog readers. You can subscribe to my newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/makeyourmoneywork. There’s no charge. Happy holidays. Rita R. Robison Newsletter  Many... Continue Reading

Among the biggest news from last week’s recalls is a portable generator that can amputate fingers. Generac and DR 6500 Watt and 8000 Watt portable generators have caused 37 injuries, 24 resulting in finger amputations and five in finger crushing, according to reports to Generac. The problem is an unlocked handle can pinch consumers’ fingers against the generator frame when the generator is moved, posing finger amputation and crushing risks. About 321,160 of the generators were previously recalled in July 2021 in the United States with an additional 4,575 recalled in Canada. The recall involves... Continue Reading

Have you been peeking? Checking your investments. Such fun. With just a click or two, you can see what’s up and what’s down. The bright green confirming your choices, stoking mirages of early retirement, days on the beach and freedom moving closer. The panicky red graphs conjuring temporary despair, years more of daily grind and a second career as a Walmart greeter. The drama plays out in a river of dopamine as your body savors the rush of the latest set of numbers and charts. But is there a real benefit checking your investments? And how often is too often? There’s really not much... Continue Reading

Slashing housing costs – a tale of two cities I was chatting with a neighbor here in Cleveland and she mentioned that a friend felt that he was shut out of the housing market due to rising prices. She leaned in for emphasis and added, “In fact, he got outbid by $25,000 on a house recently”. Being from Toronto originally, I had to suppress a snicker. Although I sympathize with her friend’s plight, it felt like her story was missing a zero. Toronto housing bids regularly jump by hundreds of thousands and often sell for $250,000 or more above asking price. That is more than the price... Continue Reading

Save big on home improvements In the olden days, pre 2020, we all paid scant attention to the condition of our homes. Back then, we focused on the snack we were grabbing in the kitchen, the dog we were leashing for a stroll and the barbecue out on the deck. Now that we are all held in house arrest without bail, we are starting to see the aging kitchen from which the snack came, the scratched floor underneath the dog and the rotting deck under the barbecue. At virtual dinner parties and Zoom wine hours, the conversations turn to home improvements. And with our Stimulus stipends spent, we are all... Continue Reading