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No more waitlist: Bilt opens its Mastercard to all with Wells Fargo backing – The Points Guy

In summer 2021, a small (but mighty) New York City startup disrupted the rental, credit cards and rewards marketplace.

Talking Money With Your Spouse

It seems that my column titled “Honey, We Need to Talk About Money” struck a chord. A typical response: “You certainly could have been talking about my wife and me,” writes reader Del Richter. 

As I wrote in January, when it comes to finances, women often suffer from an eyes-glaze-over syndrome that can be attributed to a number of reasons—lack of time, interest or confidence, to cite a few. Fortunately, Richter and others have come up with successful strategies to overcome a spouse’s resistance. 

As he approached retirement, Richter launched what he calls “a multi-pronged underground campaign” to pique his wife’s interest. First he said, “Honey, you know when I retire there won’t be a paycheck coming in anymore, so we really need a forward-looking budget to see if we can continue this lifestyle.” 

Next, he convinced his wife, Dena, that they needed to tackle updating their wills. “She realized our assets had grown substantially, and we had to address how we wanted them to be disbursed to children, grandchildren and charitable causes.” (My observation: By taking things one step at a time, the Richters made the process manageable rather than overwhelming.) 

The time factor is critical, says reader Coco Yackley. “Many of my women friends resist getting involved in finances not because they lack interest but because they lack the time and mental space to do so.” Yackley’s suggestion: “Have their husbands take over some household chores so they can prepare the paperwork for taxes or attend a class on financial planning.” 

Dan Williamson says hiring a financial adviser helped ease his wife’s concerns about the future. But he worries that his three 40-something daughters, two of whom are single mothers, don’t have time to focus on finance. (My advice: Dad could take them to see his financial adviser or, as Yackley suggests, offer to babysit the grandchildren while his daughters take a financial class or seminar.)

  • SEE MORE Financial Conversation Starters for Couples

The Power of Sharing

Amy Breiting found that a simple step like sharing passwords made a big difference. “My husband is recovering from heart surgery, and we hadn’t shared passwords,” writes Breiting. “Now I promote sharing them with someone you trust.”

Breiting has always made it a point to accompany her husband to appointments with their financial adviser, and she felt comfortable calling on him when her husband fell ill.  

Outside help that they seek as a couple has been a boon to other couples as well. Richter’s “third prong of attack” was to have his wife participate in the year-end review with their financial adviser. “The adviser would ask my wife pointed questions like ‘What are your concerns about the plan we are discussing?’ and ‘Are there items you don’t understand or want to change?’ ”

After managing the family finances for the first half of their almost 40-year marriage, Sandy V. encouraged his wife, Ellie, to hire a financial adviser so she would feel comfortable taking the reins in case of his death. She interviewed two women advisers, chose both of them to manage different pools of assets, and now meets with them at least once a year. 

Some women just need a little encouragement to go it alone. “I couldn’t get my wife, Mary Beth, interested in our investment accounts, which she perceived as mine,” writes Randy Johnson. “So I set up an account for her and guided her through the buying and selling process. Now, four years later, she has a portfolio of 28 stocks. She usually outperforms my accounts.”

  • SEE MORE How 2 Couples Covered Their Income Gaps for Life with Income Annuities

How to Afford a Down Payment on Your First Home, Step by Step

Saving for a down payment when you have a boatload of bills is no easy task, but first-time homebuyers with good credit have an edge: They often can put just 3% down, and they have access to a host of down payment assistance programs. A down payment gift from a family member, and sometimes a […]

The post How to Afford a Down Payment on Your First Home, Step by Step appeared first on SoFi.

What Is the Average Credit Card Limit and How Can You Increase It?

When you get a credit card, it comes with a credit limit. This is the maximum amount that a cardholder can spend on the card before needing to pay the credit card’s balance. A credit limit is sort of like a loan maximum — the higher the credit limit, the more money the cardholder can […]

The post What Is the Average Credit Card Limit and How Can You Increase It? appeared first on SoFi.

A Look Inside JoJo Siwa’s $3.5 Million Mediterranean-Style Mansion

At the tender age of 18, JoJo Siwa already has a net worth estimated to be over $20 million. But her merch/makeup dynasty and social media domination aren’t her only major achievements. The YouTube star has recently purchased a posh property in Tarzana, Calif. for nearly $3.5 million — making her just one of the latest TikTok stars conquering Los Angeles real estate. Read all about the Mediterranean-style mansion that the pop star calls home.

The post A Look Inside JoJo Siwa’s $3.5 Million Mediterranean-Style Mansion appeared first on Fancy Pants Homes.

What’s On The Mind Of A 2020 Buyer: Sustainability and Climate Change

Sometimes trying to guess what’s on the mind of buyers can be a difficult challenge. While some of those answers vary, statistics are showing us that despite location or style of home, buyers have one thing on their minds: sustainability and climate change.

The post What’s On The Mind Of A 2020 Buyer: Sustainability and Climate Change appeared first on Homes.com.

12 Things You Should Never Donate to Thrift Stores

Not all of your unwanted items are welcome at donation centers. Here’s a list of things most resale shops don’t want and can’t accept.

Where does LeBron James Live Now? A Look at the NBA Superstar’s Impressive Homes

LA Lakers superstar LeBron James is winning on and off the court. Not only did he star in one of this year’s biggest movies, picking up where Michael Jordan left off by starring in Space Jam: A New Legacy, but also setting new records: James became the first player in NBA history to accumulate $1 billion in […]

The post Where does LeBron James Live Now? A Look at the NBA Superstar’s Impressive Homes appeared first on Fancy Pants Homes.

Kiplinger ESG 20: ESG Stocks Not Immune From Downturn

Market volatility early in 2022 hasn’t dragged down only growth stocks and blue-chip names. It has also had a brownout effect on the Kiplinger ESG 20, our list of favorite stocks and funds that excel at meeting environmental, social and corporate governance standards.

Companies lauded for planet-friendly products, treating their workers well and building diverse boards and management teams are not immune to headwinds such as rising interest rates, spiking inflation, supply chain disruptions, computer chip shortages and the uncertainties of war. But short-term hiccups for companies committed to long-term sustainability shouldn’t deter investors, says Peter Essele, head of portfolio management for Commonwealth Financial Network.

  • SEE MORE Kiplinger ESG 20: Our Favorite Picks for ESG Investors

“An ESG investing framework is well suited for the economy of the future,” he says. 

After a bullish 2021 for ESG picks with impressive credentials, a pullback is under way early in 2022. Among our favorite ESG stocks, only cereal maker Kellogg (K), which settled a strike with workers in December by offering better pay and benefits, and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY) have posted a positive return so far this year. (Prices and returns are through March 4.)

Overall, our 15 ESG stocks have tumbled 13.3% since the start of the year, compared with a loss of 8.9% for the S&P 500.

The hardest-hit ESG stocks on our list are water technology company Xylem (XYL), down 28.7% in 2022, and Trane Technologies (TT), which makes energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, off 24.8%.

Our 15 ESG favorites have edged the broad market over the past 12 months, however, gaining 16.8% compared with the S&P 500’s 16.5% advance. And our picks still hold a performance edge over the broad market in the latest three-year period (25.4% versus 17.7%).

Common Complaints

The weak recent performance of our ESG picks is due to the well-known market depressants that have made headlines.

  • SEE MORE Grow With These Green ETFs and Mutual Funds

Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY), which makes turbines that turn wind energy into electricity, has been hurt by higher costs for materials and shipping due to supply-chain disruptions. Xylem has been impaired by computer chip constraints, which reduced the number of water meters it could ship to customers. Economy-wide bottlenecks and ingredient shortages have made it harder for Kellogg to get enough boxes of Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops on store shelves.

Like other growth-oriented stocks that tend to struggle when interest rates are rising, those on our list – such as solar panel maker First Solar (FSLR), chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) and Salesforce.com (CRM), a giant in the cloud-based software market – have been buffeted by the Federal Reserve’s commitment to hike rates to fight the hottest inflation readings in 40 years. Higher interest rates eat into the value of a company’s future earnings, making stocks whose promise is largely future-loaded less attractive. 

Our ESG-focused funds have posted mixed results. Brown Advisory Sustainable Bond Fund’s (BASBX) 2.8% decline so far in 2022 was smaller than the 3.1% loss suffered by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond index. The fund also topped that market benchmark in the past one- and three-year periods. FlexShares Stoxx Global ESG Select Index ETF’s (ESGG) one-year return of 9.0% and three-year return of 14.6% topped the MSCI All Country World index in both periods, although it has lagged slightly for the year to date.

The biggest fund losers so far in 2022 are Pax Global Environmental Markets (PGRNX), which owns foreign and U.S. stocks, down 18.4%, and Putnam Sustainable Future ETF (PFUT), which owns significant stakes in the technology and healthcare sectors, down 19.0%.

  • SEE MORE 5 Great Green Stocks Making a Direct Impact