eXp World Holdings faced headwinds in the second quarter, as persistently slow real estate sales drove the company’s revenue down 13% year-over-year to $1.2 billion, executives disclosed on Thursday.
Despite the decline in revenue, the holding company for eXp Realty maintained profitability with a net income of $9.4 million, up from $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2023 and $9.3 million in Q2 2022.
The company’s adjusted operating earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined 15% year-over-year to $38.1 million in Q2 2023, according to the official statement.
Amid a difficult housing market, transaction sides declined 9% to 137,199. Sales volume also declined 16% from the second quarter of 2022 to $48.6 billion.
However, eXp World Holdings Chief Executive Officer Glenn Sanford expressed his satisfaction in spite of the declines in revenue, sales and transactions. The company and its subsidiaries, which include eXp Realty, SUCCESS Enterprises, Virbela and other affiliated services, are in solid financial shape, declared its executives.
“Our net income and adjusted EBITDA were both positive, we continue to have a solid financial profile, we have a strong cash flow generation and a significant cash balance as well as zero debt,” said Sanford during the company’s webcast.
International Realty was the best performing segment in Q2
When broken down by segments, International Realty revenues increased 35% year-over-year to $11.99 million, reaching an all-time record. North American Realty revenues, on the other hand, fell by 13% year-over-year to $1.21 billion.
“North American Realty business continues to be strong and profitable with unit growth and agent growth outperforming the industry. It delivered $34 million of EBITDA in the quarter,” said Sanford.
Jeff Whiteside, CFO and Chief Collaboration Officer of eXp World Holdings, acknowledged that high mortgage rates were expected to persist in the short term. However, he stated that consumer price inflation started to cool down in the U.S, eXp’s core North American market.
He further noted that “forward interest rate curves suggest that rates may now be at or near peak levels.”
As such: “We are optimistic that lower mortgage rates will unleash significant pent-up demand as affordability improves and buyers can once again meet seller price objectives.”
The company remains bullish on iterating its agent value proposition
During the webcast Thursday, Sanford touted eXp Realty’s growing value proposition among agents, pointing to a 7% increase in agent count to 88,248 as of June 30, 2023. Just yesterday, Daryl Owen, the founder of top California independent brokerage Nationwide Real Estate Executives, joined eXp Realty, taking 200 agents along with him.
Sanford highlighted the launch of several initiatives in Q2 that prioritize agent support. The brokerage revamped its eXpert Care Desk, which provides live support to agents 24/7. And in May, they launched Luna, the GPT-4 powered generative AI support agent.
Throughout the second quarter, eXp also made a series of notable announcements, including the launch of its Boost Program to financially incentivize independent teams and brokerages to join eXp Realty and its commitment to reduce its revenue share criteria.
In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with Michael Worthington from Brightdoor & HomeRover.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Michael Worthington and I am the co-founder and CEO of BrightDoor. Since co-founding the business, my primary focus has been leadership around product ideation as well as marketing and brand management. I am the creator of the newly released HomeRover livestream video home tour app.
What problem does your product/service solve?
Real estate agents often find themselves having to perform live home tours for remote buyers using off-the-shelve apps like FaceTime and Skype that only offer the live video feature. And, often the agent and house hunters are hampered by not having common devices or apps. Finally, the users don’t have the ability to replay the tour and share with others involved in the home buying process. HomeRover is a smartphone app for iOS and Android that solves all of these problems and adds even more value by replicating all aspects of the scheduling, planning and execution of a personal home tour experience.
What are you most excited about right now?
While the current COVID-19 crisis is certainly nothing to be excited about, I do feel that the industry’s shift to online tools might finally crack the dam open (so to speak) with regards to use of innovative technology in real estate. As an entrepreneur, it’s been difficult to innovate in this space (for a myriad of reasons). I’m excited that that might change now.
What’s next for you?
I’m going to be working diligently to grow adoption of the HomeRover platform and look for strategic partnerships to extend the ability to make a remote, livestream home tour a natural option for homebuyers.
What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?
I’ve always been interested in movies and filmmaking (one of my college majors at UNC-Chapel Hill was TV & Film). I’m thrilled that many of the long-standing barriers that have kept minorities out of key roles in cinema have been eroding and crumbling. While I don’t have an official organization I’m currently aligned with, I do support independent filmmaking and the further growth of minority-led projects.tour
Thanks to Michael for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.
We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).
Are you tired of being asked why you’re still single? It can be one of the most draining and uncomfortable questions out there. But fret not—being single doesn’t need to mean being alone! In this blog post, we’ll provide tips on how to respond when someone asks why you’re still single, teaching them (and reminding yourself!) that it’s more than okay to be unattached for now. So whether it’s your first time facing such an inquiry or the 50th, get ready to take back control with these simple responses from Redditors:
1. I have Personality Flaws I’m Unwilling Fix
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One user shared, “Because I have raging personality flaws that I’m unwilling to work on. Usually prevents any follow-up questions.”
Another user replied, “This is good. The first step is accepting that you have problems you’re unwilling to fix.”
One commenter added, “… I’ve never seen myself described in a single sentence before.”
Another Redditor said, “And you don’t even need to lie this time! Yeah, I see the issue here.”
2. Have you Seen the Economy!?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One Redditor posted, “Have you seen the economy!?”
One replied, “In this economy???? Hahaha, but I know people that live together ‘as a couple’ just because it is cheaper than separate. I live in Brazil, but I know Brazilians in Portugal that live in 3 couples in a small three-bedroom condo, just because six people working to share rent is the only way to make the month.”
One user added, “The economy is in shambles.”
3 My In-laws were Unable to Conceive
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One user commented, “My in-laws were unable to conceive.”
Another added, “That’s really creative.”
One Redditor commended, “That’s the best reply I’ve ever seen. I wish I had enough brains to remember it.”
Another user said, “Excellently clever. I’m envious.”
One commenter added, “I had to think about this for a moment.”
“Imma use this next time,” one user concluded.
4. You See how Picky I am about Shoes: They only go on my Feet!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One user posted, “Go full-on Cher from Clueless: “You see how picky I am about my shoes, and they only go on my feet!”
One commenter replied, “That movie was amazing.”
Another shared, “My go-to answer at this point is, ‘I really don’t know.’ Because I really don’t.”
5. Because I have a Radio Face
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One user shared, “Because I got a face for radio work.”
One replied, “…and a body for Standard Def.”
Another one responded, “…and a voice fit for silent films.”
One commenter said, “Objection! Radio work would not be a viable career choice if that were the case!”
6. Look at my Face and Take a Guess
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One online user commented, “Look at my face and body and take a wild [hecking] guess.”
One responded, “‘But you don’t look bad at all.’ ‘If that’s so, would you date me?’ ‘Eww, no.’ ‘So you think I look bad.’ ‘I already told you that you don’t look bad at all.’ ‘So it’s me you don’t like.’”
One user commented, “Unironically correct, lol.”
7. I didn’t Pass the Beauty Standards
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One Redditor stated, “I didn’t pass the beauty standards of my country.”
One replied. “You pass the beauty standards of Antarctica.”
Another added, “Sounds like a compliment … until it isn’t. Also, how dare you assume that the ten or so scientists that are stationed there aren’t super hot.”
One commenter added, “They’re, at the least, very cold.”
Another user shared, “Penguins are really attractive.”
8 I Don’t Meet Eligible People
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One user posted, “I don’t meet people (who could be potential partners), and I think more and more that I am not a ‘date’ type of person.”
One user replied, “You missed the arranged marriage era. It might have worked out for you. Perhaps you could borrow someone’s overbearing mother to find you a match.”
One Redditor added, “I have a couple of coworkers. One is Bangladeshi, the other is Indian. Their parents were like ‘Times are changing, you can marry for love if you want, and we’ll support you,’ and my coworkers were like ‘What the heck, you mean I’d have to DATE? [Forget that], please find me a husband.’
“Anyway one is now happily married and the other is constantly roasting her dad because he keeps offering her deadbeats riding on their dad’s coattails.”
Another commenter added, “No joke, arranged marriage sounds better and better, these days.”
“Yes, yes, I didn’t consider that. Tnx,” another user replied.
9. Why not?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One of the Redditor commented, “Why not?”
One user then added, “That’s basically my response when my extended family asks this. They all have that small town, hurry up and settle down mentality, and are ALWAYS on my case about being single with no kids whenever I visit. Took me far too long to realize some of them are actually jealous. My money is MY MONEY. My time is MY TIME. I don’t have to confer with anyone before making a decision.”
Another user responded, “Misery loves company. They’re jealous…”
One Redditor added, “Do what you want whenever you want and indulge yourself and no sacralfices.”
Another user stated, “I’ve got a lot of friends from my hometown like that. I see how miserable some of them are and that’s repellent enough. Some of em got married way too young and didn’t vet their SO enough and realized they were crazy after they already got married.”
10. I’ve got the Personality of a Spoon
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
“I’ve got the personality of a spoon,” one user shared.
Another asked, “Big spoon or little spoon?”
The OP answered, “The one you can never find a purpose for.”
Another user replied, “Salad spoon.”
11. Because I’d Rather be Alone and Happy
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One online user commented, “Because i’d rather be alone and happy than dealing with someone else’s work drama and emotional problems lol.”
One replied, “Being in a relationship seems so exhausting, I’ve been single for several years now and have absolutely no urge to date.”
Another user commented, “too real.”
12. Because I Tell the Truth
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One Redditor shared, “I tell the truth. I’m shy and don’t really meet new people. I’ve not added to my friend group, aside from partners of existing friends, in about 20 years. At work I have acquaintances from work—they’re nice people but I don’t communicate with them outside of work. I live alone, I work mainly alone, I don’t have any hobbies or interest groups.”
One replied, “Same.”
13. None of your Business
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
“None of your business… that’s my usual response,” said one of the users.
Another user replied, “‘It’s because of Narnia.’ ‘Narnia?’ ‘Narnia business.’”
One also added, “It’s even cooler to turn it around on them: ‘Why would you think that’s your business?’”
Finally, another replied, “If they don’t know you that well, try weeping excessively. That discourages follow-up questions.”
14. I’m not Single; I have a Motorcycle
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One of the users said, “I’m not single. I have a motorcycle.”
Another user replied, “My cat takes up most of my free time.”
Another one responded, “What kind?”
One user added, “….and her name is Betsy and she lets me ride her all day and night, whenever I want.”
15. I’m Happy Single Right Now: Don’t Want to Ruin It
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
One Redditor also shared, “I’m happy single rn. I wouldn’t want to ruin it.”
Another added, “When I was still single my response to this question was always ‘because I’m in a happy relationship with myself.’ I wasn’t, but it’s the thought that counts.”
One also confirmed, “I got out of a relationship a few months ago, it’s been rough but I really love my personal freedom. I’ll jump back in when I get tired of myself.”
Source: Reddit.
Image Credit: Shutterstock – Denis Makarenko
Who is one actress you can never stand watching, no matter their role? After polling the internet, these were the top-voted actresses that people couldn’t stand watching.
10 Actresses People Despise Watching Regardless of Their Role
These 7 Celebrities are Genuinely Good People
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
We’ve all heard the famous adage that “no publicity is bad publicity,” and while it tends to be accurate, there are certainly exceptions. But what about those few stars who stay out of the limelight and get along without a hint of trouble?
These 7 Celebrities are Genuinely Good People
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Have you ever known someone and thought you liked them—until you learned about their hobbies? Then you get to know them and then you’re like, “Wow, red flag.” Well, you’re not alone.
These 10 Activities Are an Immediate Red Flag
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
Some celebrities definitely seem to enjoy the limelight and keep working to stay in the public eye. While others quickly move out of the spotlight. Many of these actors and actresses stepped out of the spotlight to live a more private life without constant media pressures.
10 Celebrities That Made the Big Times Then Disappeared Off The Face of the Earth
Image Credit: Troma Entertainment
We’ve all been there – sitting through a movie that we can’t help but cringe at, but somehow it still manages to hold a special place in our hearts.
These 10 Terrible Movies Are Still People’s Favorites
In June I shared some tips for reducing home energy costs. Most of the information came from Michael Bluejay’s excellent guide to saving electricity. I was curious how much electricity invidual appliances use, so I ordered a gadget that Bluejay recommends: the Kill-a-Watt electricity meter. The official web site declares:
Connect your appliances into the Kill A Watt™, and assess how efficient they are. A large LCD display counts consumption by the Kilowatt-hour just like utility companies. You can figure out your electrical expenses by the hour, day, week, month, even an entire year. Monitor the quality of your power by displaying Voltage, Line Frequency, and Power Factor.
I’ve gone through our house and measured the power consumption of random devices:
Microwave (while dormant, simply displaying time): 2 watts — It costs us roughly $2/year to leave the microwave plugged in all the time.
Microwave (while heating a bowl of homemade bean soup for dinner): 2020 watts
Nintendo Wii (while playing Trauma Center: Second Opinion): 16 watts — Far less power than I would have guessed.
Strand of Christmas lights: 39 watts — More than I would have guessed. It will cost us roughly $3 to have this strand of lights plugged in during the Christmas season.
MacBook Pro (recharging with battery at 66%): 58 watts
Oil-filled radiator-style space heater: 520 watts on low, 820 watts on medium, and an unknown amount on high. I tripped the circuit breaker when I tried.
Dual-control electric blanket (one side set to three, the other turned off): 80 watts, declining by a watt every few seconds (presumably because it requires less power as it gets warmer — I don’t know). I stopped watching after it had dropped to 58 watts.
Desk Lamp: 5 watts
Nighlight: 1 watt — Assuming the nightlight is on 12 hours/day, it costs about 50 cents to run for an entire year.
While researching this post, I learned that cable boxes are hidden power hogs. It hadn’t occurred to me to test ours, but I’ll do so tonight. (I read one report of a cable box drawing 100 watts. If you leave yours on 24/7 as we do, that’s about $100 a year!)
The Kill-a-Watt’s best feature is the ability to measure power consumption over time. If I want to see how much power the cable box really draws, for example, I can leave it plugged into the Kill-a-Watt. After a few days, I can check the cumulative power consumption in kilowatt hours and compare it to the amount of time that has elapsed. (Both of these are measured by the device.) Simple arithmetic will show me how much I’m spending to power the cable box!
The Kill-a-Watt does have some minor drawbacks:
The unit doesn’t measure power consumption for large appliances like a range, or a washer or dryer.
The unit itself is rather bulky. When you plug it in, it’s tall enough that it crowds (and usually blocks) the other receptacle in a standard outlet.
The screen can be difficult to read, especially for a chubby old geek like me. The readout is relatively dim, and most outlets are located near the floor. I had to do a lot of crouching and crawling to make readings.
The user must do some math in order to figure out overall power usage and, especially, how much the usage costs. Fortunately, the math is relatively simple.
Once you have the initial information, the Kill-a-Watt isn’t very useful. It’s not a tool you will use all the time.
I find the Kill-a-Watt fascinating. It makes an abstract topic concrete. I can read all sorts of tips about how to save energy, but they’re all rather esoteric until I can actually see the numbers in front of me. The Kill-a-Watt gives me those numbers.
Note: I purchased this device using Amazon credit earned from this site. I also purchased several personal finance and self-development books for future review. I hope to begin “re-investing” some of the site revenue in items to review and to give away to readers.
Two Orange County, California, individuals face charges of conspiracy, bank fraud and identity theft, accused of targeting elderly members of the local Vietnamese community and duping banks into distributing $2.2 million of their accrued home equity.
Thao Thi Kim Nguyen and Nghiep Chinh Nguyen were arraigned in United States District Court in Santa Ana, California, on Monday. Both entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them and were granted bond. They each face a single count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.
Thao Nguyen was also charged with multiple other counts of both bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Nghiep Nguyen, meanwhile, faces an additional two counts of bank fraud and another of aggravated identity theft.
The purported violations occurred over a four-month period in 2018 after Thao Nguyen opened accounts in her name at two banks, who were not identified in the court indictment. Later, she would return to the banks accompanied by Ngiep Nguyen and other participants involved in the fraud, who posed as homeowners.
Using stolen identities and phony documents, including California driver’s licenses and Social Security cards, Ngiep Nguyen and the other alleged fraudsters would typically impersonate elderly Vietnamese homeowners to take out mortgages. This gave them access to the victim’s accrued equity, through obtaining reverse liens after forging signatures on banking documents and grant deeds. Thao Nguyen also added the victims’ names to the accounts she had previously opened at the banks, claiming, in at least one case, they belonged to her parents.
She then reportedly received wire transfers of the withdrawals made by the other parties from the fraudulent mortgage accounts. Thao Nguyen subsequently moved those funds to different bank accounts she owned.
The scheme netted almost $2.2 million, according to the indictment, with Thao Nguyen taking in approximately $1 million while distributing the remaining amount to her cohorts.
A trial date for the two defendants is scheduled to begin on Sept. 26. If convicted, both face a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each conspiracy and fraud charge. They would also be required to serve two years for each count of aggravated identity theft if found guilty.
Neither the identities of others participating in the scheme, who were not part of this indictment, nor of the victims were reported.
The charges against Thao Nguyen and Ngiep Nguyen follow another recent trial involving elderly homeowners in California. In that case, the head of an investment company promised homeowners he could help distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure through transfer of their deed title to his business. After losses totaling more than $7 million and the eventual seizure of all homes belonging to the victims between 2015 and 2019, Robert Sedlar was found guilty on more than 100 felony counts earlier this year, including conspiracy, grand theft and elder abuse.
This was the last year of the mortgage meltdown. According to Freddie Mac, mortgages in 2008 were available for 6.03%. Excluding tax and insurance, the monthly cost for a $200,000 home loan was $1,200. After 2008, mortgage rates began a steady decline.
2016
Until 2021, 2016 saw the all-time lowest mortgage rate in the USA. The typical mortgage in 2016 was priced at 3.65%, according to Freddie Mac. That means a mortgage of $200,000 had a monthly cost, for principal and interest, of $915. That is more than $500 less per month than the long-term average.
Note, however, that mortgage rates had actually fallen lower in 2012. In November of that year, the average mortgage rate hit 3.31%. But since some of 2012 was higher, the whole year averaged 3.65% for a 30-year mortgage.
2019
Contrary to what many experts predicted, mortgage rates dropped in 2019. In 2018, economists forecasted that mortgage rates would rise to 5.5%. However, mortgage rates went from 4.54% in 2018 to 3.94% the following year.
The monthly cost for a home loan of $200,000 at that rate was $948. When compared with the 8% long-term average, that would be a savings of just over $500 per month.
Amid the fallout of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapses in March, depositors looked for safer places for their savings, and big banks benefited from some customer flows during the flight to safety. Earnings for JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo also beat expectations, easing concerns about the health of the country’s banking system.
Deposits at Bank of America were above $1 trillion for the seventh straight quarter, posting $1.91 trillion in the first quarter of 2023, down 1% from $1.93 trillion during the same quarter in 2022.
Consumer banking division posted a net income of $3.1 billion, a 13.1% decline from the previous quarter’s $3.58 billion, but still up 4.4% from the previous year’s $3 billion, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“We had a great quarter for our micro products (…) We have positive returns there. So mortgages, credit, munis, financing, futures, FX, all of them had a pretty good quarter,” Alastair Borthwick, Bank of America’s chief financial officer, told analysts.
Mortgage, home equity business
Its mortgage business, however, reported disappointing numbers, an issue led by elevated 30-year fixed mortgage rates.
Mortgage originations totaled $3.9 billion during the first quarter, a 25% drop from $5.2 billion posted in the second quarter, and 76.2% below the $16.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
BofA’s production decline follows the track of JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, which also posted double-digit mortgage loan production decreases during the first quarter.
The bank’s home equity originations remained flat in the first quarter, posting $2.6 billion from the previous quarter. That’s up from the first quarter of 2022, when BofA originated $2.0 billion in home equity loans.
Bank of America had $229.3 billion in outstanding residential mortgages on its books through March 31, down from $229.4 billion from Q4 2022 and $224 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
The home equity portfolio was $26.5 billion at the end of the first quarter, down from $27 billion from the previous quarter — and a decline from $$27.8 billion a year prior.
Bank of America’s total mortgage-backed securities reached a $32.1 billion fair value as of March 31, compared to $32.5 billion as of December 31, 2022.
Looking forward, Borthwick expected the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates one more time, followed by a couple of cuts this year.
“That obviously assumes our current client positioning and the forward rate expectations. We continue to expect modest loan growth (…) driven by credit card, and to a lesser degree, commercial,” Borthwick said.
The bank expects further Fed balance sheet reductions to continue to reduce deposits for the industry, leading to lower deposits and rotational shifts.
Rates are high, housing inventory is down, and competition for new originations is fierce. Leaders across mortgage and banking are turning to their marketing partners with some variation of the same ask: “We need to improve the effectiveness and profitability of our campaigns, increase originations, and oh, by the way, budgets have been slashed — so any ideas better be cost-effective.” Easy, right?
Sure, multi-million-dollar ad campaigns and exciting new lead sources would be great, but often lenders can find opportunities more efficiently by referring to the data and resources they already have. Many lenders have access to a large amount of consumer data, namely their customers and prospects, and the attributes they know about them.
Here’s how to turn those existing data assets into origination opportunities, all while creating a better experience for customers.
Get your data in shape.
For example, Americans move on average 11.4 times in their lifetime and alerting their bank to a change of address is not always a priority, especially for those who interact with their financial institutions digitally. So, until the consumer volunteers that new address, direct mail offers are likely piling up at their old one. At scale, this can generate enormous marketing waste.
If you’re relying on consumer information collected years ago, it’s good to score it for accuracy and update it regularly. Refreshing your data avoids the risk of misplaced marketing expenses and missed opportunities to engage with customers and prospects. This goes for phone, email and digital identifiers as well. To market effectively it is crucial to have accurate consumer information.
Taking it a step further, consider whether data is being collected accurately to begin with, especially on lead submissions. Many consumers are, rightfully, hesitant to submit a correct phone number on a lead form. This hesitation not only hinders lenders from reaching them, but also poses a compliance risk to the business if incorrect numbers are dialed.
Expand on what you know.
Even if you have the right information and tools to engage customers and prospects, you likely can’t engage with all customers at all times, nor should you want to.
This is where expanding what you know about the consumer comes into play. Demographic, financial, and psychographic attributes can all help in segmenting target audiences for more effective engagement and deliver a more meaningful experience for the consumer. Consider developing an “ideal customer profile” that correlates with a higher conversion rate, then find and prioritize these “ICPs” within your database. This will be significantly more effective than “one size fits all” campaigns.
You can also use these insights to build out digital audiences for acquisition. It’s remarkable how many financial institutions deploy a universal model when there will be significant variation across how their prospects and customers respond to their marketing. By understanding and leveraging this variation, lenders can cut wasted spend and improve profitability. As with getting data in shape, these insights can also be leveraged at the point of lead submission to inform things like scoring, routing, and messaging from the first consumer interaction onwards.
Remember that great marketing requires great timing.
Most lenders leverage credit triggers to try to prevent competitive fallout, and it’s often considered table stakes for any retention strategy.
However, consider this: a credit trigger means a consumer is likely applying elsewhere and solely relying on that insight is akin to showing up to the game in the fourth quarter. And because other lenders are also getting that trigger, it’s like showing up to play against five other teams. Not surprisingly, there’s even a legislative proposal to ban credit triggers entirely in the name of consumer experience. Delivering an effective and relevant consumer experience requires engaging with consumers earlier in their homebuying journey.
We’ve historically seen consumers first start shopping online for a new mortgage or home around 100 days before a credit trigger, a timeline that’s expanded even further with the current rate environment and limited housing inventory.
Evaluate internal and external resources that can help you determine who might be at the beginning of that shopping process. It’s going to be a long process, so create touch points to offer the consumer resources that will keep them engaged with your brand throughout their homebuying journey.
Galen Foote is an enterprise account executive at Verisk Marketing Solutions.
Last month Stephen Popick shared his home-grown budget spreadsheet with GRS readers. He listened to your suggestions and went back to the drawing board. Here is with an updated version.
Growing up, I was taught the importance of having a budget. It wasn’t until I finished college that I understood it. I started reading and listening to financial experts such as John Bogle, Clarke Howard, and a lot of folks in between. Their recurring themes were simply to save as much as you could, live below your means, and choose wisely how you spend your money.
Before I started with my Budget Sheet, which has evolved over the years (and which has been greatly enhanced for GRS), I always thought I budgeted well. Making an actual budget showed that, in fact, I did not. It’s amazing how far $50 can be stretched when you’re aware of it.
Based on your feedback, this second version of the Get Rich Slowly budget workbook has seen a lot of changes. Here’s a brief outline of what you’ll find inside.
The Budgets These two worksheets — one for your budget, and one for your spouse’s budget — are designed to be highly customizable. The pale yellow, purple, and shaded green cells are the editable cells. They’ve been placed in accordance with the most likely expenditure pattern for their category.
Additionally, the Budgets are split between primary expenses and secondary expenses. For the most part, secondary expenses can be considered to be your splurge budget, broken down so you have an expectation of how it will be spent.
New users should enter their actual expenses first in the yellow/purple shaded cells, and then enter their income information (which should all be contained on your pay stub). The final budget line at the bottom of the sheet will tell you the balance. I recommend that the final balance be positive, but not overly so. For instance, having an excess balance of $5 a week yields a fudge factor, in case you can’t avoid that box of donuts and coffee with your coworkers.
Retirement Planning The retirement planning sheet makes several assumptions that may or may not reflect reality. For instance, it assumes constant returns, steady inflation, etc, steady savings rate, etc. However, it is useful as a guide, to see how much and for how long it approximately takes to get to a certain savings point. Most of the data is auto-fed from the budget sheet. Users can change the rate of return of pre-tax and post-tax investment, the expected inflation rate, and their expected raise rate in the yellow shaded cells.
Mortgage Planning This simple tool will show the total cost of interest vs. principle, and how various schemes to pay off the mortgage will affect your bottom line. This is a simple form of analysis, and hopefully will become more advanced over time. Use our mortgage calculator to enter your information into the yellow shaded cells. When one position is paid off, you can note the year/month it ends and proceed to analyzing the remainder with a second pull.
This budget workbook continues to evolve. Thanks to all those who have already helped with some great ideas. Please feel free to ask questions or leave comments about the budget workbook here.
Kudos to Popick for all his work on this spreadsheet!
Spirit Airlines is one of the most established low-cost airlines in the U.S., with destinations throughout the country, the Caribbean and Latin America.
With so many flights operating each day, there’s a good chance that something can and will go wrong. If that’s the case, you’ll likely want to contact Spirit Airlines customer service.
Let’s take a look at the different ways you can reach them and answer some questions you may have about dealing with Spirit Airlines after a mishap.
How do I reach Spirit Airlines customer service?
Spirit Airlines has a number of different methods of communication in the event you need to reach them. For common questions, Spirit maintains a wide-reaching FAQ resource.
Otherwise, you can reach Spirit by chat, SMS/WhatsApp or email.
How to call Spirit Airlines customer service
The Spirit Airlines customer service number is 1-855-728-3555. This number is good for reservations, baggage, changing a flight or when you receive an error online.
Can you chat online with Spirit Airlines?
It’s possible to have a live chat with a Spirit representative on the Spirit website from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central time daily. There’s also a chatbot available 24/7 that can help answer some questions.
How to message Spirit Airlines
If you’d prefer not to make a phone call, you can message Spirit Airlines on Twitter (also known as X) or Facebook. Spirit’s Twitter handle is @SpiritAirlines.
Airlines are generally good about fielding responses on Twitter, so this may be an avenue you wish to take if you feel like you aren’t getting anywhere with your requests.
You can also text the airline at 48763 or use 1-855-728-3555 on messaging service WhatsApp.
How to send mail to Spirit Airlines
If you want to kick it old school, you can send snail mail to Spirit’s offices. The address is: Corporate Guest Relations, 2800 Executive Way, Miramar, FL 33025.
Whom do I contact about my Free Spirit loyalty account?
The frequent flyer program for Spirit Airlines is Free Spirit. Members of the program can earn Free Spirit points toward free flights, as well as elite status, which can get you shortcut boarding, extra bonus points and free carry-on luggage.
If you have a concern about your Free Spirit account, you can contact the company through its general support lines.
Does Spirit give refunds for canceled flights?
Like all U.S. airlines, Spirit is required to give refunds for flights that it cancels. This is dictated by the Department of Transportation rather than the individual airlines.
🤓Nerdy Tip
Spirit flight credits typically expire within 90 days of issuance.
Generally speaking, Spirit Airlines’ cancellation policy is not very generous, especially when you compare it to airlines like Southwest, which allows passengers to cancel up to 10 minutes before departure.
How to find lost luggage on Spirit Airlines
If your bag cannot be located, inform a Spirit agent at the airport’s Baggage Claim area or at the Baggage Service Office. If there’s no one available at those locations, find a Spirit representative at the airport check-in counter.
For lost luggage, guests traveling domestically must file an incident report and receive a File ID within 4 hours of arrival, whereas international travelers can file a report within 21 days of arrival.
Where do I offer feedback or send a complaint to Spirit Airlines?
Once you’ve gone through all the steps, you’ll be prompted to fill out a form detailing your experience. Spirit will then get back to you.
Customers in need of immediate assistance should pursue the alternative communication methods outlined in this article.
The bottom line
Spirit Airlines offers airfare at appealing price points, but sometimes even the best-laid plans go awry and you may need to contact the airline for assistance.
Happily, the company is easy to contact by phone, email, postal mail or social media.
(Top photo courtesy of Spirit Airlines)
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