How the housing market will evolve in 2023
The unrelenting Fed policies to combat inflation will eventually instigate an economic recession sometime in 2023.
The unrelenting Fed policies to combat inflation will eventually instigate an economic recession sometime in 2023.
The mortgage rate for 30-year fixed mortgages fell this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on…
Mortgage rates rise back above 7% CNN
Despite the fact that mortgage rates are already in record territory, the Fed doesnât seem to be satisfied just yet. The Federal Reserve has played a part in pushing mortgage rates lower via a strategy known as âOperation Twist,â which is the method in which they replace their short-term debt holdings with long-term debt. That… Read More »More Good News for Mortgage Rates on the Horizon
The post More Good News for Mortgage Rates on the Horizon appeared first on The Truth About Mortgage.
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages fell this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on…
Women working to achieve financial independence face an extra hurdle: the hidden cost of being female.
Though itâs cheekily referred to as the âpink taxâ, the additional cost women incur for personal-care products, toys, clothing, dry cleaning, health care, mortgages, and vehicle maintenance is no joking matter. It inflates our budgets, limits our ability to save, and sometimes hinders our ability to access affordable and safe sources of credit.
Based on that semi-intense description of the pink tax, you may think itâs already been made illegal to charge someone more on the basis of their gender. But thatâs not true. Thereâs no federal law prohibiting companies from charging different prices for products that are identical (or very similar), but which are marketed by gender. At least not currently.
Only one U.S. municipality â Miami-Dade County â has banned this practice. California enacted a similar restriction in 1995, but it applies only to the pricing of services. New York City followed in 1998.
On top of the pink tax, women still earn less than their male counterparts. The average woman is paid 82 cents for every $1 her male colleagues earn; the discrepancy is much worse for women of color.
When youâre paying more for basic goods and services from birth until death â just because youâre female â itâs easy to understand why so many women are pushing to âAx the Pink Taxâ.
Twenty-five years ago, in 1994, the State of California studied the issue of gender-based pricing. They found women pay about $1300 more each year for the same services as men. Accounting for inflation, that figure is now closer to $2135 per year.
If that figure doesnât shock you, maybe this will: By the time a woman turns 29 (like me), sheâll have spent an estimated $39,203 on the pink tax alone! Can you imagine how much money I could have right now if Iâd put the money I spent on the pink tax in a savings account? Especially one with compounded interest!?
In 2015, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) published a report on the pink tax entitled âFrom Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumerâ. The report found that womenâs products cost more than menâs products 42 percent of the time. 42 percent! By comparison, menâs products cost more than the female version 18 percent of the time.
According to the DCA report, products for female consumers were likely to cost more across industries:
Nowhere is the pink tax more evident than when it comes to personal-care products. Personal-care products geared toward women cost approximately 13 percent more than similar products marketed toward men.
Similarly, women are financially penalized for having their menstrual cycle. The U.S. government has deemed menstrual products a “luxury item” despite the fact that menstrual cycles are a monthly reality for all women, not a âluxuryâ.
Mortgage rates are continuing to decline, which is bringing borrowers on the sidelines back to the market.
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages rose this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.16 percent, up from 4.11 percent.
China seen keeping benchmark lending rates unchanged for fifth … Reuters
Mortgage Q&A: âAre closing costs included in a mortgage?â There seems to be a great deal of confusion when it comes to closing costs and mortgages, so let’s clear the air and make sense of it all. Simply put, home loans come with closing costs, similar to how most products and services come with associated… Read More »Are Closing Costs Included In a Mortgage?
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