Consumer
/Home & Leisure
/ArcaMax
Everyday Cheapskate: Burning Mail Is Never a Good Thing
It's been years since I read the news story about a U.S. Postal Service worker in Louisiana who, after getting caught, pleaded guilty to destroying mail -- a federal crime. Turns out that for at least 18 months, instead of delivering the mail to his postal customers, this guy took it home and burned it. He estimated he burned 20 tubs of mail. ...Read more
Newsom's latest insurance move could help Californians avoid canceled policies -- but they'll have to pay
As some Californians continue scrambling for ways to affordably insure their homes, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced a push to expedite how quickly insurance companies can increase rates.
Speedier approvals for rate hikes is one of the key reforms insurers say is necessary for them to stay afloat amid a growing number of costly claims in ...Read more
Piecing together the puzzle of college financial aid
There's been a lot of drama this spring for families seeking college financial aid.
The trouble stems from a revamp of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), where changes and technology glitches have been an ongoing source of frustration for families.
The federal government, meanwhile, was significantly delayed in relaying data...Read more
Home insurance mistakes to avoid as we enter hurricane season
Nobody likes paying for homeowner insurance.
That’s been especially true in Florida, where over the past few years, as more frequent storms and high litigation rates have doubled the cost of insurance for just about everyone who owns a home.
It’s tempting for homeowners, particularly seniors on fixed incomes, to put off critical upgrades ...Read more
Would you rent a room in an apartment with a stranger? This development is betting on it
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Many renters in Charlotte pay to have a bathroom, living room and kitchen all to themselves — but for some people, one room is enough.
Now an apartment company is trying something new, where people can rent a bedroom for less than paying for an entire apartment, but share common space with a stranger. It’s kind...Read more
Study: American workers plan to slow-roll into retirement
Often when people aged 50 or older contact her, Pittsburgh financial coach Shay Port said the conversation starts with them declaring that they will never be able to retire.
"They say things like, 'I know I will have to work the rest of my life,'" Port said. "And that's what I try to help them with — actually being able to retire at some ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: The Excess of Consumption
The dreaded disease we know as tuberculosis was at one time known as consumption.
A highly contagious illness, consumption got its name from the way it takes a person's life slowly from within -- first with a bloody cough, then fever, pallor and the long, relentless wasting away.
What irony that consumption, as we know it today, has an eerily ...Read more
Report: 80 percent of low-income San Diegans spending more than half their income on rent
The vast majority of low-income renters in San Diego County are spending more than half of their income on rent, said a new study.
San Diego's Affordable Housing Needs Report, released Thursday by the nonprofit California Housing Partnership, gave the region poor marks across the board for everything from homeless housing to subsidized rentals ...Read more
Graffitied skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles poised for sale
Oceanwide Plaza, the bankrupt, unfinished development in downtown Los Angeles that became a canvas for trespassing graffiti artists, is officially on the market.
The Chinese owners of the stalled residential, hotel and retail complex towering over Crypto.com Arena have hired real estate brokers to sell the property to buyers who could restart ...Read more
A tale of two downtowns in LA: As offices languish, apartments thrive
By many measures, downtown Los Angeles’ newest apartment tower is over the top with such gilded flourishes as stone tiles from Spain lining the elevator cabs and hand-troweled Italian plaster on interior walls. Hummingbirds have somehow found the fruit-laden trees decorating the outdoor lounge on the 41st floor.
For Stuart Morkun, the ...Read more
How much could Trump hotel in Las Vegas sell for? It's complicated
As Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump navigates multiple criminal and civil trials levied against him, his professional net worth and assets have come into the spotlight.
In Las Vegas, Trump — along with business partner Phil Ruffin — is the co-owner of Trump International Hotel, a 64-story, 1,282-room ...Read more
Record wave of Americans fled big cities for small ones in 2023
Score a victory for Mayberry. America’s small towns, like the iconic setting of television’s The Andy Griffith Show from the 1960s, saw more in-migration in 2023 than larger areas for the first time in decades.
The remote work boom that prompted Americans to flee urban areas for mountain hamlets and seaside towns during the pandemic ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: What can we do about new apartment's surprise special assessment?
Q: We are in the process of purchasing an apartment. Our closing attorney received the report from the condominium association showing the monthly dues were current, and we were surprised to learn that a special assessment was pending because the sellers told us that none were. The contract also says that no special assessments are pending. We ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Grumpy Unhappy Cheapskates
Dear Cheapskate: I have cheapskates in my life. My father is one. My boss, my boss's mom and my boyfriend's mom. All these individuals have the following in common: They are unhappy. They avoid birthday parties, anniversaries or any type of holidays that require gift-giving, such as Christmas, at all costs.
They often choose to be by themselves...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Things I Wish I'd Known Sooner
Like my garden, my mailbox is showing definite signs of spring. Just this week two beautifully addressed, thick envelopes showed up, both of them announcing graduation ceremonies -- one from high school, the other from college. However, neither even hinted at an invitation for me to give the commencement address. But had I been asked, I do have ...Read more
One of California's largest home insurance companies is raising rates by 15% on average
One of California’s largest home insurers is raising rates for hundreds of thousands of state policyholders by an average of 15.3%, the latest move by a major insurer to boost homeowners’ premiums in the face of growing wildfire risk.
Travelers Insurance, the state’s sixth-largest home insurer as of 2022, plans to update rates for roughly...Read more
US rents climbed 1.5 times faster than wages in last four years
Rents in most major U.S. metropolitan areas have risen some 1.5 times faster than wages in the last four years, according to an analysis by Zillow Group Inc.
Nationwide, rents climbed 30.4% while incomes expanded 20.2% from 2019 to 2023, data from Zillow, StreetEasy and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show. Florida, a migration hot spot, had ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: The Life and Times of Leftovers
Dear Cheapskate: How long should leftovers be kept in the fridge? I have been debating this with co-workers, as one left her beef stew in the refrigerator for over a week and thought it was OK to eat. -- Angela N., New Brunswick, Canada
Dear Angela: There's no debate here -- you win by at least three days. The shelf life of any food will depend...Read more
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting: 5 takeaways for investors
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders flocked to Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday to hear from CEO Warren Buffett and other Berkshire executives. For about 5 hours, Buffett took questions on Berkshire’s many businesses, investing and life in general.
The meeting included a video tribute to Buffett’s longtime partner and Berkshire vice-chairman ...Read more
More than 90% of stablecoin transactions aren't from real users, study finds
More than 90% of stablecoin transaction volumes aren’t coming from genuine users, according to a new metric co-developed by Visa Inc., suggesting such crypto tokens may be far away from becoming a commonly used means of payment.
The dashboard from Visa and Allium Labs is designed to strip out transactions initiated by bots and large-scale ...Read more
Inside Consumer
Popular Stories
- Would you rent a room in an apartment with a stranger? This development is betting on it
- Piecing together the puzzle of college financial aid
- Study: American workers plan to slow-roll into retirement
- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting: 5 takeaways for investors
- Report: 80 percent of low-income San Diegans spending more than half their income on rent
Comics
