How a streamline refinance differs from an ordinary one
FHA, VA and USDA each run a shortened refinance route. What makes them shorter is what they leave out, and that is the part worth understanding.
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Finance & Money
How the programmes, forms and offers around household money actually work, and which office owns each decision.
Where fuel and transport assistance programmes actually live
There is no single national fuel programme. The help that exists is run by states, counties and charities, which is why it is so hard to search for.
What an offer means when it promises approval regardless of credit
This is one of the most common advertising lines in consumer finance, and it is almost always doing something other than what it appears to.
The four clauses that decide a rent-to-own agreement
The idea is simple and the contracts are not. Almost everything that goes wrong goes wrong in four specific clauses.
How to compare savings rates accurately
Two accounts advertising the same number can pay noticeably differently. The gap is in the conditions attached, not the number.
The Weatherization Assistance Program, and how it is delivered
It is a federal programme that almost nobody applies to federally. The application is local, and the work is done by a contractor you do not choose.
How state unclaimed property databases work
The databases are real, free and run by state treasurers. The industry around them is where the problems are.
What USDA home repair programmes ask before deciding
A rural home repair programme that lends to some applicants and grants to others, with the difference turning on age and on what the repair is for.
How a SNAP application works and who decides it
A federal programme run entirely by state agencies, which is why advice from another state is so often wrong.
The Earned Income Tax Credit, explained without the refund pitch
A credit for people with earnings below a threshold, and the subject of an entire advertising industry that charges for things the IRS provides free.
How energy assistance is applied for, state by state
LIHEAP is one programme with fifty-odd front doors, several deadlines and a crisis route most applicants never hear about.
Why first-time homebuyer rules differ from state to state
Most of the help is state and city money, not federal, and the definition of a first-time buyer is looser than it sounds.
Understanding APR, APY and the rate that actually applies
Three numbers describe the cost of the same loan and they are not interchangeable. Knowing which is which makes most offers comparable.
Building a first emergency fund on an irregular income
The standard advice assumes a steady paycheque. Where income varies, a different approach works better.
What a credit report contains and how to read it
You are entitled to a free copy from each major bureau, and errors in them are common enough to be worth checking for.
Overdraft and maintenance fees, and how to avoid them
Most routine bank charges are avoidable. The conditions for avoiding them are published, but rarely explained when an account is opened.
Free routes to filing a tax return
Several no-cost options exist, each with its own conditions. The paid alternatives are marketed considerably more heavily than any of them.
What a household budget needs to contain
Most budgets fail for the same two reasons, and neither of them has much to do with discipline.
Prepaid cards and second-chance bank accounts
Two products aimed at people who have had an account closed, with meaningfully different costs and protections.
The paperwork that protects a used car purchase
Four documents decide whether a private sale goes well, and three of them cost nothing to obtain.
Insurance cover people frequently already hold
Several kinds of cover arrive attached to something else, and are commonly paid for twice.
When a payment plan costs less than borrowing
Several large household costs can be spread at little or no interest, and the option is usually available only if it is asked for.
Reading a pay statement line by line
Errors in pay statements are common, and most of them are visible only to the person being paid.
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