Posts

home costs
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How Your Next Home Purchase Can Make or Break You

Everyone knows that a home is a major purchase, but most people don’t take the big picture view when they take the plunge. Did EGO get in the way (subconsciously) when you made a home purchase? We know that we are judged by our house and that…
homeowner tax
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Property Taxes Are Eating Away at Home Ownership

Property Taxes are Eating up all our Money! Homeowners all over the Chicagoland area received their annual bad news in the mail soon in the form of their property tax bill.   For the past twenty years I've lived in Glen Ellyn, a small…
retirement and college planning
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Mortgage Payment is a Retirement Killer

Will your retirement be put off because you still have mortgage payments to make?   For millions of Baby Boomers, they cannot afford to stop working until their mortgage is paid off or they decide to downsize. I spend many of my days…
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How Chasing Possessions is Dangerous to Your Wealth

The Big Lie is that creating a higher standard of living (over spending) leads to a higher quality of life. Having more money or nicer things allows you to pay for nicer things and borrow more money, but doesn't mean you will have a better…
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Does the Home Ownership Make Cents?

The American Dream has evolved over time from the right to liberty and pursuit of happiness to the ownership of material items, one of them being a home to call your very own. However, after paying a recent property tax bill for my home, I…

Mortgage Payment Hurts Retiree Options

What a difference having a mortgage payment makes regarding your retirement plan affordability! Did you refinance your home loan for thirty years to take advantage of historically low mortgage rates? If so, you may be locked into a mortgage…
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Why I Prefer Stocks to Bonds

For the past 30 years, interest rates have been moving down and bond prices have been going up.  Now, interest rates are at a level when the best case is they "stay flat" as there is not much room to go any lower. With the low-interest rates…