Just by making a few changes to your withholding allowance, you could destroy some big debt. But you have to be careful, or you could end up owing the IRS! Stacy Johnson explains…
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Ice storms in the Midwest, blizzards in the nation’s capitol and northeast, and a wet El Nino weather pattern out west has brought some wild winter weather across the United States. This arctic chill explains why building construction has been falling this winter.
According to the Commerce Department, new home construction starts fell 4 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000. That’s a drop of 23,000 starts from November. Poor weather conditions reflected construction start declines of 19 percent in the Northeast and Midwest. They were down 1 percent in the West, but actually rose 3 percent in the South.
Applications for new building construction permits rose 11 percent in December to an annual rate of 653,000. That’s the highest level of activity since October 2008.
The January numbers may continue to show a decline as well. Arctic temperatures have gripped the heartland, the eastern seaboard, and even sent temperatures down into the 20’s as far south as Central Florida. In addition, heavy rains have drenched the golden state. Southern California has seen flooding, mudslides, and even tornados as more than five inches of rain has pounded coastal and inland valleys.
Overall, new home construction is down 75 percent from the peak of four years ago. However, it’s up 14 percent from last January when the housing industry hit bottom.
Hopefully the extension of low mortgage rates, falling home prices and the stall in home sales will urge some buyers to act, and we'll see these numbers turn around as Spring approaches.
There are many first time homeowners these days, due in part to the first time homebuyer tax credits. And for most new homeowners, home improvements are not something you might have a lot of experience in. Chances are your first home isn't perfect, which means you may be considering making some changes. Here are some simple tips for those first time homeowner improvements.
The first thing to remember when doing renovations is to not price out the house or the neighborhood. If the neighbors don’t have in-ground pools, Jacuzzis, and built in saunas, then chances are you won’t get the return on investment for adding that to your home either. This same theory applies to the type of countertops, appliances, and building materials you use.
Once you decide which rooms you want to renovate, the key is to find building materials that match the pricing for the neighborhood. After all, you don’t want your home to look too cheap or expensive compared to the rest of the block. For actual renovations, you don’t necessarily need to hire everything out. For home improvements that have room for mistakes, like ones that don’t entail messing with the gas lines, you can do yourself relatively easily. All you need is internet at the house, and learning how to "Google the rest."
You really can learn nearly everything from watching instructional YouTube videos, and reading blogs and construction websites on how to do home improvement. Soon you’ll feel more comfortable with tearing apart cabinetry, installing new ones, and removing walls.
Begin with small projects like painting, and maybe refinishing a floor. Then, if you feel more confident, research thoroughly – then go for it. The truth is you can save thousands of dollars by doing the work yourself. And being a homeowner does mean quite a bit of maintenance anyway, so learning along the way doesn’t hurt.
If you need help getting out of debt, here's a couple of suggestions as to how to find help:
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A new bill before Congress would establish a watchdog agency to oversee everything from credit cards to mortgage loans.
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