Why More Americans are Choosing Online Mortgage Lenders (Instead of Traditional Banks)

When it’s time to buy a house, would you rather drag yourself to a traditional bank branch and meet with a mortgage officer, or do everything from your phone or computer? You’d probably rather secure a mortgage online, which is one reason online mortgage lenders like Better.com, SoFi and Reali have changed the landscape of mortgage lending. Especially given how many online lenders offer the best mortgage rates, lower fees and easier qualification, more and more homeowners are picking online lenders over traditional banks.

“It’s the ability for some of these online lenders to more effectively interact with technology — and there are times when I don’t care to get a phone call or meet someone face-to-face,” says Craig Martin, director of wealth and lending at J.D. Power. “They’re ahead of the curve in a lot of respects and they’re reliant on the traditional methods or mechanism, but with customer experience, they’re a lot more flexible.”

However, J.D. Power’s 2019 customer satisfaction study shows that digital tools in mortgage lending are not keeping pace with other digital tools in retail banking. While 60% of customers are using a lender’s website to access their information, only 31% are accessing it on their mobile devices. In spite of this, overall satisfaction in mortgage lending is highest among customers who use digital self-service channels.

Real estate broker firm, Reali, took control of the home buying and lending vertical with its mortgage and escrow arms, Reali Loans and Reali Escrow. Through these products, Reali is able to act as a one-stop-shop for homebuyers. Reali Loans CEO, Jason van den Brand, explains the advantage that vertical integration gives the company. “We’re bundling all these services together as a group to provide value and convenience to the customer,” he says.

But with the tough competition among online mortgage servicers, some new homeowners, or even those looking to refinance might find better rates and lower closing costs. Additionally, overhead is diminished by the lack of physical branches and offices, so online lenders’ margins are wider for profit.

“If we think about homeownership as an entire experience, it’s more than just the loan, it’s finding the home. And to do that, what app are you using to find the home of your dreams, and when you do find the home of your dreams, what agent is representing you, and after they do represent you, you’re paying for it, however you slice it,” van den Brand says. “So we’ve set out as a group where you have real estate, we have escrow, we have mortgages that are simple, stress-free and affordable. And we do that by being part of every single piece of the transaction, not just the mortgage.”

Just like the transition from letters to phone calls to texts, it’s entirely possible that traditional mortgage servicers will have to adapt to online-only applications and even integrate home shopping in order to stay in the game.

That’s not to say that traditional brick-and-mortar routes will be completely obsolete. Just as some people still prefer flip-phones over touchscreen devices, there will always be an audience for traditional mortgage lending. “This is a high-stress transaction and high-stress experience, so there’s a lot of desire for hand-holding and education and validation,” Martin adds. “For an online lender, it’s more of a challenge traditionally to build that level of trust or level of confidence. Face-to-face contact allows you to do that … when they’re face-to-face, they can determine if someone is worried or concerned or has questions or is confused.”

Reali Loans also addresses this aspect of the homebuying transaction with a staff of dedicated, licensed mortgage officers for its customers. Even if new homebuyers — which make up about 35% of its customer base — have questions or need assistance, they can be connected with an expert quickly, while the process is still contained in the online portal. “We take a hybrid approach where most people, even if you do talk to a loan officer and you get comfortable, the best place to go after that to make it faster is just to go online,” van den Brand explains.

It’s not just the convenience and the customer service capabilities that could make traditional lenders sweat. The rates really are competitive, and mortgages usually come with some monetary bonus. For example, SoFi offers mortgages with as little as 10% down required of the customer. Better.com advertises no commission or origination fees for borrowers, effectively reducing their homebuying expenses by 6% to 10% while offering APRs under 4%. Reali Loans will send customers a check for the commission within 10 days of the closing date and will put a cash offer on the home for customers if they’re concerned about being beaten by other competitive offers.

It’s digital lenders like these that will push the industry further into the digital age and help lenders better cater to consumers — and we should expect to see that in the future. “If changes in that industry are occurring in a ten to 15 year period, then it’s going definitely be a different world,” Martin says.

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Mailbag: Questions About Job Searches, Extracurricular Activities, Temptations, Condiments and More

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Looking for new job
2. Extracurricular expenses
3. Basic end of life questions
4. More questions about fuel tracking
5. Handling the next temptation
6. Major redesign of life article
7. The “extra condiment packet” question
8. Snow removal strategy
9. Pocket notebook update
10. Relentless bills
11. Soup recommendation
12. Fantasy sports as cheap hobby

With the dawn of December comes the holiday gift-giving season for many families, and questions regarding gifts often dominate mailbag questions during December. Rather than having each mailbag this month drowning in questions about gifts, I’m going to instead spin them off into a small number of articles on their own that address most of the common questions I’ve already seen (and have often seen in other years).

On with the non-holiday questions!

Q1: Looking for new job

How “down low” should you be when you’re looking for a new job? I’ve heard that you should say nothing to your current employer until you turn in your notice, but how can you do that when you need them as a reference?
– Andrew

Great question. I think it depends on why you’re moving on.

Is the reason you’re moving on mostly due to factors outside of the workplace? If that’s true, I think it’s okay and even beneficial to be more open about the change at work. You can give plenty of notice and you’re likely to get good references from your employer. This also keeps the door wide open for future employment down the road. So, if you’re moving out of the area or if you’re making a notable career change, then you’re probably fine talking about it at work, especially if you give plenty of notice.

However, if you’re leaving because you’re unhappy at work, whether it’s because of salary, promotion opportunities, workplace issues or whatever, you’re better off keeping your cards close to the vest and not talking about it.

I’ve experienced this from lots of different angles. In general, if you’re leaving because you’re moving away or because of a career change, it’s better for everyone involved for you to be open about that change. This gives you time to wind down your job, set things up for your replacement and even make the transition smooth. I’ve seen situations where people have actually helped with the hiring of their replacement and even trained them, and then when they left, the transition was about as friendly as possible and the door was definitely open to them in the future. I’ve also seen the opposite, where someone popped up with a two-week notice and they were basically told to clean out their desk and leave the building immediately and the bridge was completely burnt.

It comes down to this: why are you leaving? Are you leaving because of an issue with your employer? Or is it because of issues beyond your workplace? That should guide you toward how you should handle things.

Q2: Extracurricular expenses

My daughter (7th grade) wants to be in several extracurricular activities at once. I don’t mind the schedule so much but the expense is kind of ridiculous. How do you handle it with your kids? You have two of similar age if I recall correctly.
– Bill

I have two middle-school-aged children. We encourage extracurricular activities provided that they keep their grades up. We basically allow them to each have one that they can be in regardless, but then additional ones require certain grade performance to stay in them because they need to demonstrate that they’re taking care of business on their studies before they can be in other activities.

As for the expense, we simply say “no” to activities that are just enormously expensive. Our daughter, for example, wanted to be in a rather expensive extracurricular recently and we simply told her no, that we would support other groups but the expense of this one was simply too much. We have a rough extracurricular “budget” for each child that enables them to be in a few activities and covers things like a musical instrument, but beyond that, there’s no need.

Now, if a child was extremely focused on one extracurricular and was really trying to become highly skilled in that specific activity, we might rethink it, but that’s not been true for any of our children yet.

My advice? Set a budget for extracurriculars, be open about it with your child, and stick to it. Say that you’ll pay $X per semester for extracurriculars and they can decide what clubs they want to be in based on that budget.

Q3: Basic end-of-life questions

I’ve entered the last quarter of my life and have a recent will and end of life paperwork in order. Recently my son asked me a few really good questions: How and what should he do when I die about my house and other assets? What is the best way to settle my estate? He also asked if I could make up a list with people I’d like him to directly contact to notify of my passing. It would be helpful to have a lesson on how and what to do when faced with taking care of estate matters after the passing of a parent.
– Marc

The questions your son is asking are good ones, but there aren’t easy answers to them. My honest advice would be for him to stop by the library and pick up a good guidebook on how to be an executor, like The Executor’s Guide: Settling a Loved One’s Estate or Trust by Mary Randolph. He will probably want to pair this with a book that’s specific to your state, as the specifics vary a little bit from state to state.

I’m assuming, of course, that your son who is asking these questions is the executor on your will. If not, he won’t be the person handling at least some of these issues; your executor will be. Any property of yours will be handled by the executor following the terms of your will to the best of their ability.

The list of people to contact is a really good idea and one that I will actually suggest to my own parents in the near future.

Q4: More questions about fuel tracking

Last week you advised a reader to track their fuel and maintenance for their car in an app. What are the benefits of doing this?
– David

I use the Road Trip app to record my car’s fuel and all maintenance done to it.

The big reason why I keep track of my car’s fuel is so that I can get some solid reliable data on its actual fuel efficiency. By that, I don’t just mean how many miles per gallon it gets, but how efficient it is with different fuel types. I’ve learned through the use of this app, for example, that 10% ethanol gas is not worth it for my car because the loss in fuel efficiency is so great, even if that 10% ethanol gas is 20% cheaper.

I’m currently trying to determine exactly what type of fuel is actually the most cost-efficient in my car, which actually isn’t very hard provided I record the data each time I fill up, noting the current odometer, the type of gas I bought, the amount of gas I bought, and the current price. With enough data, I can get an average fuel efficiency for each type of gas and then use that to figure out really quick which fuel is the most cost-efficient. (It’s never the ethanol blend.)

With maintenance, I have reminders for my full maintenance schedule in the app. Whenever a reminder pops up, I know I need to make an appointment or do that maintenance myself. Sticking to the maintenance schedule extends my car’s lifespan significantly, and entering the current odometer reading whenever I get gas causes the app to check and see if any maintenance is needed soon. It all works together.

Q5: Handling the next temptation

Here’s a situation that comes up often for me and my wife: We are tempted to buy by x, y, and z, but then when temptation Q comes up, we tell ourselves, “I already resisted buying x, y, z and so saved a bunch of money, so now it is OK to get Q.” Perhaps an idea to flesh out in a post. In other words, I give up some things (some of which I honestly would not have done in any case and so did not really sacrifice, or some of which were just to overambitious to begin with) and then I convince myself that I did something financially virtuous and so I can now splurge.

Sort of like having a feast to celebrate a month of dieting, except that the “month of dieting” was only in your head and was not actually any real thing you did, just things you wanted to do (and I want to do hundreds of things a day) but did not do, even though most of those I could not do even if I tried.
– Adam

I struggled with this for quite a while, and I think the solution to this conundrum is to have a monthly “free-spending” or “hobby” budget. Within that budget, you can spend money however you like; when you hit the limit, however, you have to wait until the next month to splurge.

I adhered strongly to this for several years and still do to an extent. I found that during most months I came in significantly under my budget total, often saving it for one or two big splurges during the year.

More importantly, I found that a lot of temptations simply faded away over time, or I became more careful about the things I wanted. Things that tempted me 10 years ago have no interest at all for me now. I attribute that mostly to being careful and thoughtful with my free/hobby spending for so long. It made a lot of lesser temptations simply vanish.

So, my main advice for you would be to give yourself a hobby budget and then start asking yourself not just to avoid splurges, but which splurges provide the most value in your life. You’ll find after a while that the lesser temptations just kind of fade away.

Q6: Major redesign of life article

Any thoughts on this article? Are mid-career sabbaticals a good idea? We Need a Major Redesign of Life (at Washington Post)
– Jenna

I feel like this article throws a lot of interesting ideas at the wall regarding several real problems in our culture, most significantly our relatively long and healthy lifespans compared to our forebears and the changing nature of employment. While I think most of them do make sense, they require some significant cultural shifts to work for most people.

I love the concept of a mid-career sabbatical or mini-retirement, but the problem is that it’s very difficult for many people to walk away from their careers for a few years and then just jump right back in. Ask almost any stay-at-home parent how that goes. It doesn’t go well.

I think a model where you effectively have two or three careers in your life, followed by some retirements/sabbaticals in the middle, might make sense for some people, but those people need to be high achievers to really pull that off.

In short, this article is great food for thought for people who are already high achievers, particularly those relatively young who might be interested in a different path than working until their golden years and then retiring.

Q7: The “extra condiment packet” question

When you get takeout or delivery food and there’s extra condiment packets in the bag, do you save them? What do you do with them?

OK more questions on the topic. Is it OK to ask for extra condiments if you don’t think you’ll probably use them on that meal? And what about when they have a big bin of them sitting out? Is it okay to take more than you need?
– Andy

If I’m in a restaurant and they have an open bin of condiment packets, I’ll grab as many as I think I’ll reasonably use on the meal. If that means I wind up with one or two extras, then I don’t feel bad about pocketing them. I would object to grabbing more than I think I’ll reasonably use on the meal.

If I’m going through a drive-thru and they ask if I want condiment packets, I always say yes. The number thrown into the bag is wildly variable — sometimes it’s not even as many as I want with the meal I have, while other times I have 10 extra packets.

Basically, I think it’s completely fine to take packets if they’re offered, and if there’s an open bin of them, I think it’s fine to take as many as you think you might use while eating that meal. Beyond that, it crosses a line into basically taking condiment packets that don’t belong to you.

If I wind up with extra condiment packets, I usually save those extra packets. I have a big Ziploc bag in our pantry with a bunch of assorted condiment packets in it. We usually use them when we’re traveling. For example, I recently went on a short trip where I made sandwiches in the hotel room a few times and I used a bunch of mustard and mayo packets that I brought from home.

Q8: Snow removal strategy

How do you handle snow removal? I recently moved to SE Minnesota and the snow is already ridiculous.
– Jerry

If the snow is about 4 inches or less, I use a snow shovel and get some exercise. I usually make the kids get out there and do it with me, taking turns with the shovels we have.

If it’s more than that, we have a snowblower. Without a snowblower, removing more than 4 incges of snow from our driveway would take quite a while and likely cause some unwanted back pain.

In a typical winter, we use the snowblower five or six times. We usually get about five snowfalls that are small enough to be handled with a shovel and five or so snowfalls that require the snowblower, though winters can vary a lot. Some winters seemingly require endless blowing, while others can go by with maybe one or two snowblower runs.

I don’t think things like a heated driveway are really necessary. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have a snowblower if we didn’t have a wide driveway and a healthy section of the sidewalk to clear. The exercise from shoveling is pretty good for me (as long as I lift using the knees and not the back).

Q9: Pocket notebook update

Do you still use a pocket notebook for recording notes during the day or have you switched to an app?
– Kelvin

I still use a pocket notebook. The big issue is that I haven’t found an input method that’s faster for a small diagram or a few words of text than simply opening a notebook and writing it down. By the time I open a note app on my phone and start jotting things down with the keyboard or with my finger, I’m basically already done with using my pocket notebook.

I still vastly prefer simple side-stapled notebooks like Field Notes makes, though I have a motley assortment of those types of notebooks bought at various sales.

As for a pen, I still use Uniball Signo 207 or Pilot G-2 pens. They don’t leak in my pocket and always write well.

Q10: Relentless bills

I get so frustrated by relentless bills. Whenever I start to feel like things are doing okay another bill comes in and another and another. It feels like you’re on a long treadmill.
– Andy

That’s modern life for you. There’s basically no way off of that treadmill unless you adopt a very contrarian lifestyle off the grid.

The cycle of things like energy bills, insurance, food bills and so on are just a staple of modern life. You’re either paying them yourself or someone is paying them for you, or else you live completely off the grid and subsist on your own grown food or food given to you. Those are the options.

For me, the key is remembering what I get out of those bills. I pay the energy bill so that the lights stay on. I pay the insurance bill so that if our house burns down we’re not in a financial disaster. Remembering what I’m getting out of the bills makes them more palatable and less like a pure obstacle to overcome. It also helps me realize that some bills are much less necessary than others if I do feel overwhelmed.

Q11: Soup recommendation

What’s your recommendation for a cheap soup that is at least kind of healthy but still tastes good? Ramen is so ridiculously unhealthy.
– Erica

Honestly, I don’t really buy soup very often. My recommendation is to get a bunch of small resealable containers at the store, make a batch of your own soup at home that you like, and then fill up those containers and pop them in the freezer. Pull them out and heat them up when you want something to eat.

Two soups that work really well for this, in my experience, are chili and chowder. Both of these freeze really well and both are easy to make in large quantities. I’ve also made a killer potato soup that reheated really well, and my parents often make a bean and ham soup that reheats well from frozen.

When you make it yourself, you can control exactly how healthy it is and you can also decide what’s in there for your own taste preferences.

Q12: Fantasy sports as a cheap hobby

Just wanted to suggest starting a dynasty fantasy football league (or baseball or basketball) with some friends as a cheap hobby. I have a league with a bunch of friends and we each pay $20 as an entry fee each year. The amount of time I put into researching and planning and trash-talking is pretty incredible, but it builds a bond with those guys and gals and the $20 entry fee is paid out to the top three each season so after a while it’s fairly break-even. All of the tools for playing are free, too. Just thought I’d suggest it.
– Joel

I play a lot of dynasty fantasy sports for the exact same reason — it’s a very cheap hobby for the amount of time I put into it and the amount of camaraderie I get out of it. I’m currently in a dynasty baseball league, a dynasty football league and a dynasty basketball league with three distinct groups of people.

For those unaware, fantasy sports is basically a game where you pretend to be the general manager of a sports team. The players on your team are real players playing in that sport. You draft players and trade them, just like a real team would, and you accumulate points for your team based on the actual on-field performance of your players. So, if I have a fantasy baseball team and I have Mike Trout, he’s going to accumulate a lot of points for me. The same is true if my fantasy basketball team has LeBron James on it.

A dynasty fantasy sports league is one in which you keep your players from season to season. When players get old and retire, you just lose them, but you replenish through an annual rookie draft and through trades and through free agent signings (basically, a big pool of all of the players who aren’t on anyone’s team). There are lots of varieties of this.

The key to making this a worthwhile hobby is to do it with friends. It’s a great way to keep a bond going with some friends who aren’t nearby or to build a bond with office mates or new friends. Some people will play it really competitively, while others will just try to get their favorite players, and still, others will just be in it for the camaraderie and trash talk. It’s super inexpensive, too.

Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.

The post Mailbag: Questions About Job Searches, Extracurricular Activities, Temptations, Condiments and More appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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Check Your Eligibility in These Settlements from Apple, Nissan

Automobile manufacturers, cosmetics makers, a gun manufacturer and an herbicide producer are among the businesses that have agreed to class-action settlements highlighted this month. See if you qualify for a bit of stuff in your stocking from these settlement offers. 

Nissan Altima CVT 

If you owned or leased a Nissan Altima, model year 2013 through 2016, you could be eligible for a $1,000 voucher.

If your Nissan Altima is equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), both current and former owners and lessees could be eligible for compensation due to an alleged defect that caused transmissions to prematurely fail. Symptoms included shuddering, unexplained power surges, vehicle hesitation, stalling and other noises.

Affected owners may qualify to receive:

• Extension of the terms of the Nissan New Vehicle Limited Warranty for either 24 months or up to 24,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
• Reimbursement for transmission assembly repairs related to the alleged defect.
• Anyone whose car required two or more repairs or replacements can receive a $1,000 voucher toward the purchase of a Nissan or Infiniti.
• Owners of vehicles that are more than 84 months old or with more than 84,000 miles are not eligible for the extended warranty but they can claim reimbursement for expenses related to transmission repairs.

For complete details, click here and submit your claim by the Jan. 30, 2020 deadline. 

Nissan Sentra, Versa and Versa Note Transmissions

Nissan has also agreed to extend warranties and reimburse customers for repair expenses related to Sentras, Versas and Versa Notes with defective transmissions.

If you bought or leased a 2013 to 2017 Nissan Sentra, 2014 to 2017 Nissan Versa Note or a 2012 to 2017 Nissan Versa, you may be eligible for up to $4,750 in repair reimbursement or a $1,000 voucher. 

Plaintiffs alleged the transmissions included a defect that caused the cars to suddenly jerk and shake while being driven. The defect appeared outside of the five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty, leaving consumers on the hook for the repairs. 

Potential awards are:

• An extension of the Nissan New Vehicle Limited Warranty from 60 months or 60,000 miles to 84 months or 84,000 miles.
• Consumers can also be reimbursed for 100% of transmission repairs they paid for, if the repairs were made by an authorized Nissan dealer and other requirements are met.
• Reimbursement of up to $4,750 is available if eligible repairs were made by a non-Nissan repair facility.
• Former owners who repaired transmissions two or more times may receive a $1,000 voucher toward the purchase or lease of a new Nissan or Infiniti car.

The claim deadline is Jan. 30, 2020 or 30 days after a qualifying transmission repair is made, whichever date is later. For complete details, click here.

Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes Mascara

Cosmetics maker Younique agreed to pay $3.25 million to resolve allegations the company deceptively advertised its Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes Mascara as consisting of “100% Natural Green Tea Fibers.”

If you bought Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes Mascara between October 2012 and July 2015 while residing in the states of California, Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas or Washington, you could be eligible to receive a portion of this settlement.

The Younique lawsuit alleged the mascara’s fibers consisted of shredded nylon, and not of green tea at all. The company settled for $3.25 million. 

Each consumer will receive an undetermined settlement amount after fees and expenses are deducted. No proof of purchase is necessary. 

The deadline is Jan. 21, 2020, so click here for more information or to submit your claim. 

Spectracide Concentrate Herbicide

If you bought Spectracide herbicide in a concentrated form between Sept. 21, 2013 and Nov. 1, 2019, you could be eligible for a portion of a $2.5 million settlement. 

United Industries settled allegations its Spectracide herbicide concentrate was not as effective when it was diluted per the instructions. The 2017 lawsuit alleged the diluted product was only effective on “newly emerged weeds.”

The company admits no wrongdoing, but agreed to make changes to its product labels.

Consumers can receive $6.25 per eligible Spectracide product. Up to four claims are allowed per household, or a maximum of $25 in compensation. 

Receipts or the dates and locations of the purchases must be provided. Click here for settlement details and file your claim by Jan. 20, 2020.

California iPhone 4, 4S and 5 Power Buttons

If you’re a California resident who bought an iPhone 4, 4S or 5 smartphone that included a defective power button, you could benefit from a $20 million class action lawsuit. 

If you bought an iPhone 4 between June 24, 2010 and Oct. 10, 2011, or an iPhone 4S between Oct. 11, 2011 and Sept. 20, 2012 and the power button stopped working or worked intermittently within a year of purchase, you are likely eligible. Also included are California residents who bought an iPhone 5 prior to April 1, 2013, and the power button caused problems within three years of purchasing. 

If you had your iPhone repaired or replaced by Apple for free because of a defective power button, you won’t be eligible for this settlement. 

Each California claimant may receive up to $24 per qualifying iPhone. For details, click here and submit a valid claim form by the March 23, 2020 deadline.

Range Rover Suspension Defect 

If you owned or leased a 2003 to 2006 Land Rover Range Rover, you could be eligible for part of a $6.7 million settlement over the vehicles’ defective suspensions.

The lawsuit alleged the SUVs’ front air springs could crack or leak. The resulting loss of air pressure allegedly kept the Range Rovers from being able to travel in a straight line, potentially leaving drivers at risk of losing control.

Final approval for the settlement is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2020; current and former owners and lessees would have until May 3, 2020 to file a claim.

Owners could collect partial or full reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses for replacing an original front air spring due to an air leak. The amount of reimbursement will depend on the years in service and mileage.

Proof of payment of expenses and other documentation is required. For full details and a claim form, click here.

Tarte High-Performance Naturals Cosmetics

Tarte Inc. will pay $1.7 million over allegations its high-performance naturals cosmetics and skincare products actually contained synthetic ingredients.

If the proposed settlement deal receives final approval, customers who bought a Tarte high-performance naturals product between Nov. 13, 2013 and the deadline of Jan. 21, 2020 will be eligible to receive $5 per product for up to 10 items. A receipt is not required, but other information will be required in order for the claim to be fulfilled.

Consumers who include a proof of purchase will receive a full refund. 

Among the products included are the Tarte Skincare Frxxxtion Stick, the Tarte Skincare Brazilliance Self-tanning Face Towelettes and the Tarte Skincare Pack Your Bags Undereye Patches, all of which allegedly contain synthetic ingredients such as butylene glycol, glycerin and phenoxyethanol. 

To submit a claim by the Jan. 21, 2020 deadline, click here. 

Rossi Revolver

Forjas Taurus has agreed to a $38 million settlement regarding allegations its Rossi revolvers can fire if dropped.

If you bought a Rossi brand .38 Special or .357 Revolver manufactured between Jan. 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2017, you may be eligible for free repair of the weapon and cash. 

The affected Rossi brand revolvers are models R35102, R35202, R85104, R97206, R97104, R46202, R46102, which were manufactured by Forjas Taurus and include a serial number stamped on the frame of the revolvers beginning with the letters Y, Z, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, or K.

According to the allegations, the Rossi revolvers can discharge when dropped because of a defect. The gun maker is accused of failing to warn of the defect or issue a recall. 

Those with the affected guns may have their revolvers inspected, repaired and cleaned at no charge, and receive an enhanced warranty and a $50 inconvenience fee. 

For complete details and to submit a valid claim by the Oct. 22, 2020 deadline, click here.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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Best and worst travel price comparison sites revealed

Best and worst travel price comparison sites revealed

GoCompare, CheapFlights and TravelSupermarket have all scored poorly in a new survey from Which?

Stephen Little Mon, 12/02/2019 - 10:27

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GoCompare has been ranked the worst travel comparison site, with customers complaining its poor functionality and high prices, according to a new survey from consumer group Which?..

More than 2,200 holidaymakers were asked to rate their experiences using holiday comparison sites over the last two years.

They were polled on a range of categories, including user-friendliness, price and market coverage.

Bottom of the survey with a customer score of only 45% was GoCompare, which uses third parties for its flight and hotel searches.

Users criticised it for its functionality, high prices, poor market coverage and for not showing prices for all major booking sites.

Cheapflights also scored poorly, coming in second to bottom with a customer score of 45%. Travelsupermarket did slightly better with a customer score of 49%.

In first place was Skyscanner, with a score of 69%. It was also the only site to score four stars for value for money.

Tripadvisor came second overall, receiving three stars across all categories. Customers said they liked being able to compare hotel prices and reading reviews side by side.

Best and worst travel price comparison sites

	Market coverage	Functionality of website	Relevance of search terms	Prices
Skyscanner	****	****	****	****
TripAdvisor	***	***	***	***
Trivago	***	***	***	***
Google Flights	**	***	***	***
Kayak	**	**	**	**
Momondo	**	**	**	***
TravelSupermarket	**	**	**	**
CheapFlights	**	*	**	**
GoCompare	**	**	**	**

Source: Which? 2019

In a separate investigation, Which? Travel compared the seven most used flight comparison sites.

Skyscanner had the cheapest price six out of 10 times.

For a last-minute return flight to Krakow, Skyscanner was at least £60 cheaper than any of the competitors.

Kayak sourced the cheapest hotel deal in six out of 10 hotel searches, although the savings were relatively small in most cases.

A GoCompare spokesperson says: “We are disappointed by the results of Which?’s research and will be looking over the results to understand where we can improve these services to give people the best experience possible when using GoCompare.

“As pointed out by Which?, while we specialise in areas such as car and home insurance, we use third party providers for other services which appeal to our customers.

“While Skyscanner, who provide our flights comparison come top in Which?’s research, we take our responsibilities as an introducer to third-party providers very seriously and will make sure the functionality on our site reflects this.”

Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, says: “Holidaymakers are known to spend hours and sometimes days looking for the best hotel rates and the best airfares, so for many of us, travel comparison sites are the first port of call.

“There are really only one or two sites you should consider using though if you want to save yourself both money and time.”

CheapFlights and and TravelSupermarket have been contacted for a statement.

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10 Roth IRA Rules to Know in 2020

You’ve probably heard by now that Roth IRAs have magical money-growing powers. OK, maybe they’re not quite magic.

But there’s a lot to love about Roth IRAs: The tax-free growth. The flexibility to access your contributions in an emergency. The fact that once you reach age 59 ½, you get to withdraw your money on your schedule — not one that’s made up by the IRS.

But while we could sing the praises of Roth IRAs all day long, let’s be real: Whenever the IRS gives us tax breaks and flexibility, it sets up a lot of rules.

So let’s talk about the Roth IRA rules you need to know.

What’s a Roth IRA? A Quick Introduction

A Roth IRA is a type of individual retirement account. Like a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA is a retirement account that you set up for yourself to invest and save. Unlike a 401(k), an IRA isn’t connected to your job.

Here’s the most important thing you need to know about Roth IRAs vs. traditional IRAs: With a Roth IRA, you pay taxes now. As you continue to contribute (ideally to the max each year!), your money compounds. Then, when you reach retirement, that nest egg is all yours. You’ve already given the government its cut.

A traditional IRA reduces your taxable income now. But your taxes come due when you start withdrawing your money. 

For a long time, 401(k)s were like traditional IRAs in that you got the tax break up front but paid taxes in retirement. But a growing number of employers are jumping on the Roth bandwagon and offering a Roth 401(k).

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10 Roth IRA Rules to Know About in 2020

Now that you know the Roth IRA basics, you’re ready for a rundown of the Roth IRA rules.

Note: The IRS updates the Roth IRA limits on income and contributions for inflation each year. But beyond that, the rules don’t change much.

1. You Can Contribute Up to $6K if You’re Under 50

The maximum contribution for both Roth and traditional IRAs in 2020 is $6,000 if you’re under 50. (Sound familiar? That’s because it’s the same as it was in 2019.) You can have both a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA, but your total contributions between the two accounts can’t exceed $6,000.

2. Over 50? You Get an Extra $1,000 Contribution

The IRS allows taxpayers 50 and older to make an IRA catch-up contribution. In 2020, that amount will remain at $1,000.

3. You Can’t Contribute if Your Income Is Above These Limits

Anyone with taxable income can contribute to a traditional IRA, but you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA if your earnings are above a certain threshold. (There’s a way around the income caps, but we’ll get to that shortly.) 

The IRS adjusted the 2020 income limits for inflation, meaning you can earn slightly more than you did in 2019 and still qualify for a Roth IRA. Here are the 2020 income limits.

2020 Roth IRA Income Limits

Tax filing status	2020 Income	Maximum contribution
Single, head of household or married filing separately	Under $124,000	$6,000 ($7,000 if 50 or older)
	$124,000-$138,999	Reduced amount
	Over $139,000	Not eligible
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	Under $196,000	$6,000 for each individual ($7,000 if 50 or older)
	$196,000-$205,999	Reduced amount
	Over $206,000	Not eligible
Married filing separately (lived with spouse at some point in tax year)	Under $10,000	Reduced amount
	$10,000 or higher	Not eligible

4. … but You Can Get Around Income Limits With a Backdoor Roth IRA

If you earn too much to directly fund a Roth IRA, you can open what’s known as a backdoor Roth IRA. You fund a traditional IRA, then convert it to a Roth IRA. 

You’ll owe taxes on the amount converted (remember, you haven’t paid taxes yet on those traditional IRA dollars), along with taxes on any gains from investments in your traditional IRA.

Opening a backdoor Roth IRA is complicated and can have serious tax consequences, so we’d always advise consulting with a tax professional and financial planner first.

Pro Tip

If you have a 401(k), you can also lower your taxable income by increasing your contributions. The 2020 limits are $19,500 if you’re under 50, or $26,000 if you’re 50 or older.

5. There’s a Penalty for Contributing Too Much

If you contribute more than the Roth IRA rules allow, you’ll pay a 6% penalty every year that extra money remains in your account.

6. You Can Access Your Contributions at Any Time

Since you’ve already been taxed on your Roth IRA contributions, that money is yours at any time. That means you can access your contributions in an emergency, though we recommend building an emergency fund separately so you can let that Roth IRA keep growing fatter.

7. You’ll Be Penalized if You Touch Your Earnings Early Before Age 59 1/2

You’ll typically owe income taxes plus a 10% penalty if you withdraw Roth IRA earnings (but not your contributions) before you’re age 59 ½. 

Then there’s the Five-Year Rule: You need to have had your account open for at least five years before you can withdraw your earnings without paying taxes and the 10% penalty.

Pro Tip

If you’re withdrawing money from a Roth IRA, your contributions will always be taken out before your earnings.

8. But Wait! There Are Exceptions

You can withdraw up to $10,000 of your Roth IRA earnings for a first-time home purchase without penalty before you’re 59 ½ if you’ve had the account for at least five years.

Some other times you might be able to use your earnings early without taxes or fees: 

• You’re using it for certain education expenses for yourself or a family member.
• You have medical expenses that add up to more than 10% of your adjusted gross income.
• You become unemployed and use the money for health insurance premiums.

9. You Can Contribute Forever if You Have Taxable Income

With a traditional IRA, your contributions have to stop when you reach age 70 ½. But with a Roth IRA, you can keep those contributions coming, so long as you have taxable income, like a salary, hourly wages, bonuses or tips.

10. You Never Have to Withdraw Your Own Money

Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s require you to start withdrawing your money when you’re 70 ½ by taking what’s known in tax speak as a required minimum distribution, or RMD.

But with a Roth IRA, you never have to withdraw money. You can keep saving your money, or you can pass it on to your heirs tax-free when you die. If you leave your Roth IRA to your spouse, they won’t face RMDs, but if you leave it to someone else, they’ll eventually have to take distributions.

Ready, Set, Go Fund Your Roth IRA

If you’re ready to take full advantage of that Roth IRA magic, you may have more time than you think.

The deadline for funding a Roth IRA for any calendar year is tax day of the following year. So you can keep working to max out your 2019 contribution until April 15, 2020.

Cheers to funding your future in 2020 and beyond.

Robin Hartill is a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder. She edits and writes stories about bank accounts, credit scores, home buying, insurance, investing, retirement and taxes. She is also the voice behind the Dear Penny personal advice column, which is syndicated in the Tampa Bay Times Sunday business section.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

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How to Break Past the Feeling of Slow Financial Progress

One of the hard truths about turning your financial life around, particularly if you don’t have a high income, is that financial progress feels really slow. You do make progress in the right direction, but there’s a lot of “three steps forward, two steps back” mentality and the steps forward are incredibly slow. You can make good financial choices for months and feel as though you’re barely making any forward progress on your goals.

There are a lot of reasons for this. Here are three big ones.

First, many financial goals are quite big compared to the resources available. If you’re trying to pay off debts that add up to a year’s worth of income or more, it’s going to be slow paying it off no matter what you do. If you owe $50,000 in debt and work really hard to free up an extra $100 a month, you’ll get rid of that debt faster, no doubt, but the reality is that you’re only cutting away 0.2% more of that balance each month. It’s like chipping away at a boulder and knocking off pebbles with each swing.

Second, our forward progress is often hindered even further by unexpected events. It’s the whole “three steps forward, two steps back” problem. You nail everything for a couple of months, then your car breaks down or a bill you forgot about arrives in the mail, undoing a lot of your progress and leaving you feeling like you’re back at square one. It’s hard to feel like you’re making much progress when you’re taking almost as many steps back as you’re taking forward.

Third, even for people with a lot of income, financial success is achieved on a timescale of years and decades rather than weeks and months. People often want to feel success in a matter of weeks, but unless you have a huge income, you’re not going to feel a big financial change quickly. It takes months and years to fix financial issues for the vast majority of us. Our brains aren’t really wired to view our personal lives in that kind of timescale. Most of the time, we’re fixated on the next few days or the next week, not three years from now. That distance can feel like forever.

It’s no wonder that progress feels slow. It’s not uncommon for someone to have a big goal of paying off a $100,000 debt, but you can only cut $200 a month from your spending, no big leaps forward in your career are coming any time soon, and after three months you’re hit with a $500 unexpected bill. It can feel hopeless.

I won’t lie: financial progress is a long road. There’s no magic recipe that’s going to pay off your six-figure debt on an average salary in six months. That’s just reality.

So what can you do to break out of this feeling? Here are some strategies that have worked really well for me over the years.

Imagine what things would be like if you hadn’t been making good financial choices recently.

You make good financial decisions for three months, then you’re suddenly hit with a big unexpected bill, which gobbles up all of the money you accumulated over those three months. You’re back where you started, or you might even be behind where you were when you started. It all feels miserable and hopeless.

If you feel that way, ask yourself one simple question: where would you be right now if you hadn’t been making good financial moves recently? Let’s say you were able to save $300 a month for three months, then you were hit with a $900 bill. Yeah, you’re back where you started, but where would you be if you hadn’t saved that $900? Rather than being back where you started, you’d be $900 behind.

That’s progress. Good progress. That’s the kind of progress that isn’t glamorous at all, but it’s the kind of progress that is life-changing over time. Yes, that big step back stings, but if you weren’t taking steps forward all the way along, that big step back would take you into a very bad place.

Look at your financial state compared to a year or a quarter ago.

One of my favorite things to do is to take a monthly snapshot of my financial state. I’ll add up the value of all of our assets, subtract all of our debts (basically zero, because I usually pay off our credit cards in full just before doing this), and that remaining total is our net worth.

Why do I do this every month? It’s simple: I love comparing my state right now to how things were a year ago — or a decade ago. It reminds me that all of these little steps are really adding up to something big. It reminds me that my financial state today is better than it was a year ago and far better than it was a decade ago.

That glance into the past reminds me that all of those little choices are worth it, that it’s building into something life-changing.

Fill in a big piece of graph paper.

If you’re focused on a specific big goal, like paying off a debt, a really good way to visualize it and see your progress is to record it on a piece of graph paper.

Take a piece of graph paper and along the top write what your big goal is. Then, make a giant rectangle that fills up most of the rest of the page, containing many, many small squares on the graph paper. Figure out how many squares are in the rectangle by multiplying the length and the width. Then, take the total balance of your goal and divide it by the number of squares, and write that number somewhere on the sheet.

Each time you move toward your goal by that many dollars, fill in a square on the sheet. For example, if you have a goal of paying off $80,000 in debt, and your big rectangle is 80 by 100 squares, that means you have 800 squares to fill and each one represents $100 ($80,000 divided by 800 is $100). Whenever you move $100 toward your goal -—your total debt goes down by $100, or you have $100 more in your account — fill in a square on that sheet.

This serves as a nice visual reminder of your goal. The practice of filling in a square makes the progress toward your goal feel a lot more tangible than just watching numbers changes on your bills. It also creates a pretty sweet visual record, too.

You don’t have to color everything in using the same color or row by row or column by column, either. Color things in using Tetris pieces of different colors, or fill them in randomly like colorful stars in the sky. Do it however you like.

Focus on daily routines, not big numbers.

Many big goals that people have are actually best handled by having a daily system of routines and habits that guide you toward your big goal. If you set up a daily routine that constitutes a small step toward your goal and you stick to that routine every single day, then the goal becomes inevitable and all you have to really focus on is achieving that daily step. It turns the focus from the big goal to today.

Rather than worrying about your progress toward your goal, instead focus on whether or not you took the steps you need to do today. One great method for this is to get a wall calendar and put a giant X on each day when you achieve your daily steps. Soon, you’ll have a chain of those steps, that chain will feel really good, and you won’t want to break it.

What kind of daily routine lends itself to financial progress?

“Today, I won’t spend any money on anything frivolous outside of my pocket money (which I budget for each month).”

“Today, I won’t consume or buy any soda/junk food/alcohol.”

“Today, I will buy only generic brand household products and pantry staples.”

“Today, I won’t eat food prepared outside of my home unless I’m eating with a close friend.”

Figure out a few rules that point you in the right direction, one day at a time, and focus on achieving those things each and every day. Mark them with a big fat X on your calendar and watch that chain of Xs get bigger and bigger. Your progress toward that big goal will start happening automatically while you don’t even notice it.

Take on projects that will accelerate your progress.

This is another useful way to change your focus from the slow progress toward your goal toward something else while still moving toward that goal. Just figure out a smaller project that, if successful, will help you move a little faster toward your big goal.

For example, you might choose a side project that involves, say, selling off the 50% of your possessions that you use the least, or perhaps you might have a side project that involves getting a professional certification that will net you a small raise at work. Maybe your side project is to read one book a week from the library for a year — that’s a great goal that will cost you nothing but can fill up your hobby time and perhaps improve you in other ways.

As long as you’re focused on a secondary goal that will result in net financial improvement in your life if you succeed at it, you’ll find that progress toward your big primary goal comes naturally. You might be focused on selling off 50% of your possessions, but when you’re done with that goal you’ll discover you have a lot of cash in hand that you didn’t expect. You might be focused on reading books from the library but when you’ve achieved it you’ll find you’ve spent a lot less on hobbies this year and you’ll have more money in hand that you expected.

Reflect frequently on why you’re doing this.

Personally, I find this to be incredibly powerful, and it’s a technique I use all the time for various self-improvement projects. Why am I doing this? What is it that I’m hoping to achieve?

For me, it usually centers around a clear picture of what I want my life to be like in a year, or five years, or 10 years. Whenever I feel like a goal is too much work, that my progress toward the goal is too slow or I feel some other type of frustration, I sit down and think about why I’m working toward this goal and what that vision of my future is like.

For a financial goal, for example, I might think about no longer being stressed out about money and no longer having debt bills coming in the mail, or I might think about retiring while my wife and I are still relatively young so that we can spend our time on other life goals.

The more detailed those pictures of the future, the more inspirational they are to me, and the more drawn I feel to stick with my big goals, even if they’re going slowly.

Integrate a few “sprints” into the goal.

If you feel like your progress toward your big goal is going slowly, try “sprinting” toward that big goal for a short period. Set yourself up with a 30-day challenge that will accelerate your progress for a short time.

Perhaps you can give yourself a 30-day challenge of not eating out at all, nudging yourself into cooking more at home so it becomes a more natural choice. Try a 30-day challenge of not spending any money on entertainment, so that you explore some free options. Give yourself a 30-day challenge of going without cable/satellite, so you can figure out whether or not you can easily cut it out of your life. Maybe give yourself a challenge of filling a big box of stuff to get rid of, then selling off the contents of that box to accelerate your savings.

You can throw yourself wholeheartedly into these sprints and let them absorb your focus for a while, and then when you finish up and apply the results of that sprint to your big goal, you will have taken a larger step forward.

Look at a big change to turbocharge the goal.

Another approach that works well for kickstarting a big goal is to look at a big single change in your life and executing it. If you make a big change, one that either produces a big single burst of money or causes a significant cut in your bills, you can drastically increase your rate of progress toward your big goal.

For example, you might consider moving into a less expensive apartment or home. You might consider getting rid of a car and using mass transit, cycling or your feet for commuting. You might consider dropping your cable or satellite service. You might consider shopping around for all of your insurance packages and bundling them to get a far cheaper rate.

All of those changes will result in a serious decline in your monthly bills, an enormous burst of cash or both. In either case, your progress toward your big goal will start zipping along a lot faster!

A long journey takes a long time, and that’s okay.

In the end, nothing can really escape the fact that it takes a while to achieve anything worth achieving. If personal finance success were easy, we wouldn’t live in a situation where four in five adult Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and there would be no personal finance section at the bookstore or the library and The Simple Dollar wouldn’t exist. The ideas might be simple, but they’re not easy to execute.

Personal finance success needs patience above all else. The above strategies can simply help you make the journey more palatable.

Good luck!

The post How to Break Past the Feeling of Slow Financial Progress appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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