Point is a HELOC alternative.

"What if you could get cash today in exchange for a share of your home's value in the future?

Most Americans have the majority of their wealth tied up in their home. This is wonderful in the long term – but does little to alleviate the cost of day-to-day living. What if there was an alternative that let you take some of the equity from your home without an additional monthly payment?"

Well, that's what Point is doing, and it has some intriguing uses - including being used as a "bridge loan" to cover the costs for buying a new house, to paying off high interest debt.

Point is offering the Home Equity Investment (HEI). It's an alternative to a HELOC. Keep reading to learn more about how it works and to see if selling equity in your home could be worth considering.

Spousal Consolidation student loans were offered until 2009 - when Congress finally realized this is actually a terrible idea. As of today, there are less than 1,000 spousal student loan consolidation victims left.

I’m going to briefly outline what spousal student loan consolidation is, why you might want to do it, why you might want to avoid it, and ways to change it if you have this kind of loan.

Note: The federal government ended the spousal loan consolidation program. In September 2022, Congress passed legislation to allow couples to separate their spousal consolidation loans, and President Biden signed it.

In October 2024, the application process for separating spousal consolidation loans was finally released.

Parenthood is full of ups and downs, but throughout it all there is the hope that you’re raising your children right. That comes with a desire to help set your child up for a successful future. When it comes to college, that may mean taking out Parent PLUS loans to help cover the high costs of higher education.

Taking on PLUS loans is a big decision. With high interest rates and essentially no borrowing limit, parents can get themselves into trouble easily. Especially when they should be focusing on their retirement savings, parents should think long and hard before taking out loans for their kids’ college education.

But what if your child takes that into their own hands? It’s not unheard of for kids to sign up their parents for PLUS loans.

If you’ve ever started a new job and wondered why you fill out one form in January and receive another the following January, you’re not alone.

The W-4 form and W-2 form are two of the most common IRS documents employees handle, and they’re closely related. The W-4 controls how much tax is taken out of each paycheck. The W-2 summarizes those details at year’s end so you can report your income and file your tax return.

Understanding how these forms work together can prevent surprises at tax time - like unexpected bills or refunds that are larger than necessary.

YNAB, an acronym for You Need A Budget, is an app that “gives every dollar a job” so that you can make each dollar work for you.

Just fill out the categories, and you’re ready to go!

Think you DON’T need a budget? Think again. According The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 66% of Americans would have trouble coming up with $1,000 for an unexpected expense because they don’t have an emergency fund.

The study further reveals that families with income above $100,000 would still have trouble coming up with $1,000 for an emergency.

See why we rank YNAB as one of the best budgeting apps and software tools available today!

To get or not to get: Hulu versus Hulu Plus? Do you even need it?

Well strictly speaking you don’t necessarily “need” TV but it sure is nice to be able to enjoy some good entertainment from our homes.

Hulu is an online television service that has been around for just under a decade.

When Hulu started out, it was called Fancast and you could watch replays of your favorite television shows online if you happened to miss the actual broadcast.

This service was available completely free until the middle of 2016 when Hulu switched to a paid subscription only service.

Their repertoire of programming has been expanded since then to include not just replays of your favorite TV shows but Hulu-bred originals and hit movies.

If all you are interested in is the ability to watch replays of your favorite shows or stay in on Friday nights to watch last year’s Oscar winning movies, you can get Hulu for $5.99 per month streaming on your phone, tablet or computer.

Not a bad deal at all.