Pressure and heat, applied over millions of years, turns carbon into diamonds. These days, humans in labs can do the same. Man-made diamonds and “natural” diamonds are increasingly hard to distinguish. Chemically, they are identical. […]
Buying a home can be as nerve-wracking as it is thrilling. Indeed, applying for a mortgage is the most stressful part of the process for many prospective buyers. After all, your financial and employment history become open […]
You can’t make it through the work day without using at least two work-focused apps on your phone or computer. Apps like these are especially crucial for remote workers, who can’t access many of the functions […]
You can use Amazon Alexa to find deals on groceries— and even end up shopping less. After years of effort, Amazon is finally in the grocery game. There are now a number of ways to […]
When a natural disaster comes our way, we can feel powerless to its effects. And those effects don’t just hurt our hometowns, but our pockets as well. 2017 alone was marked by 16 natural disasters in America […]
Americans may be taking identity theft more seriously one year after the Equifax data breach. In a LendingTree.com survey of roughly 1,000 people, over 90 percent of respondents reported taking some kind of action to […]
When talking to homeowners about the cost of renovation, you quickly learn that everyone has a story, and most of them are punctuated with a headache. McKenna Medley and her husband Michael bought a home […]
You’re ready to be a homeowner. You’ve researched homeowner expenses and know the horror stories of furnaces kicking it in the dead of winter and air conditioners going cold in August. You’ve budgeted for these […]
If you’re tired of shelling out $10 a day or more for a ho-hum lunch at the deli around the corner from your office, you’re in luck. We’re going to walk you through how to […]
My phone is my personal assistant and my boredom companion. I mean, for how much it cost, it better be. Thank to all the apps out there, it’s also a master of all trades. Free […]
There are a ton of laws in America — some of them obvious, some of them not so obvious. While in some states you can own your very own flamethrower, in others, you could go […]
When a good majority of your take-home pay goes to your landlord, it becomes a challenge to muster up the cash for a mortgage and down payment. The general recommendation is to spend no more […]
So, you’ve been getting calls from a debt collector. What now? Believe it or not, all hope isn’t lost when an account go to collections. Read on to learn how to deal with a debt […]
If you’ve ever purchased an car insurance policy, you’re probably familiar with the question “and what would you like your deductible to be?” Personally, I want a $0 deductible, but no one seems to offer […]
In his classic Broadway musical comedy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,. Steve Sondheim tells us that “Everybody ought to have a maid”. I agree. I also believe that everybody ought […]
If you consider yourself a bit of a gourmand, but your finances are aligned more closely with pho than foie gras, we have good news. You can eat at some of the world’s best fine-dining […]
I’ve spent my entire life turning struggling companies around. After working with dozens of organizations, I’ve begun to see the patterns that led to their challenges. Unfortunately, these patterns are not unique to them. It […]
The last thing that college students and recent graduates might think about is how their student loans can impact their credit reports in particular and their financial lives in general. Nevertheless, the impact is real. […]
Summer may be winding down, but it’s not over just yet. At GearBrain, our attention is still focused on keeping the smart home cool and comfortable. Air conditioning units have existed for years, and even […]
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December of last year has drastically changed the United State Tax Code. For tax years 2018 through 2025, when the individual provisions of the Act are scheduled to […]
Suffering has become a hallmark of the modern workplace. In my work as a coach and consultant, I’ve listened to employees talk about coercion, being forced to betray themselves for the “good of the organization,” […]
As fun as it is to switch lights on with your voice, activate your robotic vacuum cleaner and talk to the postman through a video doorbell, smart home technology offers more benefits than just everyday […]
It’s all about the trickle-down effect. A glance at the prices of electric cars will quickly tell you something — they are all expensive. The latest vehicle to raise eyebrows is the Audi e-tron, an SUV and […]
When we consider an office, we traditionally think of it as a physical space: a building or floor in one and the tables, chairs, filing cabinets, and other furniture that fills the space; an office […]
Why do pregnant women need disability insurance? Because complications aren’t as uncommon as you might think – one in four pregnancies have complications that can cause mothers to take additional time off from work. Besides […]
Credit reports are the foundations on which credit scores are measured. Even though there are multiple credit scoring companies (and multiple formulas for each type of score), where your scores land depends on information from […]
Planning for the financial impact of a single baby is challenging. But if you just learned you’re having twins, triplets or more, you may be wondering how you’re going to afford those extra bundles of […]
Because I write about smart shopping, you’d think that I’d be adept at shopping in all forms. Not always! As a new member of Costco, it took several visits to get my bulk shopping under […]
Most people’s idea of a smart home is adding a device that can control lights, plugs and door locks. But what if you wanted to make your entire home smarter? We’re talking about replacing every regular […]
How long do negative items stay on my credit report? This is the question anyone in need of credit might ask if bankruptcy, collections accounts, or late payments are dragging down their credit scores. Since […]