Lamar Ledger

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... If you think scrolling social media increasingly feels like online shopping, you’re not wrong. More than 8 in 10 consumers say they buy something because of an influencer’s recommendation at least once a year, according to a report from Sprout Social, a social media management and analytics platform. And 49% make influenced purchases at least once a month. Enter deinfluencers, stage left.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Anna Helhoski and Elizabeth Renter, NerdWallet The labor market isn’t on the brink of collapse, but it’s not exactly flourishing with possibility either. Hiring has slowed throughout the market, but layoffs are still remaining low. We’re well past the Great Resignation and workers aren’t budging from their jobs. It’s the kind of “low-hire, low-fire” environment that makes it harder to find a job or leave one you’re unhappy in.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... It might feel like a high-wire act at times, but it’s absolutely possible to buy a new home before you’ve sold your old one. Vickey Barron, a veteran real estate broker at Compass in New York, has a client who’s moving to Los Angeles. The client thought it’d take a year to find a home, but she fell in love with a place right away. “And she’s like, now what? I haven’t even listed my other home yet. What am I doing?” Barron says.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... I know it sounds like one of those “one weird trick doctors hate” ads, but I slashed my car insurance premium in less time than a World Cup hydration break. All I had to do was bump up my deductible. I was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy it was for me to save some money. So, being an insurance Nerd, my obvious next step was to analyze more than 400 million insurance rates to see who else might save, and how.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Elin Johnson, NerdWallet As student loan borrowers across America switch off of the more affordable Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan and prepare to choose a new repayment plan, they’re seeing rising monthly payments. That’s because on July 1, borrowers on the SAVE repayment plan began receiving notice that the program is no longer available.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By CHRISTIAN WARDLAW of Edmunds Buying a used car can be a smart money move. During a typical ownership cycle, the cost of a used vehicle is usually significantly lower than buying or leasing a new car. Choose one that’s only a few years old, and it will likely have relatively low miles and plenty of reliable years ahead at a nicer price than getting a new vehicle. You can save even more by selecting a fuel-efficient hybrid model known for reliability.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By CHRISTINE BENZ of Morningstar Inflation can be scary for retirees. True, Social Security provides inflation increases in line with the consumer price index, or CPI. But any portfolio income, save allocations to inflation-protected bonds, isn’t inherently inflation-protected. And if inflation occurs early in your retirement, those higher prices will do more damage throughout retirement, potentially jeopardizing your portfolio’s ability to last.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By MICHAEL CANTU of Edmunds A small number of vehicles are discontinued every year. For car shoppers, these cancellations rarely make news. But if you know where to look, there’s an opportunity to get a good deal on a vehicle that’s at the end of its life cycle. There’s a good chance dealers will be looking to offload their remaining inventory of a discontinued vehicle, which can present an opportunity for you to negotiate on price.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... One of the toughest things to go through as an adult is helping your parents as they get older. Life is finite, and both you and your parents might be reluctant to talk about what type of support they might need. But as difficult as these conversations can be, it’s important to make time for them. Eldercare attorney Harry Margolis recommends age 75 as the best time to start talking to your parents about finances and caregiving issues.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Karla Perez and her husband are supporters of President Donald Trump, so when they learned this summer about new investment accounts his administration designed for children, they quickly signed up their 1-year-old son.