If you have a child in college, no doubt you’ve experienced the severe sticker shock that comes with higher education. There’s little you can do about rising tuition fees, but what about room and board? One option is generally overlooked: Sometimes, buying property in the college town can lower your costs-and provide a lucrative investment down the road. Consider Tom K. Wilson’s story, as related by Boston.com. In 2001, the electrical...

You can decorate sleek. You can decorate vintage. Or, if you’re following a current trend, you can just do as you feel and decorate “cozy.” “Cozy seems to be the buzzword for 2018,” designer Joan Craig recently told the Associated Press (AP). “Every client this year has told us they want their home to be soft, warm, relaxed, luxurious…and easy.” What does this mean in practical terms? Here are 4 tips to creating a cozy home, from AP: Think lush...

You’re out getting drinks with a friend when it starts to rain. Meanwhile, at home your sprinklers are set to turn on, despite the downpour. Should you: a) race home to turn them off and avoid wasting water and money; or b) forget about it and order another round of martinis? Actually, we choose option c): Why not just pull out your smartphone and turn your sprinklers off from your seat at the bar? When it comes to watering your lawn, a...

Let’s face it, It takes a leap of faith to commit to a 30-year home mortgage. After all, who knows what the next 30 years will bring, financially speaking? The good news is that if your circumstances improve, or the market shifts, you can save yourself thousands of dollars in the long run by revisiting your loan. Consider these three options, as detailed by thebalance website: Refinancing: When refinancing, you take out a new loan with new...

Years ago, a person alerted of a fire had 17 minutes to get out of their home before the fire and smoke grew out of control. Today, that number has dropped to an alarming three minutes or less. Why the difference? Experts say modern design is the culprit. “Open floor plans provide oxygen and don’t provide barriers,” notes a recent article in the Washington Post. “And synthetic building materials and furnishings burn at a much faster rate than...