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Owner of 'Home Alone' house wants to return the driveway configuration to the way it was in the movie
Normally, altering a driveway configuration in the front yard of a home in a residential neighborhood on suburban Chicago's North Shore would draw scant attention and interest from the broader public.
However, when it’s one of the Chicago area’s single best-known residential properties — the iconic “Home Alone” mansion in Winnetka ...Read more
These are the Seattle area's Gen Z homeowners. How did they do it?
If you picture a first-time homebuyer in the Seattle area, you probably wouldn’t think of 24-year-old Edwin Nino Delgado with his hip-hop posters taped to the wall of his $770,000 Lake City triplex.
He’s nowhere near the age of the typical first-time homebuyer, which is now a record high of 40 nationwide, according to the National Realtors ...Read more
Gen Zers, just because you can buy a home, should you?
Just because you can buy a home, should you?
It seems like a no-brainer when home prices soar year after year. But experts say first-time homebuyers need to consider factors beyond pure capital before jumping into the market.
The median age of a first-time homebuyer has reached a record high of 40 — a time when most people are settled. But ...Read more
Let's talk about heat pumps: This Pittsburgh utility is helping to train contractors on the science and art of HVAC
PITTSBURGH — Frank Gillis laid out four sheets of fiberglass inside the Penn College Building Performance Lab in Pittsburgh's Homewood neighborhood.
With a knife, he demonstrated how to cut through the insulation layer, stopping short of the aluminum cover — "like filleting a fish" — and how to fold the sheet into a rectangular duct, ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: A Letter From 13-Year-Old Abby
Dear Mrs. Mary Hunt: My name is Abby. I am 13 years old. So, my mom got your book, "Raising Financially Confident Kids." She is on Chapter 9, and she wants to do that -- give your kids money and make them buy their clothes, shoes, etc., each month.
Well, I didn't really like the idea. I actually thought it was stupid. But I didn't say anything....Read more
Conor Sen: The housing market is moving in favor of Gen Z
The American dream of owning a home has never seemed further out of reach for young people. You can hardly blame Gen Z and younger millennials for adopting an economic nihilism that prioritizes the here and now — whether that’s $400 Lola blankets or risky crypto trading — over stashing money away for a down payment.
But there’s an ...Read more
Neiman Marcus parent sells its Beverly Hills site
LOS ANGELES — The land below the Beverly Hills flagship store of luxury retailer Neiman Marcus has been sold to a New York investor as the owners of the department store chain sell property to pay debts.
Neiman Marcus, which has occupied the 9700 Wilshire Boulevard store since it opened in 1979, will continue to serve customers there as a ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Help! I Have Issues With Your Tub and Shower Soap Scum Cleaner
If I were keeping track of the number of responses from my readers that are filled with praise and gratitude, there would be thousands of hash marks next to Tub and Shower Soap Scum Cleaner. And the word used most often to describe it? "Magical"!
But now and then, a response will report problems having to do with allergies and, well, that smell...Read more
Mortgage rates could drop below 6% in 2026, report says
Mortgage rates could briefly drop below 6 percent in 2026 which could unlock parts of the Las Vegas Valley housing market, according to a new forecast.
Lending Tree’s 2026 Housing and Economic Predictions report expects mortgage rates to drop into the 5 percent range sometime next year, something that has not happened since 2022. Freddie Mac ...Read more
Every Wall Street analyst now predicts a stock rally in 2026
At the big banks and the boutique investment shops, an optimistic consensus has taken hold: the U.S. stock market will rally in 2026 for a fourth straight year, marking the longest winning streak in nearly two decades.
There’s plenty of angst about the risks to the bull run that’s pushed the S&P 500 Index up some 90% since its October 2022 ...Read more
What is a robo-advisor? How it works, how much it costs, and pros and cons
Robo-advisors automate the investing process for you, making it simple to invest in a diversified portfolio of assets — and they cost much less than a typical financial advisor. It’s little wonder that many investors have turned to them, and robo-advisors now manage hundreds of billions of dollars.
What a robo-advisor does
A robo-advisor ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Why I Keep Binder Clips in Every Room
There are a few things I like to keep handy at all times -- nail file, a good pair of sunglasses, and binder clips. Yes, binder clips. The small, black ones with shiny silver handles that come in myriad sizes. The kind you can find in bulk at office supply stores for about the price of a fancy coffee.
I keep binder clips in nearly every room of...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: Drowning in Scraps of Fabric
Longtime readers of this column may remember the reader who wanted to know where she could donate her fabric scraps. I offered details on a small organization in Texas that turns new fabric scraps into quilts for shelters, churches and other charities.
Apparently, reader G.W. was not the only reader with fabric scraps too good to throw away. "...Read more
Downtown LA's struggle is overstated and fixable, says the mogul who built the Grand
Downtown L.A. is doing better than you think it is, but the government needs to do more to energize the city, said one of the region's longest and most successful real estate leaders.
Bill Witte is retiring after running Related California, a large-scale developer of both luxury and low-income apartments, for more than three decades.
Among the...Read more
Courts rejects bid to beef up policies issued by California's home insurer of last resort
Retired nurse Nancy Reed has been through the ringer trying to get insurance for her home next to a San Diego County nature preserve.
First, she was dropped by her longtime carrier and forced onto the state's insurer of last resort, the California FAIR Plan, which offers basic fire policies — something thousands of residents have experienced ...Read more
Downtown Detroit sees wave of new retail
DETROIT — Downtown bustled this week with shoppers like Bill Atwood, 55, who stopped by GW Home to buy his wife a lamp for Christmas. The Detroiter has lived in Brush Park for 26 years and remembers the scarce retail offerings back then.
“I always dreamed of being able to Christmas shop here,” he said. “Back in 1999 there was almost ...Read more
They lost their homes in the LA wildfires. Now they can't get the mortgage relief the state promised
After business consultant Len Kendall lost his Pacific Palisades home in the January firestorms, he sought to put a temporary stop on his mortgage payments but set aside the effort after realizing the paperwork involved.
So he was pleased to learn in September about a new state law that required mortgage servicers to offer up to 12 months of ...Read more
What a professional home appraiser wants you to know
If you’re buying a home, refinancing your mortgage, or just want to know how much your home is worth, you’re probably going to need a property appraisal.
At its most basic, “an appraisal is an opinion of value for a home,” said Matthew Sestito, a Philadelphia-based appraiser who works throughout the five-county area for the national ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: 12 Ways to Simplify Your Life
Would you be willing to accept a reduction in pay if you could work fewer hours to spend more time with your family? It is a lovely thought, but how realistic is it? Working less usually means earning less -- hardly an option for most people.
But that doesn't mean we cannot take small steps to simplify our complicated lives. A little bit here ...Read more
Everyday Cheapskate: What To Do If You Don't Have Enough Money to Pay All of Your Bills
It might be the rising cost of groceries, or perhaps you've lost your job or have already been living paycheck-to-paycheck with no cushy emergency fund to fall back on. For whatever reason, suddenly this month you can't pay all your bills.
You're scared, angry, worried and overwhelmed. What are you supposed to do right now? Which bills should ...Read more
Inside Consumer
Popular Stories
- Conor Sen: The housing market is moving in favor of Gen Z
- Neiman Marcus parent sells its Beverly Hills site
- Let's talk about heat pumps: This Pittsburgh utility is helping to train contractors on the science and art of HVAC
- Mortgage rates could drop below 6% in 2026, report says
- Every Wall Street analyst now predicts a stock rally in 2026



























