Author: Money Mechanics

In this edition of The Price Point—a weekly series where Redfin data journalists explore current housing inventory across a rotating combination of budgets and metro areas—we’re looking at some of the hottest real estate markets in the country, according to Redfin’s latest analysis.  Our annual Hottest Neighborhoods report ranks U.S. zip codes in the 100 most populous metro areas by year-over-year growth in listing views on Redfin.com and Redfin Compete Score—a measure of how difficult it is to win a home. This year, several neighborhoods that landed in the top 10 clustered around three metro areas: Milwaukee, WI, Detroit, MI,…

(Image credit: Getty Images)After four decades in the financial services industry, one persistent concern has never faded: The way “top producers” are celebrated as elite financial advisors — when in many cases, they’re primarily salespeople.That distinction matters more than most consumers realize.What is a top producer?Within many Wall Street brokerage firms, banks and insurance companies, a top producer is not necessarily the advisor who provides the best financial planning or the most thoughtful advice. Instead, the title typically goes to the individual who generates the highest revenue for the firm. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a…

(Image credit: Getty Images)It’s hard to avoid stories about AI in the news or on social media these days. The technology is widely expected to be transformative, although the extent and the speed at which it will impact society is not well understood.Anthropic, the maker of AI model Claude, has been in the news lately for several different reasons. In late March, the company admitted it had accidentally posted some of Claude’s source code online.While this didn’t expose any user data or confidential information directly, there is some concern that bad actors could use this information to build rogue agents…

(Image credit: Getty Images)saysFor the past several years, Jody King and Jim Vozar have made it their practice to give their four adult children a sum of money annually to help with their expenses. The “kids” — the couple each have a son and daughter from their first marriages, ranging in age from 25 to 38 — all have jobs and can cover essential bills on their own. But the financial assistance from Mom and Dad makes a meaningful difference.”Everything is more expensive these days, from groceries to rent to cars; it’s harder to buy a house, harder to save…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Wealth Wise is Kiplinger’s advice column on navigating retirement-related dilemmas. Questions from real people, for real people. Got a question? See below for how to send it to us. DEAR WEALTH WISE: We are both 61, still working, and earn $400k a year. We’ve accumulated substantial unsecured debt and want to pay it off using an equity loan from our primary home. However, because of our debt-to-income ratio, we can’t get approved for an equity loan from our credit union. We have a second home (the reason for our high debt ratio), which we bought with our…

(Image credit: Getty Images)As we near retirement, we’re often told that we’ll pay less in taxes once we’ve retired. But is that always the case?For some, yes, but for many, I would contend that you’ll pay just as much, if not more, in taxes in retirement than you did in your pre-retirement years.Some people have misconceptions about taxes and retirement. They believe their income will drop significantly but ignore that taxable withdrawals from retirement accounts and other income sources could put them in a higher tax bracket. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed…

Find out how much you could earn with today’s money market account rates. Deposit interest rates (including money market account rates) have been falling over the past two years. That’s why it’s more important than ever to compare MMA rates and ensure you earn as much as possible on your balance. Overview of money market account rates today The national average money market account rate stands at 0.57%, according to the FDIC. This might not seem like much, but consider that four years ago, it was just 0.07%. So by historical standards, money market account rates are still quite high.…

and have long occupied a meaningful place in investment portfolios, not just as cultural assets but also as financial hedges. With the growing popularity of exchange traded funds, investors today have easier access to these metals without the challenges of physical storage or purity concerns. As awareness increases, a common question arises: should one invest through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) or deploy money as a lump sum? When evaluating SIP vs lump sum investment in Gold ETFs, the differences lie more in risk management and behaviour than in returns alone. Market Timing Risk. SIPs reduce dependence on timing by…

The City National Rochdale Select Strategies Fund delivered a net return of 11.27% for the year ended January 31st 2026 and its investment adviser said demand for industry-loss warranty (ILW) protection has been elevated, leading it to expect promising opportunities for 2026 portfolio construction.The City National Rochdale Select Strategies Fund is a mutual insurance-linked securities (ILS) strategy focused on industry loss warranties (ILWs) and catastrophe bonds, that invests the majority of its assets into NB RE Ltd., a Bermuda based structure whose origination and management falls to global asset manager Neuberger Berman’s specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment team. The City…

Homes at a new development in Fontana, California, US, on Saturday, May 9, 2026. Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesHomebuyers appear to be getting used to the new normal of higher mortgage rates, even the highest in over a month. Buyer demand for mortgages helped to push total mortgage application volume up 1.7% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased to 6.46% from 6.45%, with points decreasing to 0.63 from 0.66, including the…