No, FHA loans are open to repeat buyers as well as first-time buyers, as long as the borrower meets credit, income, and occupancy rules. Many home shoppers run into the same question while comparing mortgage options. FHA loans often get labeled as a “first-time buyer” product. That label sticks, spreads, and causes confusion. The truth […]

Credit card issuers can contact you about a past-due balance, but threats, profanity, deception, and repeated contact meant to annoy or intimidate can cross legal lines. Falling behind on a credit card can feel noisy. Calls. Emails. Letters. Texts. Some contact is normal because the lender is trying to collect what it’s owed. The problem

No—marriage doesn’t merge credit scores; each person keeps a separate file, and only shared accounts can show up on both reports. Marriage comes with paperwork, shared plans, and a fresh stack of “should we do this together?” choices. Credit is one of the places where the rules feel fuzzy, mostly because people mix up two

Credit unions often beat banks on APR and fees, while banks tend to win on speed, lender options, and broad eligibility. Car loans look simple on the surface: borrow money, pay it back, drive away happy. Then you start shopping and the details hit. One lender quotes a low APR but adds fees. Another offers

Yes, ice-dam leaks are often covered when water damages your home’s interior, while roof wear, upkeep, and ice removal bills often aren’t. Ice dams feel harmless at first. A tidy row of icicles, a little glitter at the eaves. Then a ceiling stain shows up, the drywall goes soft, and the drip bucket becomes part

A focused fund can be a solid pick when you want a high-conviction slice of the market and you can live with sharper ups and downs. Focused funds get pitched as “high conviction.” That’s true in one plain way: they hold fewer positions than a broad market fund, so each holding can move the needle.

Investment values move in cycles, so you’ll only know they’re “going up” by checking your own return after fees, taxes, and inflation. You’ve seen headlines, green charts, and friends posting wins. Then you open your account and feel stuck. That gap is normal. “Investments” is a bucket word. Stocks, bonds, cash, real estate, and funds

Most beneficiaries get a life insurance payout with no tax bill, yet estate or inheritance tax can still apply when the policy is tied to the estate. Life insurance is sold as “money your family can use right away.” That’s often true. Still, tax rules don’t care about the sales pitch. They care about who

Most travel insurance plans treat a cruise as a trip, covering prepaid losses and certain medical or evacuation costs when the reason fits the policy. Cruises bundle a lot into one purchase: the fare, port fees, taxes, drink packages, shore tours, hotels, flights, and transfers. When one piece breaks, the whole plan can wobble. That’s

Yes, coverage can happen, but plans often pay only with a prescription, clear post-op need, and the right billing path. Cold therapy machines (the circulating “ice machine” many surgeons hand out after knee, shoulder, ankle, or hip work) sit in a gray zone with insurers. Some people get part of the cost paid back. Others