🏠 Attention boomers, now might be the best time to sell your home

Stat Of The Day

That’s how many hours working husbands spend per week on leisure activities like watching tv or "laying around." According to the Pew Research Center, on the flipside, wives get just 26 hours to themselves. (PS: If you do the math, that’s a 104 hour per year deficit, #justsaying.)

This Week In Your Wallet

Black Friday shoppers spent big this year, with the day for deals netting $9.8 billion for online retailers alone in the United States. That’s according to Adobe Analytics, which says online sales are up 7.5% from a year ago. $5.3 billion of the total spent was done on mobile devices, where as CNBC reports, influencers and social media advertising have made it easier for consumers to shop. (According to Mastercard’s SpendingPulse, in-store shopping was up as well, but by a slim 1%.) The most popular categories for Black Friday shopping? Electronics–like smartwatches and TVs–as well as toys and gaming related items. But when it comes to actually paying for purchases? Many shoppers aren’t shelling out cash up front. "According to the Adobe survey, $79 million of the sales came from consumers who opted for the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ flexible payment method to stretch their wallets, up 47% from last year," reports CNBC. Note...if you're worried that you’ve all of a sudden got more month than money, we’ve got tips.

Attention boomers…now might be the best time to sell your home. As The Wall Street Journal reports, this is due to a mix of factors, including many boomers having their homes paid off (or owing very little on them), a lack of available homes for sale and high prices, which could "pad out those retirement savings." The key though, as Justin Lahart explains, is beating the crowd. "If boomers decided to sell en masse, the prices they would get would be a lot lower than what their home appears to be worth on paper today…even if they can avoid it now, most are going to have to sell in the years ahead," he writes. "That could put downward pressure on the prices of the types of homes they live in…then it might not be a good time to sell anymore."

It’s a bit of good news for users of Venmo, PayPal and other payment apps… the IRS has announced it will again delay the implementation of new reporting requirements for those who use these platforms to send or receive money. As Fatima Hussein reports for the Associated Press, originally, app users who made over $600 or more selling goods or services would have been required to report those transactions to the IRS. Instead, the basic reporting threshold will be increased from $600 to $5,000 for 2024. The reason for the delay? Confusion over what types of transactions are required to be reported. "For instance, peer-to-peer transactions, like selling a couch or car, sending rent to a roommate, and buying concert tickets would not be reportable, whereas other purchases would apply," writes Hussein. In other words, unless you’re using this for business — or your side hustle — you can probably breathe a sigh of relief.

Things That Save You Time

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You park yourself on the couch and start scrolling, looking for something to watch. Next thing you know, a half hour has passed. Sound like you? If so, there’s a website for that. Answer a quick quiz on PickAMovieForMe.com and they’ll find the perfect movie for your mood, occasion and individual preferences in just a few minutes.

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Does waiting in the airport TSA line for less than 5 minutes sound like a dream? It doesn’t have to be if you’re TSA Precheck. 99% of those with the status wait less than 10 minutes in security lines. TSA Precheck will run you $78 for five years of coverage, but many credit cards offer perks that will cover all or part of the application fee. PS, turnaround time on applications is 3-5 days…so if you think you could use it for December travel, get on it!

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Last up, a tip from HerMoney reader Kari, who says she does the following to save time scouting the best grocery deals for the week: "I use the app Flipp because it compiles all the grocery store ads in one place. It makes it easy to make a shopping list and also compare prices at different stores." Love this, Kari! Please send your money saving tips to mailbag@hermoney.com. Thanks!

Raising Billions For Good With Soraya Alexander

"You don’t need huge dollars to make real impacts on peoples’ lives."

It’s #GivingTuesday, so it seems a good time to focus on the fact that the holidays are a time when many of us give back — whether we’re volunteering at a food pantry or donating to a cause we believe in — and this year, our donations could be more important than ever. According to Giving USA, charitable giving in the United States declined in 2022 for only the fourth time in four decades.

According to Soraya Alexander, Chief Operating Officer at GoFundMe and president of Classy, one of the reasons for that decline is that people feel powerless to make a difference. This week, Alexander joins host Karen Finerman on the How She Does It Podcast, proudly supported by iShares, to talk about the real impact individual donations can have. "When you look at GoFundMe, you know that your $100 will have an impact on someone’s ability to buy textbooks, to pay for your cancer treatment, to pay rent. They're very, human-scale problems and so then your impact is very tangible and real," Alexander says.

For more on how younger donors (or anyone who feels like they are on a tighter budget this season) can show up for the things they care about in the world, listen here.

Listen Now

The HerMoney Podcast is made possible by iShares

The Best Preventive Care For Dogs, For Every Life Stage

Sponsored by

We all tend to think about preventive care when it comes to our own health. But what about our dogs? Wellness plans are not only a smart option for staying on top of your dog’s preventive care throughout his or her life, they can also help with budgeting.

One way to help make preventive care more accessible and affordable are "wellness plans'' for pets. These plans can help veterinarians catch problems earlier, before they are more serious–and more expensive. For example, Banfield Pet Hospital offers what they call "Optimum Wellness Plans," or OWPs. OWPs are not insurance, rather they are customizable packages of preventive services that allow you to budget the routinely recommended care a pet needs each year, including annual comprehensive examinations, all office visits, regular blood work, vaccines, dental cleanings and more – all at a predictable and discounted monthly price. In other words, they’re like an annual subscription for your pet’s preventive health care needs that you can pay upfront for or break up into monthly payments.

According to Banfield Pet Hospital, OWPs provide pets with smart, affordable and high-quality packages of preventive care that are designed for different needs, ages, and lifestyles. And while wellness plan services are limited to preventive care, OWPs do provide pet owners with a discount on goods and services outside of the plan.

Ask Jean

This week’s question comes from Terri. She writes: Is it true that I can apply for a mortgage through several companies/banks at the same time without it having a significant 'ding' to my credit rating?

It is true. And here’s why it’s important. There are five factors that go into creating your credit score: on time bill payment, credit utilization, mix of credit, length of credit relationships and applications for new credit. Why would applications for new credit – like a mortgage, car loan, personal loan, or credit card – count against you? Because they are a signal to creditors that you need money. And the more often you’re in the market for additional cash, from a creditor’s perspective, the more likely you are to not be able to repay your debts.

So, when you put in an application it dings your credit score – not a lot (this is one of the minor factors in your score, unlike on time bill payment and credit utilization which are major) but enough to care about minimizing it. But shopping around for a mortgage (particularly these days with interest rates higher than they’ve been in years) is an an important part of the home-buying process. Luckily, multiple credit checks from mortgage lenders count as one single inquiry, so long as they happen within a certain time period. That time period depends on the credit scoring model used and will range from 14-45 days. For example, the latest FICO scores will give you 45 days to "rate shop." VantageScore, on the other hand, offers homebuyers just 14 days. The safest way to shop around without being penalized is to limit your applications to a 14 day period.

Two last notes on this. While you’re in the process of doing this shopping (in fact, in the six months before), don’t mess things up by applying for other credit. Don’t fill out an application for a store credit card to get the 15% discount – or sign up for a new mileage card. Just wait until that mortgage is locked. And don’t worry about checking your own credit. Your inquiries into your own account don’t ding your record at all.

Submit your questions to Jean here.

Goodbye To The Girlboss?

"Thrilling" and "page turner" probably aren’t the first words that come to mind when thinking about a book focused on the beauty industry. But, that’s exactly what Marisa Meltzer created with Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier. The bestseller details the rise and fall of the billion dollar cult-favorite beauty brand and dives deep into the story of its founder, Emily Weiss.

On the HerMoney Podcast*, host Jean Chatzky sits down with Meltzer to talk about the meteoric rise and fall of Weis and other similar "girlbosses." As quickly as they rose, many of their empires crumbled… So what is it about our society that we can’t get enough of hearing about the public takedowns of female founders? Listen in to hear why Meltzer thinks these are societal issues that can’t be solved by one person — or even a company, for that matter.

The HerMoney Podcast is made possible by Edelman Financial Engines

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Can’t get enough of us? Whether you’re looking for career advice, money management tips, or are simply curious about the intricate world of finance, The HerMoney with Jean Chatzky Podcast* has you covered. New episodes drop every Wednesday, and you can catch up on our past, motivational and glass-ceiling breaking episodes here.

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