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2016 Election: Why you should buy a home now
October 28, 2016 /No matter what side of the electorate you find yourself on, most of us can agree that the United States is approaching a transitional period. In times of transition, people can resort to a fight or flight mentality that occasionally reaches unneeded proportions (remember the Y2K craze? Guess y’all didn’t need to dig bomb shelters and stock up on canned goods after all). However, if you’re anticipating the coming election with some unease, it might help to consider how the election will affect the average mortgage rate. I suggest this consideration might help because, historically, elections have not had dramatic effects on mortgage rates. Of course, there is always a certain level of uncertainty during election years that tends to affect the economy. By extension, there are often mortgage rate fluctuations during the time immediately following an election. Don’t let that prospect worry you, though: remember that mortgage rates are in a constant state of change, and a permanently stable mortgage rate would be strange. In that case, we shouldn’t view mortgage rate fluctuations during election season much differently than other mortgage rate fluctuations. But don’t take my word for it; check out some examples of mortgage rate changes…Read more
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Chunky, creamy or extra crunchy?
October 21, 2016 /When my girlfriend sent me out to buy peanut butter last week, she had no idea that such a simple task would end in disaster. To put this grim statement in context, it’s important to understand that I’m still used to Irish supermarkets (in which you can choose between two brands of peanut of butter and dare not ask for more) and regard all American Mega-Marts with unease and mistrust. As such, you’ll understand when I say that my trip to our local King Soopers became a task fraught with anxiety. Reaching the peanut butter aisle, I was astounded to discover that it was exactly that: a whole aisle devoted to nothing but different brands of peanut butter. I shuffled to and fro along the shelves, wondering whether chunky would taste better than creamy, or if reduced fat meant the same thing as 30% FEWER CALORIES!!! Even worse, was I supposed to buy any old run-of-the-mill butter, or would it be better to buy an all-natural brand? And what was the difference between all-natural and organic anyways? Surely peanut butter couldn’t be organic but not all-natural? All of this was very confusing; perhaps there were better options at the Safeway…Read more
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The Missing Person’s Report
October 7, 2016 /For a brief period between my sophomore and junior years in college, I had the exciting privilege of working a job without my boss’ knowledge. I’m not quite sure how this happened (and, apparently, neither did my boss), but it’s an interesting story that’s worth mentioning. At the end of my sophomore year, I applied for and accepted a job at a library. Having few aspirations beyond funding my first summer living away from home (and all the accompanying frivolity such an endeavor entails), I wanted nothing more than a quiet work space filled with quiet tasks amid quiet and comfortably dusty stacks of books. To be honest, I imagined spending most days sliding around on those vintage rolling ladders one sees in especially august and illustrious institutions. It was an idealistic notion of library work, so you can imagine my dismay when I discovered I was to be the resident “cataloguing specialist.” This glamorous title referred to a job that essentially involved pasting bar codes onto books in a little back room isolated not only from my coworkers, but also the bulk of Western civilization. I arrived to work at 8 o’clock every morning and spent most…Read more
