Understanding timeshares and their risks

Love soaking up the sun on a beach, exploring a vibrant new city, or returning to a favorite getaway spot every year? A timeshare offers a unique way to make those dream vacations a reality. 

A timeshare is simply a vacation property arrangement that allows you to share the cost of a property with others. It allows different unrelated parties to own or lease a fractional portion of that property. Case in point: You purchase a 1-week timeshare at a Florida beachfront condo, allowing your family to stay at that property on the same week each year, while other owners use the condo on other allotted weeks.

While that certainly sounds enticing, plenty of timeshare owners have horror stories to share. To learn more about timeshares and their pros and cons, read my latest article for Rocket Mortgage, available here.

Why modern cars look and feel so different today

One surefire way to trace just how quickly our world has changed in recent years is to take a look at the road and marvel at the latest breed of automobiles. The newest vehicle designs reflect our evolving lifestyles, safety rules, functional needs and technology expectations.

Contemporary cars boast eye-catching styling elements and innovative technology—from more powerful electric batteries and sleeker touchscreens to greater connectivity and autonomous capabilities. Stronger sales of hybrids and EVs in recent years demonstrate that drivers have embraced electrification.[1]

In my latest article for The Zebra, available here, I delve into the latest trends in automotive design, different factors influencing today’s cars and what we can expect in the near future.

Cineversary podcast marks 50th anniversary of Taxi Driver

Eddie Muller

In Cineversary podcast episode #91, host ⁠Erik J. Martin⁠ sends 50th birthday wishes to Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese. Accompanying him on this anniversary cab ride is TCM host and Film Noir Foundation president Eddie Muller. Erik and Eddie examine how Taxi Driver has stood the test of time, why it’s worthy of celebration five decades later, its impact on cinema, key thematic takeaways, and much more.

To listen to this episode, click here or click the "play" button on the embedded streaming player below. Or, you can stream, download, or subscribe to Cineversary wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Learn more about the Cineversary podcast at www.cineversary.com and email show comments or suggestions to cineversarypodcast@gmail.com.

How a 10% interest cap on credit cards would affect you

Credit cards provide convenience and flexibility – the opportunity to purchase a product or service today with someone else’s money that you can repay later. Problem is, that plastic perk can prove costly if you don’t pay down your debt on time due to a high rate of interest charged by the credit card company, which could exceed 20%.

Recently, the Trump Administration has called for a 10% cap on credit cards. Whether enough banks and credit card companies opt to do this voluntarily or an act of Congress will be required remains to be seen. In my latest article for Better.com, I take a closer look at how rates are set, what the President has proposed, and how a credit card rate cap would affect homeowners and homebuyers.

Restoring your ring’s reputation

Answering the phone has become an increasingly negative experience for the average American, thanks in large part to more sophisticated vishing, call spoofing, robocalls, impersonation, and AI deepfakes. Consider that, per FBI data, fraud categories that include phone-based scams were among the most reported in 2024, contributing to an estimated 860,000 complaints and more than $16 billion in total losses – an increase of 33% year-over-year. It’s little surprise, then, that around 72% of American adults nowadays tend to ignore calls from numbers they don’t recognize, according to Transaction Network Services (TNS).

Truth is, businesses today that rely on outgoing calls face a harsh reality: Trust in the voice channel for many Americans is fundamentally broken. Fortunately, there’s a resource that can help restore consumer confidence: branded calling for outbound outreach (BCOO). Learn more by reading my newest article for Destination CRM, available here.

Looking ahead to the Fed in 2026

As the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve plays an important role in the American economy and its overall financial system, being responsible for managing interest rates and monetary supply. But the Fed has faced plenty of headwinds in recent years in its struggle to control inflation and keep the economy stable.

2025 was a particularly bumpy year for this group. One big reason was due to increasing internal dissent about whether, when, and how much interest rates should be lowered. Earlier this month, the Federal Open Market Committee (the Fed’s primary monetary-policy-making body) decreased its key interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50% to 3.75%, representing the third consecutive rate cut this year and the sixth since late 2024. President Trump was another reason: He has consistently criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell and is eager to replace him, when his term ends in May 2026, with someone who prefers much lower rates. As we head toward that transition, it’s fair to question whether his successor will support the Fed’s traditional independence as a government agency or favor the Trump Administration’s more aggressive push for easing rates.

How will things shake out at the Federal Reserve this year? Who will ultimately replace Powell? And can we anticipate more rate cuts in the coming months? For answers, read my newest article for Mortgage Resource Network, available here.