Become a live-in landlord and let your tenants pay your mortgage

Eager to purchase a home to live in but worry about affording the financing? Wouldn’t it be great if a mortgage could somehow pay for itself? There’s a tried-and-true method for accomplishing the latter goal, which equates to having your real estate cake and eating it, too. It involves purchasing a two- to four-unit multi-family rental property, occupying one of the units as your primary residence and serving as the landlord, and collecting enough rent monies from the other attached units to cover most or all of your monthly mortgage payment—and possibly even your other real estate-related costs well.

Learn more about this strategy by reading my latest article for The Mortgage Reports here.

Getting interpersonal equates to higher employability and earnings

Barbra Streisand once famously sang, “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” They may also be among the most employable. According to a new Pew Research Center study on jobs released in October, employment of positions requiring stronger social skills – particularly interpersonal, communications or management proficiencies – rose 83% between 1980 and 2015 (from 49 million to 90 million, respectively).

If you're over 50 and hunting for a new job, social skills are more important than ever. Learn why in my latest article for AARP The Magazine by clicking here.

Private mortgage insurance explained

If you want to be a homeowner, you’ll need a mortgage, you’ll need insurance, and you may even need mortgage insurance – often called PMI, or “private mortgage insurance.” If you need it, you’ll be responsible for paying for it, despite the fact that this type of insurance isn’t in place to protect you; it exists to safeguard your lender.

Learn more about how PMI works by reading my latest CTW Features real estate article here.

Welcome to the golden age

If you want bling that really zings, make it gold jewelry, say the experts. Gold is often favored as a jewelry material because of its bright color, high luster, malleability (which allows it to be molded into many shapes and styles), tarnish resistance, and relative rarity. Gold is also timelessly vogue thanks to its classic look, coveted quality throughout history, and romantic allure.

Learn more about why many consumers prefer gold jewelry as well as tips to help make your gold stand the test of time by reading my newest article for The Costco Connection magazine, available here.

Golden peach

There's more to Atlanta than merely the Braves, Hawks, and Falcons (and, starting next year, Atlanta United FC, the city’s long-awaited pro soccer team). This town is also famous for being the home of Coca-Cola, CNN, Gone with the Wind, and two Nobel Peace Prize winners – Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Jimmy Carter. With its numerous festivals, parks, museums and historic buildings, as well as its rich history and cultural diversity, Atlanta is an increasingly popular target for tourists and business meetings and conventions.

Check out all there is to do and explore in and around Atlanta by reading my guide for tourists/visitors, published in CSP Magazine, by clicking here.

10 hot prospects for age 50+ job seekers

They say a rolling stone gathers no moss. Even if you’re literally a Rolling Stone like Mick Jagger, who’s still strutting his stuff on stage well into his seventies. Perhaps Mick’s had to scale back a bit on the setlist and nix a few of the more acrobatic poses from his repertoire, but he’s learned to flex and adapt in his golden years.

And so can you. Because the truth is that ample opportunities abound today for older workers seeking a late-stage career reinvention or return to a previous vocation they left behind.

In my latest article for AARP The Magazine, I explore 10 trendy career opportunities for folks in their 50s and beyond. Click here to read the full story/slideshow.