My freshman year in college I bounced a check to Domino’s Pizza. This was back in the 80s when the pizza delivery dude would actually take a check for payment. I knew what I was doing but at 18 I didn’t care, I had blown through any allowance my parents had given me, I had a girlfriend for the first time in my life who I was blowing all my money on, and I was starving. It was a move that can be considered child-like and adult at the same time, which is quite a feat. Decades later I still feel like a kid, I’ll eat a bowl of Frosted Flakes at night in front of the TV because my mother isn’t there yelling at me not to, or I’ll enjoy a Mr. Bubble bubble bath even though my wife bought be some more ‘mature’ bath bombs that go unused. It’s a challenge to try and stay young but I’m doing my best, and hey – this whole adulting gig isn’t so bad either. I think the time I felt most adult was when my wife and I bought our first place in 1998 – our interest rate was 7.75% – and we were partying like it was 1999 because we thought it would be over 8.0%. More about rates below, but first some adult stuff…
Adult Quote of the Day: “The creative adult is the child who has survived.” – Ursula K. Le Guin
Today in Economic History: It was on this date in 1940 when a woman in Vermont received the first ever Social Security check in the amount of $22.54. (*that would buy her almost half of a sexogintuple vanilla bean mocha Frappuccino
Possible Game Show Answer: According to the record holder for tallest waffle stack, Guiness World Records has a 40-page document defining what a waffle is.
Wuss’up This Week: Every day reports about our economy are released into the wild, and it’s these reports that can sway interest rates in either direction. This week it’s all about jobs, starting with ADP Employment today, Jobless Claims tomorrow, and Friday’s biggie the Employment Numbers for January (expected: 180k, unemployment expected at 3.8%). If these numbers come in better than expected we’ll see rates tick up, and vice versa if the numbers disappoint. Crazy to say this but we actually root for a bad economy as it drives rates down…
Interest Rate Update: Today we find rates a little worse than last week. A 30yr fixed conforming loan (*$766k or less) can be found anywhere from 6.50% to 7.125%, and Jumbo 30yr fixed (*over $766k) in the high-7s BUT…. some decent Jumbo ARM rates in the low-7s. As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you wonder why February is spelled so strangely
Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase or refinance loan that closes with me, I will waive $450 in lender fees! Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or people that loved the 70s and 80s that can use this gift.
Adult Quote of the Day 2: “Welcome to adulthood. You have a favorite spatula now.” – @AbbyHasIssues
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed Whoopi Goldberg last week!
Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Cats & UFOs T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday today and I can say I look pretty damn good for my age. The next two words a broadcaster might say to finish this phrase, “This _______.” phonetically sounds just like my first name. My last name is a compound word – the first part is a lumberjack favorite, the second part makes this blog writer want to go fishing. I first became famous as a musician, remember my band with no vowels in the name (*Barry’s note: vowels only count as the letters you can buy on Wheel of Fortune). I like acting too, remember my 2010 film where I played a guy whose nickname – and website – was an activity little kids and old people do? I feel like I’m in 7th heaven being married to my wife who Esquire Magazine named “Sexiest Woman Alive” in 2005. Interesting though, this blog’s author thinks the sexiest woman alive was my costar in my 2011 film about friends. Really good friends. Y’know the kind of friendship I’m talking about.”
