My friend Jordan once bragged to me he studied harder for our English final than all the rest of his finals combined. That was enough proof for me, I would sit near him and just copy his answers because I hadn’t studied at all. A week after the final exam the teacher called us both into his office and said, “It’s clear one of you copied off of the other. I would notify your parents but you both got Ds on this test which is punishment enough.” After we walked out of his office, Jordan got mad at me for copying his answers, and I got mad at him for bragging about how much he studied for the final. It was pretty comical, but seriously, bragging about something and backing it up are two different things, and that was a lesson more valuable than I would ever learn in English class. Somewhere in the far future we’ll be able to brag to our grandkids that we lived in a time when rates were in the twos and in the eights in the same three-year span.

Bragging Quote of the day: “Bragging is not an attractive trait, but let’s be honest. A man who catches a big fish doesn’t go home through an alley.” – Ann Landers

Today in Economic History: It was on this day in 1946 when President Harry Truman created the Office of Economic Stabilization (OES). The office was designed to watch prices and try to keep inflation down as the nation shifted from a war-time economy to a peace-time economy. (*I don’t know what we’re doing now to try and keep inflation down but there’s no peace-time in my house when my Yen Yen order of two egg rolls, kung pao chicken, and fried rice added up to over $50 with delivery. More about inflation below…)

Possible Game Show Answer: Astronauts can grow up to 3 percent taller in space than they are on Earth because of the weightlessness causes the spine to expand.

Wuss’up This Week: Before I talk about this week we have to shed light on what happened last week. In particular, there were four inflation reports that all came in higher than expected – this is a rate killer, Mortgage Fans. In the span of two weeks we’ve seen rates climb a full point after a nice rally that started around Christmas (thank you, Santa!). Sometimes in this industry, reports that are way off expectations bring a knee-jerk reaction to those findings – and that in my opinion is what we’re seeing here. Take a deep breath, relax, and watch rates start to come down. They will. In the meantime, today we have the Minutes of Fed’s January FOMC meeting, tomorrow Existing Home Sales, along with a bunch of Fed Presidents and Chairs speaking.

Interest Rate Update: Today we find the conforming 30yr fixed rate (*this is for any loans at $766k or less) in the very high-6s-to-low-to-mid 7s, and Jumbo 30yr fixed (*over $766k) high-7s for a 30yr fixed BUT… mid-6s for ARMs! As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you like a good rescue dog story

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 Yo-Yo experts that can use this gift.

Bragging Quote of the day 2: “Anyone else getting sick of their dad constantly bragging that the Zodiac Killer was never caught?” – @rolldigggity

Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed John McEnroe last week!

Want to be entered into a drawing to win an Am I A Sandwich Hot Dog T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday today and an anagram for my name is Southern Ripe! But really, flying from Chicago to my homeland you’d have to go mostly east. And to get to my fictional home, well… you’d have to travel to Westeros and Essos. But I love America, especially Phoenix at night. Haha, just kidding – that’s what you’d think my 2019 movie was about! Besides acting I love singing. Wait, I love singers. Actually, I fell in love with a singer from a boy band, married him in 2019, and divorced my 2023. I didn’t mind the divorce, sometimes a woman has to do what she has to do. And he probably thought a man has to do ‘What a man gotta do.’

Well… here we are on this day of love which is less than a week after the Super Bowl, and I’m wondering if my Bears will ever play in this game again in my lifetime. If I was married to the Bears, all my friends and family would be saying, “What are you still doing with her? She doesn’t try to get better, she always lets you down, why do you take the same abuse year after year?” I’ll be happy to answer that right now: It’s because of a little thing called love, Mortgage Fans. I love them more than Swiftie loves Travis, more than my dog loves bacon (regular, not Canadian), and more than you all love low interest rates. It’s an unconditional love that only tortured sports fans will understand. Speaking of low rates, you know who else gives us unconditional love? The Fed. Sometimes they raise rates but it’s only for our own good (that’s what we tell ourselves regardless if we believe it or not), and now they’ve come down over a point since last summer (despite the February speed bump we’ve hit) – and that was without the Fed lowering them at all! Just imagine where they will go once they start to lower rates which I think will be in July, only time will tell.

Love Quote of the Day: “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” – Charles M. Schulz

Possible Game Show Answer: Green Eggs and Ham was banned in China from 1965 to 1991 for its portrayal of early Marxism.

Wuss’up This Week: In honor of VD there are no reports being released today (*Valentine’s Day, not Venereal Diseases; and also, I just made that up – economic reports have no ties to Valentine’s Day. Or venereal diseases.) but tomorrow we’ve got a bunch: Jobless Claims, U.S. Retail Sales, Home Builder Confidence Index, Capacity Utilization, and the Import Price Index, and then on Friday we’ve got Housing Starts, Building Permits, and a handful of inflation reports. If these all come in better than expected we’ll see rates tick up, and vice versa if the numbers disappoint.

Interest Rate Update: Its been two weeks since Punxsutawney Phil predicted rates would drop but we’re off to a bad start, Mortgage Fans. Rates have been on a 2-week journey headed the wrong direction. For loans at $250k or less we find the conforming 30yr fixed rate at around 6.50%, and $251k-$766k they are in the mid-to-upper 6s. Jumbo 30yr fixed (*over $766k) can be found around 7.50% for a 30yr fixed and about a point lower for ARMs!! As usual rates will vary based on credit score, type of home, equity in the home, and if the home contains unusual architecture

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 can fall asleep in two minutes that can use this gift.

Love Quote of the Day 2: “If love is the answer, can you please rephrase the question.” – Lily Tomlin

Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who last week guessed Seth Meyers!

Want to be entered into a drawing to win an Ancient Rock T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday in two days and I’m getting up there in age. I know what you’re thinking: What? You can’t be serious? But it’s true, we all get older and I was past my prime somewhere around the age of 30 which meant my days were limited in my first occupation. Today being Valentine’s Day it makes me think of love which in my first job was usually really good or really bad, depending on what side of love you were on. Never had I ever thought I would find the 2nd half of my life filled with TV gigs, but I’m really enjoying it. I hosted a game show in 2002 whose title may make you think of death row inmates. Fifteen years later they finally made a movie about me, the guy that played me had to transform himself into me which was cool.”

Abe Lincoln started his Gettysburg address, “Four score and seven years ago…” Back then a ‘score’ was 20 years, which meant that he meant ’87 years’. Why didn’t he just say that?! It’s like you had to be a math major to attend one of Lincoln’s speeches, but maybe that’s the way everyone spoke back then. It’s interesting how words change over time. When I was growing up, if an athlete messed up a play that made their team lose they were called a goat. Now? GOAT stands for the Greatest of All-Time. Up until the 90s a bomb was bad, but then someone coined the phrase, “You da bomb” which means you are awesome and probably not going to blow up. Sick used to mean sick, but now it means sick (i.e. a great move in a video game might have your buddy saying, “That was so sick, dude!”) While not a word, ‘LOL’ has changed over time as well. People used to text that if something was funny and made them laugh, but now I see my kids use it to end a sentence much like how a period used to end a sentence from the 7th century until around 2009. I texted my son to check out the Bulls score (they were losing by 40 points) to which he replied, “They are horrible LOL” He then asked me if we were meeting for lunch the next day to which I replied, “Can’t tomorrow, have to go to a funeral LOL.” I ended it like that just to test him to see if he’d even question why it was funny. Predictably he did not. You know what else changes over time? Interest rates! Over the summer they were score minus twelve, now they are back into the 6s. Before I talk about rates though, here’s some good quotes about words…

Word Quote of the Day: “One kind word can change someone’s entire day.” – author unknown

Possible Game Show Answer: Forrest Mars, the creator of peanut M&Ms, was allergic to peanuts. (*FYI – I once decided that if I ever became a famous actor I would go by the name Hunter Cannon or Dino Starr. But now, I’m thinking Forrest Mars would be a helluva stage name too.)

Today in Economic History: It was on this day in 1870 when the Supreme Court ruled that Hepburn v. Griswold made the Legal Tender Act illegal, and as a result the U.S. was not able to repay debts created before 1962 with money that was created under the Act. (*This reminded me of when I borrowed $10 from my brother in 6thgrade and then told him there was no paying him back because our dad took away my allowance for not doing my chores that week.) President Grant used his executive powers to overrule the Supreme Court which once again made the Legal Tender Act legal.

Wuss’up This Week: Well… guess before we talk about this week we should talk about last week. Employment numbers came in double what was expected which is never interest rate friendly. More about that in the next paragraph, but I do think they will continue to trickle down. In the meantime, today we have a handful of Fed Governors and Presidents speaking about the economy, tomorrow Jobless Claims, and on Friday Dallas Fed Prez Lorie Logan will speak as well. So… not a lot of reports going on that can shake up rates, but the opinions of the speakers can still do damage (or good, but usually damage).

Interest Rate Update: Today we find a conforming 30yr fixed loan (*that’s for any loan at $766k or lower) at around 6.50% if the loan is at $250k or less, and for loans at $251k-$766k they are anywhere from 6.625% – 7.25%. For Jumbo 30yr fixed we are still high – 7.625% give or take, but some fantastic ARMs about a point lower. As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you can disarm a nuclear bomb

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 appreciate art memes that can use this gift.

Word Quote of the Day 2: “Words are free. It’s how you use them that may cost you.” – KushandWizdom

Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who last week guessed Justin Timberlake!

Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Fried Chicken Necklace? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “The show I am on premiered on this date back in 1982! Back then the guy that ran the show didn’t have the long beard he has now. After him and before me there was a guy who wrote for the Simpsons, and a guy I now compete with on another network – I call them the Messy Three because that’s also an anagram for my name. Before this show you might remember me from SNL – I did fantastic impressions of Michael Caine, Anderson Cooper, Ryan Seacrest, etc. But my true claim to fame on that show was working with Amy after her friend left.”

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.”

Congrats to Peloton for once again having the most annoying commercial on TV. The people that own Pelotons swear by them, but if I was in the market for an exercise bike I wouldn’t get it just in spite of their ads. Same goes for any commercial where there is a recurring (annoying) cast (Wendy’s, Progressive, Geico, Discover, Allstate, etc.) Barry, you sound like you’ve turned into the old ‘get off my lawn’ guy. Yeah, I know, I know. So many things bothering me these days that never used to before – maybe that comes with age, who knows. What I do know is that I won’t get suckered into buying any exercise bike with spring right around the corner, and with that said, let’s start the blog with some cycling quotes:

Cycling Quote of the Day: “One thing cycling has taught me is that if you can achieve something without a struggle it’s not going to be satisfying.” – Greg Lemond (*I can attest to this quote. A couple nights ago my son bet me I couldn’t throw my balled-up napkin from the kitchen into the bathroom garbage in five tries (only about a 10-foot throw but the angle is near impossible). I got it on the 67th try and let out a “YES!!!” so loud you’d think I won the lottery).

Possible Game Show Answer: Juicy Fruit, Cracker Jack, and the Ferris Wheel all made their debuts at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. (*Speaking of gum, let’s give a moment of silence to Fruit Stripe Gum which is being discontinued after 54 years. Yes, the flavor only lasted ten seconds but I got my very first tattoo at the age of six from the wrapper).

Wuss’up This Week: Today we’ve got nothing earth-shattering being released, but tomorrow a whole slew of reports that can sway interest rates in either direction starting with Durable Goods Orders, Jobless Claims, and New Home Sales. Then on Friday Personal Spending, Personal Income, Pending Home Sales, and four PCE (inflation) reports. If these reports come in good for the economy you’ll see rates tick up, and vice versa if the numbers disappoint.

Interest Rate Update: Today we find the conforming 30yr fixed (*for loans at $766k) in the high-5s/low-6s for loans at $250k or less, and in the mid-to-upper 6s from $251k-$766k. Jumbo (*over $766k) 30yr fixed is still… ugly. But don’t forget I’ve got some great ARMs in the low-6s that we can refinance to fixed rates when rates drop. As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you want to know what the TSA will allow you to take on a plane

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 like offbeat attractions that can use this gift.

Cycling Quote of the Day 2: “My husband says shaving his legs gives him an advantage when cycling, but I don’t get how the high heels and pantyhose help.” – @shariv67

Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed Kid Rock last week!

Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Captain Caveman Mug? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck:“It was on this date way back in 1986 when I won a Golden Globe – yahoo! Or some word like that? I am one of 18 entertainers to win the EGOT, which means I am well liked, right? Well… there are people that don’t like me for things I’ve said, i.e. defending Michael Vick (2007), defending Bill Cosby (2015), and saying Mel Gibson is not racist (2010) but hey – when you’re on a talk show you’re gonna say stuff that the mainstream media/people won’t always agree with. The author of this blog will agree that I made a beautiful movie back in ’90 about a guy that died before his time, and sadly that guy – who was People Magazine’sSexiest Man Alive – died before his time in 2009. Final hint: an anagram for my name is Bigger Hood Plow.”

Happy birthday shoutout to my favorite (and only) brother tomorrow! For your present I plan on paying you back the $14 in quarters I stole from your junk drawer in 1982.

Going On About Pajamas, Rates, and Funerals Gone Wrong!

Happy New year, Mortgage Fans! My question to you: How’re y’all doing? (*not sure why I just turned into a southern Waffle House waitress with that last sentence, please ignore and let’s move forward). You want to know how I’m doing? Glad you asked, I’m doing great because last year I set a goal of losing 14 pounds and I nailed it!! Absolutely crushed my goal! There is no better feeling than making a resolution, staying focused, and never losing sight of…. Wait a minute… hang on…. I’m being told that was a typo. Sorry about that, it was actually 1.4 pounds. But hey, hitting 10% of a goal is still something, right? My old coach used to say, “Are you going to hit your goals this year, or are you just going?” I don’t even know if that’s how the quote finished, it was hard to hear him when I was sitting at the end of the bench. I do know that I’m going to start the blog now…

Going Quote of the Day: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

This Week in Economic History: It was on January 11th, 1757 when Alexander Hamilton, patriot, author, first Secretary of the Treasury, and future rapping actor was born.

Possible Game Show Answer: President Jefferson hated formal affairs so much that he would often greet foreign dignitaries while wearing pajamas. (*if wearing pajamas is a requirement for President then I’d like to announce I’m officially running in 2024. I have a lot of experience with this since I started working from home during Covid.)

Wuss’up This Week: Not a ton of reports being released this week that can impact interest rates. Today we’ve got Wholesale Inventories, tomorrow four inflation reports, and on Friday PPI and Core PPI (two more inflation reports — woohooo!). If the reports on inflation come in with bad numbers we’ll see rates tick up, and vice versa if they show a decrease.

Interest Rate Update: This is the first blog rate announcement using the new conforming loan limit of $766,550 – how ‘bout them apples, Mortgage Fans. When I first started in this industry the conforming loan limit was $227k, and I’m thinking at this pace the limit will be over a million before I retire. (*Please note that my financial planner told me at the rate I save I’ll be able to retire when I’m 104). Today’s 30yr fixed for a loan at $250k or less is at around 6.25%, and over that amount 6.50%-6.75%. For a jumbo 30yr fixed (*over $766k) the fixed rate is still super-high (7.875%) but I have some good ARM rates in the low-6s. As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you’re interested in funerals gone wrong

Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase or refinance that closes with me I will waive $450 in fees. Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or people that learned 100 things in 2023 that can use this gift.

Going Quote of the Day 2: “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra

Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed Jonah Hill on the last question.

Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Girl Riding Alligator T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck:“It was on this date in 1999 when the show I was on premiered on HBO. What’s that, you didn’t like this show? That’s okay, maybe instead of watching it you’d like to be swimming with the fishes. Just kidding, I hate swimming and I’m not that tough – but I’m not “little” either – I stand almost 6-feet tall. As a teenager I was involved in a car accident where my head went through the windshield. To cover up the scars it left me I started wearing hats and bandanas – two things that are part of my signature look. Hey, speaking of cars, part of my last name (*or middle name, this blog writer doesn’t know the answer, if you know let me know in your guess) is a mode of transportation. And as I mentioned earlier, I’m not gonna swim, and I’m not a fan of cars. I was born to…. Hmmm, well, do something else besides acting.”