Charlotte Was Named The Top City In America You Should Visit Before It Becomes Too Popular

Steve
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Charlotte Was Named The Top City In America You Should Visit Before It Becomes Too Popular

you-need-to-visit-charlotteThe City of Charlotte was recently named as the top city “you should visit before they’re too popular” by Thrillist.

Charlotte beat out the other 7 hot spots on the list, including; San Marcos, TX, Boise, ID, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, Columbia, SC, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Chattanooga, TN and Houston, TX.

Thrillist author Matt Meltzer polled travel experts throughout the country, scoured online reviews, and examined data trends such as increased hotel construction and tourism infrastructural to come up with his list.

The author points out that, other than NYC, Chicago, LA, and Houston, no other American city is currently building more hotel rooms than Charlotte (Trump’s new hotel brand a new Charlotte location). Our city has already added 3,363 new rooms this year, and we’re expecting to add 8,000 more by 2020.

Our food scene is another major aspect of the draw. We’re “slowly but surely drawing big names, like Charleston’s Steve Palmer and his new Oak Steakhouse. Or just outside town in Lake Norman, Kindred was named one of America’s best new restaurants.”

“Charlotte is also home to the National Whitewater Center — sort of a natural theme park where you can whitewater raft, hike, rock climb, and mountain bike right next to the Catawba River. And it’s also built the closest thing to a Major League Baseball park in Minor League Baseball at Downtown’s BB&T Ballpark,” according to Meltzer.

Tell all your friends to visit us before we become too popular! 

Severe Thunderstorm Warning Issued For The Charlotte Region Today

Steve
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Severe Thunderstorm Warning Issued For The Charlotte Region Today

The Charlotte region is now under a severe storm warning for this afternoon and into the evening.

The National Weather Service just issued the following alert:

Scattered thunderstorms are expected across the western Carolina`s
and northeast Georgia this afternoon to evening. A few of the storms
will be strong to severe with small hail and damaging wind possible.
Heavy rainfall with localized flooding will also be possible,
especially this evening into tonight.

According to WeatherUnderground.com, the Charlotte area could be seeing the worst of the storm between 3 pm and 10 pm this evening;

Severe wind, hail, and flooding all have the potential to knock out power for entire neighborhoods.

Duke Energy recommends having the following items handy in case of a power outage;

A Guide to Retiring Without Hassle

Tray Anderson
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A Guide to Retiring Without Hassle

Let’s face it. There will come a time when you will have to stop working and just enjoy the rest of your life doing whatever you want. Retirement is that phase when you get to enjoy the fruits of what you have worked for throughout your professional life. Then again, you still have to deal with a few barriers before settling down. They’re barriers because they make things difficult for retirees. 

It’s not that easy. You will have to deal with plenty of paperwork and do a lot of accounting that’s essential to keep yourself financially stable during your life as a retiree. However, there are a few things you might want to keep in mind as you prepare to hang up your boots for the last time. So, if you’re planning to retire this year, here’s a guide that will get you started.

  1. Consider estate planning

Right before you send a formal notification about your plan to retire, you will have to go through a few essential steps for securing your assets, specifically the properties you own and whether you should go with a roth 401k vs roth IRA. You need to make sure that these assets are transferred to your loved ones through a smooth and straightforward process. It’s something you simply can’t avoid as you begin to settle down, regardless of how complicated the process might get. 

That said, it’s always best to consider estate planning as early as possible. This will not only give you a good idea of what to do to pass down your assets but it will also give you access to financial resources that will reduce your tax liabilities before they are transferred.

  1. Know your long-term investment plans

Whether or not you’re taking your retirement funds in bulk, you need to have a good idea of what to do with your money once you grab hold of it. For this, it’s important that you know your investment options before settling down. At this point, investing in the stock market might seem like the best option to consider if you want to earn high volumes of passive income. 

However, the risk that stocks entail makes this option less attractive to retirees who want to hold on to their money for the long term. In that case, investing in an apartment complex may be a better choice since commercial properties are sure to appreciate over time and provide consistent income from rent. 

  1. Find a great location for retiring

Many retirees today are looking to downsize their lifestyles by settling in townhouses and communities that provide a healthy atmosphere for people who want to take it slow. The secret to this is the choice of location.  Fortunately, Charlotte has numerous places that are ideal for retirees. 

Pineville, for instance, provides comfortable living and convenience along with a vibrant culture and plenty of activities to boot. Another great community is Cornelius, with its cozy suburban vibe. If you’re planning to cross state borders and settle in, say, Pennsylvania, then you might as well consider looking for apartment homes at www.RiddleVillage.com. Ultimately, look for a community with plenty of medical and recreational amenities, features which make it a perfect community for retirees.

Retirement shouldn’t be too difficult. So long as you know what to do, you can make the process less complicated than it already is.

Grammy-winning Songwriter Lashawn Daniels Hosting First Charlotte Music Conference

Charlotte Stories
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Grammy-winning Songwriter Lashawn Daniels Hosting First Charlotte Music Conference

Multi-Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Lashawn Daniels will host the first I PUT ME ON Music Conference in uptown Charlotte on August 10th.  Daniels is an accomplished songwriter who has penned multi-platinum award-winning songs for Drake, Michael Jackson and Beyoncé, among others.

The I PUT ME ON Music Conference will take place August 10 from 10 am until 10 pm at the Kimpton TryonPark Hotel, located at 303 S. Church Street in Charlotte.  The conference will provide independent artists with the tools they need to create their own success.  The conference will cover production, songwriting, audio engineering and more.

Daniels has been featured on American Idol as a mentor and co-starred on WETV’s reality show Tamar and Vince.   He and his wife, April Daniels, recently relocated from Los Angeles, CA to Charlotte, NC.

With two Grammy’s and 300 million records sold, Daniels is known as the “secret weapon” behind many of the music industry’s biggest artists.  An accomplished singer, songwriter, vocal arranger and powerhouse in his own right, Daniels wants to leverage his success to help other artists navigate the ever-evolving musicindustry. One lucky participant will win a full studio session with Daniels.

“Charlotte has a growing music scene, which is one of the reasons I am hosting the first I PUT ME ON Music Conference in the Queen City,” Daniels said.  “I want to help independent artists in this region develop a deeper understanding of the music industry and show them how to best position themselves for success.”

In addition to Daniels, the conference will feature workshops led by industry executives and experts like Eddie Blackmon, CEO of AWAL Entertainment Group and Tami Latrell, Grammy-nominated songwriter and Chief Marketing Officer at The LABZ.  Visit iputmeon.com to learn more about the conference agenda and to purchase tickets.

“This conference is about providing information and providing a safe space for collaboration and networking for artists, writers, producers and publicists,” Daniels added.  “This is an opportunity to learn from and build relationships with the best in the business.”

Greensboro Ranked Among The Top 10 Best Places to Flip Houses in America

Steve
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Greensboro Ranked Among The Top 10 Best Places to Flip Houses in America

With house flippers earning an average gross profit of $60,000 in Q1 2019, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019’s Best Places to Flip Houses.

To help serious real-estate investors find the best markets to list their flipped properties, the company compared more than 170 U.S. cities across 29 key metrics. The data set ranges from median purchase price to average full home remodeling costs to housing-market health index.

According to the report, Greensboro ranked among the top 10 in the nation at #8, ahead of Boise, ID (#9) and Las Cruces, NM (#10) and just behind Fort Smith, AR (#7) and Tampa, FL (#6).

Charlotte was ranked in the top half of cities at #64, just ahead of Fort Worth and Plano Texas (#66 and #65) and just behind Winston Salem, Meza, AZ, and Denver, CO (#63, #62, and #61)

Best & Worst Cities to Flip Houses

Overall Rank (1 = Best) City Total Score ‘Market Potential’ Rank ‘Renovation & Remodeling Costs’ Rank ‘Quality of Life’ Rank
1 Sioux Falls, SD 72.69 78 9 26
2 Missoula, MT 72.05 2 34 23
3 Rapid City, SD 67.67 62 11 96
4 Billings, MT 67.17 5 30 79
5 Peoria, AZ 67.17 88 7 11
6 Tampa, FL 66.63 21 25 42
7 Fort Smith, AR 65.98 133 1 131
8 Greensboro, NC 65.84 14 12 97
9 Las Cruces, NM 65.58 119 6 129
10 Boise, ID 65.40 135 8 19
11 Henderson, NV 65.28 58 41 12
12 Columbia, SC 65.11 8 14 122
13 Mobile, AL 65.02 1 23 158
14 Gilbert, AZ 64.54 73 69 2
15 Knoxville, TN 64.54 11 13 123
16 Fort Wayne, IN 64.00 23 19 105
17 Chandler, AZ 63.89 65 47 14
18 Charleston, SC 63.76 26 66 18
19 Overland Park, KS 63.24 86 82 1
20 Nampa, ID 62.90 159 2 67
21 Little Rock, AR 62.86 36 5 135
22 Laredo, TX 62.86 169 40 69
23 Des Moines, IA 62.63 95 4 84
24 Oklahoma City, OK 62.59 47 18 90
25 Cape Coral, FL 62.57 27 78 15
26 Nashville, TN 62.34 66 16 76
27 Pembroke Pines, FL 62.04 50 72 13
28 Las Vegas, NV 61.99 46 33 61
29 Orlando, FL 61.52 49 29 78
30 Jackson, MS 61.03 127 3 168
31 Virginia Beach, VA 60.91 43 79 20
32 El Paso, TX 60.50 149 17 65
33 Spokane, WA 60.41 12 54 126
34 Tempe, AZ 60.35 48 55 57
35 Glendale, AZ 60.34 74 20 108
36 Colorado Springs, CO 60.32 81 49 41
37 Shreveport, LA 60.24 6 10 170
38 Grand Rapids, MI 60.02 106 37 37
39 Phoenix, AZ 59.98 79 26 91
40 Huntsville, AL 59.91 20 58 109
41 Tallahassee, FL 59.80 40 39 112
42 Lincoln, NE 59.62 94 53 31
43 Columbus, OH 59.53 42 61 72
44 Raleigh, NC 59.37 103 52 25
45 North Las Vegas, NV 59.10 61 36 103
46 Cedar Rapids, IA 58.82 93 32 100
47 Montgomery, AL 58.73 16 28 159
48 Scottsdale, AZ 58.66 71 113 5
49 West Valley City, UT 58.58 120 31 86
50 Jacksonville, FL 58.46 29 74 92
51 Tulsa, OK 58.38 56 22 143
52 Lexington-Fayette, KY 58.28 52 83 80
53 Reno, NV 58.11 99 68 27
54 Durham, NC 58.08 33 77 81
55 Charleston, WV 57.97 90 51 134
56 Austin, TX 57.81 157 80 17
57 Tucson, AZ 57.77 69 21 141
58 Akron, OH 57.58 22 56 145
59 San Antonio, TX 57.56 144 27 98
60 Salem, OR 57.53 37 87 49
61 Denver, CO 57.53 112 67 29
62 Mesa, AZ 57.50 80 81 39
63 Winston-Salem, NC 57.47 35 59 127
64 Charlotte, NC 56.89 55 85 50
65 Plano, TX 56.76 104 118 4
66 Fort Worth, TX 56.72 141 57 47
66 Columbus, GA 56.72 3 70 166
68 Memphis, TN 56.71 4 43 171
69 New Orleans, LA 56.61 45 48 140
70 St. Petersburg, FL 56.52 44 91 60
71 Augusta, GA 56.51 31 46 163
72 Omaha, NE 56.49 92 84 36
73 Modesto, CA 56.18 82 60 102
74 Indianapolis, IN 55.93 57 42 148
75 Salt Lake City, UT 55.69 110 75 51
76 Kansas City, MO 55.64 134 45 113
77 Cincinnati, OH 55.61 24 92 110
78 Columbia, MD 55.59 15 117 58
79 Grand Prairie, TX 55.52 140 71 33
80 Fort Lauderdale, FL 55.50 60 65 121
81 Louisville, KY 55.46 76 62 115
82 Port St. Lucie, FL 55.42 70 99 32
83 Arlington, TX 55.42 136 44 99
84 Springfield, MO 55.32 137 15 154
85 Portland, ME 55.19 32 119 34
86 Buffalo, NY 54.93 10 104 114
87 Baton Rouge, LA 54.91 13 64 162
88 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 54.69 116 106 9
89 Fayetteville, NC 54.57 102 38 161
90 Chesapeake, VA 54.52 75 89 63
91 Hialeah, FL 54.32 53 94 87
92 Birmingham, AL 54.03 7 101 144
93 Aurora, CO 53.86 125 76 66
94 Wichita, KS 53.70 154 24 147
95 Pittsburgh, PA 53.66 34 125 46
96 Corpus Christi, TX 53.33 129 62 130
97 Lubbock, TX 53.27 170 50 117
98 Albuquerque, NM 52.86 165 35 136
99 Miami, FL 52.79 89 98 70
100 Amarillo, TX 52.77 171 100 88
101 Toledo, OH 52.25 39 73 155
102 Sacramento, CA 52.22 122 93 54
103 Richmond, VA 52.12 38 109 116
104 Irvine, CA 51.94 121 143 3
105 Washington, DC 51.58 77 115 75
106 Tacoma, WA 51.55 41 97 139
107 Norfolk, VA 51.10 63 90 132
108 St. Paul, MN 51.05 107 108 52
109 Garland, TX 50.47 147 96 82
110 Warwick, RI 50.46 84 121 53
111 Santa Clarita, CA 50.19 164 128 8
112 Chattanooga, TN 49.66 17 134 125
113 Madison, WI 49.49 160 120 24
114 Baltimore, MD 49.43 18 103 164
115 Cleveland, OH 49.08 18 107 165
116 Huntington, WV 48.89 91 88 160
117 Seattle, WA 48.85 83 150 22
118 Philadelphia, PA 48.82 30 130 133
119 Anchorage, AK 48.73 166 105 128
120 Fresno, CA 48.68 85 116 119
121 Vancouver, WA 48.47 64 129 104
122 Ontario, CA 48.44 123 112 85
123 Riverside, CA 48.41 130 122 64
124 Rochester, NY 48.23 67 95 157
125 Irving, TX 48.08 148 123 59
126 Minneapolis, MN 47.74 101 135 62
127 Newport News, VA 47.64 59 114 149
128 Milwaukee, WI 47.60 54 111 151
129 Detroit, MI 47.55 51 86 169
130 San Diego, CA 47.23 138 146 16
131 Portland, OR 46.77 108 144 44
132 Garden Grove, CA 46.69 158 132 35
133 Dallas, TX 46.51 126 131 93
134 Chula Vista, CA 46.31 139 145 30
135 Dover, DE 45.86 109 139 77
136 Oceanside, CA 45.78 132 141 45
137 Fontana, CA 45.73 152 138 48
138 Huntington Beach, CA 45.70 145 158 7
139 Nashua, NH 45.55 114 142 56
140 Providence, RI 45.30 97 110 152
141 Manchester, NH 45.29 115 126 124
142 Anaheim, CA 45.10 156 136 71
143 Stockton, CA 45.03 87 124 146
144 Houston, TX 44.85 168 102 138
145 Atlanta, GA 44.58 28 162 95
146 Honolulu, HI 44.23 143 155 38
147 Moreno Valley, CA 44.11 131 133 107
148 San Jose, CA 44.07 96 167 10
149 Santa Rosa, CA 43.99 98 159 43
150 Glendale, CA 43.99 146 148 40
151 Santa Ana, CA 43.97 161 137 89
152 St. Louis, MO 43.95 25 156 142
153 Long Beach, CA 43.80 155 140 83
154 Bakersfield, CA 43.78 68 149 118
155 Aurora, IL 43.58 128 147 68
156 Pearl City, HI 43.42 100 151 28
157 Fremont, CA 41.87 150 170 6
158 Chicago, IL 41.77 117 152 111
159 Worcester, MA 41.55 72 153 137
160 San Bernardino, CA 41.40 124 127 156
161 Jersey City, NJ 38.58 105 165 73
162 Oxnard, CA 38.56 142 157 120
163 Los Angeles, CA 38.45 163 160 101
164 New York, NY 37.79 113 169 74
165 New Haven, CT 37.47 118 154 153
166 Boston, MA 37.46 151 168 55
167 Wilmington, DE 36.98 9 163 172
168 San Francisco, CA 35.30 167 172 21
169 Oakland, CA 34.64 162 166 106
170 Newark, NJ 33.57 111 164 150
171 Yonkers, NY 33.07 153 171 94
172 Bridgeport, CT 30.33 172 161 167

 

One of the factors that really hurt Charlotte is our lack of parks. The report even determined that we had the second lowest % population with walk-able park access in America;

You can read the full report here.

Luke Skywalker Just Tweeted 2 Charlotte Area Road Signs While Driving Through Our Area

Steve
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Luke Skywalker Just Tweeted 2 Charlotte Area Road Signs While Driving Through Our Area

Star Wars legend Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) just drove through the Charlotte area and took a couple pictures of ironic road signs on his way to Asheville.

The first picture he took was of the I-85 South New Hope Rd exit sign in Gaston County (referencing his leading roll in the 1977 film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) and the second shot was of the I-26 Bat Cave Exit sign in Henderson County (referencing his voice acting for The Joker in the animated Batman cartoon show.

He captioned the images by saying “Where am I going & what will I find…? (I need to start paying more attention while driving),”

Did you happen to spot Luke Skywalker while he was in our region?

An Ultra-Rare ‘Super Black New Moon’ Will Appear Over Charlotte Tonight

Steve
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An Ultra-Rare ‘Super Black New Moon’ Will Appear Over Charlotte Tonight

Another ultra rare lunar occurrence is about to appear over the Charlotte night sky tonight – a Super Black New Moon.

A new moon is when the moon is directly between the earth and the sun, making the moon appear extremely dark. When 2 new moons occur in 1 calendar month, it is referred to as a “Black Moon”, and when the moon is at its closest point to the earth, it’s referred to as a “Super Moon”.

A normal black moon is rarer than a blue moon (occurring about once ever 32 months) and much more rarer still when it also happens to be a super moon.

Tonight’s Super Black New Moon will appear over the Eastern US at 11:13 pm tonight.

While some may have difficulty spotting tonight’s Super Black New Moon with the naked eye, it can easily be seen with a basic monocular and the moon’s full detail can be seen in black and grey hues with a standard telescope.

7 Solid Tips For Relocating

sconner74
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7 Solid Tips For Relocating

Moving can be both an exciting and stressful process. Whether you are moving across town or relocating across the country, there is a seemingly never ending list of things to do.. In addition to the physical tasks of boxing and transporting your belongings, there are many people and businesses that you will likely need to notify. While it may seem overwhelming, there are several ways to make sure you stay on top of every step of the process. Here are 7 tips for moving or relocating without a hitch.

Set a Budget

After renting or purchasing a new house, determining your budget for the move should be next on your list. Regardless of the distance that you will be traveling to your new home, you will need to either rent a truck or hire a moving company. You will also need to purchase boxing and packing supplies. Finally, you may choose to pay people to help you move boxes and furniture from one house to the other. In order to be able to afford all of these necessary expenses, set a budget and price out services and supplies well in advance.

Create a Packing Timeline

Whether your home has 5 rooms or 5 floors, packing up an entire house is a large undertaking. Organization and planning are essential in order to make sure that you are ready to load the moving truck and drive away on your departure date. You’ll want to begin several weeks, or months if you have enough notice, ahead of your move in order to make sure you aren’t scrambling in the final hours. Begin with purchasing or collecting boxes, bubble wrap, and packaging tape so that you have everything you need when you are ready to begin packing up your items.

Start as soon as you can with packing off-season or non-essential items, such as clothing or toys. As you get closer to your moving date, plan on boxing up items that you can go without for a week or two, such as kitchen appliances and sections of your wardrobe. In the final week, try to limit the number of groceries that you buy and be mindful of using up refrigerated and perishable items. Also, reduce the clothing that you wear so that you are not doing loads of laundry on moving day. Reserve one catchall box or bag for last-minute toiletries and dirty clothes or any random items you find as you do your final walkthrough.

Get Rid of Things You Don’t Need

A move or relocation is an excellent opportunity to reduce your clutter. As you begin creating your packing timeline, consider items that are collecting dust or that you will no longer need in your new home. If you are downsizing, you may need to get rid of some furniture that will not have a designated space in the new house. Likewise, if you are moving from a cold to hot climate, you do not need to take your entire winter wardrobe along with you.

If you have enough items to get rid of, you could hold a moving sale to make some extra money for the move. You could also sell these belongings through online marketplaces. If you do not have enough time to set up a sale before you move, you can donate items to your local church, charitable organization, or shelters. Be careful not to leave any large items until the last minute, as you might be unable to unload them in time.

Secure a Storage Unit if Needed

If you are not able to scale down your belongings to fit into your new space, or if you are renting temporarily in your new location, you may need to place some of your possessions in a storage unit. If you anticipate this to be the case, you will want to work this into your moving and relocation budget. You will also want to ensure that you have a unit secured prior to leaving your old house so that you can have a seamless move.

Have a Good Packing System

While it may be tempting to just throw everything in boxes and call it a day, your future self will not appreciate this decision when you are unpacking at your new home. Creating a system for packing and labeling your boxes will go a long way for keeping your items organized and easy to unbox later on. Keep similar belongings and items from the same room together. Label the box clearly with the room it belongs to and a brief description of the items inside so that you can easily find what you need.

Notify the Government of Your New Address

In addition to safely transporting your belongings from one house to another, you will want to be sure that you receive all of your mail at your new address. In order to have a seamless transition of your bills, you will need to notify the post office. Though you can file a change of address form in person, the website change-of-address-online.com can allow you to do quickly and conveniently while you pack. You will also need to file your new address with your local motor vehicles department and change your license and registration to reflect your new address if necessary.

Change Over Your Utilities

Lastly, you’ll want to remember to switch coverage of your utilities from your old house to the new. You need to shut off the power, cable, and internet at your old residence and arrange to have it turned on at your new place or switched from the previous owner into your name. Make sure to do these things as early as you can so that you are not left without electricity or the ability to access the internet if needed.

Whether you are making a change for a job, family, or love, moving to a new house is an exciting new adventure. However, if you are not organized in planning for and executing the move, the process can be very stressful. Follow these tips for strategizing your move and utilize resources to make your experience as smooth and seamless as possible.     

Making Your Name Change Legal After A Marriage Or Divorce

Deanna Friel
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Making Your Name Change Legal After A Marriage Or Divorce

Many individuals will want to make a name change because of a marriage or divorce. Although it can be a lengthy process in some cases, name changes are usually simple and easy. That being said, it helps if you get started on it right away. The longer you take to make a name change, the more time and money is required to do so. In this article I will be discussing how to change your name after getting married or divorced.

The name change process after a marriage or divorce requires a little bit of preparation from you beforehand. Before going through the process, you should make sure to have these three documents in your possession:

  • Marriage License
  • Driver’s License
  • Social Security Card

The marriage license is the most important piece of documentation you will need, as signing this piece of paper will officially change your name. Your driver’s license and social security card are equally important, as these are the most common forms of identification. Getting these updated should have priority over others. To change the name on your social security card, you will have to fill out a SS-5 form and take it to your local social security office. To update your driver’s license, you will have to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and update it. The requirements depend on the state; Some DMVs only need your marriage certificate while others need the marriage certificate along with other forms of documentation. Make sure to check with your local DMV to see the exact requirements.

Changing Your Name After Getting Married

The name changing process is quite easy. In most states and localities, all you need is your marriage license. You should be able to obtain a copy of your marriage license from the county in which you were married. When you sign your marriage license, it will have both your maiden name and your married name on it. After the name change is official, you should start notifying everyone that your name has changed. Letting friends and family know of your name change is as simple as telling them, but for places such as financial institutions and utility companies, you will generally have to fill out a form and provide documentation letting them know of the official name change. As stated earlier in this article, make sure that you have your driver’s license and social security both updated to your new name before attempting to change your name on other legal documentation, as they generally require a copy of one of the two. You should make changes on all of your official documents, such as:

  • Passports
  • Bank Accounts
  • Post Office
  • Credit/Debit Cards
  • Utility Providers
  • Insurance Providers
  • Gym Membership
  • Doctor/Dentist

Because each step in the name change process can take several weeks, it’s best to begin as early as possible, especially if you’ll need a new form of identification for something urgent that’s coming up.

Changing Your Name After Getting Divorced

Changing your name back to your maiden name after getting a divorce depends on the situation, but in most cases is pretty easy. If your divorce is finalized and contains a court order about your name change, that serves as an official record of your name change. In this case you would simply get a certified copy of the court order as proof of the name restoration. Again, remember to update your driver’s license and social security before changing your name on other forms of documentation.

If your divorce is finalized and does not have a court order to change your name, you should check to see whether you can request a name change from the court. This generally depends on what state you live in. If the state you live in does not allow you to change your name back after the divorce was finalized, you’ll most likely still be able to change your name, although the process will be a little more lengthy and involve more paperwork. If you have older documentation with your old name on it, then you shouldn’t have much of a problem. As always, make sure to check your state’s divorce laws.

The process starts to become a little more tricky if you’re not officially divorced. If your divorce is not yet finalized you can still request for your former name to be restored. Whether you can even make this request entirely depends on which state you live in. That being said, even if your request is granted certain documents such as your driver’s license cannot be changed until the divorce is finalized.

Common Questions

The name changing process after a marriage/divorce can be confusing at times. Here are some common questions asked during the process.

Can I Change My Child’s Name After A Divorce?

Depends on the court. If the child is a biological child of the mother/father then the answer is usually no, especially if they are still very much involved in the child’s life. However, some jurisdictions are more sympathetic and now leave it up to the child (provided they are old enough to make a decision) to decide if they want to change to their mother’s maiden name instead when a divorce is finalized. This also applies for if you were to remarry and want to change your child’s last name to your spouse’s last name.

Can I Change My Last Name To Something Other Than My Spouse’s Last Name?

Changing your name after marriage to something other than your spouse’s name is completely acceptable. In this case, however, it almost always requires more paperwork than just your marriage license. It varies depending on the state you live in but generally involves filling out a name change form in addition to the marriage license. I recommend you check your state government website to check the state’s laws on the topic.

Does It Cost Anything To Change My Name?

Changing your name is more expensive than you may think. As a matter of fact, changing your name has a lot of hidden costs associated with it. Requesting copies of all the legal paperwork that is required to change your name will most likely cost you a fee. Not to mention notary and court fees. Changing names on your passport, licence, etc may also incur a fee.

Is The Process Different For Same-Sex Couples?

As of June 2015, same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states. Therefore, the process of chainging your name should be the same as heterosexual couples. If you are married to or planning to divorce someone of the same sex, you should follow the same steps above to achieve your goal.

Do I Have To Change My Name After A Marriage/Divorce?

No, you do not have to change your name after you get married nor do you have to change it back after a divorce. When you get married/divorced you are welcome to keep your current name. Some people do this for various reasons, such as not wanting to deal with getting all of the paperwork or maybe they have grown accustomed to their current name.

Conclusion

Changing your name after a marriage/divorce takes time and patience, not to mention preparedness ahead of time on your part. It’s important to do it right and have everything in order to prevent any problems down the road.

Stocks Or Real Estate: How To Choose The Best Investments

Suzy S
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Stocks Or Real Estate: How To Choose The Best Investments

Investing is one of the most personal and yet most important decisions that a person can make in their lives. It is important that we all invest for the future, but it is often difficult to decide exactly what kind of investments are best suited for our particular situation. There are plenty of opinions out there, but those often come from people simply spouting off their own personal thoughts or feelings. What you should care about as someone who wants the best possible returns from your investments is how you can find the types of products that will produce the highest returns for you. We are going to take a look at some of the options that are available to you and how they have performed historically.

Real Estate

There is a long historical record of people purchasing land and real estate to grow their wealth. As a society we don’t necessarily think of it this way but even taking out a mortgage is investing in real estate in a certain sense. The only thing is that someone who just has a mortgage is only investing in their own home and just that single property.

There are obviously more ways to get invested in real estate than to just take out a mortgage. Many people choose to purchase investment properties in either the residential or commercial space. There are some who rent out their primary or secondary residence through a gig economy app, and there are even some who invest in real estate via the stock market. So the question remains: Is investing in real estate a solid investment?

The Benefits Of Real Estate Investing

Investing in real estate can indeed provide for some pretty impressive returns. Any good real estate investor will certainly see a return on capital that exceeds what they could get on a savings account or government bonds. Many also appreciate the fact that they can physically see and touch their investment when it is in something like real estate. For some individuals the tangibility of real estate is what separates it from the less easy to conceptualize investments such as the stock market.

Those who play their chips well and put money into properties that are in a growing market can benefit handsomely from a lot of new people moving to a particular area. That can lead to outsized returns on their money in short order. There are some who even take a stab at flipping houses by fixing them up and going in for a quick score when they flip them for a nice profit in a short period of time. All of these things are potential benefits of real estate investing, but it still may not match up to what you can get from investing in the stock market.

Stock Market Investing

This is the single most familiar type of investing to most people today. While many have at least a vague idea of what it means to invest in stocks, many do not fully grasp the concept. It is important to understand what a person does when they put money into the stock market. They are in the most simple terms purchasing a small share of a public company. This ranges from the largest companies in the world that we have all heard a lot about to smaller outlets that most of us will never deal with in our lives. Any company that decides to go public and start trading shares is a potential investment opportunity for any of us. That must make you wonder how you are supposed to select the best stocks to buy right now.

How To Find The Right Stocks Now

Everyone wants to know how to find the right stocks right now. It is an obsession that people have had for a very long time. If you can figure out what kind of stocks to invest in then you can make a fortune. You could almost think of it as having the winning sports teams before the games begin. If you had that information then you could bet on the winners and clean up. Just like finding the right winners in sports it is equally difficult to figure out which stocks will do well ahead of time. The best that we can do is look at results from the past to try to predict the future.

Looking At The Past To See The Future

We have to try to pick out the pieces of historical stock market information to try to find the best stocks to buy right now. There are some factors that we should key in on while others we should ignore. In other words, we have to be able to separate the important factors from the noise.

One of the things to keep an eye out for our companies that you are already familiar with. This is not due to any particular economic factor but has everything to do with having a certain comfort with researching the company more deeply. It may also help you figure out how the health of the company is doing based on the interactions that you have with the brand on a day-to-day basis. You should not rely simply on your own particular interactions with the brand of course, but that can be a good starting point. It is definitely a better idea than investing in a company that you have never heard of before.

To find the best stocks for your portfolio you will have to be willing to do some digging around in the financial statements and other documents that the companies themselves put out. This is a lot of work to be sure, but there is also a lot of valuable information contained within those documents. If you are able to look past some of the legal and financial language into the parts that really matter then you can find some valuable gems of information. It takes some work and practice to get good at digging up that information, but it is out there.

Reviewing Financial News And Websites

Financial news websites contain a lot of the most important information that you need to figure out which stocks to buy. You can find some basic information like earnings per share, market capitalization, and price to earnings ratio. These are some of the most basic measurements of the value of a stock, but they are a great place to start when you are attempting to narrow down which stocks you will even consider.

Be careful to avoid some of the opinion pieces about various stocks that you are considering purchasing. You can read those articles if you are interested in the gossip of the market if you like, but they should not be the primary place that you turn to for the information that you need to know about. You should try to stick to the facts as best as possible.

We would all like to have the opportunity to pick the very best stocks in the market, but we are all going to make some mistakes. Take this as a given in life and simply try to learn as much as you can about the market so that you can reduce the number of mistakes that you make. The most important thing is that we start to invest as soon as we can. Do that alone and you will be ahead of the pack.

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