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Q: My husband and I own our home together and still owe on the mortgage. If one of us dies, will the other be forced to pay off the loan or refinance? I…
Author: Rick Good
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader's money, real estate, and business coverage.
Fall is the buyer’s season — start now, home by Christmas
The busiest stretch of the home-buying year is winding down — and for anyone still looking, that is good news. Once the back-to-school rush passes, much…
The shouting comes from a minority
If American politics feels angrier than the people you actually know, there may be a reason. A new Pew Research Center study finds that the loudest, most…
Why reliable beats brilliant
The most talented person on a team is rarely the one handed the most important work. That tends to go to someone who does what they said they would do,…
Give the credit away
Here is a finding that runs against instinct. When behavioral researcher Joseph Folkman studied roughly 3,800 leaders, each rated by the people around…
To get better answers, ask AI to disagree with you
Here is a quirk worth knowing about most AI assistants: they are built to be agreeable. Ask whether your plan is a good one, and you will often get a warm…
Secrets we lost forever
Trade secrets have one big drawback as a way to protect a product: when the secret-keeper dies, the product can die with them. Damascus steel is a famous…
A German fan came for the World Cup and fell for Buc-ee’s
The world came to North America for soccer this summer. One German tourist stayed for the gas stations. A young fan known online as “Freddy the German”…
Every drug scourge ended the same way. Will this one?
The last time America faced an opioid epidemic on today’s scale, the typical addict wasn’t on the street. She was in the parlor. By 1895, according to the…
Logistics: When your teen needs a ride
In a big city, the hardest part of raising a teenager is often logistics. A 13- or 14-year-old has to get to practice, a lesson, or a friend’s apartment…