Stimulus payments won’t increase tax
The second stimulus payment is not taxable income and for Social Security recipients, taxes on benefits will also not increase. The top level tax for…
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.
How a Dick’s Sporting Goods thrived while others crashed
It’s a common tale these days — legacy department stores and famed luxury retailers going belly-up. But Dick’s Sporting Goods, the nation’s largest…
Battle of the ‘marts: One chain booms; the other fades
It has been a slow, painful death, and unfortunately, it’s still ongoing. Kmart, the storied discount retailer that boasted thousands of locations, is…
Storied retailers limp through 2020
When is the last time you shopped at a Sears department store? Most Americans probably can’t recall their most recent shopping trip to the legendary…
Ask the Expert: Student loans and home buying
My parents are pushing me to buy a home because interest rates are so low. But with my student loans, it is pretty hard to save 20 percent for a down…
Throw out the rule book! The best time to sell is now
Everyone knows that the spring home sales market heats up in early March and that’s when all the buyers are out, right? That may not be true in 2021. Here…
On the 12th day of Christmas: Much less fun
One of the most fun stories of the Christmas season is that of the Three Kings visiting the baby Jesus, bringing him gifts. That gift-giving day is on the…
Time to learn a second language? Bienvenido! Language apps await
Let’s be honest. Despite what online language apps tell you, a year of online learning won’t qualify you as fluent in a language. But here is the good…
Job-seeking duo holds TikTok accounts hostage
Today’s new graduates have to contend with the strangest job market ever, given the pandemic. Time to get creative. Two British men, calling themselves…
150 years after the Great Chicago Fire, the O’Learys hit the news again
Did Old Lady O’Leary’s cow kick over a lantern in the shed in 1871, thus causing the Great Chicago Fire? You’ll be hearing a lot about the truth (or not)…