Your Money Crasher Minute: Are You Saying Boo or Boo-Urns?

Welcome to this week's edition of your Money Crasher Minute Having trouble viewing this email? [Click here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In partnership with [visible.png]( # In this week’s newsletter: - One good thing about inflation - The state of mortgage rates - Cashing in on your childhood - And more [Kelly Ernst headshot] Kelly Ernst Managing Editor Quick Market Price Check Last updated: October 26, 6:00pm EST 3,8530.60 S&P 500 (-20.14% YTD) $20,759.30 Bitcoin Price (-56.51% YTD) 7.77% 30-Yr Fixed Mortgage Mo’ Interest, Mo’ Savings Inflation is hitting us all hard these days. [Halloween candy’s gotten smaller]( [turkeys are pricier]( and harder to find, and the [pumpkin spice tax]( has nearly doubled since 2020. But there’s at least one good thing to come from it: higher savings and CD rates. Some banks now offer 3% APY or higher, which doesn’t look too shabby when you consider interest rates hovered around the 0.25% mark for much of the 2010s. You can make your money work harder for you by opening a high-yield savings account or CD today. Here are the [best high-yield savings accounts]( and [CDs]( to check out. [Piggy Bank Skateboarding.jpg] Switching Hour Is Upon Us! (sponsored) If you’re looking for a wireless provider that offers more treats than tricks, you owe it to yourself to check out [Visible](. Visible runs on Verizon’s 5G and 4G LTE networks but does away with things like storefronts, so they can provide you with reliable coverage at an affordable price. They offer two simple plans with everything you need — unlimited data, talk, text, and hot spot — which makes switching a breeze. Right now, you can snag extra savings with these two promotions: Switching Hour — New Device Get up to 31% off select new devices AND earn up to $200 to spend online when you purchase a device and [switch to Visible](. Terms apply. Offer good Oct. 24 – 31, 2022. Switching Hour — BYOD Get $50 to spend online when you [switch to Visible]( and bring your own phone. Terms apply. Offer good Oct. 24 – 31, 2022.  Light at the End of the Tunnel With mortgage rates still around 7%, [home loan applications are down]( to the lowest level they’ve been since 1997. Rising interest rates and stagnant wages are to blame, and some experts are wondering [if starter homes are even a thing]( anymore. If you’ve had to put your homebuying dreams on hold, relief may be in sight. The [Mortgage Bankers Association]( predicts mortgage rates will drop to 5.4% by late 2023. [Fannie Mae’s]( forecast is sunnier at around 4.5%. While you play the waiting game, put yourself in a position to qualify for the best possible mortgage by [paying down your credit]( [boosting your credit score]( and [saving up a down payment](. [Adult with Dollhouse.jpg] Passing the Buck The proposed [Credit Card Competition Act]( would require banks to offer at least two credit card payment networks to merchants. Merchants pay a processing fee each time you swipe your card, and they charge more for goods and services to recoup those fees. Competition among payment networks could mean lower fees for merchants, and as a result, they might pass those savings on to you in the form of lower prices. Opponents of the legislation argue banks don’t like losing money any more than merchants or shoppers do. If they’re forced to charge lower fees to be competitive, there’s a good chance they’ll make up for it by offering fewer (or less-impressive) credit card rewards and other perks. If you’re a regular [rewards credit card]( user, don’t fret just yet. The bill is still being debated and won’t be put to a final vote till after the November midterm elections.  Crypto: Coming Soon to a Bank Near You? Cryptocurrency is still seen as a dubious risk by many would-be investors. Mastercard hopes to make it a bit more palatable by making it easier for banks to offer cryptocurrency trading. Mastercard’s new [Crypto Source program]( will help banks implement a suite of services from its partner, crypto trading platform Paxos. Mastercard and Paxos will take care of security and regulatory compliance, two big reasons banks have been reluctant to get into the digital asset class. Will consumers be more likely to give crypto a try if it’s offered by a trusted financial institution? That’s the assumption. Will your Uncle Bob finally be convinced cryptocurrency is real? Not while there’s still a currency called Dogecoin.  [Shiba Inu Smushy Face.jpg] And Now for Something a Little Lighter… - Nostalgia for Sale. If you snagged one of the coveted McDonald’s adult Happy Meal toys, you could put them on your mantel with your Funko Pops, or you could flip them for a tidy profit. Cactus Plant Flea Market figurines, which sold out quickly earlier this month, are [popping up on resale sites]( like eBay for as much as $300,000. You’d need more than a few McBoo buckets to carry that haul to the bank. - Non-Fungible Real Estate. NFTs aren’t just for digital assets like [pictures of toilet paper]( and [the first-ever tweet](. You can now use them to buy real estate in the real world. An [NFT of a South Carolina home]( recently sold for $175,000. The NFT represented ownership of the three-bedroom, so the new owner of the NFT owns the physical home too. Because, you know, home ownership isn’t confusing enough these days. - Some People Have All the Luck. They say you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than of winning the lottery. Two recent winners would beg to differ. One used the [numbers on his broken odometer]( to win his third lotto prize (total lifetime winnings: $175K). Another decided "why not?" at a [cashier’s urging]( and won her third prize (total lifetime winnings: $120K). I once won $2 on a scratch-off, which I used to buy another scratch-off. I didn’t win anything with that one. Those were fun times. - Women Worth Knowing. The U.S. Mint has a new entry in its American Women Quarters Program: [Anna May Wong](. An actress who advocated for better representation in Hollywood, Wong is the first Asian American to be featured on U.S. currency. [Other women in the series]( include Maya Angelou and Sally Ride. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Money Crashers, LLC, 1887 Whitney Mesa Dr #3030, Henderson, NV 89014, United States