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A new study from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health suggests that urban living – with good accessibility to public transportation – could actually help reduce the risk of depression by increasing opportunities to have an active social life. This article from Eric Jaffe of CityLab highlights some of the findings from the study.
To call the city a stressful place is to undersell the ceaseless assault waged on your sanity by the urban environment. That persistent strain can take the form of something as simple as traffic delays that chip away at your patience to something as complex as an increased risk for schizophrenia. City intensity is so potentially distressing that, over time, human brains have adapted by filtering out the lesser annoyances that aren’t quite worth a worry.
Of course, it’s not all bad downtown. Urban trees and parks have a profoundly beneficial impact on our attention spans and general mental health. And a new study suggests two other regular elements of city life that might do the mind some good as well, particularly for older populations: access to public transportation, and dense surroundings.
Here’s the upshot, via the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health:
“Therefore, this research suggests that good accessibility to public transport, as well as a dense urban structure (versus sprawl), could contribute to reduced risk of depression, especially for women and elderly, by increasing opportunities to move around and have an active social life.”
For the study, a group of Italy-based researchers gathered long-term data on Turin residents. In addition to basic demographics (such as education and job status) and social factors (such as crime rates), they looked at five characteristics of the local built environment: developmental density, land use mixture, public and green space, cultural facilities, and transit access. They also gathered information on antidepressant prescriptions, as a measure of mental health.
Of the environmental factors, density and transit access proved “protective” of mental health, especially for women (of all ages) and older people (age 50 to 64). These populations were prescribed fewer antidepressant drugs when they lived in places reached more quickly by bus or train, in places with taller average building heights, compared with counterparts in more remote or sparse areas.
According to a recent article from Lauren Gensler of Forbes, a new development in the credit industry could lead to increases in credit scores for millions of Americans who pay their rent on time.
For as long as credit scores have been around and Americans have fretted about them, the three-digit number has ignored what for many is their biggest monthly expense: rent.
A cruel and longstanding reality about credit is that people often don’t get rewarded for good behavior, but do get punished for missteps. For example, there’s traditionally been no benefit to always paying rent on time, which is a surprise to many. Yet, if someone were to stop paying their rent (say, because of a dispute with a landlord) and it goes into collections or their landlord takes them to court, you can bet that information will find its way onto their credit reports and bring down their score.
This isn’t terribly helpful for anyone involved, since someone might have a worse credit score than they should and lenders don’t get the whole picture.
Things are starting to change. A new development in the credit industry means that millions of Americans could see their credit scores rise from paying rent on time. The powerful, mammoth credit industry is on board with factoring rent into credit scores and companies are sprouting up to help make this happen. However, what stands in the way from America’s renters benefiting en masse is the nation’s extremely fragmented rental market.
The inclusion of rent in credit scores can be particularly helpful for the 53 million “unscorable” people in the U.S., often recent college graduates, immigrants or people who don’t have any credit cards or loans. For them, having rent info on credit reports could mean the difference between having a credit score and not having one, since Fair Isaac Corp., which produces the widely-used FICO score, only requires one active account to generate a score. It can also be particularly beneficial for people who are working to build better credit history. With rent reporting, eight in 10 renters with a credit score below 641 points saw their scores increase just one month into a new lease, according to TransUnion.
So it was a big deal last year when Fair Isaac said it would factor rent data into its newest model (FICO 9) for the first time ever. It joins VantageScore, which also creates credit scores, in looking at rent payments.
“We were looking for evidence that we moved closer to complete, full reporting of rental information, both positive and negative data alike,” says Ethan Dornhelm, who is the principle data scientist for FICO scores. “Formerly we saw a stronger skew toward negative information…and it almost felt like we were getting a very one-sided picture of this particular type of credit,” he says.
Yet, what kept FICO from factoring in rent history before remains a big problem today. Rent info has to be on your credit reports – you have one from each of the big three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – before it can be calculated into a score.
“To the extent rent history is available, it will be factored into the FICO 9 credit score equation,” says Dornhelm. “However, this is not widely available in credit reports today and so has relatively little influence.”
Herein lies the rub – and what could prove to be the biggest hurdle to incorporating rent payments into credit scores.
It doesn’t do your credit score any good when only you and your landlord are aware you pay your rent on time every month. This information has to make it to the credit bureaus, too. And that is easier said than done, largely because in the U.S., mom and pop landlords rule. In fact, individuals own 71% of the nation’s rental properties, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. It’s hard to collect information, on a monthly basis, from millions of little landlords all over the country. You might even call it a logistical nightmare. And for the time being it’s just not happening in any meaningful way.
When it comes to performing daily household chores, is the time spent on those tasks evenly split between men and women? Not even close. In this article from Mother Nature Network, environmental journalist Starre Vartan reports on the results of a recent study from the Journal of Marriage and Family that offers scientific proof that women are doing nearly twice as much as men around the home.
In almost half of two-parent American families with kids, both parents work full-time. But when they come home from their paid labor, women are still doing more work (almost twice as much) when it comes to household chores. This trend was first discussed in the 1970s, when it was dubbed “the second shift.”
Part of the problem is that men think they’re doing equal duty, as so many of them reported in a Pew Research Center poll of more than 1,800 American parents. Women in that same poll disagreed, saying they do more work, and according to several new studies, when couples are asked to keep a time diary (a more reliable way to get data than asking people what they remember doing), the diaries prove that women are right.
The data from the most recent study (April 2015), show that women spend almost twice as much time (18 hours to men’s 10) doing the at-home grunt work like cleaning. Men not only do less, but they also choose the more enjoyable stuff like playing with kids or supervising bath time.
You’ll notice that I specified parents in the graphs above. That’s because researchers have found that this increased work kicks in when a baby arrives. Prior to that milestone, work is mostly evenly split between to partners if they both work full-time. And the situation isn’t improving: While men are spending more time caring for kids than ever before, they’re actually spending less time on housework than they did in the 1990s. Not surprisingly, women are doing more. And that time doing housework comes directly out of women’s work and leisure time, according to the time-use surveys.
And while some have argued that women biologically pay more attention to and are closer to their children — and therefore “naturally” spend more time caring for them — that same argument can’t be made when it comes to mopping the bathroom floor or cleaning the fridge. As Bryce Covert writes in the Nation: “… there’s no biological determinant for housework. No gender is physically predisposed to want to do the dishes or take out the trash.”
Covert digs into why this unfair situation exists, and her thinking goes back to childhood, where on average, girls do two hours more housework a week than boys and are less likely than boys to be paid to do that work. This is where the cleanliness of the home is first instilled as a girl’s concern. So even if they’re making the same salary as their husband when they’re 35, women tend to feel that a messy home is their responsibility.
If you’re considering buying a home next year, it’s never too early to be thinking about your credit, according to Danny Gardner of Freddie Mac. Whether you’re hoping to buy a home in spring 2016 or looking further out, this article offers some simple steps you can take between now and then to help build and maintain good credit.
Having good credit is no accident. It’s the result of discipline and planning. Start today, and by the time you’re ready to become a homeowner, your good credit will pay off with better loan terms, lower interest rates, and greater financial opportunities in the future.
A good credit history increases the confidence of lenders and creditors when they loan money to you. When they see that you’ve paid back your loans as agreed, lenders are more likely to extend credit again. With good credit, you can borrow for major expenses – like a home – and you can borrow money at a lower cost, ultimately saving you money.
Your FICO credit score is one tool lenders use to gauge your creditworthiness. FICO scores can range from about 300 to 850 points – and your goal is to aim high. How high? Well, to give you an idea how much having good credit matters, in the third quarter of 2015, the average borrower of a loan bought by Freddie Mac had a FICO score of 751. That represents a slight drop since the peak of the housing crisis, but still means we’re in a lending environment where having a good credit score is incredibly important. Here are some steps you can take.
Open a checking and savings account. When you open a checking and savings account, try to stay above your minimum balance, never bounce checks, and make regular deposits.
Use credit cards carefully. Credit cards are convenient and easy to use, but using them recklessly can hurt your credit. If you allow your credit cards to reach high, unpaid balances, they can cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest alone. On the other hand, if you pay them in full and on time each month, credit cards can help you build excellent credit and reap the benefits that follow.
Establish credit independently. It’s important for both partners in a marriage or a relationship to establish their own credit to help achieve financial goals and to protect against unforeseen circumstances like death, divorce, or other life changes. Partners should regularly discuss household and personal expenditures to ensure that neither has an excessive amount of charges that cannot be repaid.
Honor your promise to pay. It’s essential that you honor your promise to make your credit payments on time and in the amounts scheduled. That includes your credit cards, auto and student loans, utility bills, medical bills, etc. Contact your lender or creditor immediately if you are having trouble making payments.
New U.S. single-family home sales surged in October and the inventory of properties for sale was the highest since early 2010, which could allay concerns of a significant slowdown in housing.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales increased 10.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 495,000 units. September’s sales pace was revised down to 447,000 units from the previously reported 468,000 units.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for about 8 percent of the housing market, rebounding to a rate of 500,000 units. Sales were up 4.9 percent compared to October of last year.
Though new home sales tend to be volatile month-to-month because they are drawn from a small sample, October’s bounce back should offer some assurance that the housing market remains on solid ground despite declines last month in home resales, housing starts and confidence among builders.
Where in the U.S. do people most commonly have roommates? And at what age? This article from Dan Kopf of Priceonomics shares some of the results from the 2014 American Community Survey.
The roommate as a normal part of American life is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Fifty years ago a person would typically go straight from living with his or her family to living with a spouse – perhaps with some college in between. Today, it is not unusual to spend the better part of your twenties (or even your thirties) living with people that are neither a family member nor a partner. The living situations of the characters on “Big Bang Theory” and “Friends” would have seemed peculiar to mid-20th century audiences.
Combine increased urbanization, lower marriage rates, later marriage, and increasingly expensive housing costs, and you get a lot of young people willing to live with friends and strangers.
Overall, 7.7% of Americans live with a roommate, but as the chart below shows, this likelihood spikes in the early twenties, when many Americans are finished with schooling but not yet coupled up.
After peaking in the early twenties, the likelihood of having a roommate very quickly declines through the mid thirties, as more people find romantic partners or decide to live alone. From the mid thirties, the proportion of people who have roommates declines more gradually.
In general, the twenties are the pinnacle of roommate living. Across cities, though, there is a wide variation in the percentage of people who live with a roommate at various ages. We analyzed the fifty largest cities in the United States for which the 2014 American Community Survey lists data to find where people between the ages of 18 and 39 are most likely to have a roommate (Some large cities, like Houston and San Diego, are omitted).
San Francisco is the roommate capital of the United States. The nation’s highest rents lead young people here to live together at a rate that is more than double the average of the top 50 cities (12%), and 20% higher than second place Arlington, Virginia.
Most of the top cities on the list are relatively expensive cities that are appealing to collegians and recent graduates for a variety of ambitions: San Francisco for tech, Washington DC and Arlington for politics, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh for education, and Portland for early “retirement.”
We were curious to see where people continue to live with roommates into their thirties more prevalently – the cities where people either can’t afford to grow up or choose not to. Which city is the home of those beset by the Peter Pan syndrome?
Once again, San Francisco comes out on top – and this time, by an even larger margin. One out of every five San Franciscans in their 30s lives with a roommate. This is more than 40% higher than any other city, and almost triple the national average.
Using the American Community Survey data, we found that across the entire country, the proportion of people with roommates has increased from 6.8% in 2000 to 7.7% in 2014, a 13% increase. In San Francisco, the roommate rate went from 23.3% to 28.1% in this same period, an increase of 20.6%.
San Francisco has long been the home of the roommate, and it is becoming even more so.
Welcoming friends and family as guests in your home is one of the joys of the holidays. Until you see how much money you could be spending on all the extra food, household supplies and activities. This U.S. News article from Tiffany Aliche offers advice on how to plan for holiday guests in your home, and how to avoid extra or unexpected expenses.
As children, we all look forward to large holiday family gatherings with tons of food and drinks. But, as you get older, you realize just how stressful and expensive it is to host family from out-of-town.
Since you want everyone to eat well and be merry, it’s easy to get carried away and overspend. Fortunately, if you follow these tips, you can manage a tight budget this holiday and still host a memorable family get-together.
Create a holiday itinerary. It’s often unplanned activities, like an impromptu trip to the movies, that drain your bank account when family comes to visit. You’ll save big this holiday if you can limit surprise expenses. Schedule your holiday itinerary out play-by-play. For instance, plan meals for each day to avoid eating out. If you do want to take your guests out for a special meal, scope out one or two affordable restaurants beforehand. Then let your family choose from restaurants you already know are in your budget. You can also plan fun activities for each day they visit. Even if you don’t follow your itinerary, you’ll have budget-friendly activities to fall back on throughout the holiday to entertain your guests.
Prune your holiday dinner menu. Choose your menu wisely to cut costs and make less complicated dishes with affordable ingredients that can feed a large group of people. Of course, main courses like turkey and ham are where you can get the most bang for your buck. You can usually find good deals at the supermarket on both types of meats, since they’re holiday staples.
Budget for every expense. We all know it’s easy to go overboard during the holiday. But the last thing you want to do is overextend yourself and start the new year with credit card debt. To avoid overspending, always head to the store with a budget and a list of everything you need for the holiday – and not just food. Make room in your budget for tableware, decor, wine, beer and even toiletries for your family members staying over.
Trim the guest list. Be realistic after creating your holiday budget. You may not be able to accommodate a relative you haven’t seen in years, and it’s OK to say no. If you don’t have the funds for a huge dinner, be straightforward with your guests. Let them know you’re having an intimate affair for close family and a few friends. Sending out personalized invitations is an easy way to tell guests that your holiday party is invite-only without offending anyone.
A recent report from the Urban Institute titled “Americans’ Debt Styles by Age and over Time” looks at five years of U.S. consumer credit data to gain a better understanding of our debt styles, how those styles differ for different age groups, and how those styles have evolved. While many patterns that emerged are not surprising, according to the report’s authors, Wei Li and Laurie Goodman, there were some unexpected findings.
Americans borrow money to finance homes, cars, consumer products, and college educations. Borrowing at the right time for the right purpose can put families on the path to financial stability, but going into debt can also create financial peril. To understand more about how Americans use debt throughout their lifetime, we recently examined the credit records over a five-year period on a random sample of more than 5 million consumers. Some of the findings from the report reveal new insights about American debt patterns.
Approximately 89% of consumers with credit records fall into one of six debt categories (in order of popularity): they have no debt at all, they borrow via credit cards only, they have only mortgage debt, they have only an auto loan, they have an auto loan and mortgage debt, or they have only a student loan.
Nearly one-third of consumers (29%) with credit records don’t borrow at all; another 22% have no other debt other than credit card spending.
Consumers without debt have much lower credit scores than consumers with debt. These consumers may not have the credit record necessary to obtain debt, rather than a lack of desire to borrow. This also suggests a feedback loop: those who receive credit are able to use it to build a credit record. This fact highlights the importance and difficulty of getting that first foot onto the credit ladder.
Younger borrowers who have a mortgage and a student loan have higher credit scores than older borrowers with a mortgage and a student loan. One possible explanation for this: because mortgage debt is relatively uncommon for younger borrowers (those in their 20s and early 30s) perhaps those who have mortgages at this age have higher incomes and better credit scores in general.
What are your Black Friday plans? In this article from Mother Nature Network, author Jenn Savedge explains why residents of California and Minnesota should avoid trying to find a place to park at the mall, and visit a national park instead.
While most people think of Black Friday as a day to burn calories by walking the store aisles in search of a bargain, the states of Minnesota and California are offering up a different kind of deal to celebrate the holiday. In an effort to get people outdoors, both states are offering free admission to their state parks for the day after Thanksgiving.
On Nov. 27, all 76 Minnesota state parks and 49 participating California state parks will be open to the public, free of charge.
“Visiting these parks is a great way to spend time with family and loved ones, relieve stress and enjoy exercise in the great outdoors,” Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith said in a statement. announcing the decision.
The idea is to offer an alternative to the retail mayhem that many think has gotten out of hand in recent years. Black Friday news reports are now filled with stories about injuries and even deaths that occur in the name of holiday bargain shopping.
In Minnesota, the free state park admission on Black Friday is sponsored by the state. All you need to do is show up at one of the state’s parks and take a hike.
In California, the free state park admission is thanks to a grant sponsored by the Save the Redwoods League.
