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☆ Leaked: Amazon held talks with Instacart, Uber, Ticketmaster, and others for help on its new AI-powered Alexa
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The new Alexa aims to be a personalized assistant, handling diverse tasks across different devices. Amazon's AI-powered Alexa upgrade could launch with several major partners handling specific tasks such as ride-hailing, grocery shopping, and restaurant reservations, Business Insider has learned. The partner companies would become the primary option for handling those specific tasks on the upgraded Alexa. Amazon is revamping Alexa with ChatGPT-like AI features, BI first reported in January. Internally codenamed Banyan or Remarkable Alexa, the upgrade has the potential to significantly improve the voice assistant with AI features.

Persons: Uber, Spokespeople, Thumbtack, Andy Jassy, Jassy Organizations: Partners, Ticketmaster, BI, Amazon, Alexa, ChatGPT, Uber

☆ An overnight locksmith can cost $400. Here's how much you might have to fork over for other emergencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Their most common approach, instead, was to put the emergency expense on a credit card and pay it over time. If you do use your credit card, make sure you prioritize paying off the balance in full by the end of the month, she added. "Use your credit card as a 30-day bridge, but commit to paying that off," she said. HELOCs interest rates are generally lower than credit card interest rates. However, they tend to be variable interest rates, so you don't want to use it if you don't have to, McClanahan said.

Persons: Winnie Sun, Tiger Woods, Frederic J, Brown, Power, Tom Grill, Angi, Carolyn McClanahan, McClanahan Organizations: Federal Reserve, Sun, Wealth Partners, CNBC FA, AFP, Getty, Planning Partners Locations: Irvine , California, Rancho Palos Verdes , California, Texas , California, New York, Jacksonville , Florida

☆ Here are 3 costly financial surprises for first-time homebuyers — and how to prepare for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Jonathan Ernst | ReutersWith record-high home prices and soaring mortgage interest rates, homeownership has become increasingly unaffordable — and hidden costs can surprise first-time buyers, experts say. Here are three of the most common surprise homeownership expenses and how to prepare for each one, according to experts. Property taxesAs a first-time homebuyer, it's easy to overlook property taxes since you've never paid those levies directly. Home maintenanceThe cost of home repairs and maintenance can also be a hidden expense for first-time homebuyers. As a first-time homebuyer, you need to make sure you have a sufficient cushion for surprises — I'd argue 5% of the home's purchase price at least.

Persons: Jonathan Ernst, homeownership, Vince Darling, you've, Richard Auxier, Kevin Brady, — I'd, Nicole Sullivan Organizations: Reuters, Stonebridge, Urban, Brookings Tax, Wealthspire Advisors, Prism Planning Locations: Alexandria , Virginia, Zillow, Forest Lake , Minnesota, New York

☆ How to start a pet-sitting side hustle—you could make as much as $40 per hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

For anyone looking for a side hustle this summer, pet-sitting might be the way to go. Their owners will need help taking care of them when they're gone. In fact, some might need help whether they end up going away or not. Pet owners need help with an assortment of activities. Whatever help owners need and you're interested in giving, check out sites like Care.com, Wag!, Rover and Sittercity for opportunities.

Persons: Angelique Rewers, BoldHaus, they're, Daniella Flores, Flores

☆ 4 lucrative side hustles for summer 2023—one pays up to $80 per hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

If you're curious to start a side hustle yourself, summer could be a good time to dive in. Be a summer school assistantPost pandemic, many kids are far behind in school. As such, more parents may elect to send their kids to summer school than usual. She calls it a "summer school assistant." The summer school assistant would pick kids up from summer school, help them with their homework and tutor them in any particular subject if needed.

Persons: Angelique Rewers, That's, Airbnb, –, Daniella Flores, Flores, Rewers Organizations: Facebook, Rover Locations: Airbnb, San Diego, Portland , Maine, Dallas , Texas, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, New York

☆ Lurking Beneath Home Prices: Hidden Costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Michael Kolomatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With the focus on rapidly rising prices, it’s easy to forget the “hidden” costs of homeownership, including property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, utility payments and maintenance. Among those metros (where sufficient data was available), San Francisco had the highest annual hidden costs (a median of $22,791), while Las Vegas had the lowest ($9,886). Overall, maintenance was found to require the greatest median outlay ($6,413 a year), followed by utilities ($3,216), property taxes ($2,827) and homeowner’s insurance ($1,699). Insurance costs were calculated at 0.5 percent of value. Utility costs were derived from 2022 state averages, while phone bills and streaming-service costs were sourced from Forbes reporting.

Persons: Zillow, Thumbtack, grout Organizations: Las, Insurance, Forbes Locations: U.S, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York City, Pittsburgh

☆ How to Increase the Value of Your Home With 5 Popular Home Improvements
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Daniel Bortz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Plus, data also suggests solar panels increase a home’s value somewhat when it comes time to sell. Does a new roof increase home value? Does a new kitchen increase home value? Does a new bathroom increase home value? “Classic subway tile is clean, simple and has a timeless appeal.”Do energy-efficient windows increase home value?

Persons: Daniel Bortz, ”, David Steckel, you’ll, Steckel, Mallory Micetich, Micetich, HomeAdvisor, Courtney Mason, Mason Organizations: Rewiring America, Census, Google, Energy Locations: New York, Riverside , Calif, Atlanta ,, Tampa, Fla

☆ Home Maintenance Inflation Is Real
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Michael Kolomatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Unfortunately for homeowners, the cost of maintenance is going up. The costs were reported directly by consumers or service professionals and were limited in the study to maintenance work, such as repairs to appliances and HVAC systems, landscaping and window washing. Nationally, the average annual maintenance cost of single-family homes during the first quarter of 2023 was $6,409, up about 9 percent year over year. Townhouse costs rose about 4 percent and condo costs rose less than 2 percent. Price drops near the other end of the spectrum were found in Columbus, Ohio, where the annual maintenance cost fell 16 percent, to $4,783, and in Greenville, S.C., where it fell 10 percent, to $5,353.

☆ Our cleaning business made $558,000 in sales last year. Here's how we got started without having to clean a house ourselves.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Anthony and Jhanilka Hartzog started a cleaning-service business in 2017 to pay off their debts. If we could start the cleaning business without cleaning, then we could both keep our nine-to-five jobs, which we did for five years while we grew the business. Jhanilka HartzogYou can start a cleaning business with $1,500J: It probably would've been less, but we had a lawyer review the contract that we used with the contractors. Teaching others to start their own cleaning businessesA: Our cleaning business allowed us to pay off our debt, leave my nine-to-five, and go all in on this business. J: We have a course for people to start their own cleaning business.

Elon Musk seems determined to remake Twitter in his own image — with some help from the men in his trusted inner circle. They are joined in Musk’s orbit by Alex Spiro, a trial attorney with a roster of celebrity clients who reportedly led the first round of Twitter layoffs. Bloomberg reported Wednesday night that Twitter is preparing to eliminate about 3,700 jobs, or roughly half its workforce. Musk's personnel decisions suggest a possible road map for the future of Twitter, one in which policies and internal rules are drawn at least in part from the views of Musk’s consiglieres. Sacks, Calacanis, Spiro and Birchall did not immediately respond to questions about the company’s future and the nature of their roles there.

☆ Tour a Family Home That Marries Unique Design and Liveability
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Maile Pingel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Though Sergey Makhno reached far into Ukraine’s past when building his house in Kozyn, a village south of Kyiv, he also sought to break new ground. “I wanted materials that have been used for centuries,” said the architect and furnishings designer. You might not mix individual “recipes” for the clay walls of every room to give each a distinct personality, as Mr. Makhno did. But as you layer on one-of-a-kind textiles or variegated zellige tiles, your style becomes less imitable. After dinner at the Makhno house one evening, an artist guest obliged his host by painting a grand, whimsical Jean Cocteau-like drawing on the wall of his son’s bedroom.

I want to retire early as a millionaire, and I know I need multiple income streams to reach that goal. Sell what you already haveEvery Sunday, I spend an hour looking for items around my house that I can sell. Not only does selling or renting out items you already own cost you $0, it also takes very little time. It's free to start this type of side hustle, and using pre-existing platforms to find work helps you tap into their audience. Anyone can get started on these side hustles for free by setting up a profile on platforms like Rover, Care.com, or TrustedHousesitters.

☆ How a 25-year-old makes $65 an hour and $4,000 a month organizing people’s homes
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-22 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As she entered the final months of her senior year in college in 2018, Leah Rowan wasn't sure what she'd do after graduation. Having studied public relations and business, she knew starting a business was an option, but figuring out which kind of business was a challenge. Rowan, now 25 and based in Philadelphia, knew she was "passionate about organizing, maximizing your space, efficiency, productivity," she says. A woman contacted her whose partner had filled their garage floor-to-ceiling with items she'd hoped to resell before passing away. She charges $65 per hour and is bringing in around $4,000 per month.

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