Save Money – It’s Money Matters
ST. CLOUD -- A recall of chocolate truffles, a reason to save receipts from “back to school” shopping, the best vehicles in holding their value and news on the St. Cloud housing market headline this week’s episode of “It’s Money Matters” with Kelly Cordes on WJON.
Listen to this week's Money Matters here:
Minnesota Food Recalls
If you have a package of dark chocolate truffles in the pantry, you may want to check the label.
That’s It Nutrition, LLC is issuing a recall of Dark Chocolate Truffles. The product may contain milk proteins. The details:
- 3.5, 5.0, 16.0 ounce and 12-count packages
- Flavors include fig, date, banana, raisins, and fig with sea salt
- Expiration date ranging from March 23rd, 2023 to July 8th, 2024
Save Your Back-To-School Receipts
The Minnesota Department of Revenue reminds parents to save their receipts from back-to-school shopping. Minnesota families may qualify for the K-12 Education Credit and the K-12 Education Subtraction.
To qualify, you must have a child in kindergarten through 12th grade at a public, private, or home school. Qualifying expenses include:
- Paper, pens, notebooks or textbooks
- Rental or purchase of educational equipment (such as musical instruments).
- Computer hardware or educational software
- After-school tutoring and summers camps taught by a qualified instructor
Will the St. Cloud housing bubble pop?
Fortune magazine says home prices have jumped over 35% in the last two years and home mortgage rates have climbed from 3.2% to 5.88%. If you own a home, or are looking to buy a home if the prices go down, you might be asking if a big price drop is in the works.
CoreLogic looked at home markets nationwide and factored in the following items:
- Income growth projections
- Unemployment forecasts
- Consumer confidence
- Debt-to-income ratios
- Affordability
- Mortgage rates
- Inventory levels
Of the 392 regional markets studied --159 markets, including St. Cloud -- were in the “very low” risk group.
In other words, St. Cloud, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, and Sioux Falls are at a very low risk of a price correction or retracement.
Markets making the “very high” risk group:
- Bellingham, Washington
- Bend, Oregon
- Bremerton, Washington
- Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Best vehicle for holding value
Marketwatch.com released their list of the top ten vehicles for best resale value. The average vehicle will hold about 40% of its original sticker price after 60 months.
Since all new vehicles are carrying a premium price tag right now, you want to buy a vehicle that will hold as much of its original purchase price as possible.
Here’s their list of the top 10 vehicles and how much of their purchase price you can expect after 60 months.
- 2022 Toyota Tundra – 70.2%
- 2022 GMC Sierra – 60.8%
- 2022 Toyota Tacoma – 60.6%
- 2022 Ford Maverick (tie) – 59.5%
- 2022 Chevrolet Corvette (tie) – 59.5%
- 2022 Toyota 4Runner – 58.6%
- 2022 Tesla Model X – 57.6%
- 2022 Ford F-Series – 57.3%
- 2022 Ford Ranger – 56.7%
- 2022 Jeep Gladiator – 56.1%