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Family budgeting tips that actually work

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

When Tom Snyder coaches people in his church about how to budget, he starts by encouraging them to track their spending.“If we don’t track, we don’t know when to stop spending,” he says. The retired engineer and financial coach in Grand Rapids, Michigan, adds that it’s easy to be bumped off track by irregular costs, such as birthday gifts or vacations.Successful family budgeting is all about staying flexible so you can handle those irregular costs as well as unexpected challenges, including sky-high grocery store prices or rising interest rates. Financial experts like Snyder say that by using creative methods to dial in a budget and trim costs in some areas, you can often still find ways to spend on what is most important to you.Follow your rhythm, not rulesSeverine Bryan, a personal finance educator and coach based in Atlanta, says a budget needs to stay flexible and constantly adjust to challenges. One of the biggest mistakes people make, she adds, is thinking they have to follow ...

Body found near Denver high school shooting suspect’s car

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

By COLLEEN SLEVIN and JESSE BEDAYN (Associated Press)DENVER (AP) — A body was found Wednesday night in the Colorado woods near the abandoned car that belonged to a 17-year-old student accused of shooting two administrators at his Denver high school earlier in the day, a sheriff said.Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said the body was discovered not far from the car in a remote mountain area about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Denver, near the small town of Bailey, in Park County. The town had been ordered to shelter in place while while officers from a number of agencies including the FBI combed the forest. But, authorities said they have not yet identified who it was and McGraw declined to say if it was a man or reveal the cause of death.Earlier in the day, Denver police identified the suspect as Austin Lyle.The shooting occurred at East High School in Denver while two administrators searched Lyle for weapons, a daily requirement because of the boy’s behavioral iss...

Editorial: Would you trust the IRS to do your taxes?

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.That’s the gist of critics’ arguments against the creation of a government-run tax preparation service. In short, the Internal Revenue would do the heavy lifting for taxpayers, calculating how much they owe for the year. Plans for this “direct file” tax return program were tucked into Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act last year, as The Hill reported.Our own Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren came up with the idea, reintroducing the Tax Filing Simplification Act in a bid to simplify the tax filing process for millions of Americans in the hopes of saving time and money spent on filing taxes.We get it – no one looks forward to filing their taxes, and the prospect of just having the IRS do it for you is tempting.  A question arises: do you trust the IRS to figure out your taxes?You shouldn’t, according to a coalition of conservative groups led by Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist. The...

Lucas: Bring back and clean up the Combat Zone

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

Bring back the Combat Zone.That is what Boston Mayor Michelle Wu should do if she wants to revitalize nightlife in Boston.To that end she has appointed Corean Reynolds to the new cabinet-level position of director of nightlife economy.Reynolds, like Wu, is from Chicago, so it stands to reason that she is qualified to reawaken night life in Boston.And it is only a technicality that neither Wu. 39, or Reynolds, an El Mundo 2022 Latino 30 Under 30 recipient, were around during the heyday of the Zone.Reynolds, the former director of “economic inclusion” at the Boston Foundation, said her goal was not only to impact nightlife in downtown but in the neighborhoods as well “to let folks to know what makes Boston so special.”Well, one thing that made Boston special was the Combat Zone, which was known across the country and the world..It was the free fire zone — or adult entertainment district — down on lower Washington Street between Boylston and Kneeland Streets. It consisted of grungy bar...

Winning ‘John Wick 4’ an action-packed marvel

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“John Wick: Chapter 4”Rated R. At the AMC Boston Common, AMC South Bay and suburban theatersGrade: A –If, like a cat, John Wick has nine lives, I suppose we have five films to go. In “John Wick: Chapter 4,” John, who stays in fighting shape by pounding his bloody knuckles into a wooden plank wrapped in rope, gets a chance to redeem himself in a fatal showdown with one of his only friends. That the friend, whose name is Caine in an apparent tribute to the hero played by David Carradine in the groundbreaking 1970s-era TV series “Kung Fu,” is played by Boston’s own Donnie Yen is one of the film’s strongest suits. Yen (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) is a serious delight as a darkly funny, world-weary fighter of almost super-heroic ability, who wears aviator glasses, dresses in stylish suits and carries a cane that is also a sword. Caine is just too cool for words.Scripted by action specialists Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, the film begins when the Bowery ...

Moore: Dem policies put Michigan back on road to Rust Belt

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

Since the early days of Henry Ford, Michigan was the proud symbol of America’s industrial might.But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south — in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state’s political machine. That’s when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American “Rust Belt.” Flint, Michigan, became a ghost town.From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit lost nearly half its population. Whole neighborhoods were bulldozed, and homes were selling for less than $10,000 as poor and minority residents fled the area’s crime, lousy schools, high unemployment and political corruption.If you traveled to Florida or Arizona, you saw lots of Michigan license plates.But then, Michigan began to reform itself with tax cuts and leaner and cleaner government. One big reform was Michigan became a “right to work” state. The state went through an amazing economic renaissance. According to the America...

Recapping the Chicago Bulls: Philadelphia 76ers open with a 17-0 run and never look back in rout

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

It’s rare for a basketball game to end after six minutes. But the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night already had ceded a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers halfway through the first quarter.It took barely a minute for the 76ers to set the tone. De’Anthony Melton sank a 3-pointer on the opening play. Tyrese Maxey snagged a sloppy pass from Patrick Williams on the ensuing inbound for a quick layup. Joel Embiid sank a jumper after another empty Bulls play.Within a breathless 1 minute, 5 seconds, the 76ers had taken a seven-point lead and thrown the Bulls completely on their heels on their way to carving out a 17-0 opening run.The Bulls had no answer — not from midrange, not from behind the arc, not even from the free-throw line. Zach LaVine scored the first point of the game for the Bulls from the free-throw line with 8:28 left in the quarter but missed his second attempt.Even after the scoring of the opening six minutes died down, the 76ers posted 76 points — the lar...

Dear Abby: Great relationship has become a nightmare

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

Dear Abby: I have been in a relationship for five years. It started out wonderful, but now I’m having second thoughts. He keeps putting my kids down and telling me I’m a bad mother. It’s so bad he has even put a knife to my throat. And, yes, he hits me.I am not an angel, but I always stand up for him and have his back. However, I don’t see him having mine. There’s so much more I could say, but I am scared if he knew I was writing to you it would end up bad for me. I need help, but I don’t know what to do. He has isolated me from my family and friends. Please help me. — Lost and Afraid in the EastDear Lost The man you are involved with is a dangerous abuser. What you must do next, for the sake of yourself and your children, is quietly contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-7233 or visiting thehotline.org for help in formulating a safe escape plan.It has been some time since I printed the Warning Signs of an Abuser...

Thai police kill suspect in shootings after 14-hour standoff

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in provincial Thailand killed a man who had fired at commandos storming his house early Thursday trying to safely end a 14-hour standoff after he shot to death three people and wounded three others, police said.The commandos called to the scene to assist local police used an armored vehicle to cross open ground shortly before 4 a.m. to storm the two-story house in Phetchaburi, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of Bangkok. They climbed to the second story where they confronted the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Anuwat Waentong, senior officers told reporters. Police Lt. Gen. Thanayut Wutthicharatthamrong said Anuwat fired a hail of bullets at them with a handgun, at least six stopped by their shields, before police shot him dead.“My men would have been shot many times without the shields.” he said.Thanayut told reporters police had followed appropriate procedures in trying to end the situation, starting with negotiations and escalating to deadly for...

Launch debut of 3D-printed rocket ends in failure, no orbit

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:14:57 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A rocket made almost entirely of 3D-printed parts made its launch debut Wednesday night, lifting off amid fanfare but failing three minutes into flight — far short of orbit.There was nothing aboard Relativity Space’s test flight except for the company’s first metal 3D print made six years ago. The startup wanted to put the souvenir into a 125-mile-high (200-kilometer-high) orbit for several days before having it plunge through the atmosphere and burn up along with the upper stage of the rocket. As it turned out, the first stage did its job following liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and separated as planned. But the upper stage appeared to ignite and then shut down, sending it crashing into the Atlantic.It was the third launch attempt from what once was a missile site. Relativity Space came within a half-second of blasting off earlier this month, with the rocket’s engines igniting before abruptly shutting down.Although the upper stage ...