Ask a retired couple in Dayton if they claimed every credit on their Ohio return this year, and many will ask the same thing. “Every what?” Ohio doesn’t tax Social Security, so many retirees stop paying attention to the state return right there and miss the credits still sitting on it. Every credit below sits…
Grandparents across America were already raising kids by the time Congress created the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1972. Whatever they bought, built, or let a toddler climb on before that answered to nobody but the store shelf. These are the calls Florida grandparents made that their grown kids would never allow for their own…
Ask someone what Virginia gave the country, and you’ll get crab cakes and maybe colonial homes. That barely scratches the surface. Virginia handed America its first elected government, and the rest of the country still hands Massachusetts the credit for it. These are the things Virginia handed the rest of the country, then watched everyone…
Think the Ohio-Michigan rivalry begins and ends on a football field every November? It doesn’t. Some of these arguments started before either state had a governor’s mansion, and neither side has ever backed down. 1. Who Won the Toledo War Ohio and Michigan drew their shared border from a line Congress wrote into law in…
Can you name the four Kansas counties where the clocks run an hour behind the rest of the state? Kansas kids can. A Kansas childhood hands you a stack of facts, habits, and words that stop making sense the second you cross the state line. These are the things that only make sense to people…
Georgia’s gospel singing conventions once pulled crowds by the hundreds into a single country churchyard, starting with a county convention founded back in 1875. Many of those local gatherings no longer exist. These are the once-common Sunday morning traditions that are hard to come by nowadays at many churches in Georgia. 1. Dinner on the…
Think leaving town for a rural Virginia address just means a bigger yard for a lower price? That’s only partially true. These are the rural Virginia costs that blindside people who move out of town. Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Permit fees, tax rules, and dollar amounts are subject…
A homeowners insurance bill in South Carolina now averages nearly $3,000 a year. That’s before flood coverage or a mortgage even enters the math. These are the South Carolina expenses retirees say became harder to justify once they stopped working. Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, or insurance advice. Rates, dues, and premiums…
Think a move to California means paying more for absolutely everything? A short list of California costs breaks that stereotype, and even longtime residents get the numbers wrong. These are the things that come in lower than California’s reputation suggests. Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Insurance rates, tax rules,…
Wake County Public Schools raised student meal prices again this year, the fifth straight year of increases. North Carolina grandparents helping foot the back-to-school bill get no discount on any of it. A few of this year’s costs are brand new. A few are old costs that simply crept higher. These are the back-to-school costs…
