Raising a child in America is extremely expensive, costing the average parent over $230k, and health care accounts for a big chunk of the bill. And while around 95% of children ages 0-18 have health insurance, the high coverage rate hasn’t translated to lower health costs for parents. For example, out of pocket costs for patients increased by 2.5% during 2017 alone, and total spending for individuals aged 0-18 jumped 19.9% between 2013 and 2017.
But it’s a different story in every state. WalletHub therefore compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 33 key indicators of cost, quality and access to children’s health care. Our data set ranges from share of children aged 0 to 17 years in excellent or very good health to pediatricians and family doctors per capita. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.
Quick Review: Loans from LightStream, a division of SunTrust Bank, have some of the lowest interest rates on the market. Their APRs start as low as 3.99% and only top out at 16.99%. You can also borrow large amounts for long periods of time, with loans of up to $100,000 for as long as 144 months (12 years).
Quick Review: Discover personal loans are great for people who have a credit score of 660 or higher and want to borrow up to $35,000 at a time. Discover loans are especially good if you want a long repayment period, as Discover’s payoff timelines start at 36 months and go as long as 84 months. Plus, Discover’s personal loan APRs can be as low as 6.99%, which makes them useful for people who want to consolidate existing debt at a low cost.
Quick Review: Citibank personal loans are best for people with good credit who already have a bank account from Citi. You will need a 680+ credit score and a Citibank checking account, savings account, money market account or certificate of deposit to qualify for a Citi personal loan. That account must be at least three months old, too.
Quick Review: Barclays personal loans offer one of the cheapest minimum APRs on the market, at 5.74%. Their maximum APR of 18.99% is lower than what many other lenders offer, too. The one downside is that these low rates aren’t available to everyone. Though Barclays doesn’t disclose a minimum credit score requirement, the consensus from third-party sources is that you will generally need a 700+ score.
You know it’s Easter when grocery stores have special aisles just for chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps while their dairy sections keep running out of eggs. Beside Valentine’s Day, it’s the other big “consumer” holiday that’s expected to rake in billions and give every American a toothache. But candy and big meals are just one part of the celebration. Most people dye their eggs in bright colors, and hide plastic ones around the home for the kids to hunt on Easter Sunday. At least that’s the Easter tradition that’s familiar to the roughly 80 percent of Americans who celebrate the occasion in some way.
For Christians, however, Easter is less of a commercial event than a holy experience. It not only marks the end of Lent — a 40-day period of fasting, reflection, prayer and repentance followed directly by Easter Sunday — but it also celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and represents the “new covenant” between God and humanity. In observance of the holiday, many families will attend services, feast and continue to share the messages of Christ.
Eco-friendliness and personal finance are related. Our environmental and financial needs are the same in many areas: providing ourselves with sustainable, clean drinking water and food, for example. We also spend money through our own consumption and taxes in support of environmental security.
In the past year, the U.S. has seen an especially devastating amount of natural disasters. And the U.S. was home to three of the world’s costliest disasters in 2018. Two of those were Hurricane Michael and Hurricane Florence, which racked up $16 billion and $14 billion in damage, respectively. Experts attribute the high number of hurricanes to unusually warm Atlantic waters, so it’s possible that living more sustainably and using greener energy sources could prevent us from having quite as bad hurricane seasons in the future.
Discover (one of our advertising partners) claims to treat you like you treat you. But it’s still fair to wonder which Discover card – if any – you should treat yourself to. Because let’s face it: You don’t want the best Discover card; you want the best overall credit card for your individual needs.
So WalletHub’s editors compared Discover cards and selected the top offers for a handful of common consumer needs. Based on this analysis...
Quick Review: Avant loans are best for people with low credit scores. Avant only requires a minimum credit score of 600 to qualify for a loan. Avant loans are costly, though, so people with high credit scores may have better options. The minimum Avant loan interest rate is high, at 9.95%, and the maximum interest rate is 35.99%, one of the highest rates on the market. To put that in context, the average new credit card offer has an interest rate of 19.24%. Avant also charges an administration fee that can be as much as 4.75% of the loan amount. This fee will depend on such factors as the loan amount, loan period and your credit.
There are no Bank of America personal loans at this time. But there are plenty of ways to borrow from BofA outside of personal loans. Bank of America still is one of the biggest lenders in the U.S., after all, ranked second in the nation in terms of assets. One reason is that Bank of America offers a variety of credit cards, with worthwhile offers for all types of applicants, from those with bad credit to those with excellent credit.
The Verdict: The Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card is an attractive everyday spending vehicle for people with excellent credit (Bank of America is a WalletHub partner). Things begin on a positive note, with no annual fee to worry about and the ability to earn a $200 initial bonus for spending just $1,000 in the first 90 days after account opening.
The Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card even supplements its base 1% cash-back earning rate with 2% back on groceries and wholesale clubs and 3% back on a category of your choosing. But there’s a catch. Those bonus earning rates apply to only the first $2,500 in combined grocery, wholesale clubs and gas purchases each quarter. So if you spend more than $833 a month on such everyday necessities, you will wind up hitting that limit and earning only 1% back — slightly less than the market average of 1.06% — on all your purchases for the rest of the quarter.
America is undergoing an extreme makeover, thanks to rapid demographic diversification. By 2050, many shifts will happen. For example, while non-Hispanic whites are expected to remain the largest ethnic group, they will no longer make up a majority of the population. But America’s transformation is more than skin-deep — it’s economic, too. Not only have waves of immigration changed the face of the nation, they’ve also brought in fresh perspectives, skills and technologies to help the U.S. develop a strong adaptability to change.
Economies generally fare better when they openly embrace and capitalize on new ideas. Conversely, those relying on old ways and specialized industries tend to be hurt more by changes in the market.
Available to people with bad credit, even a previous bankruptcy
Relatively low APR for the segment
CONS
$35-$99 Annual fee
The Verdict: The problems that destroyed your credit standing and are now fueling your search for an unsecured credit card likely don’t represent milestones that you’d care to remember for too long. But the Milestone® Gold Mastercard® Credit Card (issued by a WalletHub partner) is a bit different, as opening it could prove to be an important turning point in your credit comeback.
Bear in mind that this card is far from perfect. It charges an annual fee, and its regular APR certainly isn’t cheap. But when you compare those terms to other unsecured cards targeted to people with bad credit, that’s where things get interesting. Such cards often charge expensive “application processing” and monthly fees in addition to annual fees and boast APRs north of 30% to boot.
Gun sales have been down since Donald Trump won the White House, with a 6.1 percent decline in 2018 alone. And while that’s good news to some, it could be a bad sign for state economies relying heavily on the firearms industry. By one estimate, guns contributed more than $52 billion to the U.S. economy and generated over $6.8 billion in federal and state taxes in 2018.
In 2018, gun crime was a high-profile political issue, highlighted by incidents such as the February Parkland, FL school shooting and the October Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. Many states passed new gun laws and gun control groups outspent gun rights groups. 2019 has had its own share of violent incidents as well, such as the Aurora, IL workplace shooting in February. In addition, several new laws have been passed this year, including a federal ban on “bump-stocks.”
The best way to get cheap car insurance is to compare quotes from different car insurance companies. In order to help drivers in Indiana find the cheapest car insurance rates for their needs and circumstances, WalletHub collected 60 quotes from 10 auto insurance companies in Indiana.
To identify the cheapest car insurance options in Indiana, WalletHub got quotes from each insurer across six different cities. Read on for the full results, along with a detailed description of our methodology and additional insight from a panel of experts.
The best way to get cheap car insurance is to compare quotes from different car insurance companies. In order to help drivers in Florida find the cheapest car insurance rates for their needs and circumstances, WalletHub collected 60 quotes from 10 auto insurance companies in Florida.
To identify the cheapest car insurance options in Florida, WalletHub got quotes from each insurer across six different cities. Read on for the full results, along with a detailed description of our methodology and additional insight from a panel of experts.
The best way to get cheap car insurance is to compare quotes from different car insurance companies. In order to help drivers in Nebraska find the cheapest car insurance rates for their needs and circumstances, WalletHub collected 60 quotes from 10 auto insurance companies in Nebraska.
To identify the cheapest car insurance options in Nebraska, WalletHub got quotes from each insurer across six different cities. Read on for the full results, along with a detailed description of our methodology and additional insight from a panel of experts.
The best way to get cheap car insurance is to compare quotes from different car insurance companies. In order to help drivers in Mississippi find the cheapest car insurance rates for their needs and circumstances, WalletHub collected 60 quotes from 10 auto insurance companies in Mississippi.
To identify the cheapest car insurance options in Mississippi, WalletHub got quotes from each insurer across six different cities. Read on for the full results, along with a detailed description of our methodology.
The best way to get cheap car insurance is to compare quotes from different car insurance companies. In order to help drivers in Washington find the cheapest car insurance rates for their needs and circumstances, WalletHub collected 60 quotes from 10 auto insurance companies in Washington.
To identify the cheapest car insurance options in Washington, WalletHub got quotes from each insurer across six different cities. Read on for the full results, along with a detailed description of our methodology and additional insight from a panel of experts.
The best way to get cheap car insurance is to compare quotes from different car insurance companies. In order to help drivers in Connecticut find the cheapest car insurance rates for their needs and circumstances, WalletHub collected 60 quotes from 10 auto insurance companies in Connecticut.
To identify the cheapest car insurance options in Connecticut, WalletHub got quotes from each insurer across six different cities. Read on for the full results, along with a detailed description of our methodology.
