Kara is a freelance writer, specializing in personal and business finance content. She loves taking complex topics and making them easier to understand to help people improve their knowledge on all things finance-related.
If you don't make a 20% down payment, you'll be required to carry private mortgage insurance, or PMI. Although you're the one who must pay monthly premiums for this coverage, it protects the lender, not you.
The savviest savers know how to squeeze every drop of earnings from their certificates of deposit, and this is how they'll do it as interest rates rise over the next several years.
