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Q: My boyfriend and I want to move in together but cannot find an affordable rental that allows pets. With interest rates and prices inching down, we are thinking about buying a starter home. We both have good jobs and strong credit. My mom reads your column and suggested I ask if this is a good idea. Thanks! — Rita

A: I cannot say if it is a good idea because I have not met your significant other, but with proper planning, buying property together can work out well.

Whenever people who are not married to each other buy property together, I recommend drafting a written agreement that outlines what each of you will be responsible for and discussing what happens if you break up.

This is especially important if one of you is providing more down payment than the other. Should your relationship sour, having an agreement in place will make dealing with the property easier and less costly.

The process of preparing a co-ownership agreement can also help set you up for success. Among other details, you will need to discuss who is responsible for the costs and maintenance and what happens if one of you has a career setback or falls ill and cannot pay their share. read more

After the safe return Tuesday of two astronauts left behind for months on the International Space Station, the White House characterized the pair as “stranded” and trumpeted their return as a “rescue.” Those are words that NASA has been resisting for months.

It made for an awkward situation in a post-splashdown press conference, when NASA administrators insisted they could have brought Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home at any time, while also seeking not to contradict the president.

The two returned as part of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, having been on board the station since June after flying up on Boeing’s Starliner.

“PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months,” was the message posted to the White House X account after the landing.

But NASA officials, though parsing their words carefully, stuck to a different narrative.

“We always had a lifeboat, a way for them to come home,” NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich said. read more

By Rosie Cima, Nerdwallet

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

Thinking about changing jobs? You’re in good company. According to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans are staying in the same job for shorter periods of time than in the past.

The length of time you’ve worked for your current employer is called your job tenure. In 2014, the median job tenure – across all age groups, occupations and industries – was 4.6 years. In 2024, it dropped to 3.9 years. In fact, job tenure is now the shortest it has been in over 20 years.

Economists care about tenure as a measure of employment security and health of the labor market. And personal job tenure is important to workers because job changes often raise questions about personal finances and planning for the future. read more

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Tesla has been removed from participating in this week’s Vancouver International Auto Show over safety concerns, the event’s executive director said Tuesday.

By MARC LEVY

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Delaware is trying to protect its status as the corporate capital of the world amid fallout from a judge’s rejection of billionaire Elon Musk ’s landmark Tesla compensation package, although critics say fast-tracked legislation will tilt the playing field against investors, including pensioners and middle-class savers.