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• New cruise brands are launching smaller, luxury ships geared toward wealthy travelers. 
• They're a far cry from the 7,000-passenger mega-ships with water parks and concert venues.
• Large cruises are a "cash cow" for operators but experts say smaller ships have

• Realtor.com has identified the top 10 US cities where homebuyers make the smallest down payments.
• "A lot of folks just don't have that extra cash," the report's author said of 20% down payments.
• Killeen, Texas, tops the list with the average down payment coming in at 5.3% of the purchase price.

High home prices and mortgage rates are locking many people out of

• Sandra, a Gen Xer, recently moved from the Los Angeles area to the beaches of North Carolina.
• She said California's rising cost of living pushed her toward the East Coast for her retirement.
• While the weather isn't as ideal, North Carolina has been a pleasant surprise.

Sandra decided that instead of

• Kansas City has been gripped by Taylor Swift mania amidst her relationship with Travis Kelce.
• Everything the pop star touches turns to gold, which is helping Kansas City's economy.
• Kansas City businesses said they've seen booming sales from Swifties.

Last weekend, the Kansas City

• Amazon's wedding registry is free and simple to use.
• Its benefits include a 20% completion discount and 180-day return policy.
• Amazon's Gift Advisor can deliver tailored recommendations for presents to add to your registry.

If you're an Amazon Prime member who loves the convenience and selection of

• Soft skills are things like communication and leadership that can feel intangible.
• But more employers are looking for workers to have or get trained on these abilities.
• One survey found the top soft skill for high-paying jobs was being "energetic."

Maybe you're a people person. Maybe not.

Increasingly, your

Our experts answer readers' home-buying questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess mortgages). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners; however, our opinions are our own.

Mortgage rates have skyrocketed in recent weeks and remain high as the Federal Reserve gets ready for its meeting this week. Average 30-year mortgage rates remain at 23-year highs.

On

• Alex Lawrence is the CEO and cofounder of an all-electric used car dealership in Utah.
• He says today's car-buying process gets it all wrong.
• Here's his advice for car buyers shopping electric, as told to reporter Alexa St. John.

Alex Lawrence is a 49-year-old entrepreneur and the CEO of EVAuto, an all-electric used car

• I went to a Costco store for the first time. 
• I was impressed by the tidiness of the store, the prices at the food court, and the extensive range of goods.
• But the product samples were tiny and the store was hard to navigate. Here's what else surprised me.

Until recently, like many Brits, I had never set foot in a Costco. The

• David, 58, had loved the slow pace and friendly community in West Palm Beach, Florida, since 1987.
• But home insurance costs and property taxes rose, making life less affordable as retirement loomed.
• Then newcomers moved in with flashy cars and bad attitudes. So David is moving to Georgia.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with

• The US has roughly 15.5 million retail workers, while 1.5 million Americans work for Walmart.
• Walmart's workforce is at least three times larger than that of any other brick-and-mortar retailer.
• The company's typical worker is a 39-year-old woman in Dallas earning $18 per hour.

As the largest private employer in the world