Should You Manage Your Own Mortgage Escrow? Plus, Decoding 2026 Election Slogans

Learn whether managing your own mortgage escrow pays off and what popular election slogans could mean for your money.

Can you manage your own escrow account instead of letting your mortgage servicer pay your property taxes and homeowners insurance? Hosts Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola welcome housing Nerd Kate Wood to weigh the pros and cons of do-it-yourself escrow. They discuss how escrow fits into your monthly mortgage payment, when a lender might grant an escrow waiver, and why FHA loans and private mortgage insurance can take the choice off the table. They also run the numbers on how much interest you could earn by holding the money yourself, what happens when an escrow account comes up short, and why some mortgage hacks on social media don’t tell the full story.

What do candidates actually mean when they say “tax the rich,” “affordability” or “Medicare for All”? Senior news writer Anna Helhoski joins Sean and Elizabeth to decode the campaign slogans on mailers, ads and bumper stickers ahead of Election Day. They discuss how one slogan can cover very different taxes, how candidates are framing the cost of groceries, utilities and healthcare, and why “affordable housing” means something different from race to race.

Watch the Portlandia escrow scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZmO_7JBeao

Run your own numbers with NerdWallet’s Compound Interest Calculator: https://www.nerdwallet.com/banking/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

See the escrow shortage findings in the 2026 NerdWallet Home Buyer Report: https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/studies/home-buyer-report

Find ways to save with 8 Ways to Lower Homeowners Insurance Rates: https://www.nerdwallet.com/insurance/homeowners/learn/save-on-homeowners-insurance

Read Anna’s breakdowns of this year’s campaign slogans:

What Does ‘Tax the Rich’ Actually Mean?: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/tax-the-rich

On Affordability: Can a Politician Make Your Groceries Cheaper?: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/affordability

‘Medicare for All’ to ‘Take on Big Pharma’: What’s Behind Healthcare Slogans: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/medicare-for-all

What Does ‘Affordable Housing’ Mean?: https://www.nerdwallet.com/finance/news/affordable-housing

Find out what’s on your ballot with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (https://www.eac.gov/), Can I Vote (https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote) and VOTE411 from the League of Women Voters (https://www.vote411.org/).

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