Coloradans

Colorado has one of the most educated populations in the country, second only to Massachusetts for the share of residents holding a college degree. But the state also ranks seventh in terms of how much money people are losing to scams, according to a LendingTree analysis of fraud data from the Federal Trade Commission. The financial success of Colorado’s population because of its education is a primary reason it is a prime target for fraudsters. In the first nine months of 2023, Colorado residents filed 46,410 fraud…

Natural gas prices are lower than a year ago, when many Coloradans saw big jumps in their heating bills, but the need for help to pay utility bills remains high, say agencies that offer assistance. For the week ending Jan. 21, the nonprofit Energy Outreach Colorado fielded 555 applications for assistance and spent $333,229, said spokeswoman Denise Stepto. “The need is just unprecedented. These numbers are bigger than we’ve seen them before,” Stepto said. She attributes the ongoing need to overall elevated costs. And…

Chris Christmas, a fourth-generation Black cowboy with Native American roots, considers the cowboy hat to be an indispensable part of his heritage. “I think I was born with a cowboy hat,” said the 57-year-old Denverite, whose family has resided in Colorado for 120 years. With dozens of hats in his collection today, “I buy them like sneakers,” he laughed. Christmas is pressing against the longstanding stereotype of a white-washed American West by working with hat shaper Parker Orms on a line of headwear stylized on “the…

The Modern Farmhouse design is the most popular home style in Colorado and 31 other states. Hovia, a British wallpaper designer, analyzed Google Trends data using 575 search terms relating to 25 interior design styles to reveal the most popular style in each state. And Coloradans, like most Americans, like the Modern Farmhouse look. The design merges traditional rural style with a sophisticated, contemporary flair by using smooth lines and a neutral color palette, stainless steel appliances, sleek lighting fixtures, and…

Inflation has disproportionately affected lower-income Coloradans, increasing their spending on essential services at rates far higher than wealthier residents, according to a new analysis by two University of Colorado Denver professors. The review of inflation and spending data, commissioned by the Bell Policy Center and released last week,  shows how lower-income earners have weathered rising costs over the past two years with less flexibility to adjust their spending or lean on other forms of income to offset it.…

Dan and Malia Fredrickson used the opportunity of a malfunctioning air conditioner to take a step toward electrifying their home by getting a heat pump, equipment that’s been around for a while but has gotten more attention lately thanks to federal legislation. Rebates and tax credits for heat pumps, which use electricity to both cool and heat buildings, are among the energy-related provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act 2022. While critics contend and some economists agree that the law is unlikely to significantly…

Growing up, Tristan Bego was known for treating her school hallways as fashion runways. It didn’t matter that her clothes were hand-me-downs or from secondhand stores. Budget constraints made her all the more creative. Thrifting has always been a way of life for the 29-year-old, so much so that, a year ago, she and her business partner Jenny Neal opened a storefront on Denver’s Capitol Hill. The Common Collective, at 613 E. 13th Ave., brings together 14 small businesses selling thrifted and custom-designed goods, from…

Gov. Jared Polis said Coloradans can pay their taxes using cryptocurrency, making good on a plan he announced earlier this year. “As of right now, the state of Colorado is officially accepting cryptocurrency as a payment option for all taxes,” Polis said. “We’ve been talking about this for a while. We said we would deliver by the end of summer and we have.” Polis made the announcement Monday during a news conference that kicked off the 11th annual Denver Startup Week. He said the payment program, which began Sept. 1, is…

At 1:05 a.m. on a crisp February morning in Boulder, 52-year-old Sheila Luna laid her head back on the hospital bed in her moonlit living room, closed her eyes and took her last breath. Her death did not come without warning. Ever since the day 14 months earlier when doctors diagnosed her with late-stage colon cancer, Sheila and her husband Charles had been planning for what would happen next. A quiet and pragmatic scientist who shifted to medical herbalism late in her career, Sheila had always felt at peace forging…

Parker resident Randal Ketner remembers when big price increases started taking hold in 1977, the year he graduated from high school. For six years, inflation was so heated it reshaped how he viewed the world and the financial choices he made, just like the Great Depression changed the behavior of his parents and grandparents. With consumer inflation soaring to a 9.1% annual rate in March in metro Denver, Ketner’s prior run-in with runaway prices has caused him to adjust his spending and stay vigilant regarding what might…