Bucktown and Wicker Park: Have you seen a Blackhawks game yet this season? Join Lottie’s Pub for their Blackhawks bus trip! The Blackhawks play the Wild on January 10 and you want to be there to see it! Tickets are $80 and include a bus ride to and from the United Center. Find more information on their website, here!

Lincoln Park: The Magic Cabaret hosts its last show of the year on December 27. Hosts David Parr and Joe Diamond lead the audience through the evening with enthusiasm, charm, and mystifying magic. The longest-running magic show in Chicago, it’s been delighting audiences for 10 years. Get your tickets here!

Lakeview: Start your NYE celebrations with a trip to see the Blue Man Group! Performances are at 1 and 4 pm on December 31, at the Briar Street Theatre. In addition to the fantastic show, there will be face painting, early NYE countdowns and more! Blue Man Group also has shows at 7 and 10 pm. Audience members will receive festive party hats and a champagne toast! Get your tickets here!

River North: Kick off Christmas Eve with a fantastic brunch! Bub City is hosting a Southern BBQ brunch and DIY Bloody Mary bar from 10 am to 3 pm, this Sunday, December 24. In addition, they’ll be serving $5 draft beers all day long! Wear your ugliest Christmas sweater and get your pipes ready for live Carol-oke beginning at 10 pm. The top three contestants who get the loudest rounds of applause will compete for two tickets to the New Year’s Eve party and $100 in Bub City gift cards. Make your reservations here!

Andersonville: Mark your calendars! A vegan bake sale benefitting World Animal Protection is coming to Hamburger Mary’s on January 7. Admission is free and 100% of the proceeds will go to WAP. Donations of baked goods will be accepted until 9 am the morning of the bake sale. The bake sale begins at 11 am. Please bring your own Tupperware or eat your sweets on site; no to-go containers are available.

Evanston: Have your kiddos always wanted to learn how to ice skate? This is the perfect opportunity! This Saturday, December 23, at Robert Crown Center, bring your first time skaters from 10 am to 12 pm. Skaters aged 4-12 will learn the basics of skating! Admission is free and skate rentals are available for $3. Kids will meet and skate with their favorite fairy tale characters, like Tinkerbell, Cinderella, Elsa, and Ariel. Bundle up and get ready for a fun-filled morning!

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

This week took me to The Monkey’s Paw, a charming farm-to-table gastropub in Lincoln Park. The atmosphere is positively delightful. The lighting is warm and dim, there are gorgeous hardwood floors, and they have a beautiful Christmas tree right as you enter. Even with a group of six, we were seated right away. The menu is sizable and my mouth was watering immediately. We decided to start with an order of the fried pickles, served with remoulade and ranch. The breading was perfectly light and I loved the spiciness of the remoulade sauce. With so many delicious options, I had a hard time deciding on my main dish. I finally picked the Roasted Autumn Vegetable Salad: roasted parsnips, acorn squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, bacon, grana padano, and a charred lemon vinaigrette. I also added grilled chicken to mine. I love root vegetables and this was wonderful. The vinaigrette was light and it perfectly complemented the smoky roasted flavor of the veggies. My mom ordered the Parmesan Potato Dumplings, topped with a poblano cream sauce, cremini and oyster mushrooms, carrots, and grana padano. She loved the creamy sauce and said it was a perfect comfort food dish for a chilly winter’s evening. My best friend ordered the Monkey’s Paw Burger: two Angus beef patties topped with American cheese, balsamic onions, bread and butter pickles, and house aioli; served with house-made French fries. He has been on a burger tour of Chicago, trying to find his favorite one. He said this burger is very solid and he especially enjoyed the combination of the onions and the aioli. Finally, my best friend ordered the Artisan Grilled Cheese sandwich: aged Wisconsin cheddar, smoked gouda, and fontina on rustic sourdough ciabatta, served with a cup of tomato basil soup. The sandwich was huge and she said the blend of cheese was absolutely delicious. I tried a bite of her soup and it was delicious! It had a very smoky flavor, which was so nice and different for a classic tomato soup.

The Monkey’s Paw is located at 2524 N Southport Ave. They open daily at 5 pm. You can make reservations online, here. Check out this charming spot!

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

As if buying a home isn’t a large enough expense that comes with hefty monthly mortgage payments, there are other fees that are tacked on to the overall cost, including Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) in many cases.

If you’ve managed to come up with a down payment that’s worth 20% or more of the purchase price or appraised value of the home, then you won’t have to worry about PMI. But for many borrowers, coming up with a 20% down payment is no easy feat.

With housing prices continuing to climb higher and higher, saving up 20% can be very challenging, especially with all of life’s other expenses thrown into the mix. If you don’t have at least 20% to put down for a home purchase, you’ll be slapped with additional PMI fees on top of your mortgage.

Private mortgage insurance is designed to protect your lender in case you default on your mortgage. The higher the loan amount and loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, the more of risk you’ll be in the eyes of your lender. Having this insurance policy taken out on your mortgage helps your lender recoup the funds loaned out to you in case you can’t repay the mortgage at a later time for whatever reason.

That said, there are some solid reasons why you should try your best to get 20% together for a down payment and effectively avoid paying PMI.

1. Extra Cost

Like any other type of insurance policy, PMI comes with a premium that needs to be paid. And the less you put down, the higher the PMI premium will be. These fees vary from anywhere between 0.3% to 1.5% of the original mortgage amount per year, depending on your down payment amount and credit score.

That means you’d be stuck paying over $333 a month or $4,000 a year on a $400,000 mortgage with a 1% PMI rate. That’s a lot of money that could otherwise have gone to other pressing expenses.

PMI premiums can either be paid in a lump sum upfront when you first take out your mortgage or can be paid monthly. The latter is typically the more common option among borrowers. Regardless of how you choose to pay, this is an added cost that you can effectively avoid if you can manage to get 20% of your purchase price together.

2. It’s Not Tax Deductible

As a homeowner, you have the benefit of deducting your mortgage interest if you itemize these deductions when filing your tax return. What you can’t deduct from your taxes, however, are your PMI premiums. Regardless of how you file your taxes, PMI is not tax deductible. Not long ago, PMI could be deducted if your adjusted gross income (AGI) did not exceed $100,000. Today, that the tax break is gone, which means you no longer have the chance to lessen the blow of the added PMI payment.

3. It’s Hard to Get Rid of

In order to eliminate PMI premiums, you will have to pay down enough of your mortgage so that you owe less than 80% of the home’s value. Once your owed amount drops under the 80% threshold, PMI premiums are supposed to go away.

However, it’s not always as easy as this. PMI premiums don’t go away on their own without some intervention on your part. In fact, it can be quite difficult to have your PMI premiums eliminated. You might have to submit a request to your lender to have your PMI removed from your mortgage.

In some cases, you may even need to have your home appraised before your lender agrees to drop the PMI. By the time all is said and done, it could be months before you’re finally rid of this pesky payment.

4. You’re Paying to Have Another Party Protected

The typical insurance policy is designed to protect you, the person paying for it. But in the case of PMI, the entity being protected is the bank, not you.

It can be rather disheartening to know that all that money you’re paying in insurance premiums is being used to protect your lender instead of yourself or your family. You won’t be able to recoup that money when you sell your home, either, and it doesn’t reduce your outstanding mortgage balance. It’s just an added fee that’s tossed out the window.

The Bottom Line

It’s understandable that lenders would want some sort of compensation in the event that a borrower fails to pay their mortgage, and private mortgage insurance gives them a way to recoup their money. But PMI is just an added expense that doesn’t have to be paid. The most obvious way to avoid paying PMI is to put down 20% or more when you take out a mortgage. 

Not only does a bigger down payment help you avoid PMI payments, it will also decrease your home loan amount and thereby help you keep more money in your pocket in both PMI payments and interest on the loan amount. Not only that, your home will have more equity in it right from the get-go.

If you’re unable to put 20% down, there are other mortgage options available that don’t require a massive down payment or PMI, such as FHA-backed mortgages. Speak with a mortgage specialist to find out what options are available to you.

Lakeview: Mercury Theatre presents the story of The Christmas Schooner. This heartwarming story is about the first Christmas tree ship and the family who risked their lives to bring Christmas to Chicago. The production also features a beautiful score, blended with original music and traditional favorites. This wonderful show is a Chicago tradition, not to be missed! The show runs until December 31. Showtimes are Wednesdays at 8 pm, Thursdays at 3 and 8 pm, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 3 and 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm. Buy your tickets here now!

Lincoln Park: Get yourself to Second City for The Holidazed and Confused: Mandatory Merriment! This raunchy and hilarious show is a perfect way to spend a pre-Christmas evening. The show features Second City’s signature blend of sketch comedy and improv. The show runs until December 31 and you can find the schedule here. General admission tickets start at $31.

Bucktown and Wicker Park: Looking for some edgy musical theatre? Look no further, The Den Theatre has got you covered! Hurry in for the closing weekend of Lizzie, a musical about Lizzie Borden who famously murdered her parents in 1892. This musical reimagines the bloody legend with four women in a female rock band. Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays showings are already sold out, but you can catch the show this Sunday, December 17 at 3 and 8 pm. Buy your tickets now, here!

Lincoln Square: Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and treat yourself to a cooking class! The Chopping Block is hosting a Holiday Tea Party cooking class. First, sample tea sandwiches and head over to the DIY tea bar. After you’ve sampled the goods, you’ll work in groups to prepare Puffy Pastry Shells filled with Chocolate Mousse, Mini Victoria Sponge Cakes filled with Buttercream and Jam, and Currant-Ginger Scones. At the end of class, enjoy chef-prepared Mini Quiche Lorraine and Chicken Salad. The class is this Sunday, December 17 from 2 to 4 pm. Register now!

Chicago Loop: Come one, come all to Merry, Merry Chicago! Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Children’s Choir will perform a holiday concert filled with classic carols, a sing-along, and a visit from Santa! You have five chances to see this special holiday event: December 15 at 7 pm, December 16 at 3 pm, December 17 at 1 pm, December 22 at 7 pm, and December 23 at 3 pm. Find more information and get your tickets here!

Portage Park: Get your holiday on at Anne’s Haven Holiday Festival! The festival is this Sunday, December 17, from 2 to 5 pm at 5629 W. Irving Park. This family-friendly event will include balloon and bean bag games for kids, caroling around the outdoor fire pit, and marshmallow roasting. Don’t forget to grab a cup of hot cocoa or mulled wine and a few holiday snacks! You can decorate Christmas cookies, listen to story telling by candlelight, and participate in laughter yoga for all ages. There will be raffles and prizes for the kids games and even a surprise visit from Santa! Anne’s Haven will be collecting outerwear for a local shelter, so bring donations of hats, scarves, gloves, and coats. Tickets are by suggested donation: $5 for adults, $2.50 for children, free for ages 2 and under.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

I was feeling adventurous this week and I wanted to try something totally new. Lucky for me, I found Jin Ju, a contemporary Korean restaurant in Andersonville. Their website says, “We call ourselves contemporary because we offer our guests traditional Korean dishes in a modern atmosphere where either the novice or someone very familiar with Korean cuisine would be comfortable and have an amazing experience.” I have been to a few Korean restaurants (mostly fusion type), but would definitely consider myself a novice. The atmosphere is warm and inviting- dimly light, with candles on each table and dark wood tables. We decided to start with a couple of appetizers. First, we chose the Sam Gyup Sal: pork belly sautéed with brussels sprouts and fresh garlic, topped with soybean paste dressing, crispy leeks, beets, and sesame leaf. It was absolutely delicious! The pork belly was cooked to perfection and the presentation was beautiful. For our second appetizer, we chose the Pajun: a lightly fried scallion pancake with a soy sauce vinaigrette dipping sauce. The portion was huge, so it was good that there were a few of us to share it. The pancake was very tasty, crispy and not overly doughy. If you’re a little more adventurous than I am, they also have a Haemul Pajun, topped with squid and mussels. My best friend decided to try the Bi Bim Bap, a traditional Korean dish. It’s rice topped with beef, bean sprouts, spinach, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, shredded radish, green leaf lettuce, a fried egg, and a spicy red pepper paste sauce. Again, the portion was huge; such a great value for the price. She loved the variety of veggies and said the spicy sauce was delicious. I ordered the Kalbi: beef short ribs marinated in a sweet soy sauce grilled and served with a scallion and green leaf lettuce salad with a soy bean paste dressing. This was fantastic. The short ribs were melt in your mouth tender and the flavor was the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. I would order this again in a heartbeat.

Jin Ju is located at 5203 N Clark St. Their hours are Sundays through Wednesdays from 5 pm to 9:30 pm, Thursdays from 5 pm to 10 pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm to 11 pm. They do accept reservations. Book your table or find more information here.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO