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April 22, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

This week’s money news

This week’s top story: 8 ways to personalize your rental and get your deposit back. In other news: Life insurance for small business, how couples can share the mental load of money management, and how to plan for retirement.

8 Ways to Personalize Your Rental — and Get Your Deposit Back
Cosmetic upgrades can help personalize a rented home, but you will likely pay out of pocket and have to return the home to its original state when you move out.

Do You Need Life Insurance for Your Small Business?
Life insurance is an important part of business planning to protect your family, team and clients.

How Couples Can Share the Mental Load of Money Management
There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’ — but there are some of them in ‘weaponized incompetence.’

Retirement Could Come Sooner Than You Think — How to Plan for It
Take these steps to strengthen your retirement plan in case you have to stop working sooner than you would like.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: life insurance for small business, money management as couples, personalize rental, retirement plan

April 22, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

How to escape from a money rut

Sometimes, climbing out of a money rut starts with a pep talk — to yourself. “I like affirmations and speaking out loud,” says Giovanna Gonzalez, a financial educator and author of “Cultura & Cash.” Her favorite affirmations are statements like, “I am not a reflection of my money mistakes,” “I can improve my financial situation,” […]

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: how to escape from a money rut

April 22, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

Q&A: Can my credit score really be marred over $20?

Dear Liz: I have had great credit for years. Late last year, I somehow overlooked a $20 payment due from one of my credit cards. My score dropped by more than 50 points, from about 815 to 765. I quickly paid the $20 and contacted the issuer. They told me they were required by law to […]

Filed Under: Credit Scoring, Q&A

April 22, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

Q&A: Complicated condo question

Dear Liz: You recently answered a question about gifting a condo. I understood the first part of your answer: If the person receiving the gift lives in the condo for two of the last five years, then there is no capital gains exposure. The second part of your answer is a little confusing to me. You […]

Filed Under: Inheritance, Q&A, Real Estate, Taxes

April 17, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

This week’s money news

This week’s top story: What student loan borrowers should know if MOHELA is your servicer. In other news: Pregnant workers must get time off for birth, abortion, what not to do during mortgage preapproval, and 5 questions to ask when helping an older parent with money. MOHELA Senate Hearing: What Student Loan Borrowers Should Know If […]

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: helping an older parent with money, MOHELA, mortgage preapproval, pregnant workers, Student Loan

April 15, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

Q&A: Handling family property, when to take retirement and building credit history

Dear Liz: My wife and I plan to leave our house to our four children. My concern is that one may want to sell and split the proceeds; another may want to keep the house, rent it and divide up the income; and of course there’s always the real possibility that one may want to […]

Filed Under: Credit Scoring, Q&A, Real Estate, Retirement

April 15, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

Q&A: Retail cards are often easier to get than credit cards

Dear Liz: You recently answered a question from someone who was rejected for a credit card because of a lack of credit history. Years ago, my wife was rejected for similar reasons. She signed up for a card with a local retailer, then successfully reapplied for the credit card six months later. Maybe the industry […]

Filed Under: Credit Cards, Q&A

April 8, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

This week’s money news

This week’s top story: How to make sure you have enough auto insurance coverage. In other news: Limited gender markers add hurdles for nonbinary people, consider paying workers more often to retain them, and why adding a child as an authorized user might not help their credit. How to Make Sure You Have Enough Auto Insurance […]

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: auto insurance coverage, employee benefit, limited gender markers, nonbinary people, paying workers, potential limitations of adding kid as an authorized user

April 8, 2024 By Liz Weston Leave a Comment

What college students need to know about payment apps

For college students, sending money to friends has never been easier thanks to peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo, PayPal and Cash App. But that convenience poses risks, including vulnerability to errors, fraud and the tendency to overspend. As a result, payment apps can contribute to financial stress at a time when young people are learning […]

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: what college students need to know about payment apps

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