Thursday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How to score luxury travel for less. Also in the news: Target’s Black Friday ad, how to save money on health care, and breaking down the three new tiers of economy airline fares.

How to Score Luxury Travel for Less
Luxury travel at less-than-luxurious prices.

Target Black Friday 2018 Ad, Deals and Store Hours
Start your list.

How to Save Money on Health Care
Important questions to ask.

Breaking Down the Three New Tiers of Economy Fares
Even economy has tiers now.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How to dispose of a credit card. Also in the news: Costco’s Black Friday ad, 3 simple ways to boost your savings, and how to tell when a sale isn’t actually worth it.

How to Dispose of a Credit Card — No Burying Required
Put the shovel away.

Costco Black Friday 2018 Ad, Deals and Store Hours
Start your Black Friday planning engines.

3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Savings
Letting your money do the work.

When a Sale Isn’t Actually Worth It
Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean it’s saving you money.

How to score luxury travel for less

Let’s shatter one myth right now: Airline passengers typically can’t talk their way into upgrades from the cheapest coach seats to first class just by dressing up and asking politely.

Travel providers usually save their best experiences — comfortable seats, spacious hotel suites, quick check-in lines — for those willing to pay more. When upgrades are handed out for free, the goodies typically go to frequent travelers who spend a lot with those providers.

There are ways, however, of getting a much better travel experience without paying top dollar.

In my latest for the Associated Press, a few approaches to consider if you want to make your next trip a little more luxurious.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Overcoming your fear of your college debt. Also in the news: 3 simple ways to boost your savings, tools and tactics to do your own financial planning, and overcoming your financial fears.

Are You Afraid of Your College Debt?
Start by knowing where you stand.

3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Savings
Easy peasy.

Tools and Tactics to Do Your Own Financial Planning
Tackling it on your own.

Things people seem to fear financially are not always worth worrying about
You can relax.

Q&A: Disabled daughter left out of will

Dear Liz: When my husband’s brother passed away last year, he left a sizable estate to his second wife of five years (the mother of his children died 10 years ago). He left nothing to his two adult sons or young grandchildren. But the most troubling part was that he left no provision for his 29-year-old daughter who has disabilities and was still living in her childhood home.

Within months, the wife demanded that this young woman leave the property. The stepmother’s comment was, “Not my child, not my problem.”

We helped our niece move to our home and apply for Social Security disability and Medicare. She now is able to see doctors about her condition. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen a doctor, which was probably in her teens when her mother was still alive.

A wheelchair has been ordered that will enable her to go out. She has a bank account and had to be taught how to use a credit card at the store and ATM. She started classes in early September to get her high school diploma. Her brothers are stunned that she is able to do all of these things.

I am thrilled for her and the progress she’s making, but I am furious with my late brother-in-law and the attorneys who completed his will. The attorneys were aware of this young woman and her needs, yet did not counsel her father to make provisions for her.

Answer: Your fury is understandable, but it’s not a given your brother-in-law got bad advice. It could well be that the attorneys counseled him about his options for caring for his special-needs daughter, and he simply ignored them. Given his long history of ignoring his daughter and her needs, that wouldn’t be surprising.

Q&A: Here’s why timeshares are a bad investment

Dear Liz: About two years ago, I lost my timeshare because of financial hardship. I paid off the mortgage but after my divorce I missed paying the annual fees. Is there any way I can regain it, or can the company just take it like they did? Also, is it worth it to try to get it back? I think so because it is the only thing I own.

Answer: Please consider investing your money in an asset that can gain value over time. Timeshares don’t.

Timeshares give you the right to use a vacation property for one week each year. They aren’t an investment. In most cases, timeshare owners are lucky to get 10 cents on the dollar when they try to sell their interests.

Sites such as Timeshare Users Group and RedWeek are filled with ads from people trying to sell their timeshares for $1, and some will even pay others to take timeshares off their hands, perhaps by prepaying a year or two of maintenance fees. Those fees average about $900 a year but can top $3,000 on high-end properties. Resorts damaged by natural disasters or older properties that are being improved also may charge “special assessments” that can be hundreds or thousands of dollars more.

As you discovered, timeshare resorts can take back your interest if you don’t keep up with those fees. You also could have lost your timeshare if you hadn’t been able to pay the mortgage. (In general, it’s not a good idea to borrow money to pay for vacations or other luxuries, and that includes timeshares. The high interest rates charged by most timeshare resort developers make borrowing an even worse idea.)

In addition to taking your timeshare, the developers may have sold your delinquent account to a collection agency that reports to the credit bureaus. Those collections could damage your credit scores.

You could ask the resort developer if you can get the timeshare back, but you could just face the same problem again down the road. One of the biggest problems with timeshares is that there typically is no easy exit. Those annual fees and special assessments are due as long as you own the timeshare. You may not be able to find a buyer if money is tight or you’re no longer able to use it.

If you really loved vacationing at that particular resort, you probably still can. Owners who can’t use or trade their timeshare weeks often rent them out on the sites mentioned above, sometimes for less than the annual maintenance fee. Renting could be a much better deal than tying yourself to a timeshare that could become unaffordable.

Friday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How to save money on health care. Also in the news: How to work from anywhere like a boss, one person’s homebuying journey in Seattle, and why employers check your credit report.

How to Save Money on Health Care
The three questions you need to ask.

How to Work From Anywhere Like a Boss
Reliable wifi is key.

How I Bought a Home in Seattle
One person’s homebuying journey.

Why Employers Check Your Credit Report
Lookimg for financial distress markers.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Using your employer as a payday lender. Also in the news: One woman’s debt diary, how to get online coupons, and 10 things not to do if you win a billion dollars.

Short on Cash? Use Your Employer as a ‘Payday Lender’
A much lower interest rate.

Debt Diary: Feeling ‘Stretched Thin’ on Over $85,000
Curbing expenses.

Sign Up and Save: How to Get an Online Coupon
Never pay full price online.

10 things NOT to do if you win a billion dollars
Advice for South Carolina’s newest billionaire.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Should you pay off your mortgage before you retire? Also in the news: New UltraFICO score could boost credit access for consumers, a cheapskate’s guide to shopping for credit cards, and 7 year-end tax planning strategies for small business owners.

Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Before You Retire?
Or is it better to wait?

New UltraFICO Score Could Boost Credit Access for Consumers
Big changes are coming.

A Cheapskate’s Guide to Shopping for Credit Cards
Finding a card to match your careful spending.

7 year-end tax planning strategies for small business owners
Tax season is right around the corner.

How to save money on health care

Americans on average spend more on health care than they do on groceries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Consumer Expenditure Survey. Saving money on medical care is a lot tougher than saving money on food, however. Two big culprits: opaque pricing and ever-changing insurance company rules about what’s covered and what’s not.

For help in cutting costs, I turned to a uniquely qualified individual: Carolyn McClanahan, an emergency room doctor turned certified financial planner. McClanahan, director of financial planning at Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida, frequently speaks at industry conferences, teaching other advisors how to help their clients best navigate the health care system.

In my latest for the Associated Press, the three questions everyone should ask to save money on health care.