Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How to invest $50,000. Also in the news: Ditching student debt through monster payments, funding a wedding while paying student debt, and what we can learn from rich people who are bad with money.

How to Invest $50,000
Making the wise choices.

How I Ditched Student Debt: ‘Monster Payments’
Using monster payments to pay off your student debt faster.

Ask Brianna: How Can I Fund a Wedding and Pay Student Debt?
Managing two large expenses.

What We Can Learn From Rich People Who Are Bad With Money
Learning from other people’s mistakes.

Q&A: The old magazine scam is alive and well. Here’s how to fight back

Dear Liz: I got scammed by a magazine company a year ago. I thought the call was about two magazines I wanted to stop as I was moving. The woman talked fast and took me through the steps with my bank card (which was stupid of me, I now know) as if she was helping and at the end she said, “Oh, those are not our magazines.” Two weeks later I was receiving about eight magazines I do not want. I changed my bank card so the withdrawals would stop, but I get so many collection calls. I hang up and block that number, but then I get more. My bank manager said consumers don’t have to pay for what they don’t want. I have told the collectors that, but they still send bills for $1,200 for three years of magazines.

Answer: Don’t expect collectors for scam artists to help you out. Amy Nofziger, regional director for the AARP Foundation, recommends you contact your state’s attorney general to file a complaint.

“Magazine subscriptions like this are still a huge complaint and the AGs need to know about it, so they [can] file enforcement against the company if needed,” Nofziger said.

You must follow certain procedures to request that the debt collection agency stop contacting you. The AG’s office may be able to help or there may be a separate collection agency board you need to contact. The Federal Trade Commission also has guidance at www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection.

You also can call and speak to a trained volunteer at the AARP Fraud Watch Network who can help you through the steps. Its number is (877) 908-3360 and you can learn more at www.aarp.org/FraudWatchNetwork.

Q&A: Annuities and fees

Dear Liz: I must object to a point you made in a recent column. You wrote: “…Also, annuities often have high fees, so you’d need to shop carefully and understand how the surrender charges work.” To write “…annuities often have high fees” is misleading, because there are annuities that don’t have fees, such as fixed annuities and indexed annuities. Coupling that phrase about fees with the admonition “you’d need to shop carefully and understand how the surrender charges work” is also a disservice to the public. Of course, an investor has to understand surrender charges! Just like if they try to end a bank CD too soon, there’s a penalty, or if they try to get out of a real estate deal incorrectly, or if they commit some other kind of breach of contract. That doesn’t mean that annuities are bad investments, especially when their principal is guaranteed, and no fees to pay.

Answer: Thanks for bringing up two areas of confusion that are actually linked.

All investments have costs. Many, including mutual funds and variable annuities, explicitly state their fees. With fixed and indexed annuities, the cost isn’t disclosed. Instead, it’s built into the interest rate spread — the difference between what the insurer earns on your money and what it pays into your account, said financial planner Michael Kitces, partner and director of financial planning research at Pinnacle Advisory Group in Columbia, Md.

“In other words, if the annuity company pays 2.5% on its annuity, it likely earned closer to 3% or 3.5% in the first place,” Kitces said. The insurer keeps the remainder to recover commissions paid to the insurance agent and the annuity’s own profit margins, he said.

Indexed annuities are a little more complicated. These promise investors they will get a certain portion of the return earned by some market benchmark while protecting them from market losses. The insurers use the spread to cover their overhead costs, profits and commissions. But instead of paying the remaining yield into your account, insurers use the money to purchase options that provide the promised participation rate in the index, said Kitces, who writes the Nerd’s Eye View blog at kitces.com.

Either way, surrender charges encourage people to stay invested long enough for the insurance company to get back enough money from the interest rate spread to cover the cost of commissions. If people need their money during the first few years, the surrender charge they pay is designed to make up the difference between what the insurer paid out and what it has received from the yield spread. Surrender charges are typically around 7% to 9% and may persist for seven or more years, although the penalty declines over time.

You’ve heard that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Investors need to understand that they’re paying a price for their investments, even if they can’t see the money directly coming out of their pockets. Costs are a drag on investor returns and how big their portfolios can grow. That’s why it’s important to minimize those costs. When insurers don’t disclose the costs, it’s hard to know how much you’re giving up compared to what you could earn from another investment.

Friday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Cutting through credit score confusion after the Experian fine. Also in the news: Eat out without biting into your budget, the female faces of student loan debt, and why it’s harder than ever to apply for financial aid.

Cutting Through Credit Score Confusion After Experian Fine
Making sense of it.

Eat Out Without Biting Into Your Budget
It’s all about strategy.

Female Faces of Student Loan Debt
A Women’s History Month feature.

It’s Harder Than Ever to Apply for Student Aid
Finding ways to make the process easier.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Using your tax refund to spring clean your finances. Also in the news: A money conference for women, why the IRS wants their share of your March Madness winnings, and how Millennials can make car buying easier.

Use Your Tax Refund to Spring Clean Your Finances
Tidying up your money.

Lola: A money conference for women.
How to better deal with financial issues unique to women.

You Won! Congratulations — Now Pay Your Taxes
The IRS wants their share of your March Madness winnings.

5 Ways Millennials Can Make Car Buying a Smoother Ride
Making the process easier.

9 Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund
Buying yet another overpriced gadget isn’t one of them.

How Much More It Costs to Own vs. Rent in Your State
Where does your state rank?

Retire right — plan to do it twice

There’s the retirement that looks like the commercials: biking, travel, enjoying the family.

And then there’s the one where you can’t get up the stairs anymore.

Most of us happily plan for the first, when our health is good and energy high. The second can be hard to contemplate, when health falters and medical crises can change lives in an instant.

Yet a focus on just the active part of retirement can shortchange your quality of life once you begin to decline, which is why financial advisers suggest you also look at how you’ll live in that later phase. In my latest for the Associated Press, what you should consider for that second stage.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: 7 reasons why the IRS will audit you. Also in the news: Big news that could affect your student loans, sneaky ways debt can change how you think, and how the “Once in a Lifetime” mentality screws up your budget.

7 Reasons the IRS Will Audit You
How to avoid triggering an audit.

This News Could Affect Your Student Loans
Heads up.

3 Sneaky Ways Debt Can Change How You Think
Don’t resign yourself to debt.

How a “Once in a Lifetime” Mentality Screws Up Your Budget
Something to watch out for.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How to cash a check without paying huge fees. Also in the news: How a Mom paid off $37,000 of debt, what you need to know about FSAs, HSAs and taxes, and why you should beware of mind games when shopping mortgage rates.

How to Cash a Check Without Paying Huge Fees
Don’t pay money to get your money.

How I Ditched Debt: Penny Pinchin’ Mom
Learn from a Mom who paid off $37,000 of debt.

What to Know About FSAs, HSAs and Taxes
Accessing your accounts and how they affect your taxes.

Beware of mind games when shopping mortgage rates

Q&A: Deploying a windfall wisely

Dear Liz: I recently received a $38,000 windfall. I have a student loan balance of $37,000. I want to buy a home, but I can’t decide if I should have a large down payment and continue paying down student loans slowly, or make a balloon payment on my student loans and put down a smaller amount on the home. The mortgage rate would be around 4% while the student loans are at 6.55%. The price of homes in my area is at least $250,000 for a two-bedroom house (which my income supports). I want to make a smart decision.

Answer: At first glance, the answer may seem obvious: Pay down the higher-rate debt. But a deeper look reveals that the second option may be the better course.

Student loan interest is deductible, so your effective interest rate on those loans may be less than 5%. If they’re federal student loans, they have all kinds of consumer protections as well. If you lose your job, for example, you have access to deferral and forbearance as well as income-sensitive repayment plans. In most cases, you don’t need to be in a rush to pay off this tax-advantaged, relatively low-rate debt.

A home purchase may be more time sensitive. Interest rates are already up from their recent lows and may go higher. If you can afford to buy a home and plan to stay put for several years, then you probably shouldn’t delay.

A 10% down payment should be sufficient to get a good loan. You’ll have to pay private mortgage insurance, since you can’t put 20% down, but PMI typically drops off after you’ve built enough equity. You usually can request that PMI be dropped once you’ve paid the mortgage down to 80% of the home’s original value. At 78%, the lender may be required to remove PMI. (Note that these rules apply to conventional mortgages and don’t apply to the mortgage insurance that comes with FHA loans.)

You can use the remaining cash to pay down your student loans, but do so only if you already have a healthy emergency fund. It’s smart to set aside at least 1% of the value of your home each year to cover repairs and maintenance, plus you’ll want at least three months’ worth of mortgage payments in the bank. Even better would be enough cash to cover all your expenses for three months.

Q&A: Getting cash to pay medical bills

Dear Liz: I am 63 and retired from my full-time job last year since I have bad health. I work part time now and have tons of medical bills because of stage one cancer. I need additional cash. Is there some way I can get an advance using my pension check as collateral? In addition, is there any way to get an advance from those insurance people who pay people who may die in less than five years? I can’t say when I’m going to kick the bucket but any suggestions you may have that will allow me to get some immediate financial assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Let’s reinforce what you just said: You don’t know when you’re going to die. A stage one cancer diagnosis is far from an immediate death sentence. You could live for decades, so the mistakes you make now could haunt you for a long time.

Yes, there are some companies that will give you a lump sum in exchange for the next five to 10 years of your pension payments. You should avoid them like the plague. The effective interest rates they charge can be astronomical and you’ll probably be much worse off. If you’re having a hard time making ends meet now, losing a source of income won’t help.

Even if you were going to die soon, no one would hand you money just because of that fact. Those “insurance people” are actually investors who buy cash-value life insurance policies, often from the terminally ill. If you had such a policy, you might be able to sell it for an amount somewhere between the surrender value (what you’d get from the insurer by cashing it in now) and the face value (the dollar amount for which you’re insured). These transactions are called life insurance settlements. If you did have such a policy, though, you probably would be better off just borrowing the amount you need from its cash value.

Consider consulting an experienced bankruptcy attorney if you have more bills than you can pay. Medical bills, along with credit card balances and other consumer debt, can be erased in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. Once the debt is gone, you can start rebuilding your finances for what may be a longer life than you expect.