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Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: What to do if you haven’t received your tax documents yet. Also in the news: Don’t let the great recession haunt your investing dreams, managing your money when your life brings change, and how to fix these IRA mistakes by April 15th.

Haven’t Got Your Tax Documents Yet? Here’s What to Do
Don’t get stalled on the road to April 15th.

Don’t Let the Great Recession Haunt Your Investing Dreams
Shake off that apprehension.

How to Manage Your Money When Life Brings Change
Adjusting your financial course.

Fix These IRA Mistakes by April 15
Avoid a penalty.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: How to resist online ads and keep your money. Also in the news: Avoiding a common student loan scam, a NerdWallet special report on home buyers, and why you should schedule an extra student loan payment on the day the interest is lowest.

How to Resist Online Ads and Keep Your Money
Fighting temptation.

She Fell for a Common Student Loan Scam. You Don’t Have To
Don’t get duped.

Recent Home Buyers Stretched, Future Hunters Optimistic
A NerdWallet special report.

Schedule an Extra Student Loan Payment on the Day the Interest Is Lowest
Make sure the payment is applied correctly.

Should you move abroad for health care?

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The notion that health care outside the U.S. could be good as well as cheap is a foreign one to many Americans.

Kathleen Peddicord frequently hears from such skeptics as founder of Live and Invest Overseas, a site for people curious about living abroad. Actual expats like her, however, tell of good-quality care at a fraction of the U.S. price. Treatment for a motorbike accident in Panama cost her $20. Emergency dental surgery that might cost $10,000 or more in the U.S. was $4,500 in Paris. In many countries, medications that would require a prescription in the States are available directly from licensed pharmacies at low prices, thanks to government subsidies or regulation.

“The health care in a lot of places around the world is very good, as good as in the United States,” says Peddicord, who currently divides her time between Paris and Panama. “Some places, it is better.”

In my latest for the Associated Press, why reduced medical costs could prompt Americans to relocate.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: My Frugal Februarys: Lessons from buying only necessities. Also in the news: 12 African-American financial gurus to follow in 2019, many Americans are shocked by their 2018 tax returns, and what to know about the alternative minimum tax.

My Frugal Februarys: Lessons From Buying Only Necessities
Sticking to the essentials.

12 African-American Financial Gurus to Follow in 2019
For Black History Month and beyond.

Many Americans Are Shocked By Their Tax Returns in 2019. Here’s What You Should Know
Be prepared for a smaller refund.

What’s the Alternative Minimum Tax and Who Pays It?
Everything to know about the ATM.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Don’t let Instagram envy get you into debt. Also in the news: Don’t let a car dealer’s yo-yo financing scam reel you in, all the ways you can get your student loans forgiven, and 3 steps to tidying up your finances a la Marie Kondo.

Don’t Let Instagram Envy Get You Into Debt
Resist the urge.

Don’t Let a Car Dealer’s ‘Yo-Yo’ Financing Scam Reel You In
Stand your ground.

All the Ways You Can Get Your Student Loans Forgiven
Examining the possibilities.

3 steps to tidy up your finances a la Marie Kondo
Time to clean up your financial clutter.

Are you picking the wrong money goals?

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Setting smart, achievable goals is important if you want to take charge of your financial life. But many of us are surprisingly bad at choosing the goals that actually matter most to us.

Investment research firm Morningstar had 318 people write down their top three financial priorities, then showed them a master list of goals prepared by the researchers. Three out of four investors changed at least one goal after seeing the master list, and one out of four switched their top priority.

In my latest for the Associated Press, how to choose the financial goals that matter the most.