Get smart with your money
Some financial disasters are a long time in the making. It typically takes years of unfortunate choices — minimum credit card payments, forgone savings opportunities — to create suffocating debt or a poverty-level retirement. Other disasters you can trigger almost instantly. The decision itself costs money, or the clock starts ticking toward a consequence you […]
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Today’s top story: How credit card bonuses got so big and hard to grab. Also in the news: VA Loan eligibility and requirements for 2017, how to detect scams that could ruin your retirement, and 10 numbers that may make or break your retirement. How Credit Card Bonuses Got So Big and Hard to Grab […]
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Dear Liz: My FICO score is just under 800. The reason given that it is not higher is that I don’t have any non-mortgage leases. What would be the cheapest way to remedy this without buying something expensive? Answer: When you get your credit scores, you may be given sometimes-vague reasons for why they’re not […]
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Today’s top story: What to do when you get an IRS audit notice. Also in the news: Budgeting for new parents, where to sell your stuff online, and how your credit score is linked to your chance of divorce. I Got an Audit Notice From the IRS — Now What? Take a deep breath. Budgeting […]
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Today’s top story: Goofed on your tax returns? Here’s what to do. Also in the news: 5 awful reasons to buy a stock, what newlyweds need to know about insurance, and does free shipping make you spend more money. Goofed on Your Tax Return? Here’s What to Do Don’t panic. 5 Awful Reasons to Buy […]
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Today’s top story: How to dodge scams and time-wasters in the online job market. Also in the news: Credit card bonuses are drifting further away, how job hopping can hurt Millennials in retirement, and how to fraud-proof your retirement savings. Online Jobs: How to Dodge Scams and Time-Wasters Don’t get taken for a ride. As […]
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Some of us hoard cash while paying 18% interest on a credit card balance. Others blow through a tax refund as if it were free money when it’s actually a return of our own hard-earned dollars. This brain quirk has a name: mental accounting. We treat money differently depending on where it comes from and […]
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Today’s top story: VA Loans vs Conventional Mortgages. Also in the news: How much you can spend each month, how investors can sabotage their own portfolios, and what the AHCA ‘s preexisting condition rules could cost you. VA Loans vs. Conventional Mortgages The important differences. How Much Can I Spend Each Month? Creating a monthly […]
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Dear Liz: My brokerage wanted me to start moving from stocks that paid me steady dividends into bonds as I got older. If I’d followed that advice, I wouldn’t be nearly where I am today. I sleep just fine with my dividends. Things can change, of course, but until I see solid evidence otherwise, I […]
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