Get smart with your money
Dear Liz: I have missed three years of required minimum distributions from one of my IRAs although I have not heard from the IRS about this. What do you advise me to do now? Answer: Did you include this account when calculating your required minimum distribution each year? If so, you won’t owe a penalty. You’re supposed […]
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Dear Liz: Does the reason for a credit card closure affect credit scores? I’ve had retailers close a card simply because it hasn’t been used for a period of time, not because I mishandled the account. Answer: Credit score formulas don’t distinguish between accounts closed by the consumer and accounts closed by the issuer. The closed account […]
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Dear Liz: I have a question about wills. Since circumstances change over time, is it permissible to make “pen and ink” changes to a will? For example, can I cross out a beneficiary that no longer applies and date and initial the cross out? Answer: Think about how easy it would be for someone else to alter […]
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This week’s top story: Mortgage rates will not fall in March. In other news: Rental housing prices 2024, why some millennials don’t want kids, and managing credit cards when you grew up in a cash-only household. When Will Mortgage Rates Fall? Probably Not in March Mortgage rates are expected to go down sometime in 2024, but […]
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Dear Liz: I have accumulated too many credit cards, sometimes to get bonus frequent flier miles. The frequent flier miles cards all have annual fees. I always pay cards in full each month. My credit score is 800-plus every month. I have heard that your credit score is dinged when you close credit accounts. Is that […]
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Dear Liz: I understand that as a widow, if I sell my house I get the stepped-up value from the year my husband died. Should I have gotten an appraisal at that time (26 years ago)? How do I find out what my home was worth then? We bought it in 1973 and he died in […]
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Dear Liz: Because I am concerned about check fraud, I pay most of my bills online. However, I still need checks for paying my housekeeper, gardener, etc. I use a gel ink pen to deter fraud but was wondering if there is something else I should consider doing. Answer: Checks you hand to people you know are probably less […]
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This week’s top story: How to manage a retirement spending. In other news: The best time for high CD rates might be right now, the Credit Card Competition Act and credit unions, and what you can expect next if you got a SAVE student loan forgiveness email. Retirement Spending Is a U-Shaped Curve. Here’s How to […]
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Figuring out how to manage money together might be an important part of a happy relationship, but it’s a skill that doesn’t always come naturally. “When there’s conflict or discord, it’s usually not about the money itself, but related to the meaning each person is attaching to money. There’s always something deeper,” says Cohen Taylor, […]
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Dear Liz: After the pandemic started, we received money from the federal government and decided to put it in a custodial account for our son, starting when he was 14. We invested the money in a Standard & Poor’s index fund. I now think I made a mistake and should have simply added the money to […]
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