Dear Liz: I would like to add on and remodel so my home will be nice for me when I retire in a few years (probably around age 65). I have a recently refinanced 30-year mortgage at 4.1%, but I’ve been making additional principal payments on a 20-year schedule. I think I can do what […]
Recent Blog Posts
Q&A: Social Security benefits
Dear Liz: My husband and I will be retiring at the end of 2016. He will be 70 and will start taking his Social Security; I will be 65 soon after. Thanks to your advice, I plan to sign up to get 50% of his Social Security benefit when I’m 66 (my full retirement age) […]
Monday’s need-to-know money news
Today’s top story: What you could buy with the money you’re paying in ATM fees. Also in the news: How to fix your investment portfolio by January, what you need to do before retirement, and how to make sure your assets go to the right people when you’re gone. What you could buy with the […]
College refinancing options open up for parent PLUS loans
Parents who borrowed to put their kids through college now have several options to refinance their federal PLUS loans, including, in some cases, the ability to transfer their debt to those children. The situation is a sharp turnaround from the period after the financial crisis, when private lenders fled the student loan market and few […]
Friday’s need-to-know money news
Today’s top story: The most affordable places to buy a home. Also in the news: Millions of T-Mobile customers have their data breached, five things you were never told about your home loan, and popular rules of thumb that can wreck your finances. The Most Affordable Places to Buy a Home in America Some of […]
Thursday’s need-to-know money news
Today’s top story: Why October 1st is a big day for credit cards. Also in the news: The problem with the new credit card technology, identity theft protection, and free financial planning days. What’s Really Happening to Your Credit Card on Oct. 1? Introducing the credit card chip. The problem with America’s new credit card […]