Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Recent Blog Posts

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Lack of savings makes becoming a landlord risky

Dear Liz: My husband and I, both 44, own and live in one side of a duplex. The owners of the other side are moving next year and have offered to sell it to us. We don’t have enough in savings to cover a 20% down payment for a traditional mortgage, but our neighbors offered […]

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How to start Roth IRAs for your kids

Dear Liz: I would like to start a Roth account for each of my kids. (They’re in their 30s.) Is it better to start an account in my name with them as beneficiaries or to start the accounts in their names? Answer: Roth IRAs can be a wonderful way to save, but they’re not custodial […]

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Friday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: 5 things home-buyers forget to ask their lenders. Also in the news: Retirement mistakes 30-somethings need to avoid, renting versus buying a home, and how to escape from a job that you hate. 5 Things Homebuyers Forget to Ask Their Lenders Five questions that are absolutely essential to ask. 4 Retirement Mistakes […]

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Dropouts, addicts and teachers: must-read stories for this week

My column for Reuters this week covers the perils facing community college students who “stop out” once too often. Reuters also posted an excellent piece on the financial toll addicts take on their families, plus a column on what teachers really want for the holidays (hint: it’s not another coffee mug!). That break from college? […]

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Join our credit chat tomorrow

I’ll be hosting a live video panel discussion about credit myths and facts tomorrow, Dec. 13, at noon Eastern/9 a.m. Pacific. Joining me will be John Ulzheimer of SmartCredit.com, Gerri Detweiler of Credit.com and Maxine Sweet of Experian. This is a reprise of a conversation we had at FinCon13, the financial blogger conference held in […]