Today’s top story: Changes are coming to the 2014 mortgage market. Also in the news: The privacy of your credit score, financial predictions for 2014, and how to avoid charitable giving tax mishaps. What You Need to Know About the 2014 Mortgage Market Seven possible changes to next year’s mortgage market. How Private Is Your […]
Recent Blog Posts
Elderly parent wants to help unemployed sons
Dear Liz: Both of our sons, ages 63 and 59, are currently unemployed. We are 93 and self-supporting with Social Security and my retirement benefits. We live in our own home and are able to handle all our expenses, even though my wife requires a companion for 12 hours each day. I believe we should […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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? […]