Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How to approach buying home insurance for the first time. Also in the news: How to get PrEP with or without insurance, could this be the summer of debt forgiveness, and these credit cards come with sweet airport perks.

How to Approach Buying Home Insurance for the First Time
Proactive research will make the home buying process easier.

How to Get PrEP With or Without Insurance
Here’s what health care experts say about how to get PrEP for HIV prevention, with or without insurance.

Will This Be the Summer of Student Debt Cancellation?
The “will he, won’t he” summer of student debt cancellation is upon us.

These Credit Cards Come With Sweet Airport Perks
You may already have access to a fancy airport lounge and not even know it.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How smart devices could save you money on home insurance. Also in the news: A new episode of the Smart Money podcast on protecting your privacy and front-loading a 401(k), investing guides for parents, and how many movies you need to see to make a theater subscription pay off.

Smart-Home Devices Could Save You Money on Home Insurance
Smart-home devices provide not only comfort and convenience, but also potential insurance discounts.

Smart Money Podcast: Protecting Your Privacy, and Front-Loading a 401(k)
How to protect yourself from being tracked by websites and apps that want to use your personal data.

Investing for Parents: Save for Retirement, Avoid These Mistakes
Raising a child is expensive, but sacrificing your retirement savings could cost you more.

How Many Movies Do You Need to See to Make a Theater Subscription Pay Off?
We are living in a golden age of movie theater subscription services—here’s how each one compares.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: What to do if your home insurer won’t renew your policy. Also in the news: A new episode of the SmartMoney podcast on job scams and maxing out a Roth IRA, how to hand mixed-income friendships, and student loan payments come back for real Feb. 1st.

What to Do If Your Home Insurer Won’t Renew Your Policy
Has a high-risk property left you without insurance coverage? You still have options.

Smart Money Podcast: Job Scams and Maxing Out a Roth IRA
How to spot job scams and how to avoid them.

How to Handle Mixed-Income Friendships
Empathy and realism are key.

Get Ready: Student Loan Payments Come Back for Real Feb. 1
Your financial situation should determine how you handle the final federal student loan extension.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: No credit? 3 steps to qualify for a great credit card. Also in the news:Ugrading your space while working at home means a call to your insurance agent, how to avoid impulse buying by disabling Amazon’s 1-Click ordering, and how to budget for long-term unemployment.

No Credit? 3 Steps to Qualify for a Great Credit Card
If you’re eager for a rewarding credit card but have little or no credit, these steps can help you qualify.
Upgrading Your Space While Stuck at Home? Get It Insured

Upgrading Your Space While Stuck at Home? Get It Insured
Notify your insurer ASAP.

Avoid Impulse Buying by Disabling Amazon’s 1-Click Ordering
Prime Day is coming up soon.

How to Budget for Long-Term Unemployment
Understand the steps for building a budget after experiencing a job loss.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: For lower-credit homeowners, refinancing is harder, but not hopeless. Also in the news: 4 home insurance pitfalls to avoid during hurricane season, survey finds majority of parents want personal finance taught in high schools, and how to decide between a 15-year and 30-year mortgage.

For Lower-Credit Homeowners, Refinancing Is Harder, but Not Hopeless
With lenders raising minimum qualifications, homeowners with scores below 700 may struggle to refinance.

4 Home Insurance Pitfalls to Avoid During Hurricane Season
Do not skip flood insurance.

Survey finds majority of parents want personal finance taught in high schools
Starting off on the right foot.

How to Decide Between a 15-Year and 30-Year Mortgage
The pros and cons of both.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Should students gamble on an Income Share Agreement? Also in the news: How to make a debt-free switch to cashless payments, 4 home insurance pitfalls to avoid during hurricane season, and see how much home you can afford with the 30/30/30 rule.

Should Students Gamble on an Income Share Agreement?
An ISA can be a risk for students seeking college funding. But during an economic downturn, it might be worth it.

How to Make a Debt-Free Switch to Cashless Payments
Changing how we pay during the pandemic.

4 home insurance pitfalls to avoid during hurricane season
Don’t be skimpy.

See How Much Home You Can Afford With the 30/30/30 Rule
Existing home sale prices are increasing.

Is your wealth dripping away?

As a spokesperson for the insurance industry, Loretta Worters often gives tips to homeowners on preventing water damage. Some of her knowledge comes from personal experience.

Worters says she had owned a home in Bellmore, New York, for only a month when she noticed the clothes washer in the basement was taking an awfully long time to fill.

“I went downstairs and I was up to my ankles in water,” says Worters, vice president of communications for the Insurance Information Institute.

Appliance and plumbing failures are a leading cause of household water damage, which is far more common than you may think. Homeowners are six times more likely to suffer property losses from water than from theft and seven times more likely than from fire, says Kelly Greene, a risk consulting manager from Chubb Personal Insurance who led a session on property damage at the Financial Planning Association NorCal conference in May. (“Water damage” is different from flooding, which is rising water that affects two or more properties.)

In my latest for the Associated Press, steps you can take to ensure your wealth doesn’t evaporate drip by drip.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Buying home insurance after a wildfire starts. Also in the news: Why good credit might not be good enough for a mortgage, a quick quiz to test how you’re doing financially, and why Americans are more afraid of student debt than they are of Kim Jong Un.

Can You Buy Home Insurance After a Wildfire Starts?
It could be too late.

Want a Mortgage? Good Credit Might Not Be Good Enough
What else you might need.

How Are You Doing Financially? Take This Quick Quiz
How’d you do?

Americans are more terrified of student debt than North Korea’s Kim Jong Un
When your debt is scarier than a nuclear weapon.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: 2017 Tax Checklist. Also in the news: How home insurance defends your Super Bowl party mishaps, how using TurboTax could help with your student loans, and new apps to bolster your personal finances.

Super Bowl Party Fouls: How Home Insurance Defends Your Turf
Making sure your party mishaps are covered.

How Using TurboTax Could Help With Your Student Loans
Looking into refinancing options.

2017 Tax Checklist: What to Gather Before Filing
Get your paperwork in order.

Online DIY options to bolster your personal finances
Apps to help you get organized.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Pile of Credit CardsToday’s top story: How to choose your second credit card. Also in the news: How home insurance can cover your holiday disasters, how Affordable Care Act plans could change in 2017, and how to calculate how long it’ll take you to get out of the debt.

How to Choose Your Second Credit Card
Finding a card that compliments your spending habits.

No Need to Pout: Home Insurance Can Cover That Holiday Disaster
Saving you from becoming The Grinch.

How Affordable Care Act Marketplace Insurance Plans Will Change in 2017
A new administration could bring big changes.

How Long It Will Take to Get Out of Debt, Depending on Your Monthly Payment
Calculating your escape date.