Congratulations to all new college graduates! Your accomplishment is significant and wonderful! Once you've had a chance to celebrate your accomplishment, the next step is to figure out how you plan to repay your student loans. Even if you can't repay now, you need to take steps so that you don't...
While I was in my 30s and 40s, retirement planning meant planning travel to exotic places! Oh sure, I'd need money for food and other basics, but mostly I was saving money so that I could do LOTS of traveling. But now that I'm in my 50s I realize that retirement planning is a little more complex....
Spring is often when we start thinking about remodeling projects or buying a new home. Right now interest rates on home equity loans and mortgages are relatively low. If you are thinking about taking out a home loan, you need to be smart about choosing the loan. The Federal Trade Commission...
Before my fiancé and I planned for our honeymoon, we never realized just how much work goes into planning a vacation! Though it may not seem like it, vacation planning can become a time consuming and strenuous task. Whether it is a weeklong vacation, staycation or weekend getaway – without proper...
I have been pushing people to get a current copy of their credit bureau report on a regular basis for a while now. It is a good way to have a snapshot of your credit accounts and payment history and a method to catch identity theft before it gets totally out of hand. To do this you should get a...
This year's tax season will soon come and go, and you may be unsure of what you need to do with this year's tax forms. Below are some questions you may have on what you should do with this year's 2013 – filed 1040 tax return. What should I keep? With any financial...
A short while back I wrote about a co-worker's quest to pay off their credit card debts (a very worthwhile goal) and how she characterized it as being the "year of suck" because of all the sacrifices they were having to make not using as well as paying down their cards. Several of you wrote with...
Money Smart Week is coming, April 5 to 12, 2014. It's the best time of year to learn anything you want about managing your finances. Why is it the best time? It's all free. There will likely workshops near you. Over...