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Retiring? If you need a home loan, get one first
Retired engineers Kelly and Derek Barkey assumed they would be approved when they applied for a $50,000 home equity line of credit two years ago to fix up their new house. The Barkeys, now 56 and 59, had just sold their longtime home in Southern California and paid cash for a house worth about $850,000 […]
How to create a retirement glide path
In investing terms, a “glide path ” describes how a mix of investments changes over time. Typically, the mix gets more conservative — with fewer stocks and more bonds, for example — as the investor approaches a goal such as retirement. You also can create a glide path into retirement by making gradual changes in […]
Is medical debt vanishing from credit reports?
Health care bills are about to become far less threatening to the financial well-being of millions of Americans. The three major credit bureaus are erasing most medical debts from people’s credit reports, and the Biden administration is reducing or eliminating medical debt as a factor in government lending decisions. Here’s what you need to know […]
3 tasks for new retirees that will pay off later
After a working lifetime of alarm clocks and meetings, you might be looking forward to a lot more unstructured time once you retire. But taking care of one more to-do list early on can set you up for a better retirement. The following assumes you’ve already done some basic financial planning. Ideally, before you retire, […]
8 tips for saving, borrowing and spending money
The best personal finance advice is tailored to your individual situation. That said, a few rules of thumb can cut through the confusion that often surrounds money decisions and help you build a solid financial foundation. The following guidelines for saving, borrowing, spending and protecting your money are culled from nearly three decades of writing […]
Can you trust your mobile payment app?
Money transfer apps including Venmo, Cash App and PayPal have surged in popularity during the pandemic as people seek safe, contactless ways to send and receive money. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the limitations of these payment platforms or how they can put someone’s finances at risk. Like over-the-counter medicines, payment apps can be safe […]
Is your financial adviser really helping you?
Stock market crashes don’t just test investors’ mettle. Abrupt downturns also can reveal what kind of financial adviser you have. Some people will discover, to their horror, that they’ve been dealing with outright crooks. Ponzi schemes are among the cons that fall apart when markets do, as investors try to pull their money out and […]
Liz Weston: Here are money mistakes even smart investors make
Certified financial planner Jill Schlesinger has seen smart people make some pretty spectacular money mistakes. One client who repeatedly refused to buy disability insurance later developed multiple sclerosis. A doctor she knew put off writing a will and left behind a six-figure tax bill. A technology company engineer balked at her suggestion to sell some […]
