Best summer vacation ideas for families on a budget. Budget-friendly summer vacation ideas for families who can't afford to travel this summer. Are you struggling to plan a summer vacation on a budget? You’re not alone, according to a recent Bankrate survey 60 percent of Americans who aren’t planning a summer vacation have decided they [...]
Need a credit card fast? If you choose that credit card wisely, it can reduce financial stress caused later by soaring APRs and a multitude of late fees. And remember: While credit cards and credit card debt can be a huge source of financial stress, particularly if you build up a significant balance, they can [...]
You’ve may have read that you should prepay your mortgage early to save on your total interest payments. But if you have refinanced or purchased a home recently, you may be one of the millions of homeowners whose mortgage is at historic or near-historic low interest rates. Odds are possible that rates won’t be this [...]
If you are one of the millions of homeowners who received a loan modification during the Great Recession, you may now be receiving letters from your home loan servicer with new information about future rate adjustments. How does this affect you? If your rate adjusts, the interest rate on your modified loan could increase by [...]
The mortgage interest tax deduction is one of the big perks of homeownership. There’s a limit to how much you may deduct, though, and deducting more than your fair share could put you at risk of an audit. You may only deduct mortgage interest if the debt is secured by your main or second home, [...]
It’s still a good time to refinance. In fact, it’s a great time to refinance your mortgage. Interest rates remain at historic lows, and locking in a low mortgage rate could save you a lot of money—tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage. Refinancing now is a smart move, but it’s [...]
At one of my jobs long ago, I arranged to have $25 taken out of each monthly paycheck to buy a $50 U.S. savings bond. The money wasn’t missed, and the savings added up to $600 worth of long-term savings for only a $300 annual investment. These days, my clients and readers don’t ask about [...]
Americans today continue to be disciplined with their spending habits. Saving money continues to be one of consumers’ top financial goals, but many have taken on more risk than they would prefer in order to play catch-up and pay off debt, according to a recent study from Northwestern Mutual. The 2013 Planning and Progress Study, [...]
Want to know your options for an underwater mortgage refinance? Here's what to do when you can't refinance your underwater mortgage. Q: I built my home in 2006 for $750,000. I have a loan with a balance of about $525,000 and an interest rate of 6.625 percent. I have been trying to refinance my mortgage [...]
As you’ve probably realized by now, your paycheck is just a little smaller than it was in 2011 and 2012. For two years, we had the privilege of paying 2 percent less into our Social Security accounts to help stimulate the economy, but that benefit was eliminated for 2013. So what does that mean for [...]
