Despite losses in their own investments, 65% of grandparents plan to help their grandkids pay for college, reports the College Savings Foundation. That may spell relief for parents squeezed by the economy. But handled incorrectly, such giving could hurt your child's chances for financial aid, says Joe Hurley of savingforcollege.com. Here are the best ways for Grandma to give.
Out: credit cards. In: debit cards. As more and more Americans shun traditional credit cards, they're turning to debit cards. But you should know there are downsides to debit cards too.
In the coming weeks, Congress will attempt to forge a health care bill from proposals developed by five House and Senate committees.
Nearly half of U.S. workers who left their job last year cashed out their 401(k) accounts, according to a study released Wednesday, despite ongoing efforts to dissuade Americans from doing so.
Mortgage applications fell last week for the third week in a row, even as interest rates edged lower, an industry group said Wednesday.
Question: I'm 47 years old and would like to begin participating in my company's 401(k) plan. But I don't know if this is the right time to do so. Do you think I should start now or wait until the economy gets better? --Frank, Brighton, Mass.
Jason and Patty Simkins, both 40, have saved next to nothing for retirement in the past year. They were rattled by the rocky market, which caused the value of their portfolio to tumble 40% at its low point.
Mortgage applications plunged last week as rates ticked higher above 5%, an industry group said Wednesday, as the expiration of a home buyer tax credit drew nearer.
If you are among the 6.5 million homeowners who took out a low-rate adjustable-rate mortgage during the housing boom, you've probably spent the past couple of years waiting for your day of reckoning to come.
Question: The 4% rule seems to have become the conventional wisdom for drawing money from your savings in retirement. But I believe the rule is flawed. I think it might make more sense to choose a percentage of your savings that you will withdraw annually and then just apply that percentage to your savings balance at the beginning of each year so you would have more money to spend in years when investment returns are good and less to spend in years when returns are bad. What do you think? --E. W., East Lansing, Michigan
Despite losses in their own investments, 65% of grandparents plan to help their grandkids pay for college, reports the College Savings Foundation. That may spell relief for parents squeezed by the economy. But handled incorrectly, such giving could hurt your child's chances for financial aid, says Joe Hurley of savingforcollege.com. Here are the best ways for Grandma to give.
Out: credit cards. In: debit cards. As more and more Americans shun traditional credit cards, they're turning to debit cards. But you should know there are downsides to debit cards too.
In the coming weeks, Congress will attempt to forge a health care bill from proposals developed by five House and Senate committees.
Nearly half of U.S. workers who left their job last year cashed out their 401(k) accounts, according to a study released Wednesday, despite ongoing efforts to dissuade Americans from doing so.
Mortgage applications fell last week for the third week in a row, even as interest rates edged lower, an industry group said Wednesday.
Question: I'm 47 years old and would like to begin participating in my company's 401(k) plan. But I don't know if this is the right time to do so. Do you think I should start now or wait until the economy gets better? --Frank, Brighton, Mass.
Jason and Patty Simkins, both 40, have saved next to nothing for retirement in the past year. They were rattled by the rocky market, which caused the value of their portfolio to tumble 40% at its low point.
Mortgage applications plunged last week as rates ticked higher above 5%, an industry group said Wednesday, as the expiration of a home buyer tax credit drew nearer.
If you are among the 6.5 million homeowners who took out a low-rate adjustable-rate mortgage during the housing boom, you've probably spent the past couple of years waiting for your day of reckoning to come.
Question: The 4% rule seems to have become the conventional wisdom for drawing money from your savings in retirement. But I believe the rule is flawed. I think it might make more sense to choose a percentage of your savings that you will withdraw annually and then just apply that percentage to your savings balance at the beginning of each year so you would have more money to spend in years when investment returns are good and less to spend in years when returns are bad. What do you think? --E. W., East Lansing, Michigan
As health care costs rise, more employers will be nudging workers toward high-deductible health plans because they cost less. Here's what you need to know if it's among your open enrollment options.
The health care reform debate reached a new milestone Tuesday as a key congressional committee passed an $829 billion plan projected to extend coverage to an additional 29 million Americans.
Leslie Elder's eyelids fluttered open, and through the fog of pain medication, she saw the emergency room doctors pull back the curtain in her room.
Health insurance premiums for the typical American family would increase by another $4,000 by 2019 under a key Senate overhaul plan, according to an industry trade group analysis.
During the housing boom, mortgage lenders were doling out the dough, giving loans to people who could never have qualified before.
The possibility of securing a mortgage rate below 5% has greatly improved in recent weeks, in a positive sign for would-be home buyers.
Question: I always heard that you will need 80% or so of your working salary to live on in retirement. But is that a percentage of your gross income or your take-home pay? --Mary Taylor, Chalfont, Pennsylvania
Consumer credit pulled back for the seventh straight month in August, led by a steep decline in credit card usage, a government report said Wednesday, as unemployment soared and cash-strapped consumers continued to limit spending.
A compromise health care proposal widely seen as having the best chance to win Democratic and Republican support would cost $829 billion over the next 10 years, nonpartisan budget analysts concluded Wednesday.
Among the swell of bad news that occurred courtesy of the financial crisis last fall is that 401(k) investors got slammed. And a new report released Tuesday quantifies just how hard.
Mortgage applications surged last week as interest rates on home loans remained low, an industry group said Wednesday.
Top House Democrats on Tuesday slammed insurers who claim that domestic violence is a pre-existing condition that can be used to deny coverage to battered women.
Question: I'm 24 years old and feel like I've become a savings junkie. I've already maxed out my Roth 401(k) contribution for this year and now I'm thinking about opening up an IRA too. I have no debt, and I have about $13,000 in other savings as well. What do you think -- should I open the IRA? --Kyle, Boston, Mass.
Forty-five-year-old Nancy Pessler is too sick to work full time. Instead, she has turned fighting her insurance company into a full-time job. Pessler, who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of so many Americans falling through the cracks in the health care debate.
Personal bankruptcies topped the 1 million mark in the first nine months of the year, the first time it has done so in four years, according to an industry research firm released Friday.
QUESTION 1: I know that Congress is considering extending the unemployment benefits, but what about Cobra? That has been a godsend for my husband and me. Instead of paying $1,100 a month, we only pay $434. My husband has been laid off since December of 2008 after 22 years with a newspaper company. --Dawn, Ohio
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday rejected two amendments to include a government-run public health insurance option in the only compromise health care bill so far.
The seemingly elusive effort to reach a consensus on health care reform got a new boost Wednesday with the long-awaited launch of a plan believed to have the best hope so far of winning support from centrist Democrats and Republicans.
Just one year ago, the world's financial sector was plunged into chaos and panic as Lehman Brothers -- one of the biggest investment banks -- collapsed. Consumers learned some hard lessons, including how to cope with substantial 401(k) losses.
The struggle over health care reform intensified Thursday as President Obama sought to build on what administration officials hoped was new momentum generated by his prime-time address to Congress.
The foreclosure crisis grinds on amid signs of hope.
President Obama on Wednesday made a passionate call for Congress to fix the nation's ailing health care system in the same spirit that created Social Security and Medicare in difficult times.
Substantially fewer homes were repossessed in August than in July, but just as many Americans were behind on their mortgage payments, according to a report released Thursday.
Question: I'm 58 and have never opened any kind of a retirement account. Is it too late for me to do so now, or should I hope that Social Security will be there when I retire in a few years? --Vincent I., Denver, Colorado
A proposed health-care compromise by the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee lacks a government-run insurance option favored by Democrats and would tax the most expensive health insurance plans, a source close to the discussions told CNN Monday.
A proposed health care compromise by the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee lacks a government-run insurance option and would tax the most expensive health insurance plans, a source close to the discussions told CNN Monday.
On a dairy farm that Bob Topel likes to describe as "25 miles from anywhere," the term co-op is old hat.
Last year's meltdown was a sobering moment for 401(k) holders who were used to a market that only went up. Many of them thought of investing as risk free.
Earlier this year, public outrage boiled over with news of eye-popping pay to top executives on Wall Street.
Question: I'm 58 and have $30,000 sitting in an online savings account earning around 2% annually. Is there some way I can get a better return on this money? I want to use some of it within the next five years or so for travel. --Nate, Texas
It's only a couple of weeks or even days until school begins. And if you don't think you'll be able to get a handle on your college tuition bill, here with your guide to last minute money.
Question 1. Do you have to claim the money in the Cash for Clunkers program you received as income in your tax returns for next year? -- Joe, Indiana
Question: I'm 29 and I contribute 12% of my $109,000 annual pay to my 401(k). My company matches 100% up to the first 6% of salary I save. I'm concerned, though, that I could give up a lot of my 401(k) to taxes after I retire, so I'm considering diverting some of my 401(k) contributions to a Roth IRA account each year. Do you think that's a good idea and, if so, how much do you think I should be putting into the Roth? --Eric, Newark, NJ
Kristin Schlaud brimmed with pride when she became the first in her blue-collar family to make it to college. But three years after law school, she is completely broke, saddled with almost a quarter-million dollar debt.
Introduction: Use this CNN Student News financial glossary to help students understand concepts about today's U.S. economy that are currently in the news.
Borrowing money today requires impressing an increasingly hard-to-please crowd. With creditors of all kinds more cautious than ever, you need an A+ application to land the best terms -- and that means an A+ credit score, the number lenders use to judge your risk of default.
Public options? A co-op? Or how about sticking with the status quo of good old-fashioned private medical insurance plans?
Want to create jobs? Restaurant owner Rob Redfearn says send some stimulus money his way and he would create 50 jobs within three months.
A woman asked Rep. Allen Boyd at a town hall meeting the other day if health care reform proposals would force people to let the government access their bank accounts.
President Obama took his health care message to talk radio Thursday, telling listeners of Philadelphia-based host Michael Smerconish that he wants to overhaul the nation's ailing health care system out of necessity rather than politics.
For years a cardinal rule of retirement investing has been to put every penny you can into IRAs, 401(k)s, and other tax-deferred accounts. That advice rested on a commonsense assumption: that after you stopped working you'd move into a lower tax bracket. That was important because the money you take out of a tax-deferred account is subject to ordinary income taxes.
There's a reason consumers are worried about protecting their credit- and debit-card information.
A key Senate negotiator said Sunday that President Obama should drop his push for a government-funded public health insurance option because the Senate will never pass it.
Home mortgage rates were mixed this week as the Federal Reserve began easing away from its repurchase of Treasurys.
For the first time in a year, more workers increased the amount of money they put into their 401(k) accounts during the second quarter than decreased their contributions, according to a report issued Wednesday by a retirement fund manager.
The Obama administration's first progress report on its foreclosure prevention plan confirms it is off to a slow start.
Target-date funds, those all-in-one portfolios of stocks and bonds that are supposed to be age-appropriate, have become targets themselves lately. The charge: that they failed to protect older investors from last year's downturn.
Will this newfound culture of thrift soon be a distant memory?
Foster children are provided with health care coverage by the state, but only until they turn 18 and "age out" of the public system.
Question: I'm in my 30's and have a 401(k) from a previous job, 75% of which is invested in a variety of stock portfolios. Although my stock holdings have recovered a bit recently, I'm still down about $7,000 from my peak balance. I'm planning to roll over this old 401(k) into either the 401(k) at my new job or into an IRA account, but I'm wondering whether I should do the rollover now while stocks are still cheap or wait until the market has recovered and then do it. What do think? --Todd Gerecke, Lynden, Washington
A lot was supposed to happen on health reform before Congress went on summer vacation. Turns out, a lot didn't. End result: The heavy lifting on health reform legislation has been pushed to the fall.
Home mortgage rates were nearly unchanged from the previous week as investors weigh better-than-expected corporate earnings against the record volume of debt the government is selling.
As a growing number of Americans default on their mortgages, the Obama administration is set to meet Tuesday with industry executives to discuss their efforts so far to help people save their homes.
Americans may be saving more nowadays, but they certainly aren't getting paid for it.
Home mortgage rates ticked lower after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank will continue to keep interest rates low.
Question: My 21-year-old daughter makes $80,000 a year working at a large firm. She has very low expenses, so I'd like to see her sock away a huge amount of money. I told her that if you get used to spending a lot each month on "fun" stuff, it will be much harder to save down the road. I'd also like to see her bypass the high-end investment firms in favor of less expensive alternatives. What do you suggest? --Tom F., Chatham, Illinois
President Obama took his health care reform push to the American people at a Wednesday night news conference. Here is a transcript of the conference.
Speculation that Ben Bernanke might very well be appointed for a second-term as Federal Reserve Chairman when his term expires in January 2010 has to remind one of Washington's Alice in Wonderland-like quality.
Lawmakers are still far from consensus on how to fix the health care system. So it's too soon to know exactly what reform would mean for individual Americans.
As complaints mount about President Obama's foreclosure prevention program, the administration is ratcheting up the pressure on mortgage servicers.
Home mortgage rates saw an up-and-down week but ended almost unchanged, according to a report released Thursday.
Do you need to borrow to fund a college education for yourself or your child? Be sure you're taking my "Clark Smart" approach to borrowing.
The government's new student loan reform plan gets good grades from graduates with low-paying jobs struggling under a lot of debt. But it's on probation from some borrowers, including married couples and those who will be subject to a new tax liability.
Rich Gallo says he can't afford to provide health insurance for his nine employees. For a long time he put off buying insurance for himself, figuring he needed time to shop carefully. Gallo's desk was piled high with policy proposals when he suffered a heart attack. Lacking insurance, he delayed going to the hospital for several hours.
Home mortgage rates fell for the third time in four weeks, with the 30-year fixed slipping to 5.59% from 5.7% the prior week, according to a report released Thursday.
College tuition increases about 5% to 8% a year. And most students are now just beginning to get their financial aid packages.
Home mortgage rates retreated last week, with the 30-year fixed slipping to 5.7% from 5.8% the week prior, according to a report from a financial data aggregator released Thursday.
Colleges aren't getting any cheaper, but federal student loans are.
The Obama administration is widening its mortgage refinancing program to allow more borrowers hit hard by falling home prices to take part.
Today the government will begin offering a repayment plan that lets graduates reduce their monthly student loan payments based on their income. It's called the income based repayment plan and it's available to borrowers who took out federal loans or used a federal consolidation loan to combine their debt.
Many owners of our country's bonds are worried that the federal government is spending like inebriated sailors on shore leave to try and get the nation out of this economic mess.
One of the great headaches of the American dream is about to get less painful.
As a graduate from Syracuse University with a master's degree in international relations, Jana Morgan was hoping to help victims of human rights violations caused by resource wars.
Sales in the decimated housing market may finally be bottoming, but don't expect home prices to stop dropping before mid-2010 at the earliest, analysts and economists say.
Home mortgage rates sank sharply last week, retreating from a recent run-up that peaked the previous week. The 30-year fixed slipped to 5.76% from 5.95%, according to a report released Thursday.
Question: Should I contribute more to my 401(k) than I have to in order to get the company match? --Terry, Kennett, Missouri
Max. It. Out. Of all the personal finance rules -- diversify your portfolio, pay down high-interest debt first -- perhaps no single piece of advice has been so widely touted as this: The key to financial security is putting as much money as you can into your 401(k). After all, what other retirement savings vehicle is portable, benefits from an employer match, provides a tax deduction, and allows the average clock puncher over the course of a career to rack up a seven-figure nest egg?
Old: The 1980s ushered in a lasting change: the systematic transfer of risk from the government and employers down to individuals. Tax cuts on income and capital gains, for example, were meant to encourage you to invest more in stocks, buy homes, and start up businesses. These activities became the pillars of what George W. Bush would later dub the "ownership society."
Americans saw $1.3 trillion of wealth vaporize in the first quarter of 2009, as the stock market and home values continued to decline, according to a government report released Thursday.
Home mortgage rates jumped in the most recent week, pulled higher by skyrocketing Treasury yields.
When the stock market goes up these days, your 401(k) isn't the only thing that will follow. So, too, does the volume of Google searches for economic terms.
Home mortgage rates jumped in the most recent week, with the average 30-year fixed rate rising to 5.65%, according to a report released Thursday.
The refinancing tide has ebbed, but mortgage profits for the nation's biggest banks are in no danger of drying up.
Constant news of layoffs, pay cuts, and stock declines has all of us tightening our belts: A recent Money poll found that in light of the financial crisis, 89% of us are changing the way we manage our finances, and 88% plan to be more frugal.
Question: I'm planning to invest some money in the stock market, but I'm wondering whether I should buy mutual funds or individual stocks. Which do you think is better? And in the event I decide to go with stocks, which ones do you think are really good buys now? --Monique Thompson
Question: I'm in my 50s and I got a late start on my 401(k) plan at work. All my contributions go into a balanced fund, but when I get my statement each quarter, it seems that I'm losing as much as I'm contributing. Should I leave my money where it is or should I switch to another fund? --Linda Mandrell, Tampa, Florida
Government debt prices rose Thursday after the benchmark 10-year yield had hovered at a 6-month high earlier in the session, at the last of three major auctions scheduled for the week.
You're not alone. Credit card companies are tightening their underwriting standards as they try to pare down their debt. Here is some advice on how to cope if you've been denied credit.
Home mortgage rates jumped in the most recent week, pulled higher by rising Treasury yields, according to a report released Thursday.
Despite all the hand-wringing and attempts to contain the foreclosure plague, the problem still spread during the first three months of 2009, as the number of foreclosure actions started hit a record high, according to a quarterly report.
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