Homebuying Programs for Low-Income Families

April 29, 2013

In most areas of the country, owning a home is a significantly better investment than renting an apartment. If you have a bit of money in savings and can consistently pay your rent on time, you may be ready for homeownership. For many, however, there is one big hurdle–the down payment. What if there’s no [...]

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How Long Does It Take to Improve Your Credit

April 26, 2013

Photo: 401 (K) 2013 How long does it take to improve your credit? That’s a great question. Unfortunately, the answer is, “It depends.” It depends on what your credit score is now, and why. And it depends on how much you want to improve your credit score. Serious credit problems — foreclosures, collections records, etc. [...]

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60 Second Guide to Making IRA Contributions

April 25, 2013

The other day I received an email from the IRS about IRA contributions. Believe it or not, the IRS has done a lot over the last few years to provide really helpful information about everything tax related. So I signed up for the emails, and they have been extremely helpful. So today I thought I’d [...]

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PowerShares S&P 500® High Quality Portfolio (SPHQ) Review

April 24, 2013

When I first started investing, I had the hardest time figuring out which mutual funds to select. Over the years, I’ve learned that the key selection criteria are costs and asset class (e.g., large cap U.S. vs. small cap). Still, with 1,000s of mutual funds and ETFs, picking the right investments can seem overwhelming. To [...]

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How Not to Spend $235,000+ to Raise a Child

April 24, 2013

Photo: xopherlance Every year since 1960, the USDA has released a report called “Expenditures on Children by Families.” Popularly, it’s known as something like “The Cost of Raising Children Report.” The report details how much families of different income levels spend on their kids in different areas. And it usually creates quite a stir, reminding [...]

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How to Refinance a Mortgage That’s Underwater

April 23, 2013

Photo: 401(K) 2013 If you’re underwater on your home – meaning you owe more than your home is worth – you’re certainly not alone. Many American families are in the same situation because of the real estate market crash. Even though property prices are starting to rise in some areas of the country, many families [...]

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When You Need Self Storage, and When It’s a Terrible Investment

April 23, 2013

Photo: masanori_jpn According to the Self Storage Association, self storage has been one of the fastest-growing pieces of the U.S. commercial real estate industry for more than three decades. And it’s no surprise. We have a lot of stuff, and we like to keep it. That’s evident from these statistics from the association’s 2012 fact [...]

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How to Save Money by Swtiching Electric Companies

April 22, 2013

Photo: paulinaclemente In my weekly newsletter (you can signup in the box in the right sidebar), we cover painless ways to save money. One of the tips we recently discussed was saving some dough by changing electric companies. The response from readers was amazing. I received countless emails from readers who had great insight into [...]

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How Much Life Insurance Does a Stay-at-Home Parent Need?

April 22, 2013

Photo: Leonid Mamchenkov Generally, financial gurus recommend that you get 5-20 times your annual income in life insurance coverage. But what if you have no income because you’re a full-time stay-at-home parent? Or what if you contribute a few hundred bucks a year to the family bank account with your side job while you mostly stay [...]

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