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Got a raise. Now what?
Chris Farrell Feb 14, 2012
I'm thirty-seven. My home is paid off but needs repairs. My cars are old but paid for. I recently changed jobs and will be making about $25,000 a year (nearly $8,000 more a year than my old job). My sons (single parent) are sixteen and seventeen. Making more money, should I focus on saving or fixing my house and a new car in preparation for a time when health and limited income will make it hard to do? Paying for college is off the table; they know that. I have about a thousand dollars in credit card debt that I plan to pay off. I plan to have nearly eighty dollars a week or three hundred dollars a month toward these goals. I live off so little, I want this extra to really count. First Name: Charlie, Columbus, GA
The allure of homeownership
Chris Farrell Feb 13, 2012
My husband and I are both church pastors. We have been married for a year and half and we both work full time. Our gross income is about $84,000 and we tithe 10 percent to our churches and charities, which we will continue to do. We are trying to decide whether or not to purchase a home, and whether we are saving money in the proper places.... Is this a good time to buy a home? What if we needed to sell it in four years? Should we be putting less money into savings and more into the Roth IRA's? Thank you for your help! Emma, Beverly Hills, MI
Do you qualify for help from the foreclosure settlement?
Adriene Hill Feb 10, 2012
The details of the settlement between the states and the banks are still being hashed out. But, if you want to know if you might qualify, we’ve got some information to get you started.
Who benefits from the national mortgage settlement?
Adriene Hill Feb 13, 2012
The settlement between states and banks is worth $250 billion, but few homeowners benefit.
Healing in a new home
Jen Miller Feb 10, 2012
When commentator Jen Miller's love hit the rocks, she did something unusual -- she called a mortgage broker. But she didn't lose her head.
The skinny on secondary market annuities
Chris Farrell Feb 10, 2012
I am retired and would like to safely increase income. What is a secondary market annuity? Is it a suitable vehicle for putting a portion of retirement funds to safely increase guaranteed retirement income? Are there issues to be aware of with the secondary market annuities? How should this product be purchased? Thanking you in advance for any light you can shine on this topic. Ronald, Rhinebeck, NY
Banks to dole out compensation to homeowners
David Gura Feb 13, 2012
A settlement has been reached between state attorneys general and five major banks, but the problems of the housing market in the U.S. are far from over.
Will the settlement money be enough?
David Brancaccio Feb 13, 2012
As states close in a settlement with big banks over alleged abusive home foreclosure practices, we break down how much each family will really get.
Cleaning up the mortgage mess
Heidi N. Moore Feb 13, 2012
Today's $26 billion settlement between the government and five of the nation's biggest banks could free up the billions in mortgage securities they possess. But the settlement will also change many of the ways banks deal with foreclosures.
Figuring out student loans and a home
Chris Farrell Feb 9, 2012
I have a dilemma that I hope you can offer some advice on: I am currently in the process of paying off some hefty student loans I accumulated while earning my bachelor's and master's degrees. I pay almost twice the required payment. (Please let me know if you need specific figures.) My husband and I would like to save for the down payment on a home to be purchased within 5 years. Would it be more advantageous for me to continue aggressively paying down the loans (fixed interest rate of 4.25 percent) or save as much as possible to apply to a home to be purchased in the near future? Michelle, Indianapolis, IN
