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Getting Personal: Emergency funds, a relative’s loan request

Marketplace Staff Sep 9, 2011
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Getting Personal: Emergency funds, a relative’s loan request

Marketplace Staff Sep 9, 2011
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Marketplace Money guest host Bob Moon and MSN personal finance columnist Liz Pulliam Weston answer listener questions. This week we find out whether or not an emergency fund is absolutely necessary, how to figure out if the credit score you received is valid and how to deal with a relative’s loan request.

On a new kind of plastic, duo cards that work as both debit and credit cards:

Liz Pulliam Weston: [With this card], when you sign your name and signature like a credit card, it’s actually treated as a credit card transaction. In other words, you can pay it off over time if you want. It doesn’t immediately come out of your checking. So that’s what’s different about this card.

On emergency funds:

Pulliam Weston: Definitely, an emergency fund is not going to be a top priority for most families.

But the story doesn’t end there. Click on the orange “Listen to this Story” button at the top of this page for more advice.

If you’ve got a personal finance question, check out our Getting Personal blog and ask away.

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