There are a lot of reasons to open an individual retirement account (IRA). If your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan, offers lousy investment choices, you’ve maxed out your 401(k), or simply want greater control over your retirement savings—an IRA is for you.

Anybody under age 70 ½ who is earning an income can open an IRA. You can choose between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA. Which one you choose depends on your income and the tax bracket you predict you’ll fall into in retirement. [...]

Stories of credit card companies raising interest rates on just about everybody—even customers with perfect credit, no debt, and no late payments—continue to roll in.

That’s because the CARD Act takes effect this winter and will restrict credit card companies’ ability to raise interest rates on existing customers. If you thought credit card companies were committing usury in the past with APRs of eighteen, or twenty percent; you ain’t seen nothing yet. Cardholders are seeing their rates go as high as 29.9 percent; there’s even a story of man who received a credit card offer at 79.9 percent APR!

How do you know if your card is raising your interest rate? What can you do about it? [...]

At some point during my freshman year of college, I vaguely remember attending a mandatory 45-minute meeting in the financial aid office and signing some paperwork that had to do with my student loans. And I remember receiving notices about nine months after graduating that it was time to start repaying my loans, which I’ve been doing faithfully ever since.

But like most people I know, that’s about the extent of the time and energy I’ve invested in understanding my student loans and student loan debt. [...]

It’s common to graduate with four, eight, or even a dozen student loans from a handful of lenders. Even if most of them are from the same two or three service companies, each loan may have a different interest rate and due date. Talk about intimidating!

And then you get a mailing or a phone call. Consolidate all those student loans into one low payment! Student loan consolidation sure is tempting. But is it wise? [...]

Good news for prospective home-buyers: It looks like Congress will extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit that was slated to end this month and add a $6,500 tax credit for those that have already owned a home.

The Senate voted 98-0 Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit and the House could vote on the bill as early as today. If passed, the $8,000 tax credit would remain in effect for first-time home buyers — or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years. [...]

“I’m 25 and only make $30k a year. I’ve got student loans. I’m broke! Why should I care about investing?”

I hear this all the time. When it comes to money, many of my peers (at least the ones not completely afraid of their finances) are concerned with upgrading their cars and homes, developing their career, and finding a partner or getting married. These are all good things to do, but something’s missing. We often hear about the same few financial steps for twentysomethings: [...]