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Jim asks: My wife and I have over $70K in credit card debt. We can get a loan to pay off $23k over five years at just three percent, but we’re stuck with the rest. Here’s the kicker: All of our interest rates have jumped to 29.99 percent to get ahead of the new laws. We have over ten years until we retire and will have multiple sources of retirement income. Should we use money in our 401(k) to pay off this remaining credit card debt. Our combined income is $120k. Read more…
Oct 22nd, 2009 by David Weliver in Credit Cards, Debt, Retirement
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Anne asks: I’m a 23 year old making $60k a year. I have a $10,500 emergency fund, a fully-funded Roth IRA, and a partially funded Roth 401k (saving $250 a month after taxes, with no employer match). Both the Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) are in target date mutual funds. I save about $1,000 a month outside of my 401k, which has been going into the emergency fund/Roth IRA, but now I need to figure out where to channel these savings now that those two are nearing full funding.
I also have $10,000 in a tax-free bond mutual fund. This money was a graduation gift from my parents “to get me started” a few years ago. I ended up not needing to tap into it, and now I’m not sure what to do with it. So I don’t know what to do with this $10k, plus the $1k I save every month. Should I top off my emergency fund? Open a taxable brokerage account? Put the $1k a month into the bond fund?
I have no consumer debt, as I pay off my credit cards every month. I have $20k in student loan debt at a very low rate that I don’t have any interest in paying off early. Read more…
Oct 22nd, 2009 by David Weliver in Investing, Saving
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Latoya asks: Is it better to take the $3,000 that I was going to put down on a home and use it toward rate buy down? My interest rate would be 2%. The mortgage is for $139,000 and my rate would be 4.5% if I did not buy down the rate. Read more…
Oct 22nd, 2009 by David Weliver in Mortgage
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Brian asks: I was wondering, how valuable/necessary is an MBA for somebody trying to start their own business as opposed to self-education? How much impact does the school you obtain your MBA from have on your ability to network and on gaining successful job placement? I am trying to assess the risk (e.g. cost in time and money) versus the reward. Read more…
Oct 22nd, 2009 by David Weliver in Career, Education, Self-Employment
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Renee asks: I am graduating in June 2010 and in the course of four years at school, I managed to make a mess with credit cards. As of today, I have seven cards, all which have carry very high limits. I’ve never paid late. I have two Visas, Discover, MasterCard, Macy’s, Express Fashion, and WalMart cards. When I graduate, I intend on paying off all my credit card debt immediately (hopefully within two months) so that I can then take care of my school loan debt.
When I clear off my credit card debt, should I cancel any of my cards? If so, which ones? I know that canceling a card makes a negative impact on my credit score, which is currently ranked as good. I will probably have to take out loans for grad school in 2011 and maybe for when I make some kind of living arrangement since I will be on my own. What should I do? Read more…
Oct 20th, 2009 by David Weliver in Credit Cards
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Josh asks: I’m 28, make $129k per year, save $1,800 a month, own a property that I rent, $37k saved, and $82k in student loans. No credit card debt. How am I doing for my age? Could I spend more? Save more? What do you think? Read more…
Oct 15th, 2009 by David Weliver in Investing, Saving
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Michele asks: I am currently renting. Should I purchase a home even if I do not have a five to ten percent down payment? I know that now is the time to buy. I can afford the mortgage payment and I have already been pre-approved. Read more…
Oct 13th, 2009 by David Weliver in Mortgage, Real Estate
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A reader asks: I have an undergraduate degree in political science and would like to work in human resources. Although I have a four year degree it has never helped me get a job beyond attesting to the fact that I was able to finish school. I know that I need to get another degree but I am not certain which path to head down. I have no experience in HR so would it be better to pursue an undergraduate degree or a graduate level one? Read more…
Oct 13th, 2009 by David Weliver in Career, Education
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Rebecca asks: My credit card rate just shot up to 29%. I have been working hard to pay this card off but now the minimum is more than I can afford. What can I do? I would like to work with the card company to get on a special plan or something to pay this off. Also, what happens If I don’t pay the minimum each month and only pay what I can afford? Will they accept that? Read more…
Oct 6th, 2009 by David Weliver in Credit Cards, Debt
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Craig asks: ING Electric Orange MasterCard: What is the APR for the credit card use? Read more…
Oct 6th, 2009 by David Weliver in Banking, Credit, Credit Cards, Saving
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