This post is from staff writer Suba Iyer.
“Modern man drives a mortgaged car over a bond-financed highway on credit-card gas.” ~Earl Wilson
So far, we have lived debt free. We used to live paycheck to paycheck because our spending was out of control, but luckily we never got into debt. Once we got our act together, [...]

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Psychiatrists say that realizing that you have a problem is the first step towards solving it. Maybe, but in my financial experience, what comes after recognizing the problem is more important.
After all, there’s no shortage of people who will tell you, loud and clear, when you have financial troubles. Overdue bill notices will come in, [...]

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Now for a somewhat controversial subject, at least in financial planning circles: paying off your mortgage early.
A great deal of conventional wisdom says you should never pay a mortgage off early. I’ve gone against that conventional wisdom. Twice. I don’t know if that means I lack conventionality or I lack wisdom, but it seems to [...]

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This is a guest post from Jessica Ward.
Nationally-syndicated radio host Dave Ramsey’s financial management program “Financial Peace University” (FPU) has undergone a makeover. The new course materials launched August 1 this year and, as a facilitator for a class beginning in September, I had the opportunity to compare the new program to the last version, [...]

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Over the past few years, mortgage rates have been falling, falling, falling… Just when you think they can’t go any lower, they do. During this time, a huge number of people have refinanced. And many have refinanced again. And again.
While refinancing your mortgage isn’t a terribly hard thing to do, it’s enough of a hassle [...]

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A reader name Sam recently wrote in to ask about using Roth IRA funds to pay off debt. Here’s his question:
I have around $19,500 in a Vanguard Roth IRA. I need a new roof (which will cost $5,200) and I would also like to pay off credit card debt of $10,000. What is the maximum [...]

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It wasn’t all that long ago that popular radio stations in my hometown were regularly airing a commercial that never failed to make me guffaw.
The ad was for some debt-elimination service that promised to extricate its clients from a slag heap of bills. As I recall, the reassuring voiceover went something like this: “Okay, so [...]

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I paid off the tiny amount of undergraduate student loans I took out quickly — within a few years of graduating. And then I went to business school, where we all mutually assume we’ll make crazy money afterward, so who cares about a few student loans? And at first, I was on plan, and started [...]

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Would you ever borrow money to invest? That is, would you take out a loan such that you could put more money in the stock market or other investments? Think carefully. You might already be doing it without even realizing it.
And I’m not just talking about people who use leverage to amplify the returns from [...]

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The latest news on the mortgage front is that Bank of America is testing a new program where they turn (former) homeowners into renters. Yes, really. It’s called the “Mortgage to Lease” program and it aims to convert those who are behind on their mortgages into leasees.
When I first hear this news, I was blown [...]

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