Blog Grid

by Veronica MatthewsContributor In a time when cursive handwriting has faded from many classrooms, calligraphy is making a surprising resurgence. While carefully hand-lettered invitations, place settings and envelopes tend to be reserved for weddings, many calligraphers find themselves working on a variety of celebrations and other projects. Maybe you’ve always received compliments about your handwriting or practiced calligraphy as a hobby over the years. The time may be right for

Real Answers for Life’s Money Challengesby Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorI am 29 years old with almost $100,000 in student loan debt, the majority of which is from my master’s degree. Most of my loans are federal, but I also have around $10,000 in private student loans. I’ve been consistently paying my loans since finishing grad school, but I feel like I will never pay down what I owe. I’ve also

by Michael ArchambaultSenior Writer If you own a Samsung Galaxy device, there’s a strong probability that your device supports Samsung Pay, the company’s mobile payment and digital wallet service. Using Samsung Pay, you can leave your credit and debit cards — even your loyalty cards — in your purse, bag or wallet. Simply tap your smartphone or watch to a payment terminal and, tada, you’ve paid. Samsung has been offering

Real Answers for Life’s Money Challengesby Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorI’m happily married (25 years) and retired for medical reasons (I’m 58). My husband makes good money. We are meeting all of our basic needs, but his retirement is severely underfunded.We had to dig out of debt recently and are down to one zero-interest credit card we still owe about $18,000 on. Our home will be paid off in about four

Best for Comparing Loan RatesCredible2.35% – 8.73%Fixed APRBest for SoFi Banking MembersSoFI3.49% – 7.99%Fixed APRBest for Banking PerksLaurel Road2.99% – 6.30%Fixed APRBest for Traditional Bank CustomersCitizens Bank3.75% and upFixed APRby Dana Miranda, CEPF®Contributor Student loan repayment dampens the financial plans of a lot of people in this country. The federal government may be on the brink of major plans to lessen that burden for public loan borrowers — but if

by JoEllen Schilke, Jamie Cattanach Relationships are complicated, and longer term ones benefit from regular date nights. You can turn off the rest of the world for a little while, and just be a couple. There are a lot of ways to have date nights, whether you are in the same room, or hundreds of miles apart. Many couples have had to deal with one person being far away. Remote