Real Answers for Life’s Money Challengesby Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorMy husband and I have excellent credit and very little debt. We lost everything, including our home, in 2008. We had to declare bankruptcy to get out from under our home we bought and poured money into with new tiles, a pool and landscaping. These last 10 years, we’ve rented. We’ve been excellent tenants and redid the home inside and out. Now
by Grace SchweizerSocial Media and SMS While theme parks are high on the list of favorite vacation destinations, they can get really expensive really quickly when you factor in extras like hotels and food. Here at The Penny Hoarder, we believe in a healthy balance between work and play. So if you can afford it, take that dream vacation and enjoy every second of it — just make sure you
by Mike BrassfieldSenior WriterThere’s all kinds of perks out there. If you’re lucky, you get perks at your job. You might get perks from your credit card or from customer rewards programs.But what about investing? Shouldn’t you get perks for that, too? After all, you do own part of the company.That’s the idea behind Stockperks, a free app that earns you perks for being an investor — things like discounts,
by Michael ArchambaultSenior Writer If you’ve ever found yourself staring down a large purchase without enough money on hand, Klarna is a Swedish fintech company that may be able to help you. Possibly the greatest thing out of Sweden since IKEA and those delicious tiny meatballs, Klarna allows you to make large purchases and split them up into smaller payments — most of the time, without interest. So, if that
by Kari FaberStaff WriterLots of Americans need access to affordable credit. We need it to consolidate debt, pay off credit cards, pay medical bills and more.So why is it so hard to get a decent interest rate on a loan?Because so much of the approval decision is based on a credit score, which really only tells part of the story.That’s why online lending platform Upstart uses artificial intelligence to approve
by Timothy MooreContributorForget making it Facebook official. Opening a joint bank account is the true way to show you’re committed.OK, so not really. But for many married couples, long-term domestic partners, families and even roommates, joint bank accounts make budgeting and sharing bills easier to manage. A joint bank account is much like any other account you open with your bank or credit union. You can use it to save
by Tiffany ConnorsEditor/WriterThe hospital bill arrives in the mail, and you’re tempted to throw it away (again) without opening it. After all, you don’t have the money to pay for that trip you took to the emergency room.Ignoring medical bills isn’t going to make them go away, and the longer you wait — much like the cough that turned into pneumonia — the worse it’s going to get. But there
by Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorHey, Penny Hoarders! Do you have questions about retirement?As in, can I afford to retire? When should I collect Social Security? Will Social Security even be around for me? Am I saving enough in my 401(k)? Can we retire if we still have debt?I’m Dear Penny, The Penny Hoarder’s resident advice columnist and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Every week, I get scores of questions from readers
by Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorAPY — which stands for annual percentage yield — is the percentage of your money that you can earn back in interest when you deposit it at a financial institution. Unlike APR, which shows how much interest you’ll pay annually for a credit card or loan, APY factors in compounding interest.If you’re comparing savings accounts or money market accounts, choosing a financial institution with a competitive
by The Penny Hoarder Staff Parenthood is tough enough even before you bring finances into the mix. When you tally it up, you’ll likely spend thousands of dollars a year on Baby’s stuff. And that doesn’t even account for the crazy-high costs of child care. To help soften the blow a little, we combed the internet to find the best free baby stuff for parents and parents-to-be — from formula
