March 17th, 2013
All the Single (or Married) Ladies: Why it’s Important to Have Financial Independence
Imagine this: You’re a happily married stay-at-home parent and your husband has been supporting the family with his one income for years. You’re frugal and smart with the family money, but then your husband is laid off and has trouble finding work.
You’re forced to drain your savings and max-out the only credit cards you have—the ones you hold jointly.
Or another scenario: You’re going through a divorce and you husband who has always been the one to manage the family finances, including credit, savings and checking accounts.
While dividing your assets you find out that your soon-to-be ex-husband has been spending the family’s savings, little by little, and putting some of your hard-earned cash toward expensive overseas trips to see his girlfriend.
It’s an extreme case, but it happened to one woman’s parents.
Ok, let’s take a breather now that I’ve sufficiently scared you. These tragedies might not ever happen to you. And I’m certainly not disparaging marriage. (I’m happily married myself.) But that doesn’t mean you should turn a blind eye to two very important words: financial independence.
September 3rd, 2011
Real-Life Karma: The Tale of the Found Wallet
Once upon a time, a girl was walking down Sutter Street on her way back home from a lovely dinner party in San Francisco. She had indulged in yummy things like pizza and cake, so she was very happy. She walked merrily on her way, enjoying the sights and sounds of San Francisco at night.
August 23rd, 2011
The Perfect Password, and How to Keep Your Information Safe
We know you’re smart enough to avoid using passwords like the aforementioned “password123,” or your name plus your birth date. But as hackers get more sophisticated, so should you. There are a lot of different suggestions out there for how to build a great password. (Time magazine suggests using a dictionary word and replacing letters with numbers.) But a dictionary word can be cracked by a computer program relatively easily.
March 15th, 2011
Foreclosure and Bankruptcy: What’s a Struggling Homeowner to do?
When you’re in dire straits with a home foreclosure notification in hand and no means to pay your mortgage, you might have another way out, MSNBC reports.
Filing for bankruptcy may allow you to keep your home if the court can work out a payment plan with the lenders. But does that mean bankruptcy is best for you?
October 12th, 2010
Why Oppose The Foreclosure Moratorium?
Read more in this special LearnVest guest post!
October 5th, 2010
From Renter’s Insurance To Disability Insurance, Find The Best Insurance For You
It’s often tricky to navigate which kinds of insurance you do and don’t need. So, LearnVest breaks it down with some simple rules of thumb.
LearnVest breaks down what each kind of insurance does and things to note. Don't miss it!
September 10th, 2010
For Underwater Homeowners, Will The New FHA Short Refinance Program Save You?
The government is stepping up (again) to help underwater homeowners with the FHA’s new Short Refinance program. However, ghosts from past government housing efforts threaten to sink this program before its barely gotten underway.
September 7th, 2010
Is It Okay To Crack Open Your 401(k) Nest Egg?
When stormy economic conditions are present—like nowadays—more and more people are doing the financial equivalent by cracking open their 401(k) nest eggs, and even more people are wondering whether that’s okay. The short answer is… NO!
August 30th, 2010
Review: BillFloat – Can’t Pay Your Bills? They Have you Covered (For A Fee)
BillFloat, founded in 2009 and incubated by PayPal, has a simple, fresh solution to an old problem—what to do when you can’t pay the bills.
August 27th, 2010
How to Protect Your Credit After Divorce
The end of a marriage is often associated with heartbreak and emotional upheaval, but your former soulmate could be walking away with half of your assets as well as leave you in a bad credit situation. Check out the ways to protect and rebuild your credit after a divorce.
