To Pay or Not to Pay? How to Handle Old Debts
With interest rates at record lows, now is the time to refinance your mortgage. But what if you find an old unpaid debt that's impairing your credit score? The answer isn't as obvious as you might think.
LowInterestRates
Credit Card Rates Rise Again
Borrowers continue to pay record low rates, with one major exception: credit cards. Banks have been raising rates on credit card users of all stripes over the past year, but those with no credit histories or poor credit scores saw the biggest increases.
No Pain, but No Gain: Why It's Time to Dump Your Money Market Mutual Funds
U.S. savers have trillions of dollars in money market mutual funds due to their perceived safety. But in recent years, they've been earning their investors less than 0.1% a year -- and they may not even be a safe as you thought. Here's why it's time to pull your money out.
Builders Start More Single-Family Homes; Permit Requests Surge
U.S. builders started work on more single-family homes in May and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in three and a half years. The increase suggests the housing market is slowly recovering even as other areas of the economy have weakened.
How to Stop Low Interest Rates From Ruining Your Retirement
Low interest rates have made life a lot easier for many borrowers struggling to make monthly payments. But for retirees, who have to live off their portfolios, low rates have caused huge problems.
Think Your Mortgage Refi Rate is Great? IBM Pays Less Than 1%
Thanks to record-low interest rates, consumers with good credit can get 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for about 3.75%. But that's sky high compared to the 0.75% interest IBM is going to pay $900 million worth of corporate bonds.
The Money-Saving Refi Move You've Never Considered
Millions of homeowners have garnered huge savings in recent years from one simple move: refinancing their mortgages. Now, the refinancing craze has spread to an unexpected industry: car loans. Could an auto refi be a smart move for you?
Send Credit Card Banks a Message, and Save Money
Remember Bank Transfer Day? Well, mark your calendar: Dec. 11 is being publicized as "Balance Transfer Day," with Americans urged to transfer their credit card balances from high-interest cards to low- or no-interest ones.
How Retirees Can Get Better Returns on Their Nest Eggs
A retiree named Bob is confronting a dilemma many of his peers face: His nest egg is parked in safe cash investments, like certificates of deposit, and earning barely any interest. What can he do to get a better return? Laura Rowley looks at an increasingly popular alternative.
Refinancing Tips: How to Snag Today's Low Rates
With the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage down to 4.09%, -- another record low -- it's a great time to refinance. But before you go running off to your lender to catch the best rates since 1951, avoid making these major mistakes that can cost you dearly.
Paying Off Our Plastic Is Killing the Economy
Here's the good news: American consumers are finally starting to reduce their reliance on credit and pay off their high-interest debt -- a positive development for their financial futures. The bad news: More money in people's pockets means less overall spending in the economy, which desperately needs the cash right now. How might the tension be resolved?
Homeowners Move Away From 30-Year Mortgages
With the historically low interest rates, many homeowners with 30-year mortgages have been leaving their loans for younger models. According to a new report from Freddie Mac, more homeowners are refinancing into 15- and 20-year mortgages than ever before.
