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A Side-by-Side Comparison of 3 Income-Based Repayment Plans 11/03/2015 07:00pm • About six months ago, the Student Loan Ranger told you that the Department of Education was working on rules for a new income-driven repayment plan called Revised Pay As You Earn, or REPAYE. The new plan, for which the department recently released the final regulations, would expand the pool of fede Options for parents helping adult kids buy a home 11/03/2015 02:00pm • As families gather for the holidays, some adult children or their parents will broach the topic of real estate and how to make that first home purchase. For parents who have the funds and desire to help adult children buy a home, gifting a down payment is one of the most common ways to help. But Why Do Some People Take Stupid Risks With Money? 11/02/2015 07:00pm • If you're smart, you learn from your mistakes. And if you're really smart, you learn from other people's mistakes. With that in mind, take a look at the reasons some people make money blunders, according financial advisors and experts. It may make you feel better about your own situation, and, if n Why Investing in Brazil Will Remain Difficult 11/02/2015 07:00pm • For the last few years, Charles de Gaulle's quip that "Brazil is the country of the future, and always will be," seemed like an anachronism as the Latin American economy seemed to blossom. But it didn't last long. Unfortunately for Brazilians, de Gaulle's witticism now seems on target once again. 3 FinTech Startups Making Saving and Investing Easier 11/02/2015 07:00pm • Startups in finance technology, often called FinTech, are exploding. It seems a new tool launches each day in an effort to help Americans handle debt or simplify investing or address the distressing lack of personal finance knowledge among the general population. While not all products will succeed, 5 Surprising Sources of Debt 11/01/2015 07:00pm • Unemployment, medical bills, a shopping addiction -- these may all be obvious causes of debt, but they certainly aren't the only ways people end up in the red. Other forms of debt are more insidious. They arrive looking like a big break or a money-saving option. But instead of getting you out of y 4 Signs You Should Remove Authorized Users From Your Credit Card 11/01/2015 07:00pm • It's generous to let your loved ones piggyback on your good credit and make purchases on your credit card, but you might not want to do it forever. Sometimes, dropping authorized users from your account just makes sense."It's not only financial. It's emotional," says Richard Rosso, a financial plann 3 holiday planning tricks to dodge debt 10/30/2015 11:30am • The holidays often arrive with a burst of excitement and end with a crash of fear and despair as people wait with baited breath for the holiday credit card bills to arrive in the mail. If you're looking to avoid that January letdown, consider these tips that can help you plan for expenditures and av Podcast: 5 Money Management Horror Stories 10/29/2015 08:00pm • Creepy-crawlies and things that go bump in the night are fun on Halloween but not for your money. I'm all about scary movies, but when the horror involves my bank account or investments, that calls for a blood-curdling scream. As a financial advisor for 16 years, I witnessed too many horror storie What You Need to Know About a Second Mortgage 10/29/2015 08:00pm • If you don't know what a second mortgage is, or only have a vague understanding, there's probably a good reason. You likely don't want to know. After all, paying for a first mortgage can be bad enough. Hearing the term "second mortgage" is enough to make anyone's eyes glaze over. But it's a financ 4 Frightening Financial Behaviors to Avoid 10/28/2015 08:00pm • Each October, jack-o'-lanterns, haunted houses and Halloween-costumed trick-or-treaters parade through our neighborhoods. Yet, for most financial planners, it's not the ghouls and goblins that have us terrified. Rather, it's some of the scary financial moves and decisions that we see made each day Where exactly will the toll money go from I-66 inside the Beltway? 10/28/2015 05:11am • WASHINGTON — Carpoolers will still travel free when rush-hour tolls are added to Interstate 66 inside the Beltway in the next couple of years, but people who violate HOV rules now will have to pay up to $17 a day round trip if they go the full length at the busiest times, but Virginia transportati Saving for 7: How 1 Family Is Saving for College for 7 Kids 10/27/2015 08:00pm • With seven children between the ages of 7 and 19, simply covering living expenses -- food, clothes and school supplies -- adds up for Mike and Suzanne Mayernick. But the couple made a decision that, no matter how many kids they had, they were going to maintain a focus on saving for college. So, on Private Sector Jobs That Can Help Repay Student Loan Debt 10/27/2015 08:00pm • When Christopher Webb, CEO of Los Angeles-based online ordering and restaurant marketing platform ChowNow, announced a new company 401(k) at the office holiday party last December, the news earned some applause. But when he revealed that the startup would help employees repay their student loans, Explore How Presidential Candidates Stand on Student Loan Debt 10/27/2015 08:00pm • While the race for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations remains an early and crowded one, the Student Loan Ranger thought it might be a good time to start getting an idea of where some of the candidates stand on student debt. We're glad to see that so many candidates are making stu