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Understand the Many Facets of the Student Loan Process 11/24/2015 07:00pm • With Thanksgiving just around the corner, many of us will soon have large get-togethers with family and friends to celebrate. These gatherings have the Student Loan Ranger picturing the "extended family" of a student loan. You'd need a big table to seat them all. It's always awkward to make small Compare Life Insurance, 529 Plans for College Savings 11/24/2015 07:00pm • Miguel Palma, an accountant in Dublin, California, set up a cash-value life insurance policy when his daughter was young. By the time she was ready for college, he had enough saved in the policy to borrow from the accrued value to pay her tuition. One of the reasons Palma chose life insurance as a Turning a Saver into a Spender in Retirement 11/23/2015 07:00pm • You spend your entire career saving so that you can stop working. Once you retire, you may be surprised to realize it's hard to change your pre-retirement mindset about the need to save money. A lifetime of saving is a positive habit, and there are emotional and psychological forces that make it fe 5 Mistakes IRA and 401(k) Investors Make 11/22/2015 07:00pm • A fact of modern life is that most of us are responsible for financing our own retirement, rather than relying on a company pension. We have Social Security, which provides a baseline income. But Social Security does not pay for a middle class retirement. For that we need the savings we've built up Steps to Take Now to Make Filing Your Income Taxes Easier 11/17/2015 07:00pm • In mid-April, shortly after the income tax filing deadline for millions of Americans, we encouraged readers to begin planning for their 2015 return. Here's another timely reminder, and this one is especially worth heeding: Steps you take between now and the end of the year can dramatically reduce y A Guide to Understanding Student Loan Servicer Changes 11/17/2015 07:00pm • November is an important time of year for student loan borrowers. Many recent college graduates' loan payments come due this month, and as we've mentioned many times, making that first payment can help ensure future student loan success. Enrolling in automatic payments is one way to ensure you pay Nontraditional Ways to Find Funding When Banks Won't Help 11/16/2015 07:00pm • A woman approached me a few weeks ago with a question about how to get approved for a credit card with a subprime credit score. This woman, we'll call her Allie, had a short-term cash flow problem. She'd soon earn income working for a volunteer organization, but she needed $1,500 to relocate for her Should you use a 401(k) to buy a home? 11/12/2015 07:00pm • You've found the perfect house in the cutest neighborhood. And you're tired of writing a rent check every month, with nothing to show for it. All that's keeping you from making an offer on your first home is that big down payment. So is it OK to use your 401(k) account to buy your first home? Bef 3 Ways for First-Gen Students to Maximize a Scholarship Search 11/11/2015 07:00pm • First-generation college students have made the life-changing decision to become the first people in their families to pursue higher education. While making this choice is hard on its own, worrying about how to fund your college experience can be an added stress to an already difficult situation. T 5 Questions Newlyweds Should Be Able to Answer About Their Finances 11/11/2015 07:00pm • When you were single, you were afforded the luxury of your own spending habits, saving and investing on your own terms. Managing your individual finances was all about you. When you fell in love and got married, your personal finances and investments transitioned from "my money" to "our money." You What Investors Should Know About Green Bonds 11/11/2015 07:00pm • Socially responsible investing is growing in popularity, but most investors have only been able to buy stocks, equity-based mutual funds or exchange-traded funds. For the most part, bonds weren't available until recently. That's changing, though. While it's still a very small piece of the debt mark What Veterans Need to Know About GI Bill Benefits at For-Profit Colleges 11/10/2015 07:00pm • Sarah Serrano, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, got off to a rocky start when it came to pursuing a college degree. "Over the past 10 years, I have come and gone at University of Phoenixes all over the country," says Serrano, 31, who also bounced around various community colleges. "I ha Student Loan Deferments Benefit Veterans, Service Members 11/10/2015 07:00pm • President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11, 1919 to be the first "Armistice Day" in honor of the day when the fighting ended in World War I. We celebrate this occasion as Veterans Day, a day in which we remember and thank our Armed Forces for all they do. To show our gratitude, the Student Loan R 3 College Savings Strategies for Parents Nearing Retirement 11/10/2015 07:00pm • More parents are waiting to have children later in life, meaning their savings goals for retirement and their children's college education are often on a crash course. The average age of American women having their first child has increased over the past four decades, in part a reflection of an inc 12 Tips for Investors in Their 50s and 60s 11/09/2015 07:00pm • These are your peak income years.There's no getting around it: Saving for retirement is hard. Investors in their 50s and 60s may still be contributing to their child's college education or paying off a mortgage, and the job market in recent years has thrown speed bumps into some workers' careers. As