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The Best Financial Tips for Every Stage of Your Relationship 09/07/2017 08:00pm • Which is harder to do: achieve financial success or find true love? With savvy planning, couples can do both. According to the results of TD Bank's Love and Money Survey, 58 percent of respondents said that finding true love was the more difficult of the two prospects. The detailed survey of 1,482 Long & Foster sold to Warren Buffett company 09/07/2017 03:59pm • WASHINGTON — Chantilly, Virginia-based Long & Foster Companies Inc., one of the largest residential real estate companies in the country, has been acquired by HomeServices of America Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary that has been aggressively acquiring real estate companies. The acquis Protecting Your Property: Scams That Put Homebuyers and Homeowners in Danger 09/06/2017 08:00pm • You've toured homes, made an offer, negotiated the terms and come to an agreement. You're mere days from closing on your first home, and then you receive the email from the title company with the wire transfer information instructing you to send your down payment. With that done, you're a few signat Pros and Cons of Downsizing and Reverse Mortgages 09/06/2017 08:00pm • Many homeowners near or in retirement are in the enviable position of owing little or nothing on the old homestead, often making the home their largest investment. That leaves a pile of home equity to tap that can be invested to help with expenses. But what's the best way? Generally, homeowners hav Local farmer is Texas-bound to provide food, other aid to hurricane survivors 09/06/2017 06:23pm • POTOMAC, Md. — You can call him "Farmer Mike." It's a nickname that stuck after Michael Protas, a self-described suburbanite with an interest in agriculture, started volunteering on a farm while at Penn State University. Now Protas, the owner of Montgomery County's One Acre Farm, is re Discovery renovates Silver Spring HQ but will it stay? 09/06/2017 12:14pm • Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said Discovery Communications' decision to invest in a renovation at its Silver Spring headquarters indicated the company would not relocate its headquarters. A Discovery spokesman contacted WTOP to stress no decisions have been made about future loca How to Dispute a Student Loan 09/05/2017 08:00pm • Over our many years in the student loan industry, the Student Loan Ranger has received lots of emails from consumers about their loans. We hear from two main categories of borrowers: those with questions on how to manage their student loan debt and those who feel they have a dispute. For the latter 3 Ways Congress Could Rattle Markets 09/04/2017 08:00pm • Congress is back at work after a five-week recess, and the to-do list for lawmakers is jam-packed with urgent matters that impact the United States economy. Financial markets could be in for a wild ride. "Investors would do well to brace themselves for a potential twister of volatility in September Should You Raid Your 401(k) for Hurricane Repairs? 08/31/2017 08:00pm • The IRS is providing Hurricane Harvey victims with heavy damage and emergency expenses an unconventional way to get financial relief by making it easier to access retirement savings. However, storm victims should think twice before taking hardship distributions from 401(k) and other retirement plan Hurricane Harvey Victims Eligible for Emergency Retirement Withdrawals 08/31/2017 08:00pm • Hurricane Harvey survivors are now eligible to take loans and hardship distributions from 401(k) plans and similar types of retirement accounts, due to relaxed IRS rules. Retirees who haven't received their scheduled Social Security payments also have several options to pick up their checks. Here's How to Go to Law School for Free 08/30/2017 08:00pm • Although it's typical for law students to acquire a six-figure debt burden during law school, it's possible to earn a J.D. without paying a cent of tuition. That's what happens when you win a full scholarship. Michelle Roter, a third-year law student who received a full scholarship to attend Hofstr 3 Financial Steps to Take After a Natural Disaster 08/30/2017 08:00pm • Hurricanes have a way of reminding people that we are all potentially one natural disaster away from finding ourselves in big trouble. Hurricane Harvey obviously got everyone's attention when it stormed onto the Texan shores on August 26, devastating in particular the city of Rockport, taking out p 7 Ways to Pay Off Your Summer Vacation Debt Pronto 08/30/2017 08:00pm • Summer is coming to a close, and that means credit card bills for charges made on vacation will soon be arriving. It's not unusual to go into debt during the summer months, according to finance experts. "It takes a lot of fortitude to budget for ," says Jake Serfas, lead financial strategist with O Why Few Borrowers Have Pursued PSLF 08/29/2017 08:00pm • Next month marks the first time federal student loan borrowers could be eligible to have the balance of their loans forgiven under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. This should be a positive time for those who write about student loans, but recent lawsuits and statistics surrounding the 7 Behaviors That Threaten Your Financial Security 08/29/2017 08:00pm • Like all behaviors, those associated with finances are learned. Your attitude about money is first shaped by the people who raised you and later influenced by your peers and those you admire. While no one aspires to live paycheck-to-paycheck or wants to be buried under a pile of consumer debt, lear