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How to Prepare Your Credit for a Mortgage 03/11/2015 08:00pm • Applying for a mortgage soon? Consider this: Improving your credit health could limit how much you'll need to pay in interest and potentially save you thousands of dollars. According to Zillow, the median home value in the United States is $178,500. Let's pretend that two people each want a $178,500 Save Money With These Scholarships for Graduate School Students 03/11/2015 08:00pm • Whether you're making a career change, enhancing your learning or seeking a higher salary, there are a number of reasons to pursue graduate school. But, just like undergraduate programs, tuition for advanced degrees has skyrocketed over the decades. This makes outside funding opportunities -- along 3 Questions to Answer Before Refinancing Student Loans 03/10/2015 08:00pm • Sara Hamilton, a law school graduate repaying more than six figures in federal student debt, was ready to ditch her hodgepodge of high rates and frustrating loan servicing. The Emory University alumna decided to renegotiate the terms of her debt by refinancing through a private lender, aiming for 4 Mistakes to Avoid When Weighing Graduate PLUS Student Loans 03/10/2015 08:00pm • Students heading to graduate school have many firsts awaiting them, from their first teaching assistantship to their first thesis adviser and first published academic paper. They may also be borrowing their first Graduate PLUS loan, federally backed student debt, which covers up to the full cost Graduate School Loan Borrowers May Face Reduced Forgiveness Options 03/10/2015 08:00pm • The release of President Barack Obama's budget last month sparked growing concerns that student loan forgiveness -- specifically for graduate school student debt -- will cost taxpayers much more than originally estimated. As the Student Loan Ranger discussed previously , the president's budget shows How Filing Your Own Taxes Will Boost Your Finances 03/10/2015 08:00pm • Whether you are just beginning your career or already earning a large salary, there are many benefits to preparing your own taxes. I now work with a trusted accountant, but doing taxes myself for years gave me a huge leg up in the retirement savings game. Here are some of the benefits of filing you A Wealth Building Plan for You: Young Professional Edition 03/09/2015 08:00pm • Investing can be such a confusing, scary proposition sometimes. You're never really sure if the information you find is exactly right for you (in the case of some online publications), if the data is relevant (in certain financial studies) or if the advice is credible (such as when you receive a st If You Really Want to Kill Off Your Debt, Do a Debt Autopsy 03/09/2015 08:00pm • Autopsies aren't just for corpses. Post-mortem examinations can be helpful for looking at anything that went wrong, be it a business deal or a soufflé that went south. But pinpointing where you erred in money management can be particularly useful. After all, you aren't going to ruin your life if Tackle Undergraduate Student Loans While in Graduate School 03/09/2015 08:00pm • Lawrese Brown isn't repaying her student loans right now. Instead they're in deferment as she earns a master's degree in educational leadership, politics and advocacy at New York University. While Brown didn't graduate from college with much debt -- about $16,000, she says -- she's considering pu Why Owning a Home Is More Expensive Than You Think 03/09/2015 08:00pm • Buying a home is expensive, but the actual selling price is only a subset of the total costs associated with homeownership. Before you even move in to your new home, you'll face closing costs and home inspection fees, not to mention the expense of any work you want to have done on the house, from p How to Take Advantage of the Irish Property Boom 03/09/2015 08:00pm • The Irish property market collapsed in 2008, and then proceeded to spiral downward for the next six years. About half the value of the average home was wiped out, and some properties were sold through distress auctions at 80 and 90 percent discounts. Then, finally, this market not only hit bottom Survey finds the 10 happiest jobs in America 03/09/2015 07:05am • WASHINGTON — School principals may oversee discipline in schools, but a new survey ranked the occupation as the happiest job in America for 2015. Online jobs site CareerBliss analyzed more than 25,000 reviews from its users over a two-year period to determine the 10 happiest jobs in 2015, and s 4 Serious Retirement Plan Errors to Avoid 03/08/2015 08:00pm • Tax-advantaged retirement plans provide many workers with a chance to save for the future and reduce their tax bill at the same time. Employer-sponsored retirement plans are easy to use, and many contributions are deducted from paychecks, so the investing becomes automatic. However, retirement accou Could the state allowing gifts be enough to toss out McDonnell's conviction? 03/07/2015 06:32am • WASHINGTON -- Since Virginia allowed all gifts to state lawmakers until last year, The National Association of Criminal Defense lawyers argues in a brief submitted Friday that former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen should not have been prosecuted under federal law. The group, which advoca How to Make Your Retirement Income Last 03/04/2015 07:00pm • Picture this: You've worked hard your entire life, saving diligently for retirement. At age 65, you were living the dream. At age 75, you enjoyed a comfortable, if not luxurious, lifestyle. But at age 85, you inexplicably have run out of money. How did the ship sink so quickly? There was an iceber