Ellie McKinley, 17, of Eau Claire, Wis., considered the Rhode Island School of Design or the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn to study graphic design. But the University of Wisconsin–Stout offers the same course of study at a third of the cost.
An adviser has a four-step plan to prepare for the financial gantlet that is your child’s college education.
Values-based budgeting starts with noticing where your money is going, and then assessing whether that is what’s important to you, a financial planner writes.
When buyers stiffed by a bankrupt wine store asked American Express for a refund, the company declined, citing a 540-day window with an uncertain start time.
After their mother’s death, two siblings found that an agent they hired to conduct a sale of belongings did not keep up her end of the bargain.
If you invest with a large fund manager, chances are good that your objections to common corporate practices are not getting through.
Home medical care, a practice from the past, can cost less than hospital care. But bringing it back faces numerous challenges.
The required purchase of online materials may require a digital access code, costing around $100. There is no buying a used copy, sharing or opting out.
Better technology, increased competition and new plan offerings are prompting some start-ups to take a second look at introducing retirement benefits.
The site was announced by the Department of Education, which wants to expand support to students left in the lurch when the school closed.
By continuing to invest in the things that hurt you, you only cause yourself more hurt.
The plight of a tiny local retirement fund in California shows how some public pension plans are far less funded than their official numbers suggest.
Web-based mattress retailers vow they’ll take the product back if it flunks a comfy-sleep test. And they do, but it’s not simple.
Former players like the N.F.L.’s Bart Scott and the N.B.A.’s Antoine Walker use their experiences to help students face the future inside or outside sports.
While the number of people without health insurance is at its lowest, thanks largely to Obamacare, continued declines are far from certain.
Though cremation has grown in popularity, substantial numbers of funeral homes don’t tell consumers of the availability and cost of a basic cremation.
For the chance to see their team in the World Series for the first time in 71 years, some fans are prepared to dig deep, and others may get creative.
The Haggler finds out that an Alabama businessman actually is in jail — for defrauding the federal government. But customer complaints about his business sent him there early.
Even for those skilled in business, separating the romance from the financial reality of producing and selling grapes and wine is not easy.
Many market strategists warn that caution, rather than greed-induced euphoria, is appropriate at this stage of the seven-year-old bull market.
A study found that some simple rules about using credit led some consumers to carry less credit card debt.
Despite the challenges, older people are creating their own ventures, with some getting help from government as well as AARP and other private groups.
As rates for federal flood insurance increased, some insurers saw a market for private policies. But consumers should weigh how the policies compare.
Not surprisingly, parents and their values influenced how readers said they made decisions about saving, spending and giving.
Questions that focus on family, feelings and the future we plan for ourselves.
The stress of caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and other terminal illnesses can have long-lasting consequences. Reaching out for support is critical.
Telephone scammers have been targeting students and parents with calls demanding payments for a “federal student tax.”
The Home Affordable Refinance Program, started in response to the housing crisis, will continue through September 2017 as a new program takes shape.
The plan would cover an estimated six million people and could make the state the first to require companies to take part in such a system.
In an era of ultralow bond yields and longer retirements, loading up on bonds and decreasing market exposure as you age may not be the best idea.
Experts differ on whether real estate’s move out of the financials category to its own classification will benefit individual investors.
Statements by Fed officials, including a speech on Friday by Janet Yellen, confirm that the central bank expects relatively low rates to prevail for years.
A Payless Car Rental customer who is charged for unwanted insurance disputes the charge on her credit card, leading to vague threats to pay up, or else.
Taking photographs of damaged or destroyed property before it is discarded provides a record for use in making insurance claims.
A few smaller airlines are helping customers earn free seats many times faster than they used to, and without charging them for the privilege.
Want to share miles with a friend or a family member? Here are the pooling policies at some of the biggest carriers in the country.
The nascent profession, just a few years old, handles everything from negotiating lower bills to finding the best doctor.
There is a cost to holding onto things we should let go of: anger, frustration, resentment, or even worse. Can we really afford to keep paying this bill?
The main reason the bull market hasn’t been widely celebrated may be because it followed one of the worst declines in stock market history.
The change means users can log on to their online “mySocialSecurity” accounts as before, with just a username and password.
Customers say they want to keep the right to sue, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed a ban on such moves by banks.
This provision has been abused by aggressive tax planners and lawyers who used it for family limited partnerships, sometimes as high as 40 percent.
Building a credit history holds less appeal for young Americans who had trouble paying off student loans and saw their families’ struggles during the financial crisis.
Seeking approval and external validation is part of the human experience, but when it comes to making a major shift, that can be hard to find.
When Global Efficient Energy’s installation fails to cut energy bills as promised, a buyer asks the Haggler to help cancel a $19,900 loan for the system.
Mind-boggling lottery prizes are no accident; they’re the result of skillful planning intended to lure players, who would almost always do better by investing that money.
Some blue-collar workers trade the physical stress for related work that takes advantage of their knowledge and experience.
Despite recession’s end, a record 60.6 million people, or 19 percent of the American population, lived with multiple generations under one roof in 2014.
How often should you check the performance of your investments? As seldom as possible — especially when markets are falling.
Nevada, Delaware and other states compete to offer ways for the rich to fend off creditors, divorcing spouses and even tax collectors.
The value of a dollar varies dramatically across the country, and the federal government now measures the variations.
In an unusual approach for a nonprofit, the Maverick Collective also asks its donors to give their time and expertise to the organizations they fund.
Many women and men over 50 who never had children are deciding to put their longer life spans and higher incomes to use by starting families.
Dividing an estate unevenly is likely to result in hurt feelings at the least. But honest discussions ahead of time can solve many problems.
Bonds have risen sharply in value, and their yields have plummeted. That has made stock prices look cheap and dividends seem generous, driving up the market.
A growing number of companies are offering transition coaching and more generous policies in an effort to retain female employees.
For those who put happiness on an unattainable pedestal just around the corner, it might be time to get off the so-called hedonic treadmill and get back to the present.
Americans are overconfident about their knowledge of money matters, a new study suggests, which could expose them to exploitation by industry pros.
Some retirees are using reverse mortgages, once unpopular after years of lending abuses, to supplement income sources or to finance long-term care.
Insurance industry experts discuss the two big factors in deciding not to renew your policy: the size of a claim and the frequency of claims.
Lenders and some consumer advocates ask what borrowers will do if stricter regulations remove their main source of short-term financial aid.
We are conditioned to seek positions of more responsibility, which is why a request to step back and take a junior role may require careful framing.
In Washington, community villages are thriving as initiatives like Age-Friendly DC make it easier for older adults to live, work and play in the city.
After years of talk about reining in Social Security, the discussion has turned to making it more generous instead.
Homeowners can thank British voters and global central banks for lower rates, but so far lenders haven’t fully passed on falling rates to borrowers.
Jeb Bush’s ideas on student loans, Bernie Sanders’s on credit scores and Marco Rubio’s on retirement investing offer improvement and needn’t cost taxpayers much.
No matter what title a financial professional has, for the most part there is no requirement to put a client’s needs first.
When a checking account is overdrawn, the bank can cover the shortfall (for a fee) or another account can serve as a backup (for a fee). But there are also ways to avoid overdrawing at all.
Employers and start-ups are testing ways to give employees faster access to their wages.
Articles on making three-generation family vacations work, the ins and outs of renting abroad, how frugality can hurt your credit score and more.
Human psychology can get in the way of a secure life. Here are some ways to outwit it.
Articles on managing fortunes, improving lifestyles and finding financial security.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has stepped up pressure on independent banks and lenders such as Wells Fargo to treat their borrowers better.
Lending your signature and good credit history to someone could indeed make a difference, but it comes with plenty of risk.
Other countries offer plans that give students more time to repay loans or that make provisions for fluctuating earnings, so fewer borrowers default.
The rate on direct loans for undergraduates will be 3.76 percent, down from 4.29 percent. For graduate students, it will be 5.31 percent, down from 5.84 percent.
New federal rules prohibit colleges from steering students to specific bank accounts to deposit financial aid.
The filing date for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid was moved to Oct. 1 to align it with the typical college admissions cycle.
Choosing which school to attend is one of the biggest financial decisions that many people will ever make. Why are some schools making it harder to compare the potential costs?
The story of how a teacher ended up $410,000 in debt reveals the deep contradictions in the federal government’s approach to student loans.
Federal loans for education often offer options to ease onerous repayment terms. Not so with private loans, as some borrowers have learned to their dismay.
They join a wave of other workplaces that are providing student loan repayment programs to attract and retain millennial employees.
As college costs continue to increase and the student debt burden grows, more lenders are offering flexible, and possibly cheaper, options.
The University of Virginia and Williams College have adopted a tool that is simpler to use than the typical federally mandated tuition calculator.
The Student Loan Payback Playbook, a new federal initiative, is intended to better educate borrowers about options and help curb defaults.
Most college graduates earn enough to repay their student loans. The bigger problem is that they’re asked to do so when they are earning the least.
A guide to student loans at various universities, and what it takes after graduation to repay that debt.
The choice between buying a home and renting one is among the biggest financial decisions that many adults make.
Carl Richards, a financial planner, has been explaining the basics of money through simple graphs and diagrams.
These companies offer help picking and rebalancing index and exchange-traded funds or similar investments, and none charge more than about 0.5 percent of your assets each year for the privilege.
See how long it could take for your portfolio to return to its peak value.
What would happen to your savings balances if you saved just one percent more a year?
A customizable checklist to guide your own financial tuneup, providing tips, the time needed to achieve them and links to additional resources.
An interactive checklist to help navigate ways to prepare and secure your financial future at each stage of life.
writes Wealth Matters, a column looking at strategies that the wealthy use to manage their money and their overall well-being.