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With CD rates at all-time lows and still falling, many savers are having a hard time finding any place to park their money that earns a decent return. Well, there’s one way to earn 10% on your savings — but you may not be willing to do what it takes to get it. Apparently, active-duty troops deployed to combat zones can deposit their savings up to $ 10,000 into a Department of Defense Savings Deposit Program account and earn 10% annually. Deposits can be made manually or via an allotment taken out of the service member’s pay. There are a [...]

Dear Dave, Is it a good idea for a married couple in their early thirties, who have a lot of student loan debt, to cash out one of their 401(k)s to pay it off? -Marcy Dear Marcy, No way! You never cash out a 401(k) or IRA to pay off debt, unless it’s to avoid a foreclosure or bankruptcy. Let’s say you take $ 50,000 out of your 401(k). Do you know what happens next? They’re going to charge you a 10% penalty, plus your tax rate. If you make $ 75,000 a year, that puts you in a 25% [...]

Ever been enticed by a low mortgage rate only to find out you don’t qualify for the loan? Unfortunately it happens. The good news is 6 in 10 people actually do qualify for mortgage loans. While the majority of people looking for mortgages can qualify, many people can’t, for various reasons. Here are some of the more common reasons why would-be borrowers face rejection: Credit Credit scores too low: How low is too low? A score less than 620 is unacceptable by most lender standards. Maxed credit card threshold: Is your balance more than 30 percent of the allowable line? Pay [...]

Dear Cashing In, I recently discovered to my surprise that I can’t earn points on my upcoming American Airlines flight, which I purchased using points. That seems unfair. What else am I missing out on in the fine print? I have a Citi AAdvantage card and will probably be travelling a lot in the next year to visit a sick relative.  – Kay Dear Kay, Although road warriors will laugh at this, my instinct is to try to get credit at the gate. After all, I’m putting in the miles. Understandably, however, the airlines don’t feel obligated to reward us [...]

Dear Real Estate Adviser, At what time is the sale of my home “cemented”? That is, when do I know I’m safe to sign the contract to purchase the new home, which I don’t want to lose? When would I receive the proceeds in order to have the down payment? — M. Mahieu Dear M., The “cement” is still wet until the closing ink is dry — and the sale has cleared escrow. When that occurs, funds are typically accessible immediately, although closings over weekends and holidays have been known to delay paperwork and funding for a day or two. [...]

Another year of high unemployment and anemic economic growth rates has come and gone, leaving many people to say “good riddance” to 2012. But will the situation improve much in 2013? Probably not, says John Moore, associate professor in the Finance and Economics department at Walsh College in Troy, Mich. He believes damage related to the financial crisis has put the United States at risk for a period of extended economic “malaise” similar to that of the 1970s. What is your outlook for US economic growth in 2013? Overall gross domestic product growth for 2012 is likely to be … [...]

Imagine being branded as a possible drug trafficker, arms dealer or even terrorist, but nobody bothers to tell you. If you do find out and try to clear your name, you’re told you can’t. That’s what happened to Sergio Ramirez of Fremont, Calif. When Ramirez went to buy a car in nearby Dublin, he was rejected for a loan after a notation on his TransUnion credit report indicated he may be a drug trafficker. When Ramirez tried to dispute the false alert, TransUnion told him there was nothing Ramirez or the credit bureau could do to fix the problem. Even [...]

Parents with kids in after school activities will tell you that all the not only do all the sports practices, language classes and boy and girl scout meetings consume a lot of time, but they eat up a lot of the family budget. Knowing the true costs and prioritizing extracurricular activities can help you protect your wallet while enhancing your child’s free time. An after school activity can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars over a childhood, making it more important to budget and plan for such expenses. “The important point from a financial point of view is that you [...]

You might not be too happy to find out what rules a group health plan can impose. We enlisted two industry experts to help us answer some of the most common questions from Insure.com readers regarding health plans at work: Arlene Lieberman is a principal in the employee benefits practice at Barney & Barney in San Diego, and Teagan Storck is a benefits administrator at Argus Benefits in Atlanta. Can I get out of my employer’s health plan if I already enrolled for the next year? Enrolling for the next year locks you in unless you have an “event” that [...]

Life insurance policies under the Christmas tree may not leave eyes all aglow in quite the same way as a shiny new bicycle or the latest electronic gadget. But unlike most presents, life insurance never will go out of fashion, says Kevin Lynch, assistant professor of insurance at The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. “There are all kinds of ways it can be a very practical gift,” Lynch says. “Will it have the punch or pizzazz of an iPad? No. But when you are a 25-year-old college graduate who can’t find a job and you find out your grandparent [...]