Personal Finance | featured news

How big a whack did your credit score take during the grim years of economic distress following the housing bust? Was it 20 points, 50 points, 100 points — or maybe no drop at all? These are key questions affecting millions of potential home buyers who hope to qualify for mortgages as well as current owners looking to refinance. New research from a major credit-risk evaluation company suggests that the drop in huge numbers of Americans’ scores was dramatic.

The presence of company stock within a 401k plan is a major red flag. On the other hand, it provides a simple way for employees to assess whether they can trust their employer and any of the products and services offered within a plan. The more company stock within a 401k plan, the less an employer can be trusted. It's that simple.

It’s easy to gripe about the rich manipulating the rules to lower their tax rates, but sometimes it’s better to simply borrow a few pages from their playbook. Although finagling a low tax rate on income — as Warren Buffett talks freely about — is difficult for regular salaried workers, there’s another area where modest taxpayers have something to learn from the wealthy: minimizing estate taxes.

On TV it's rare for couples or even roommates to fight about money. Reality isn't always entertaining. Arguments about finances are often what lead to the end of a relationship. Money matters are always a top reason for marital discontent. That's because when it comes to money, opposites often attract.

Follows are nine tips that parents might want to keep in mind while toasting champagne glasses preparing for back to school.

Those who don’t invest in the stock market would like to pretend stock market crashes don’t concern them, but the truth is that they do. It’s not only those who actively trade who lose money. The average person loses money and opportunities as well. To show how, 24/7 Wall St. put together a list of eight ways market collapses affect people’s lives.

Today's seniors can't just stay in today's low-return fixed-income products because rates on money market accounts and CDs won't even keep up with inflation. But there are options.

If you save money by putting cash under your mattress, then inflation does indeed rob you of purchasing power. But if, like most of us, you hold your nest egg in a savings account, a money market fund, real estate, or a 401(k) plan then what you care about is your real rate of return, not the inflation rate per se.

Certificates of deposit (CDs) are one of the safest investments for security and a consistent yield.

Refinancing can be a great way to save money, but it's not a sure thing. Before you take the plunge, ask yourself these six questions to avoid making a major money mistake.