 |
Liz Pulliam WestonMoney Talk |
Recent Columns:
Dear Liz: Would it hurt our credit scores if my husband and I transfer credit card balances to interest-free cards? This would save us over $200 a month in interest. We've done this twice before but are concerned about hurting our scores.
Dear Liz: I'm in a potentially bad situation with my home equity line of credit. I'm trying to refinance my primary mortgage and would save nearly $150 a month. But the HELOC lender is dragging its feet on agreeing to a subordination. If the lender doesn't agree, I lose the deal. I'm wondering why the lender does not believe it to be in its interest to help when I am trying to improve my financial situation. Can you give me some insight into the line of thinking here?
Dear Liz: Like many Americans, I often must scramble to make ends meet between paychecks. I vigilantly monitor my account online, and when my balance is getting low, I curb my expenses as best I can.
Dear Liz: My husband signed up for a time share when we were on vacation, just months before we bought our first home. Now one year later, with a baby on the way, this time share is taking $189 a month out of our pockets plus $2,828 a year for maintenance fees.
Dear Liz: Is there any downside to refinancing? I have 15 years to go on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.625%. I'd like to take advantage of today's lower rates, but the only way I could lower my payment substantially would be to switch to another 30-year mortgage. We crunched the numbers for a 15-year mortgage, but the payment would be about the same.
Dear Liz: I have paid off my credit card bills each month for years, and I am becoming increasingly frustrated with credit card requirements. I canceled an American Express card because a fee was about to be imposed.
Dear Liz: I've been contributing to a traditional individual retirement account for the last few years. Taking one of your recommendations, I would like to move the money to a Roth IRA. I understand that I'll have to pay taxes on the conversion, but will there also be any penalties involved? If so, how much of a penalty? If there is no penalty and only taxes, what is the rate I should be expecting?
Dear Liz: I currently have a consolidated student loan with the federal Direct Loan program at an 8.25% fixed rate. I initially borrowed $50,000 18 years ago, but the balance due has ballooned to almost $155,000 over the years.
Dear Liz: We bought a house five years ago for $410,000 that is now worth $250,000. Meanwhile, our income in the last year has decreased by about $30,000 annually. We are trying to work with our lender to stay in our house, but things are tight and we don't know how much longer we will be able to keep making payments on this house.
Dear Liz: My husband and I have not had any credit cards for almost 10 years. We just paid off our vehicle with his retirement account. We now owe only for our home. We have no other debt except utilities. I draw a disability check each month, and I keep thinking we should be able to save but have been unable to. We are not extravagant by any means, rarely going out to dinner or movies. What are we doing wrong?