Jean Chatzky blog :: The Difference :: Personal finance, debt, and money advice » Credit

Money 911: Maximizing your tax return

Jean — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:45:31 +0000

This morning on Today‘s Money 911, we heard from a woman who wanted to know how to use her $10,000 tax return. Should she: pay off student loans, pay off her credit cards, or boost her emergency savings? To see what we told her, plus tips on taking Social Security, check out the video clip below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Money 911: Financing graduate school

Jean — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:31:06 +0000

This morning on Today’s Money 911, we heard from a woman in her 50′s who wants to go back to school and get a graduate degree, but also has two kids approaching college aid. Is there a way to pay for it all? To see what we told her, plus how to get rid of unwanted time-shares, check out the video clip below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Money 911: Gifting stocks for young grandchildren

Jean — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:58:16 +0000

Yesterday morning on Today‘s Money 911, we received a question from a grandmother looking to give the gift of stocks to her young grandchild. This is a great idea, because it can teach children about the importance of investing early in their life. To see the tips we gave her — plus how to know if you’re saving enough for retirement — check out the video clip below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Money 911: Homeowner’s insurance, time-shares and more

Jean — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:51:08 +0000

Does the declining value of real estate mean that you can reduce your homeowner’s insurance premium? Should you close a credit card with a $59 annual fee? What do you do with a time-share you’re not using? This morning on Money 911, we answered these questions and more. To see our responses, check out the video clip below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Money 911: Should you dip into your IRA to pay off debt?

Jean — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:41:04 +0000

This morning on Money 911, we heard from a woman who wanted to raid her retirement account to pay off credit card debt. To see what we told her — as well as whether it’s better to get a fixed or variable rate student loan — check out the video clip below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Money 911: Should you marry someone with a large debt load?

Jean — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:09:46 +0000

Would you marry someone who is $700,000 in debt? That was the question du jour on Money 911 this morning. To see what we told the caller — plus tips on switching banks and avoiding fees — check out the video clip below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Money 911: Paying for college with grants

Jean — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:50:58 +0000

This morning on Today‘s Money 911, we spoke to a woman whose daughter is working a part-time job, but it’s not enough to cover the cost of college. To see what we told her — as well as how to set a budget, pay off multiple credit cards and improve your credit score — check out the video clip below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Money 911: Rebalancing your portfolio

Jean — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:18:12 +0000

This morning on Money 911, we spoke to a woman whose portfolio is 60% stocks and 40% bonds — but she’s nervous about the market’s volatility. What did we tell her to do? For the answer to her question, plus advice on whether or not to opt out of a credit card rate increase, check out the video clip below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Credit Unions and ATM convenience

Jean — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:01:32 +0000

This morning on Today, when discussing ways to avoid banks’ growing fees, I mentioned switching to a credit union as a possible alternative to a large national bank. In talking about credit unions (and small banks) I pointed out that they tend to have lower fees and mentioned ATM convenience as a drawback. This isn’t always the case.

There exists something called the CO-OP Network, which includes over 3,000 participating credit unions. Through this network, there are 28,000 ATMs that offer surcharge-free access to accounts for all participating credit union members. If you don’t know where to find an ATM like this, you can look it up here, at CO-OP’s ATM locator. (There is also a surcharge free network of ATMs you can use no matter where you bank. Here’s the website to find machines near you.)

In regards to physical branch locations for these credit unions, the CO-OP Network has a similar set-up: members of participating credit unions can go to any of the 4,400 participating branches across the U.S and use that branch as if it was their own. These are called “shared branches,” and you can locate them using this link here.

Thanks to my readers who pointed this out!

Money 911: How to rebound from bankruptcy

Jean — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:02:54 +0000

Filing for bankruptcy can be a difficult thing: it provides a blank slate, but it can also be tough to start anew. This morning on Money 911, we talked about what you can do to rebuild after bankruptcy. We also addressed paying off law school loans vs. 401(k) contributions and how to overcome a bad credit report. To hear our tips, check out the video clip below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy