debt

Ah, the freedom of college, where you can subsist on pizza and skip your biology class without the threat of parental retribution. But being on your own has its downside, too. Suddenly, you're paying some of your own bills. You may be taking on thousands of dollars in student loans. And you have to figure out whether your new Abercrombie jeans will push you over the spending limit on your Read more...

Doing good could catch you a break on your student loan payments. Recent college grads can cancel part or all of their federal education debt by working in public service jobs -- lower-paying professional jobs that serve low-income communities -- or by volunteering. Loan forgiveness programs are available to everyone from teachers to nurses to young doctors and lawyers to Peace Corps Read more...

Dear Dr. Don, I am 38 years old and joining the Peace Corps. I want to make sure I take enough precautions to preserve my credit rating and retirement account during the 27 months that I won't draw a salary. I don't plan to return to the economically depressed state where I live and I won't have a job when I exit the Corps. My house, with a current loan balance of $82,000, will be Read more...

One of the most depressing moments in your life is when you are trying to figure out how much money you are going to need for retirement and realize if you keep doing things as you are, you are going to have a (substantial) shortfall. A key reason you may be coming up short is that you owe too much money. We aren’t talking about deductible debt. (Your mortgage would be an example.) And we Read more...

See also: debt, money, retirement, vacation, work

How many credit cards should you have? Many people are afraid to have multiple cards. Some are afraid that they'll lose track of the different bills each month and fall behind on their payments. Others fear that the temptation of high credit limits will entice them to overspend. And some people fear that creditors, upon seeing multiple open credit lines, will be less likely to Read more...