Changing Strategies

Anyone who’s spent any time learning about credit cards knows the cardinal rules: pay them off on time and in full whenever you can. Never just pay the minimum. It turns out that those rules get thrown out the window if you’ve lost (or think you’re about to lose) your job. In an emergency, everything is different, but you should know why the rules are changing. In this  story I wrote for CreditCards.com, experts share advice on using your cards wisely if you get a pink slip.

Read the full story here.

Split Decisions

Divorce isn’t just emotionally devastating—it’s also often a financial catastrophe. For parents who are trying to save for their child’s college education, likely the largest single expense their kids will ever incur, it’s important to keep saving after the separation.

In this story for SavingForCollege.com, I ask experts how parents can mitigate the financial effects of divorce on their child’s 529.

Read the full story here.

Subsidized Education

We all know how great it is when someone picks up the tab for something, whether it’s your pal who picks up the lunch bill or your company that pays for your gym membership.

But what if you could get others to pay for something far more important—your child’s college education? In this story, which I did for SavingForCollege.com, I examine all the different ways you can get other people to contribute funds to your child’s 529 account. It’s not as hard as you think, and if you’re savvy, the end result could be hundreds, if not thousands, of additional dollars to help pay for college.

Read the full story here.

Two Is Better Than One?

For Advance Planners

Plenty of people do their best work at the last minute. Unfortunately, you can’t apply that trait to saving money. Those who start stashing away their money early will always have an advantage over those who start later.

For 529 college savings plans, “starting early”  usually means when your baby is born. But for some super-achievers, saving for college starts even earlier. In this story, which I did for SavingForCollege.com, you can find out how you can help your child go to college—even before he or she is born.

Read the full story here.

It’s Not You, It’s Them

Credit card companies expect their products to turn a profit—and if they don’t, they’ll ditch them with lightning speed. Take Chase and Starbucks. A few years ago, the two companies partnered to create the Starbucks Duetto Card, but when profits weren’t what the companies hoped for, they yanked the card in March, leaving card users in the lurch. In addition to this high-profile case, hundreds of other affiliated cards—think those that are offered by your university or by some nonprofit organizations—have also been retired.

What should you do if you find that your card is no longer worth the plastic it’s printed on? Read my story in CreditCards.com here.

Credit Behind The Scenes

If you’ve seen commercials or heard radio ads for companies that offer to dig you out of debt fast and repair your credit even faster, you’re smart to be wary of their big promises. I’ve been doing financial journalism for years, and although I knew that most of these outfits were fishy, I wasn’t sure how they worked.

But then I worked on a package of stories about bad credit for Bankrate.com, and I found out some clever ways that scammers unethically—and illegally—manipulate your credit. You can read about their shady (but ingenious) tactics here.

A New Way of Seeing

Personal finance writers think a lot about what credit cards do, but not always so much about what they actually are: little chunks of plastic that that we regularly shred and toss. Well, some of us anyway.

The people I wrote about in this story see the cards we carry as inspiration for clever crafts like iPhone stands, earrings, and grappling hooks. Something about one man’s trash and another’s treasure, I guess.

I tested out the iPhone stand myself, and it worked just as advertised. Perhaps these smart ideas will encourage you to take a second look at the plastic in your wallet as well.

Read the whole story here.

Invest in Yourself

The average taxpayer will get a refund of more than $2,000 this spring. It might be tempting to blow the money on a vacation, a new computer, or living room furniture, but in this story, experts share better ways to invest your windfall. By using the funds to improve your financial life (either directly or indirectly), your future self will thank you.

Read the full story here.

Timing Is Everything

I just bought a new couch—one that will finally replace the serviceable but increasingly shabby IKEA model I bought a few years ago. My new couch is a definite upgrade, and it’s a reminder that the stuff that suited me just fine in my 20s needs to be reconsidered as I get older.

The same, it turns out, is true of your credit cards. In this story that I did for CreditCards.com, I looked at the way that life stage and financial position should influence the card you select. Because the cards that work best as a college student aren’t always a good fit for families or retirees. And knowing where you’re at can help you get the most out of your card.

Read the full story here.