Online Features
Money & Finance
Money and marriage: Tips to achieve financial happiness
(BPT) - Fights over finances are a commonly known cause of stress and divorce, and a new survey indicates that while the average couple fights over money five times a year, they discuss finances reasonably fewer than two times a month. Every couple knows there are some topics you just don’t bring up – his mother’s dre...
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How to manage money when you're between jobs
(BPT) - Though the U.S. economy has been gradually improving, job changes - both involuntary and voluntary - remain a fact of American working life. “It's also a fact that bills need to be paid whether you're employed or not,” says J.J. Montanaro, a certified financial planner with USAA . To help you cover expenses and protect your finances as you transition from one job to the next, Montanaro offers these tips. 1. Decide how to collect your final pay If leaving your job wasn't your ide...
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Making money health more manageable
(BPT) - When you stray from your fitness goals with a fast-food meal or by skipping a few days at the gym, it’s important to not use those moments as an excuse to stop trying. Financial fitness is the same. When you miss a month of paying into your savings, or allow a credit card balance to roll over to the next month, ...
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Five questions to ask before you tie the knot
(BPT) - “I’m so lucky I’m marrying my best friend,” is a phrase you often hear in wedding toasts. Now that you’ve found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, make sure you protect each other by considering the bigger financial picture. According to Wedding Paper Divas , 47 percent of engaged couples...
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Tips for taking the worries out of finding an investment advisor
When it comes to financial advice, who do you trust? With so many financial professionals to choose from, how do you evaluate who will best be able to guide you? It can be difficult to know who to turn to, and how to gauge the trustworthiness of potential advisors. Economic events of the past few years have fostered a ...
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Thirteen smart financial steps to take in 2013
Many Americans dutifully make New Year’s Resolutions, but unfortunately most get broken or forgotten before too long. So let’s not call these “New Year’s Financial Resolutions.” Instead, here are 13 smart financial steps that you can take to help get and keep your finances on track in 2013: 1. Establish a budget. Many...
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Tips for managing your credit while traveling
(BPT) - When it comes to the excesses and indulgences of vacation, you might like to think that “what happens in Vegas (or wherever you travel) stays in Vegas.” Unfortunately, poor spending and credit choices made on vacation definitely come home with you, so it’s important to take steps to protect your credit – both be...
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Don't miss out on extra savings this tax season
Tax season is in full swing, and many families are gathering all their information to help them calculate how much of a refund they’ll receive this year. Families have several opportunities to qualify for tax exemptions or refunds, which can add up to a sizeable refund check from the federal government. If you’re expecting a refund this year, be sure to put it to good use. For example, if you have any outstanding credit card debt, a payday loan online or other debts, consider using the re...
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A borrower's guide to impressing a mortgage lender
(BPT) - Who doesn’t like to make a good impression? Whether it’s a first date, meeting the future in-laws for the first time or interviewing for a job, making a good first impression can pave the way for some of life’s happiest experiences. That’s especially true for home-buyers, whose ability to secure their dream home...
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Top five tax tips for the digital era
(BPT) - Filing taxes online has become more popular than ever. In fact, the rate of individual tax returns filed online hit an all-time high of 80 percent last year, according to the IRS. But filing isn’t the only step in the process that can now be accomplished with the help of online tools. Use digital technology to y...
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Insurance fraud: A $40 billion battle
(BPT) - The last thing anyone wants is for his or her insurance rates to increase. Most policyholders would be surprised to know it’s the last thing their insurance company wants to happen, too. That's why most major carriers have a department of investigators dedicated to stopping one of the primary causes of rate hike...
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By Ben Berkowitz and Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) - Moore, Oklahoma, has had the bad luck of being hit by two highly destructive tornadoes, both in the month of May, 14 years apart. But the Moore that got struck on Monday is not the same as in 1999. Like a lot of towns across America and in the so-called "Tornado Alley," rapid growth has made it a bigger target, vulnerable to more damage. The tornado, with winds that may have topped 200 miles per hour, killed at least 24 people and injured hundreds more, with many of the casualties children from two schools that were destroyed. ...
By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Less than three hours after a deadly twister on Monday flattened a swath of Moore, Oklahoma, tornado warning sirens sounded in Joplin, Missouri, 215 miles to the northeast. While no twister touched down, the Oklahoma disaster and the sirens stirred painful memories in Joplin, which on Wednesday observes the second anniversary of one of the most catastrophic tornadoes in American history. "It brought back a lot of fear, especially since there was a chance that a tornado could hit here," Sarah Jo Radcliffe, a Joplin resident, said on Tuesday. ...
By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX (Reuters) - Convicted killer Jodi Arias asked jurors on Tuesday to spare her the death penalty and sentence her to life in prison for killing her ex-boyfriend, reversing statements she made after her conviction that she preferred death to incarceration. "I made many public statements that I would prefer the death penalty to life in prison. Each time I said that, though I meant it, I lost perspective. Until very recently I could not have imagined standing before you all and asking you to give me life ... I thought I would rather die," Arias said. ...