This post originally appeared on Money Talks News. Unless you have a lot of free time, or don’t care about getting the best deal, real estate agents are a necessary part of buying or selling a house. They know the industry in and out and make the task a lot easier for you. But, as with any special… Read More

Ten years ago I was a successful middle-aged professional with substantial savings and investments, an enviable real estate portfolio, and happily on track to my first million. Today, I am a 51-year-old woman with little set aside for retirement, living paycheck to paycheck, and a very long way from financial independence. Am I just another… Read More

Have you struggled to maintain good credit? Or do you avoid credit, and try to pay for everything in cash? Or perhaps your credit took a dive during the recession. If so, you may find getting credit frustrating and difficult. You may have even given up on trying to get a credit card or auto… Read More

Many companies are now looking to big data to increase their business, but this may also leave them just as vulnerable to data breaches as they were before, raising the question of how well they can protect your information. Today, just 35 percent of companies believe they have the ability to detect a data breach… Read More

Step 1: Determine a Destination If you’re like me, you probably already have a bucket list of travel destinations. That’s great. But before I decide on a destination for a particular trip, I research the cost and weather using these tools: Numbeo.com: The world’s largest user-contributed database on cost-of-living worldwide. SoloTravel.org: A site which offers… Read More

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General lobbed a grenade at the federal student aid program. In a harshly critical memorandum to the Federal Student Aid’s Chief Operating Officer, the assistant inspector general condemned the agency’s repeated failure to validate the accuracy of certain subcontractor invoices before authorizing payment. These… Read More

Michelle wants to buy a home but can’t get a loan. The problem? An emergency room bill from six years ago that is listed on her credit reports as severely past due. John is fighting a $406 bill he received after being seen in the ER for what the doctor diagnosed as a case of… Read More

By Ked Harley Applying for a small business loan has always been a hassle, but with the world economy still floundering and credit still tight, the process in recent years has become a full-on nightmare. The good news is that, while lending is still slow, it’s picking up; and with both the government and big… Read More

Millions of Americans are now carrying some amount of medical debt as a result of healthcare they received at some point in their lives, and these balances can often linger for some time, or lapse into delinquency and default. Potentially more problematic for consumers, though, is that the cost of this type of care seems to be… Read More

The number of homes for sale nationwide has been rising steadily so far this year but is still somewhat restricted from the numbers seen at this time in 2012, leading to speculation about the eagerness of buyers to deal with the frustration this lack of inventory can typically engender. Overall, the amount of homes on… Read More