Log In

Dear Dave, My wife and I both lost our jobs a few weeks ago. She began a training course for a new job last week, and I’ve been interviewing. We cashed in an annuity the other day because things have been tight, and we were wondering if we should use...

Barring a collapse in the last few weeks of the year, US stocks will post their ninth consecutive calendar-year gain once you include dividends. The only other time the S&P 500 has advanced for nine straight years on the basis of total returns was in...

Dear Dave, What do you think about online investing apps, and the way they allow you to jump in and out of stocks for really low fees? — Anonymous Dear Anonymous, I don’t think about them, and I don’t use them. And I don’t play single stocks — perio...

Dear Dave, I just accepted a new job that will pay me $30,000 a year more than my old position. I’ve got about $55,000 in debt I’ve been working hard to pay off, and I know now I need to adjust my budget. Do you have any advice? MITCH Dear Mitch, The...

Dear Dave, My wife and I are trying to improve our finances by living on a budget and following your plan. We’re in the middle of Baby Step 2, so we’re working to pay off everything but our house using the debt snowball. We only bring home about $40,...

Municipal pension plans are in a tough spot. They have trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities, interest rates are low, and we’re coming up on the ninth consecutive year of stock market gains in the US. Municipalities are going to have a hard ti...

Dear Dave, I’ve been trying to save cash to buy a home, but things always seem to come up that eat away at my savings. I have $130,000 set aside, plus an emergency fund, and I make $120,000 a year. I’m debt-free and renting right now, but eventually ...

Dear Dave, Our son is about to graduate from law school. He took out a loan to cover the cost, but we’ve always been debt-free and have been paying on it to help him out while he finishes his studies. The balance on the loan right now is around $30,0...

Dear Dave, Do you have any tips for how single people can stay on track with their finances? — Deb Dear Deb, The first thing I’d suggest is the same advice I give to married couples, and that is to spend less than you make, and live on a written, mo...

A few years ago, I wrote: “The economy will one day improve, and the millennials will move out of their parents’ basements. When that happens, expect to see homeownership rates move back higher.” That day has arrived. Millennials are forming new hous...