What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. 401(k) profit sharing
2. Online job application tips
3. Illness and challenges
4. College freshman advice
5. Mortgage decisions
6. Annuities for retirement?
7. Refinancing questions

Are you swamped with high interest debt and looking for a solution? The airwaves are filled with ads for debt consolidation, but do you really need someone to do it for you? Why not do your own legwork and roll your debts into one low(er) interest loan?

One option for consolidating your debt is rolling it into a HELOC. But first… You might have some questions.

Investors continue to test the Fed’s resolve. Is helicopter Ben overly optimistic on his economic outlook? And if so, what is he going to do about it? Yesterday’s equity and bonds reaction is telling us that there is little he can do if policy makers have got it wrong. The Fed, similar to the BOJ is entering ‘no-mans land’. Markets are turning their back on Shirakawa’s emergency lending facility expansion. Even direct yen intervention is futile without the ECB and Fed’s complimentary actions. This week focus on the details.

G10 Advancers and Decliners vs USDJPY 0.17 GBP -0.03 CHF -0.26 EUR -0.37The USDJPY pared gains on speculation the BOJ’s decision to introduce more credit-easing measures won’t be enough to weaken the currency from near a 15-year low while the EURJPY also trimmed gains after the bank expanded a corporate loan program by 10 trillion JPY ($116 billion), falling short of expectations it would unveil more steps, such as buying Japanese government debt, to support the…
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What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Higher salary or better benefits?
2. Cheap land lines
3. Moving in with parents
4. Prepaying student loans in forbearance
5. The Hindenburg Omen
6. Post-graduation financial independence