Latest articles by Kimberly Lankford
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The New Banking Law Has Perks for You
credit & debt Provisions to the Dodd-Frank reform act gives small banks more discretion to make loans and mandates free credit freezes.
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Tapping a Roth IRA for a House
real estate You can withdraw contributions from a Roth IRA to help purchase your first home.
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How to Buy Stocks for Kids
stocks Start investing on behalf of your kids by opening an account on Stockpile.
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Smart Life Insurance Strategies for Young Buyers
insurance Buy the right life insurance plan now to avoid scrambling to find coverage later.
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What to Do When Your Term Life Insurance Is Expiring
insurance Many families are discovering that a 20-year term for a life insurance policy isn’t enough.
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How to Use a 529 Plan When Your Child Wins a Scholarship
529 Plans Even if your child wins a full scholarship, you can use money from a 529 college-savings plan for things other than tuition without triggering taxes or a penalty.
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How to Turn a Teen’s Summer Wages into Millions
retirement You’re never too young to open a Roth IRA if you earn money from a job. If you invest in a Roth IRA early—and continually over decades—modest sums can grow into seven figures.
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Signing Up for Medicare When You’re Still Covered by an Employer’s Health Plan
Medicare You don’t have to sign up for full Medicare coverage at age 65 if you’re still covered under an employer’s plan. But you’ll need to watch enrollment deadlines.
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6 Tax Breaks for College Costs
Tax Breaks Several tax breaks can ease the financial blow of college costs, whether you’re saving to send your kids to college, paying tuition bills for a child or yourself, pursuing graduate work, or repaying college loans.
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Saving for Retirement When You Have a Side Hustle
retirement Workers with side gigs can sock away even more for retirement in accounts designed for freelancers and other self-employed individuals.
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Johnson City, Tenn.: A Great Place to Retire for Your Health
retirement Set amid the Appalachians, Johnson City offers low taxes on retirees and quality health care from the Ballad Health Network.
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A Tax-Friendly Way to Get Income for Life
retirement You can use money in a traditional IRA to buy a deferred-income annuity — a move that can delay taxes and guarantee lifetime income.
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Minimum Age for Tax-Free IRA Gifts to Charity
taxes You can donate money directly from a traditional IRA to a charity without triggering taxes – but only if you meet a strict age requirement.
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How Tracking Rewards Good Drivers
insurance A tracking device on your car reveals how you drive. Good drivers are rewarded with policy discounts.
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How New Grads Can Buy Health Insurance
insurance New college graduates can stay on their parent's health insurance plans, but they should check out a few other options before they do so.
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What to Do With a 529 Plan When a Child Doesn't Go to College
529 Plans Families can avoid taxes and a penalty on a 529 college-savings plan when a child develops a disability and likely won’t be using the money for college.
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How Couples Can Share Long-Term-Care Benefits
Long-Term Care Insurance Spouses can choose a long-term-care policy with “shared” coverage, giving them a pool of benefits that they can split.
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Help with Tracking IRA Contributions
retirement Your investment firm will send you a form to verify any contribution you make to an IRA. This can come in handy later if you’re trying to figure taxes on withdrawals.
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Don't Sweat Small Changes in Your Credit Scores
credit & debt Credit scores typically fluctuate a little from month to month, often because of changes in credit card balances. Here’s what to do when fluctuations in your scores are more dramatic.
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Health Insurance for College Students
college Young adults can stay on the family health policy until age 26. But if they go away to college and are outside the insurer's network of doctors, families need to reconsider their insurance options.
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Free Credit Report Freezes
credit & debt A new federal law will soon allow everyone to freeze -- and thaw -- their credit report free. A freeze can deter identity theft.
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How to Protect Your Home from Hurricanes
real estate Hurricane season begins June 1, and scientists at Colorado State University expect 2018 to be another big year, forecasting seven hurricanes—three of them major.
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How to Fund a Memorial Scholarship to Honor a Veteran
Paying for College With the help of a college or community foundation, you can establish a scholarship in the name of a loved one to help students in perpetuity.
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Taxes When Using the Back Door Into a Roth IRA
IRAs The new tax law still allows high earners to contribute indirectly to a Roth IRA. But the tax bill for doing so will depend partly on whether they have other money in a traditional IRA.
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