The start of April showered us with a sprinkling of credit card news, including a rising average card interest rate, beefed up card balances, and a new life for some old Barclays Apple card accounts. This weekly credit card news roundup contains what you should know about the cards in your wallet, other available offers, and new product releases or reports that reminded us there’s more to April than busted March Madness brackets and clearance Easter candy....

Below you will find information about all of the benefits that an IRA Trust can offer to your beneficiaries, including your spouse if you are married. Providing Asset and Other Protection for Your Beneficiaries In general, IRAs are protected from the claims of creditors with regard to the IRA account owner while they are living. However, once the IRA account owner dies and the IRA assets get into the hands of an individual beneficiary, in most states the IRA assets will lose their protected status....

When searching for high-yield bond funds, just be sure you’re not only looking for the highest yields. There are other qualities to consider when looking for the best funds to buy. What Are High-Yield Bonds? Also known as junk bonds, high-yield bonds are bonds that pay higher yields because of low relative credit ratings. More specifically, the bonds, or the entities issuing the bonds, have credit quality ratings below investment grade (a rating below BBB by Standard & Poor’s or below Baa by Moody’s credit rating agencies....

Learn more about the trend of buying a house as a single woman, along with tips on how to navigate the process solo. What’s Motivating Single Women Homebuyers? “Women have decided ‘I don’t have to be married to have a stable place to call my own’ and have the dream of home ownership come true,” said Dr. Jessica Lautz, vice president of demographics and behavioral insights at the National Association of Realtors, in a phone call with The Balance....

Buying a New Home After a Short Sale To answer your question, let’s look at the first scenario. Doing a short sale and then buying a new home. You have three ways to go regarding the sale of your existing home as a short sale: Mortgage in Default Lenders typically grant a short sale because the sellers have a financial hardship. If you have a financial hardship and have stopped paying your mortgage payments, then you probably won’t qualify to get a loan to buy a new home....

We’ll walk you through what it means to buy real estate and invest in REITs, and help you weigh the pros and cons to better understand if either investment choice fits into your financial plan. Buying Real Estate Buying real estate is an active form of investing. You can buy property anywhere, but if you’re new to the real estate world, it’s generally recommended that you buy real estate you can see in person first....

Like most other trade agreements, CAFTA-DR removes tariffs and merchandise processing fees on trade. All tariffs on U.S. consumer and industrial exports were removed as of 2015 while tariffs on agricultural exports will be gone by 2020. Everything will be duty-free by the time the agreement is fully implemented on Jan. 1, 2025. To be eligible for tariff-free treatment under CAFTA-DR, products must meet the relevant rules of origin. CAFTA-DR is much smaller than other regional trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, currently the world’s largest free-trade area....

Intrinsic value is the focus here, and unlike other methods, it does not look at the larger market, or current trading prices, or past patterns; nor does it attempt to predict future prices. Instead, it bases a stock’s value on what an investor will pay for it. Simply put, intrinsic value is what a stock is worth to the buyer. The simple formula is one that you’ll have no trouble applying to your investment options....

The process of calculating what your estate is likely to owe—if anything—might seem complicated at first glance, but it’s really just a matter of doing some elementary math. Determine the Value of Your Net Estate The starting point for determining your estate tax liability is the value of your gross estate. This is the total value of everything you own at the time of your death. You’ll then subtract certain transactions from that gross total to arrive at the value of your net estate for estate tax purposes....

You must pay in for at least 10 years in order to qualify for Social Security benefits on your own. If that doesn’t apply to you, spousal benefits kick in. You begin to qualify at age 62 if your spouse has applied for benefits when you reach that age. The longer you wait, the larger your monthly payments will be. How to Collect Spousal Social Security Benefits Drawing from your spouse’s account does not affect how much your spouse receives....

Insurers may allow non-owners to insure vehicles under the most common scenarios. But insuring another person’s automobile isn’t always easy. It may depend on the insurance company you choose and your state’s insurance laws. Can I Insure a Car I Don’t Own? Usually, the person insuring a car has an insurable interest in the property. They make the payments and their name is on the title, so they buy insurance because they could be liable in a car accident....

Questioning this coverage line item is reasonable. You must first understand what is covered in your homeowners policy and what constitutes other or additional structures. You may also see this line listed as “detached buildings.” Premium Pricing for Homeowners Insurance Insurance policies are standardized to include certain basic components on every homeowners policy form, although the exclusions and type of coverage that apply to each of the components of a policy vary from insurer to insurer....

But life insurance policies often offer ancillary benefits that can be worth the additional cost. One of these options includes paying for the long-term care you might need before you die. Depending on the situation and your budget, obtaining long-term care insurance through a life insurance policy can be an excellent financial decision. The Costs of Long-Term Care The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that seven out of 10 people turning 65 today will need some form of long-term care in their lifetime....

If you have no other options—for example, you need funds right away for emergency medical treatment—a title loan could make sense. In most cases, these loans are more expensive than they’re worth, and you risk losing your car when you use one. How Car Title Loans Work To borrow against your vehicle, you need to have enough equity in your car to fund a loan. In many cases, you need to have paid off any other loans used to purchase the vehicle, but some lenders allow you to borrow if you’re still paying off a standard auto purchase loan....

Governments distribute a finite number of carbon credits to companies. That’s the “cap” part. The companies can only emit as much carbon dioxide as they have credits for. Those below their carbon dioxide limit can sell surplus credits to companies that exceed their limits. That’s the “trade” part. The goal is to slow down global warming. Industries, like utilities, are the biggest traders. They burn coal and other fossil fuels that emit too much carbon dioxide into the air....

Find out more about the factors and obstacles that affect a person’s career development. What Is Career Development? Career development is the process of self-knowledge, exploration, and decision-making that shapes your career. It requires successfully navigating your occupational options to choose and train for jobs that suit your personality, skills, and interests. When someone pays careful attention to their career development, they identify their own strengths and blind spots, then work hard to improve their skills....

Why Change Your Business Type As a business grows, things change. Here are some reasons a business might decide to make a change: Liability Protection: Many small businesses begin as sole proprietors and decide at some point to lessen their personal liability by forming a business entity which can offer some liability protection, such as an LLC or a corporation. Tax considerations: Most often, businesses change legal type for tax reasons....

While commercial auto liability coverage is relatively broad, it doesn’t cover all auto-related claims. Section II contains 13 separate exclusions, most of which apply to risks that are covered by other types of policies. Many of the exclusions are absolute but a few contain exceptions that add back a limited amount of coverage. The 13 exclusions are outlined below. Expected or Intended Injury The first exclusion applies to bodily injury or property damage expected or intended from the standpoint of the insured....

Be sure to understand the options you have for managing your expenses as health care costs rise. The Main Types of HSAs and MSAs There are three types of HSAs and MSAs. HSA plans are available to those who have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). These plans can be paired with employer-provided or individual health plans. Archer MSA plans were an older version of the current HSAs. This type of plan is no longer common, but some people do still have these accounts....

Long If you’re “long” on a stock, it means you own it because you expect it to increase in value so you can profit. As an example, suppose you go long 100 shares of ZYZY stock at $10.00 per share, or $1,000 total. Then you sell the stock for $10.40 per share, collecting $1,040 and making a $40 profit. In this case your long position would have been profitable. If the price dropped to $9....