Do Student Loans Affect a Mortgage Application?
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I'm in my early twenties and I'm thinking about buying a house. I don't have any credit-card debt, but I owe about $20,000 in student loans....
View ArticlePay Kids for Good Grades? Bad Idea.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[A plan by New York City's mayor Michael Bloomberg and schools chancellor Joel Klein to pay fourth- and seventh-graders for high test scores has...
View ArticleGetting -- and Staying -- Out of Debt.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[A couple of months ago I wrote about Brandy Howell, a recent graduate of Auburn University who has laid out a plan for paying off her student...
View ArticleBest Time for First Credit Card.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Recently, a fellow journalist familiar with my writing remarked that I was against credit cards. Actually, that's not the case. As regular...
View ArticleWhat Teens Need to Know About Credit.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[When it comes to teaching young people about credit, there's no shortage of ideas on what to tell them. In its DVD College Credit for Life, the...
View ArticleReaders Defend Paying for Grades.(Column)
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Wow! My column recommending that parents not pay their kids for good grades has generated a flood of e-mail, much of it disagreeing with me. For...
View ArticleTackling Private Student Loans.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[How can I get out from under my $43,000 of student-loan debt? Most articles I see reference the federal student-loan program, but what about...
View ArticlePay for College Without Breaking the Bank.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[The best way to reduce student loans? Don't borrow any more than absolutely necessary. One young man I know just "had" to go to an expensive...
View ArticleA Smart Way to Spoil Grandkids.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[As usual, your column is right on the money with timely advice on how grandparents can give gifts to their grandchildren without spoiling them....
View ArticleCan You Put a Price on Education?
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Your column on two young men who chose different paths to college was not my favorite because you made it seem as if the first young man was...
View ArticleThree Keys to Handling Credit Wisely.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Regarding your column on how some young people are unprepared for the responsibility of handling a credit card: I'd like to say that my personal...
View ArticleThe Ins and Outs of 529 Plans.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I have five nephews and two nieces. Can I set up state-sponsored 529 college-savings accounts for all of them? You certainly can. You can open a...
View ArticlePaying for College a Team Effort.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Regarding your recent columns on paying for college: Parents need to discuss college financing with their children and be honest about how much...
View ArticleGet a Head Start on Scholarships.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[My 16-year-old son is a junior in high school. He gets good grades and is in the National Honor Society, but his school counselor says he...
View ArticleRewards Greater Than Money.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[My columns on paying for grades (see Pay Kids for Good Grades? Bad Idea and Readers Defend Paying for Grades) continue to generate lively, often...
View ArticleFinding a Great School Close to Home.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I agree with your recommendation that kids consider going to a community college and then transferring to a four-year state school. That's the...
View ArticleIn Praise of Mean Parenting.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Let's hear it for mean parents: Des Moines mother Jane Hambleton recently made headlines by selling her teenage son's car after she found...
View ArticleBeware of Overdraft Fees.(bank overdrafts)
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Parents who send their kids off to college for the first time often discover an expense they hadn't reckoned on: hundreds of dollars in...
View ArticleCan Your Child Open a Roth IRA?
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I read in Kiplinger's magazine that in 2008 kids can make a contribution to a Roth IRA of up to $5,000 or 100% of their earned income, whichever...
View ArticleKid IRA Q&A.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[My 15-year-old son earned about $2,000 last year working at a supermarket, and that was his only income. Does he have to file any kind of tax...
View ArticleShould You Punish For Bad Grades?
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I've been following your columns on paying for grades [part 1, part 2, part 3]. I think the concept adds an appropriate level of incentive if...
View ArticleStudent Loan Forgiveness.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I read in your column that under a new federal law, college students in teacher-prep programs are eligible for annual grants of $4,000 to help...
View ArticleRoth IRAs for College Savings?
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I have two sons, ages 4 and 6. If I were to open Roth IRAs for them, could the money be used for college? From what I've read, the 10%...
View ArticleSpend Your Way to Success?
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Thanks to my son Peter for inspiring today's column. A freshman at the University of Michigan, Peter e-mailed me a story from the Michigan...
View ArticleBuild Credit Without a Credit Card.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors I am a senior in high school. How can I get a credit card when I turn 18? I need a computer for college. It's going to cost about $2,000. I don't have...
View ArticleStrategic Spending.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I enjoy your articles, and I'd like to share a few thoughts on your column Spend Your Way to Success? You commented on a story written by a...
View ArticleTax Matters for Kids.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[As April 15 approaches, taxes are on the minds of students and parents -- and one thoughtful grandparent: It pays to file In your column [Kid...
View ArticleWhat We Learned From My Mother.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[In this week's column, I'd like to pay a personal tribute to my mother, Irene Bodnar, who passed away last week. I have a lifetime's worth of...
View ArticleBorrow Smart for College.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[My daughter heads off to college in the fall, and we're going to have to borrow money to pay the bills. But I'm confused about the different...
View ArticleTen Sneaky Saving Strategies.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I'm in my 20s, and I'm shocked at how many of my friends don't seem to understand how to save money now in order to use it for other things in...
View ArticleThe Magic of Compounding.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[It looks like 2008 is shaping up as the year Americans are getting serious about saving. In a survey by the American Institute of Certified...
View ArticleGolden Rules for Grads.(on college graduates' financial management)
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Kiplinger's subscriber Chad Hollenkamp wishes to thank his parents. When Chad graduated from college with student-loan debt and a car that had...
View ArticleMore Golden Rules for Grads.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[When it comes to giving new grads a word of advice about their finances, parents are sometimes reluctant to speak up. After all, they figure,...
View ArticleListen to Your Mother.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[A heartfelt thanks to all of you who wrote to express your sympathy on the death of my mother. Some of you also reminisced about the financial...
View ArticleHow to Teach Young Kids to Save.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Any suggestions on the best ways to teach young kids to save money? My top six suggestions: Start early. Start small. Keep it simple. Make it...
View ArticleGetting Teens to Save (Without Nagging).
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Back in April, to mark Financial Literacy Month with its special emphasis on teaching kids to save, I started a series of columns with savings...
View ArticleLet Children Get Down to Business.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Summertime and the living's too easy, judging by the flood of e-mails I get from bored and broke 11- and 12-year olds. "What can I do to make...
View ArticleCreative Summer Jobs.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Last week I told part one of the inspirational tale of 10-year-old Amanda Wilcox, who created a board game called Pandarama to raise money for...
View ArticleTips on Finding a Summer Job.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors I have a work permit and I want a summer job badly. Can u please help me? I need money to buy a cell phone. My mother said I could clean the garage or...
View ArticleParenting With a Financial Focus.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[One of the nicest perks about writing this column is the response I get from readers. This week you weigh in on a variety of subjects that I've...
View ArticleFinancially Literate Teens.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Kids generally get a bad rap when it comes to their knowledge of personal finance. In the 2008 survey of high school seniors by the Jump$tart...
View ArticleSix Essential Money Skills.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Once I was asked if I thought the idea of teaching kids about money in school was controversial. "It's kind of like sex education," one father...
View ArticleGetting a Jump on Summer-Job Searches.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Regarding your column on summer jobs, I'd like to add that teens should start looking several months ahead of time. College students especially...
View ArticleThe Last Word on Kids and Cash.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Not long ago I got a phone call from my 25-year-old son, who sounded a bit testy. John had just read a story in Kiplinger's about a young...
View ArticleTen Rules for Parents to Live By.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[I'm often asked to name the most common mistakes parents make when it comes to teaching kids about money. I can think of plenty, but ticking off...
View ArticleA College Checklist for Parents.(Column)
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Kudos to the dad who recently e-mailed my column on six money skills every kid needs to his college-bound daughter with this thoughtful note:...
View ArticleBack-To-School Shopping Lessons.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Here are a few things on my teenage son Peter's back-to-school list: New khaki pants (current ones frayed at the cuff). Check. New sneakers...
View ArticleDoes it Pay to Go to a Big-Name School?
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[Isn't it true that it pays to go to a higher-ranked (and in most cases more expensive) college because you can earn more money when you...
View ArticleSaving for College Vs. Retirement.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[We parents are always being told we should save for our retirement and our kids' college. Which comes first, and how much should we save for...
View ArticleWhere to Stash Cash for College.
Byline: Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger Washington Editors CDATA[A study by the College Savings Foundation found that more than half of the parents surveyed were unfamiliar with 529 plans or didn't understand...
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