It used to be that people with a history of serious health issues -- ranging from cancer to diabetes to heart problems -- could forget about purchasing life insurance at decent rates. But the insurance ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Find the best mortgage rates in your area. Mortgages 3.52% (30-year fixed) 0.33 (average points) Mortgage rates dipped for the seventh ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Find the best home equity rates in your area. Home Equity 5.15% (line of credit) 6.15% (loan) Rates on loans backed by home equity ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Find the best credit card offers available. Credit Cards 13.02% (all fixed) 15.24% (all variable) The average annual percentage rate, ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Compare CD rates nationally and in your area. CDs 0.25% (1-year CD yields) 0.79% (5-year CD yields) The yield on the benchmark five-year ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Find the best auto rates in your area. Auto Loans 4.11% (60-month, new car) 4.69% (36-month, used car) Auto loan rates were mostly ...

Having dropped for seven consecutive weeks, mortgage rates are now flirting with the record lows seen at the end of last year. And the Federal Reserve seems determined to keep them at the bottom for now. ...

Dear Dr. Don, I'm 57 and hope to retire in about nine years. I need help getting my finances in order, and I was looking for advice on what to do with any spare cash. Would it be better to pay off my mortgage ...

Dear Tax Talk, I have a traditional IRA that's 100 percent funded with post-tax (nondeductible) contributions. That account also has sizable capital gains. If I convert it to a Roth IRA , would I owe ordinary ...

Dear Dr. Don, I am 24 and put 10 percent of my income into my 401(k). If my company does not match my 401(k) contribution, am I better off contributing that money to a Roth IRA ? -- Regina Retirement Dear ...

Dear Dr. Don, I have come to the conclusion that I must downsize my home and reduce my mortgage payment. Am I able to get a loan for a new, smaller house with about half the mortgage payment when I recently ...

Dear Bankruptcy Adviser, I am trying to file bankruptcy and have talked to a lawyer. Unfortunately, I do not have the money to file without making my financial situation even more delicate. I have thought ...

Dear Dr. Don, My daughter has $145,000 in student loan debt. We have some savings and want to pay $110,000 toward the loan. Is there a tax consequence for any of us? The interest rate on her loan is 6.9 ...

Looking for stocks with strong signals? Maybe you should make the call on telecommunications stocks. The American addiction to small devices, such as tablet computers, wireless devices and cellphones, ...

Married couples looking for a way to lower the cost of life insurance or to make sure their estate is protected from taxes when they die may want to consider joint life insurance. Not as common as individual ...

Dear Retirement Adviser, My company is going to switch its 457 plan provider in about 30 days. What should I do, if anything, to limit my costs when I have to make the transfer? Right now I am diversified ...

The Federal Reserve is at risk of failing its two primary responsibilities: control inflation and foster full employment. That's why this week it may hint that it will keep printing money through the year ...

Dear Insurance Adviser, My wife took out a $20,000 life insurance policy on herself, and she pays the premiums with household money. But instead of making me the beneficiary, she put down the name of her ...

Dear Debt Adviser, I have a judgment and collections account on my credit report for an old debt. The collections account is scheduled to expire from my report in September. When that happens, will the ...

Imagine paying off five credit cards and instead of finding relief, you are haunted by those same accounts wrongly recorded as uncollectible on your credit report. Welcome to Beverly Ortiz's life. In 2009, ...

Here's a look at some celebrity endorsements that fell apart, from Michael Phelps to the Kardashians.

Despite extensive media coverage of the widespread, multistate flooding caused by Superstorm Sandy last fall and Hurricane Irene in the summer of 2011, 1 in 5 homeowners is still surprised to learn that ...

Floods and flash floods occur in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and every American lives in a flood zone, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Yet relatively few people are ...

Dear Debt Adviser, My daughter's friend co-signed her student loan. Unfortunately, the loan is now in default. I would like to take over responsibility for paying back the student loan. How do I go about ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Find the best mortgage rates in your area. Mortgages 3.57% (30-year fixed) 0.31 (average points) Mortgage rates inched down for the ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Find the best home equity rates in your area. Home Equity 5.16% (line of credit) 6.16% (loan) Rates on loans backed by home equity ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Find the best credit card offers available. Credit Cards 13.02% (all fixed) 15.27% (all variable) The average annual percentage rate, ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Compare CD rates nationally and in your area. CDs 0.25% (1-year CD yields) 0.79% (5-year CD yields) Rates on longer-term certificates ...

Interest Rate Roundup Mortgages CDs Auto Loans Home Equity Credit Cards Find the best auto rates in your area. Auto Loans 4.12% (60-month, new car) 4.69% (36-month, used car) Auto loan rates were mixed ...

Mortgage rates inched closer to historic lows this week as more homebuyers jumped into an increasingly competitive housing market. 30 year fixed rate mortgage 3 month trend The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate ...

If your down payment on a home is less than 20 percent of the appraised value or sale price, your lender will require you to get mortgage insurance. A mortgage insurance policy protects your lender in ...

Dear Tax Talk, I am 48 and looking at withdrawing money from my IRA in preparation for a divorce settlement. What penalties, taxes and fees can I expect? -- Richard Dear Richard, Not only are you getting ...

FICO is the most common credit score used by lenders. But did you know you have more than one?

Dear Dr. Don, I have a Series E savings bond from 1943, which lists my late aunt and her late husband as the owners. I have no death certificate for either of them. Can this bond be cashed? If so, where ...

Dear Credit Card Adviser, I have been receiving letters from a debt collector for about 20 years saying I owe a balance of $18,000 on a credit card. I have never responded to them and there is nothing ...

Sheila Bair speaking before the National Press Club in 2011. Highlights of Bair's career 1981-1988: Research director, deputy counsel and counsel for U.S. Sen. Robert Dole, R-Kan. 1991-1995: Commissioner, ...

The percentage of U.S. households that owns a home has dropped significantly in recent years, and experts say this downward trend might well continue for at least several more. Still, housing is notoriously ...

Prepaid debit cards are on fire. These cards -- in which the customer chooses how much money will be available for purchases -- represent the fastest-growing noncash payments in America, according to a ...

Dear Dr. Don, I have some questions about some problems I'm having with a home equity loan. The Truth in Lending Act statement said it was a fixed-rate loan with 120 payments to pay off a $24,000 loan ...

Dear Bankruptcy Adviser, Please help -- I just turned 25, and I'm considering filing bankruptcy because I owe more on my car than what it's worth. I lost my job and can't afford the insurance. My loan ...

We may not see the connection between our mental health and our wallets, but a new study suggests that sad people make poorer financial decisions compared to their happier counterparts. The reason, according ...

This list shows the U.S. credit unions that have either failed or have been placed into conservatorship in 2012 or 2013, and it is updated weekly. Most of the credit unions are acquired, and, if insured, ...

Dear Tax Talk, I have investments in foreign countries, and these include bank accounts. The interest I get in these bank accounts is taxed in these countries. Do I have to pay taxes in the U.S. on interest ...

Dear Retirement Adviser, Aloha! I was reading a Q-and-A about taking out a loan from an individual retirement account and an article about taking out a loan from a 401(k) on Bankrate. Can I take out a ...

Dear Insurance Adviser, My wife and I have long-term care insurance and are in good health. I'm 75, and she's 73. Our insurer recently increased our premiums by 78 percent, to about $5,000 per year. We're ...

Financial Security Index Charts Americans' Anxiety With Savings And Stocks Lingers Americans reported feeling comfortable with their overall financial security for the second straight month in April, according ...

Financial Security Index Charts Financial Security Index Stays Positive For the second month in a row, Bankrate's Financial Security Index has remained in positive territory. While dropping back from the ...

Bankrate's monthly survey of six questions measures how secure Americans feel about their personal finances compared to 12 months ago. From April 4-7, telephone interviews (on landlines and cellphones) ...