SanLuisObispo.com: Personal Finance
News, sports and entertainment from SanLuisObispo.com

• Plan would let seniors work to pay taxes
  Audrey Davison lives alone, gets a $620 Social Security check each month and worries about the sharply rising taxes on her four-bedroom house. Davison, 76, raised her family there and after 43 years, she really doesn't want to leave Greenburgh.Greenburgh doesn't want her to leave, either.The town is pushing a program that would let seniors work part-time, for $7 an hour, to help pay off some of their property taxes.
• How to choose the stud, not the dud
  You possess that uncanny knack of spotting knock-off designer watches and fake brand-name purses. You've tried with all your might to keep that secret power locked up, but once in a while, you unleash it. You can't help it. It's like the predator sniffing out her prey. What can you say? It's a gift.But for some inexplicable reason, your keen animal instinct is amiss when it comes to diamond sightings. Perhaps you're blinded by the bling. Well, don't be bamboozled, my friend. Even a girl's best friend can become her worst enemy if it's playing her for a fool.Seemingly shiny stones can sometimes cloud your vision and win your heart only to leave you disappointed in the end. But there are methods of investigation to make sure you go home with a stud and not a dud.
• Pay the late fee, even if it's not fair
  Dear Debt Adviser,I used my credit card company's online bill-paying feature to schedule a payment to them while I was on vacation. The payment was never processed and they have no record of my scheduled payment. I am new at this and did not know enough to get a confirmation number.They charged me a $29 late fee even though I phoned them immediately, explained what happened and paid in full. Several phone calls, e-mails and letters later, they still refused to remove the late fee.
• Social Security Q&A
  Q: I am about to apply for Social Security disability benefits. I have two children, ages 13 and 15. If my application is approved, will they get benefits, too? Or do the children also have to be disabled to qualify for benefits on my record?A: If you qualify for Social Security disability benefits, your children may receive dependent's benefits based on your work record, even if they're not disabled themselves. As long as you receive benefits, their benefits will continue until they turn 18, or until age 19 if they are still in high school. If your children are disabled, however, at the time that they reach that age, they may be able to continue receiving benefits into adulthood. For more information, visit our Web site on disability benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/disability.Q: I am 58 years old and I currently receive Social Security disability benefits because of partial paralysis. Can I still get my regular Social Security retirement benefits when I reach full retirement age?
• This week's Web Winners: What are exchange-traded funds?
  Exchange-traded funds - described by About.com's Dustin Woodard as similar to index mutual funds, but traded more like stocks - are investments growing in popularity and worth understanding. These sites help you do that.ABOUT.COMFirst, here's Woodard's informational page on ETF basics, which provides notes on some advantages and disadvantages. For example, the funds can be bought and sold through the trading day, unlike mutual funds, but you pay a commission on every trade:
• More studies reveal that we aren't saving enough
  Impulse spending, social pressure, small incomes, large expenses. Those are the excuses that have 52 percent of Americans saying they are saving "inadequately" for important goals such as retirement.The survey, released last week by Wachovia and the Consumer Federation of America, also asked more than 2,000 respondents about young people's chances of accumulating $1 million. Just 10 percent of young Americans are likely to amass a cool $1 million, according to the survey.You'd better prove them wrong.
• Unpaid credit cards bedevil Americans
  Americans are falling behind on their credit card payments at an alarming rate, sending delinquencies and defaults surging by double-digit percentages in the last year and prompting warnings of worse to come.An Associated Press analysis of financial data from the country's largest card issuers also found that the greatest rise was among accounts more than 90 days in arrears.Experts say these signs of the deterioration of finances of many households are partly a byproduct of the subprime mortgage crisis and could spell more trouble ahead for an already sputtering economy.
• Tougher mortgage lending rules hinge on weak link: enforcement
  The Federal Reserve's proposals this week to address deception and fraud in mortgage lending will all be for naught unless the states, the Fed and other federal agencies tighten their enforcement of the lending rules.Lending standards weakened sharply in 2005 and 2006 as home prices soared. Fraud and predatory lending were rampant in the subprime market, which served the weakest borrowers.Yet there wasn't any federal sheriff.
• High-tech coupons come calling
  I love saving money on a good deal almost as much as I detest cutting coupons. I say "almost" because, frankly, my laziness wins out when it comes to cutting, storing and organizing those little devils. But now that coupons have gone high-tech, I've learned to save again.HOW IT WORKSIf you have the Internet on your cell phone, you can go with a company like Cellfire.com, which sends deals specific to your location. Download the service, type in your zip code, and you're good to go. A car-rental double upgrade, free chili-cheese dog, or 20 percent off goods at a favorite retailer are yours for the taking.
• Smugglers exploit housing market woes
  Unable to sell his house in suburban Phoenix's anemic real estate market, Jason Winterholler rented to a couple who paid the deposit in cash and didn't haggle over price.It was a deal he came to regret.The renters were fronts for immigrant smugglers who used the house as a hiding place for illegal immigrants and trashed the home. In October, a SWAT team drove an armored personnel carrier onto the lawn and raided the house, rounding up nearly two dozen people.
• Experts urge financial protection steps
  The stock market goes up 200 points one day, and down 200 the next. Inflation is heating up, credit is tight and there's talk that the economy may fall into recession.It's enough to make Americans want to hide their money under the mattress.But experts say this isn't a time to be frightened into inaction: There are steps consumers can take to protect themselves from the worst market perils, from setting up an emergency fund to re-evaluating the amount of risk in an investment portfolio.
• Social Security Q&A
  Q: I'm reaching my full retirement age and am thinking about retiring in the first quarter of next year. When is the best time of year to apply for Social Security benefits?A: If you are planning to retire in early 2008, you can apply now and complete the process before the new year. Your monthly payments will then begin on time in 2008. To apply, just go to www.socialsecurity.gov/applytoretire. More than a million retirees have successfully used our online application because it's convenient and secure - you can too. As an alternative, you may also visit your local Social Security office or call us at 1-800-772-1213.Q: My wife and I live in Vermont, but plan to spend the winter in Florida. My wife will turn 62 while we are down south. Can she apply for benefits in Florida, or do we have to wait until we get back home to apply for retirement at our local Social Security office?
• How to stop a wife from piling up debt on credit cards
  Dear Debt Adviser,How do I stop my wife and brother-in-law from burying me in more credit card debt?-- Gerry
• Don't be afraid of stocks in retirement, planner says
  My late aunt was so worried about running out of money in retirement that she put all her investments in certificates of deposit and spared just $1 for the church envelope each Sunday.Her retirement, and the church's budget, could have been a little more prosperous if she knew what we know now. New research shows retirees with mostly fixed-income investments have a greater chance of running out of money in retirement than those who add stocks to their retirement portfolio.Because my aunt had irrational fears about stocks, not only did she have less for retirement, but she also had less for her heirs and lost her ability to leave a legacy through charitable giving.