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Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest level since May. But they're still higher than they were when the Federal Reserve started buying mortgage-backed securities to force rates lower.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 12 basis points to 5.41 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.27 discount and origination points. One year ago,… Continue

Q:
Dear Debt Adviser,
I lost my job and am collecting unemployment benefits. Can a creditor garnish my unemployment check? I've been looking for new employment, but as you know, so is everyone else. Thanks.
-- Connie


A:
Dear Connie,
I know that being unemployed in the best of times stinks. But being unemployed in the midst of a bad recession makes it seem more like a depression. I've been there more than once myself and can only say that this too shall pass, and you will be fine… Continue

Laddering fixed income products, such as certificates of deposit and bonds, is a good way to lessen your exposure to interest rate fluctuations. If your ladder stretches out over five years, you'll generally see a significant difference in the spread between the short-term rates and the longer-term rates.

As investments on the shorter end of the ladder mature, the cash is reinvested at the longer end, where presumably, the rates are considerably higher.

But in a prolonged low-rate envir… Continue

It took me 50-odd years to behold my own grizzled countenance in the mirror and admit, as comedian Wanda Sykes likes to put it, "I old."

The "50" part seems absurd to me. My jump shot remains unstoppable and I disgust my cardiologist.

It's the oddness of the past half-century that leaves me grinning like an Osmond.

See that? Osmond. Like you would know what I mean.

Around age 40, your reference points start to slip. Little kids give you concerned looks when you say things like "Heeeeere's Jo… Continue

Q:
Dear Bankruptcy Adviser,
My house is currently in foreclosure. The bank refused to work with me to restructure my mortgage so I could continue to make payments and keep the house. I am considering Chapter 13 bankruptcy in an attempt to save the house, but the bank refuses to make the payments low enough for me to afford. Please tell me if there is anything I can do.
-- Gina


A:
Dear Gina,
Chapter 13 is a reorganization of your debts in which you will pay back none, some or all… Continue