#BeReady: Your financial questions answered
Have a question about your finances? CBS News financial analyst Jill Schlesinger has the answers.
AHW (@aholliwood): Best ways to stay out of credit card debt?
Jill Schlesinger: It starts with creating a budget. That means tracking how much you spend, a good way there are a lot of different apps out there you can do it with, your bank. But most importantly, be on top of what's coming in, what's going out, and stay within those limits.
Robert P. Walsh (@berniefalcon): I'm single, never married, turning 55 in August, & have the house on the MKT, hoping to downsize. Good or bad move?
Schlesinger: No. why would that be a bad move? I love downsizing. Be careful to make sure that in the downsizing process that you really downsize. In other words, a lot of people think they are going to downsize and they end up spending too much money on a new home.
Jenna A. Converse (@jcon2313): If you're living on a budget should you pay down student loans or put more into 401(k)?
Schlesinger: This is a great question. Generally speaking, we love to see new graduates put money into their 401(k) up to the match limit, then take all available extra money and use that to pay down your student loans. Once those student loans are paid off, you can put more money into your 401(k).
Aji (@jby02): How can a 50 year old with no retirement savings start a 25-30 viable year plan today? Possible? Income is limited with debts
Schlesinger: Hey, I've got great news for you, because it is possible. Whenever you start, there are real simple concepts. Number one: understand how much money is coming in and out. Identify an amount of money that you can put towards your savings goal, and then automate that as much as possible.
Patrick Brown (@bearcats00): Does it make sense to pay down your mortgage early ? I have no other debts...
Schlesinger: Well you know look, mortgage rates are really cheap right now. Maybe that extra money can be used to beef up your savings and invest in your retirement. Remember once you pay down that mortgage, it feels good emotionally, but you've lost the use of that money. Houses are illiquid, so it hard to get money out of them down the road. I like the idea of using that extra money and beefing up your retirement reserves.