Personal Finance

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.1. Free weekly credit reports!2. Bar soap versus body wash3. Alternatives to lawn and mowing4. Side gigs while at home5. …

Photo by adriaticfoto / Shutterstock.com Wondering whether you were infected with the coronavirus earlier in the year? Two companies are now offering antibody testing directly to the public on their websites. And even if your health care provider doesn’t give you an order for the coronavirus antibody test, you still …

Personal loans provide an excellent avenue for individuals to get access to money when they need it. The first and most important decision you’ll need to make when shopping for a loan is secured vs. unsecured personal loans. The choice will depend on your financial goals, financial situation, the amount …

Homeowners insurance protects your house against things like damage after a major storm, a kitchen fire and even theft. After something happens, you file a claim with the insurance company and expect to get reimbursed based on your policy’s limits. But what happens when your claim settlement isn’t what you …

The Insurance Information Institute cites hail damage as the most frequent claim in the United States with 2.1 percent of insured homes filing a hail damage claim. In fact, from 2013-2017, the average claim severity for hail damage was $ 10,182.  To ensure you don’t have to pay over $ …

Sears, Roebuck and Company launched Allstate in 1931, originally selling auto insurance through the mail. Over nearly a century, Allstate has expanded its portfolio to include business, condo, home, life, motorcycle and renters insurance products. In a 2018 survey, the Insurance Information Institute ranked Allstate the fourth largest auto insurance …

One positive side effect of this period of social distancing is that, over the past two months or so, many people who have found themselves working from home and unable to go out — teachers, computer programmers, professors, accountants, office workers, engineers, managers and many others — have found themselves …

Photo by Aaron Freeman / Money Talks News Not so long ago, for many Americans, retirement was a breeze. That’s because when retirement rolled around, your employer gave you a guaranteed monthly income for life — in short, a pension. That, along with Social Security, meant a safe, secure retirement. …

Tornadoes can happen in any state in the U.S., and with more than 1,200 occurring annually, they are not uncommon. If you live in Texas, Kansas, Florida, Oklahoma, or Nebraska — the five top states for tornadoes — be sure your homeowners insurance has tornado coverage.  Even if you don’t …