Read previous answers from Gail:

January 2008

• What I am thinking is I need to consolidate all of this. Do you think this is a good idea?
• I am getting part of my inheritance ($100,000) before my father passes away.
• I was just wondering what you would suggest to do with the 15% used for debt reduction after the debt is gone?
• How much do you need to retire?
• Should I be putting any additional savings into my mortgage? Does even a $2 - 3,000 a year make sense or does it make more sense to invest this money elsewhere?
• We are a pair of 48 year old renters who need to decide if we should take our small savings and buy a house, or if we should improve our retirement home.
• I found this website with a savings goal calculator. They use an interest rate of 8.00% with an inflation rate of 3.1%. Is that realistic?
• I have made a list of 5 major things that I am saving for this year and how much I should put away each month, which is about $300 a month. Do you think it would be better to keep it in a savings account or put it towards my line of credit?
• What would you consider to be a reasonable monthly expense [for transportation]?
• How do I budget accordingly for clothing and entertainment?