Home Affordability

Estimate of the maximum amount of financing you can expect to get when you begin house hunting.

Mortgage Refinancing

Determine whether you should consider refinancing your mortgage.

Mortgage Acceleration

This calculator can help you determine how soon you can pay off your mortgage.

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The Dynamics That Can Drive Inflation

High unemployment and slow wage growth seem to have kept consumer spending and core inflation from growing very rapidly in the first half of 2011. This article reminds investors to keep the potential risk of inflation in mind, because even modest price increases compounded over time can erode the purchasing power of the assets in their portfolios.

Deciding When to Begin

Waiting until full retirement age (or up to age 70) to claim Social Security may result in significantly higher monthly benefits. At age 62, the earliest age to claim Social Security, the amount received could be only 70% of the benefit received at "full retirement age" (which ranges from age 65 to 67 depending on year of birth).

Do You Have Enough Disability Coverage

Disability can affect anyone without notice, and a well-paid professional in the midst of a productive career has much to lose if he or she suffers a medical problem and is unable to work. But there are ways that high earners can expand their coverage and help ensure that their income, assets, and lifestyle are not at risk from a potential disability.

Another Economic Stimulus

Temporary incentives could affect businesses of all sizes. Although Congress was unable to tackle the controversial issue of future income tax rates before the 2010 midterms, it quietly passed a little-noticed tax package, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2009 (H.R. 5297), that may benefit small businesses and even individual taxpayers.

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