Tips to Sell Your Home
in a Down Market

Let’s be honest: The housing market stinks right now if you’re a seller. We know firsthand. We recently listed our house for sale.

Interest rates are up. Lenders are approving fewer people for mortgages because many of them have dramatically tightened their credit standards. And the topper: All of those nasty adjustable mortgages people got in recent years have bumped up to higher payments, so a lot of folks who can’t afford the new payments are forced to sell their homes.

It all adds up to a glut in many areas. Prices are down, and homes are sitting on the market for a long time.

We’ve got some strategies to help you sell your house in a tough market. And we’ve even got a few surprises for you – like a tip we got from a listener. It’s one of those head-slappers that make you say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Click here to watch our special video to get the whole story.

Debt Management

Let us walk you through a typical conversation we’ve had with callers to our national radio show. Joe calls in and wants our help getting out of debt. Our first step is to sort out Joe’s income and outflow.

“How much money do you make,” we’ll ask.

“Fifty-eight thousand dollars a year.”

“How much do you owe?”

“I’m not sure” is invariably the response we get. What?! We’re dismayed, but we’re no longer surprised that Joe is in trouble.

It’s a pretty sure bet that you’re in trouble if you’ve lost track of how much you owe.

There are lots of things you can do to make a dent in your debt, but you’ve got to start now. The longer you wait, the harder it is to catch up.

Want to know which debt to tackle first? We’ve got the answer for you, along with 7 simple steps to get you started on the path to being debt-free. Click here to read the 7 steps now.

Retirement
5 Dangerous
Retirement Myths

“Retire” doesn’t mean what it used to! The Baby Boomers who are just now hitting their early 60s are likely to stay active for a very long time.

Add in the sobering fact that the “over 85 gang” is the fastest growing segment of the American population, and you quickly realize the importance of investing for MANY “golden” years!

It’s no wonder that one of the biggest money concerns we hear from people is saving for retirement. A recent poll by our friends at Bankrate shocked even us when almost 20% of people said they expect to work until they die.

It doesn’t have to be that way, and you can bet we’ll talk an awful lot about this subject in future issues of Smart Money Moves (and on Dolans.com, which is coming your way before you know it). We want to make sure you get it exactly right!

Unfortunately, if you listen to a lot of what you hear about retirement, you’ll get it exactly wrong! There is so much misinformation out there that it makes our heads spin. There’s even one myth that has folks heading to Vegas!

Read on to discover these five top retirement myths and let us set the record straight.

Save More
Easy Ways to Cut
Your Medical Costs

Healthcare costs continue rise faster than inflation. As a result, businesses are asking folks like us to pick up more of our medical costs. You’ve heard of sticker shock when it comes to cars. Unfortunately, the same thing is true with medical bills. Maybe even worse!

Here are four easy ways to save a few bucks on your medical costs:

1. Get free medical care. We haven’t gone off the deep end when we tell you that you can get medical care from some of the best doctors in the world free! Researchers spend millions of dollars every year researching new treatments and developing new cures. If your health condition is one of those being studied, you may be able to get free medical attention and state-of-the-art treatment.
   
   The National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducts the largest number of clinical trials as well as outpatient research. You can get information about clinical trials at a special NIH website: www.clinicaltrials.gov. Or have your doctor call the Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office at 1-800-411-1222 to find out if your medical condition is being studied.
   
   
2. Use outpatient services. Many procedures, even simple surgeries and invasive tests, can be done without being admitted as an inpatient. Arrange to arrive at the hospital first thing in the morning so you can have your procedure immediately and be home by evening.
   
   
3. Don’t stay overnight for diagnostic tests. Remember, the more time you spend in the hospital, the more expensive it gets.
   
   
4. Avoid weekend hospital admission. Don’t check into the hospital on a Friday unless it’s an emergency. Most labs don’t work weekends, so your tests will likely wait until Monday. You end up paying top dollar for a worthless weekend.

We certainly hope your weekend wasn’t worthless! In fact, just the opposite, and we hope this letter finds you in good health. We’ll be back in touch again soon, and don’t forget to stay tuned for exciting details about Dolans.com! We’re working hard to make it an incredibly value resource to help you with all of your money concerns, and we can’t wait to share it with you. We’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Sincerely,

Ken & Daria Dolan

P.S. If you’re like most people, annuities confuse you. Generally, we’ve recommended you avoid them, BUT, there are a few new twists out there. Will it change the Dolans’ tune? Find out in your next issue of Smart Money Moves!