The straight line

Reverse mortgages have been around for years. But they’re getting a new spin: Some senior homeowners are tapping into their home equity to “bridge the gap” until the time they’re ready to apply for Social Security benefits. However, an independent consumer agency — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — is cautioning retirees against using this...

Back-to-school season is a good time to review the federal tax breaks that are currently available if you or a loved one will be attending college or graduate school this fall. After all, a higher education degree is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make. Cost Overview How much does an advanced degree typically cost?...

If your business finds that it must lay off a large number of employees, make sure you are in compliance with a federal law that requires some employers to provide advance notification. This little-known law is called the Federal Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act (WARN). Under the law, employers who are covered must give 60...

A business trip is meant to solidify relationships with clients and customers or to gain new ones. Or perhaps it’s a time for sales calls and “meets and greets” with suppliers. In any event, the goal of business travel is generally to make money — not to fritter it away on needless expenses. Businesses have to keep...

The driving force in many expansion plans is to generate higher sales, with the hope that profits will rise. But before making moves to buy new equipment, expand your plant or implement a new business idea, you need to grasp the profit angle. In some cases, an expansion plan boosts sales but not profits. You wind...

When you’re bargaining over starting salaries or pay raises, be on sure footing or you might find yourself tumbling into a legal quagmire. If you succumb too easily to better-than-average negotiators, you may wind up running afoul of federal law. When salaries are skewed in favor of one group – say, white males – your company...