personal finance

The federal government's Home Affordable Refinance program is designed to help homeowners refinance their mortgages -- even if they owe slightly more than the current value of their homes.

Dear Debt Adviser,
I would like to know if I (should) participate in a debt management program or file for bankruptcy if I have credit-card debtor problems, such as difficulty paying my statement, and not because of job loss. I know both can affect the credit score and credit report. Which -- DMP or bankruptcy -- is better? If you were me, which would you rather choose?

When we overindulged in real estate earlier this decade, we took generous helpings of seconds.
Now the problem for many with too much debt on their plate is how to deal with the mortgage on a second home.

Congress is working on a compromise to the estate tax that would eliminate the incentive to keep dying people on respirators until next year.
Under current law, the estate tax will disappear in 2010, then rise from the dead in 2011 in a gruesome state: Estates of more than $1 million per person would be taxed at rates as high as 55 percent.

Dear Debt Adviser,

Most workers should be getting a little extra in their paychecks, thanks to the Making Work Pay credit included in the stimulus bill.
Unfortunately, some people might have to pay all or some of the credit back when they file their taxes next year.

Dear Debt Adviser,
They will be doing a background check on my credit, debt and other things for the Air Force, and it's serious. My car was repossessed for two weeks at the most. But I paid for it and got my car back. Are the records going to show that it was repossessed if I have the car right now?
-- Reshia
Dear Reshia,

If you've been tempted to skip a few mortgage payments to try to convince your lender to modify your loan, you may want to resist that temptation. Whether your goal is to stave off foreclosure or just make your payments more affordable, experts say deliberate delinquency is not as smart an idea as it may seem.
The bottom line is that:

Dear Debt Adviser,
I understand that there are privately owned agencies that will clear your credit report for a flat-rate fee. From what I understand, it takes a few months, but they can re-establish excellent credit ratings for their clients. Are you familiar with them? How does this service work? Is it safe?
-- Eve
Dear Eve,

The government's extraordinary efforts to bring down interest rates to help banks and borrowers have been murder on savers.
Over the past year, yields on safe havens such as Treasury bills, certificates of deposit and money-market funds have fallen even more steeply than mortgage rates.