Automated recurring transfers into these accounts is super-easy as well. I don’t even have to think about it once it’s set up. Every now and again, I review my fund spending/saving and see if I have to notch the periodic contributions up or down.

We’re just guessing here.. he needs to sort it out with the lender. I’m not really surprised if they’ve failed to mail him specifics, many banks are poorly staffed in their mortgage servicing dept. relative to the amount of defaults and foreclosures they’re dealing with lately.

Q8 Tessa : I find Kelly Bluebook values to be a little inflated. Also check the resale value on Edmunds and do some comparison shopping in your area on Craigslist and Autotrader. The car value is priced by the market and your desire to get $2000 to replenish your emergency fund is not really relevant to how much the car is worth. If you aren’t in a huge rush to sell then start higher price and drop the price over time if necessary. You can list your car for free on Craigslist which is often a good route. Make sure to post pictures and a detailed & accurate description of the car.

Q9 Mark: That increase in principal seems very high. Were you making payments during the 2 year period? If you didn’t make payments then they may have added those payments to your principal balance. Read all your documentation carefully and look for discussion of fees. There should be some record of the transactions. If there isn’t then the bank certainly owes you an explanation, keep calling and pestering them and don’t take no for an answer.

You may need help sorting it out. Rather than paying a lawyer, check for government agencies. The HUD website should have some pointers for consumer help with mortgage problems, I assume one of those agencies or non-profits might be able to help out.

Q10 Erin: Save for school. You can defer payments on your existing loan while you’re in school. That 4.5% rate will be hard to beat. As you already have a Masters I don’t think you’ll be treated as undergrad even if you’re taking undergrad coursework, so a new Stafford would run you 6.8% Don’t pay off your 4.5% loan to take out a 6.8% loan.

Is that second part a typo? Unless the house has not been a priority until now.

I don’t understand 9. you said they added fees. Well, was it $35K in fees? Possible.

craigslist or the local paper on the car.

Q8 – Unless you live in a Tiny Town, use Craiglist. As for price, it depends how quickly you need to sell the car. If you need to sell in the next week, take Trent’s advice.

If you have a few weeks, price it about 10% above Blue Book and see what hits you get. You can always repost lower a week or so later (although don’t plan to repost and reduce the price daily – people will just wait to see how low you’ll go). Craigslisters always negotiate. We usually plan to get 10-25% less than our Craigslist list price. My husband’s rule of thumb is that if you get a serious buyer in 24 hours or less, you priced it too low (unless that was the plan because you needed the cash ASAP).

Also, we had one instance selling a set of tires where he got no responses, then reposted $100 HIGHER and had someone buy immediately. You may inadvertantly scare away buyers if you price it too low – they’ll assume something is wrong.

PS – We’ve successfully sold five vehicles on Craigslist this way in the last four years.