Ask Money

My wife and I are in the planning stages of a garage project that will net us an apartment to reduce our living expenses when we move in and rent out our home. Not accounting for returns, we can save the funds needed in about two and half years. We're currently trying to figure out where to put this money (the account and fund type). We want something low risk, but with higher returns than a savings account, and tax implications are important. We're considering using three Roth IRAs for this and withdrawing the base to complete the project, leaving the gains in the accounts when we do so. What would you recommend we do with the money?

I have two friends who have new brand new babies in their families. My best friend is a grandmother to a new baby; and my niece has a new baby. I would like to give them a small gift -- $25 to my friend and $50 to my niece -- to start or add to a college fund for the new babies. I am 65 years old, and don't want to control the fund once I give the gift. Education is very important to me, and I want the money securely held for college expenses for these babies and not available for anything else. I suspect my niece (she's a PA and her husband an engineer) already have a college fund established. But I suspect the daughter of my best friend (who's very financially responsible herself) hasn't even thought of a college fund. How can I do this?

I recently purchased some furniture and in order to build a good credit history, I purchased the furniture on credit. I was unaware I will be issued a credit card for the same. Now I am stuck with a credit card which I do not really see using in the future. I would like to get rid of this furniture credit card and in lieu, perhaps, get another good offer credit card from Marriott which has great perks that I would use. How would this situation show-up on my credit history? Thanks!

<span style="line-height: 1.42857em;">I'm 29, finishing a Master's program in Rangeland Ecology and Management. I'm down to thesis writing, so I haven't been a full time student for a bit and my student loan grace period is up. &nbsp;I have about $40,000 in student loans, APR 6.8%. &nbsp;I have no income at the moment, but I'm optimistic that I will be finished with school and have a job by May. &nbsp;So I'm not worried about making minimum payments, possibly making big payments depending on the quality of the job.</span> Thing is, I happen to have about $17,000 just sitting in a Roth IRA. &nbsp;Does it make economic sense to be sitting on this when I have a sizable debt? The student loans are the only debt I have. -Chris

Currently I am 28, married and have a daughter who is 10. The only debt I have is my home, which I currently owe $300,000 on. We have $100,000 in equity. We do not have any investment accounts now and have $400,000 in our checking account (yep, I know it's crazy!). I want to put money away and begin compounding interest. My 2 main questions are: 1) where should I put the money? I want to retire around 50, so 20 years from now. 2) what percent gains on average can I expect each year? I've done the compounding interest calculator and it really begins to put out large numbers once its gets over 10% a year or so.

I want to apply for a credit card and am looking for one that satisfies the following: - no annual fee - cash back - at least a 20 day grace period for paying the bill Recommendations for a first time credit card holder?

I never see this topic addressed: What are the retirement options available to the huge percentage of the working population who didn't ever make a living wage, whose daily living expenses even with roommates and scrimping very hard indeed seldom met monthly living expenses much less leave anything to save? And please do not trot out that old cliche about giving up fancy coffee drinks -- those of us who do not even make a living wage are drinking whatever is on sale at Walmart, not purveyed by Starbucks. All the experts want to do is talk to people who make a lot of money -- about their savings, investments and golden retirements. Marketplace Money's experts do need to understand that a very large percentage of working Americans simply do not have these assets but DO face the prospect of a grim retirement. Thank you!

Hello, My wife and I are looking to purchase a car and are curious about how taking out an auto loan might affect our credit scores. We are both fortunate enough to have decent jobs and have been relatively aggressive savers, so it is possible for us to pay for a car in cash. In addition, we have been lucky enough to have been able to get by without incurring any debt (other than credit cards that are consistently paid off each month, no student loans). As a result, our credit scores are based solely on credit cards and we have not had any debt involving monthly payments. At some point in the next couple years, we would like to buy a house and want to know if it would be a good idea to add an auto loan to our credit history. If so, how does the amount and duration of the loan factor into our credit rating? Are there benchmarks used by the credit rating companies? For example, would financing $10,000 dollars of the purchase be better than $5,000? Would a 24-month loan have a different effect than a 36-month loan? Enjoy the show - any advice you might be able to offer would be greatly appreciated. Best, Jon

I'm 33 and just started medical residency. I spent most of my 20's in school, so I don't have much at all saved for retirement or saved for anything really. Now that I finally have a paycheck, I've figured that I can afford to save about 20 percent of it (or about $700 or so a month, so not a whole lot). Should all of that go directly towards retirement? Or should I save part of that amount for an emergency fund or potentially for a down payment for a house someday, and if so how much? How do people manage to save for normal life events like houses, etc., while still being smart about retirement on this type of income? Thanks!

What are your feelings on the "Target Date" retirement funds? My husband has several 401(k) accounts at multiple institutions from past jobs, and we'd like to consolidate them into one firm. We have all our other investments in Vanguard, and he has both traditional and Roth IRA accounts there he could roll the 401ks into. At the moment, both are using the Target 2045 funds. Are these types of funds generally fine, or would it be a bad idea to continue putting a bunch of money into them? Amanda, New York