In today's economy, any incoming college student must prepare to dedicate a large chunk of money toward education costs. While scholarships can go a long way and federal student loans typically have ...

Need cash now? Use our Personal Loans Tool to lock in great offers in minutes! Choosing between a fixed-rate and variable-rate loan can affect how much you pay over time and how easily you can budget ...

Paul L. Underwood is a writer and editor specializing in finance whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Texas Monthly and more. Paul lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, two ...

When you apply for a private student loan or refinance your student loan, you often have the choice between variable and fixed interest rates. Variable-rate loans can be tempting because the ...

Whether you’re applying for a government-backed loan or a conventional mortgage, you’ll likely have the choice between a fixed or variable interest rate. Although a fixed-rate is typically safer, ...

As you work to create a budget, it’s important to understand how fixed and variable expenses will impact your bottom line. David McMillin writes about credit cards, mortgages, banking, taxes and ...

Home equity is the dollar amount of your home that you own outright, calculated by subtracting your mortgage balance from your home’s value. With enough equity, you can borrow against your home’s ...

Annuities are an insurance product used as an income stream during retirement. They typically involve an accumulation phase, when you make a lump sum or series of payments to an insurance company, and ...

A major part of budgeting is projecting fixed expenses versus variable expenses. The fixed ones are often much simpler to plan for because they will change less frequently and often the merchant ...

Fixed-rate changes were more mixed, with two lenders increasing eight fixed rates by an average of 0.24%, while five lenders ...

I'm a freelance financial journalist and a regular contributor to U.S. News and CreditCards.com. I've written for Life + Money by Citi, Bankrate and The Balance, among others. You can find me on ...