Ask Gail a Question

If you have a question you need answered, click here and send it to me. I promise to answer one question every week. Make sure you include your email so I can respond directly to you. And if you don’t want your name to show up on the site, just let me know and I’ll remove your name from your question before it’s posted.

Before you send me a question, search the site to see if I’ve already dealt with your issue because if I have you won’t be hearing back from me. Yes, I know you're all individuals, but lots of your questions are quite similar and if I take time to answer the same questions over and over I don't have time to answer new questions. Make sure you search both the site and the blog before you write to me to see if you can find the answer you're looking for. Be as specific as you can when you use the search. If you type in "mortgage" you'll get every article that mentions the word "mortgage." If you type in "mortgage" and "prepayment," you'll get far fewer responses and that will save you having to wade through stuff you're not looking for.

Scroll down the page for a complete archive of questions!
On each archived month, the questions will be listed at the top of the page and are linked to the specific question & answer below. Gail's answers are in green!

August 2010 Questions & Answers....

• After spending years of living on credit, paying off masses of debt only to repeat the same cycle again, thanks to you (and your jars!) my family is finally on the road to financial freedom.
  
  
• I am a very spoiled wife and did not realize how much stress I was continually putting on my husband. We have 3 boys, 2 of which are in college and the youngest is a freshman in highschool. I love your show and did not know what I was doing until I faced it in every family you helped. We have successfully paid off $5000.00 since Feb. of this year, and I have to tell you it feels better than anything else I could have purchased.
  
  
• Read your book and have the jars going for the last month.  Could use some advise however.  I lost my job of 5 years and it's been 3 months of looking for a replacement. When I did my budget I got 30% for transportation when it should be 15%.  Much of this expense comes in lease payments and of course gas.  There is no way out of the lease for another 8 months and I live in the suburbs where a car is 95% a necessity. Is there anything I can do to bring that category into a more reasonable range?
  
  
• So Gail should I go for it and get the car of my dreams by spending 20k, then start to get busy saving for my retirement. Remember I have no debt do not need a loan and already have my house paid in full......
  
  
• My husband had an auto accident w/ his truck and the insurance totalled it.  We received the insurance pymt after they paid off the loan and we get the remaining $4000.   My question is should we pay off a debt with high interest or save the money for a good payment on the next vehicle?  
  
  
• Our dilemma is this: we are now faced with doing some upgrades to our condo that are unavoidable and must be completed within the next two months. We are unable to use the equity in our condo due to a condition in our mortgage. The only thing I can think of to pay for these upgrades, which cost in the range of $2000 - $3000, is to take out a low interest loan or line of credit.  I am hesitant to take on any more credit (apart from the loan we have one low-interest credit card) but cannot think of any other options.  Is there anything you can suggest?
  
  
• What puzzles me is how much should be really left in my bank account after the fixed expenses is paid and calculating the variable expense. To give you a better idea what I am saying.  My income is about $2200 month minus the fixed expenses.  Now usually I have about $700 left over.  What should I really be doing with the left over?
  
  
• Would it be wise to pay our Master Card off with our line of credit .  I just want to cut up that master card and concentrate on paying that line of credit off, especially before we retire, which is in 11 years.What is your advice, as I respect your knowlege of money management and  of helping the people on your show.
  
  
• This week, I am hosting a couple of workshops for people with Disabilities ("the forgotten ones") and the employees to teach them about budgeting and their financial health. Any advise?
  
  
• My question is, should I continue to try and pay off my mortgage as quickly as possible or focus on putting savings in the tax-free account?
  
  
• Can I have it all (the car and the house?) How long should I wait?!! Desperately seeking a reward for my hard work!
  
  
• I have a large income tax return sitting in my bank account...should I use it to pay off my student loan (I would actually still owe about $600) or should I save/invest it???