Karin Price Mueller is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com, a personal finance web site that offers smart and objective advice on everything money. She also writes the Bamboozled consumer affairs column for The Star-Ledger, and a monthly money column for Inside Jersey magazine, and she's been the recipient of many national and local journalism awards. Mueller lives in Monmouth County with her husband — Star-Ledger reporter Mark Mueller — and their three kids and two English Mastiffs. Whatever they don't eat goes into her retirement savings accounts.
Karin Price Mueller
How landlords can find qualified tenants
Q. I kept a condo that was in the family and I am putting a lot of money into fixing it up after a renter did a ton of damage – many times what the security deposit will cover. How should a landlord screen applying renters to get a reliable and clean tenant?
Buying ‘smart’ bonds in today’s market
Q. In this market, what kinds of bonds are smart? It would be part of my retirement plan, and I have 15 years before I need the money.
Best ways to fund home improvements
Q. I need to do some home improvements, and I don’t really have the cash. I haven’t applied for a home equity loan. Is that the best way?
Figuring costs basis for gifted stock
Q. When I give stocks to my grandson, what does he start with for a cost basis: the price of it when I give it to him or the price when I purchased it?
Strategies to rent out your summer house
Q. I have a summer home that I’ve never rented out, but I’m thinking about it because I don’t get to use it enough. Should I do it through Airbnb or hire a management company or what?
If you’re willing to risk ‘play money’
Q. I’ve been thinking of making a new account with play money for penny stocks — sort of like playing the lottery. Are there any negatives if I can afford to lose the money?
What seniors should know about joint accounts
Q. Since I am elderly and handicapped, I added my daughter’s name to sign my checks so she can pay bills if I was hospitalized. Does this mean she owns half my accounts now? I wanted them to be payable on death to three family members. Also my daughter has bad credit. What will this do to my credit? And, I have one disfavored child and I don’t want her name on the accounts.
Disability and whether you qualify for the senior freeze
Q. My mother wants to file for NJ Senior Freeze. She meets all of the requirements except perhaps one. She has collected Social Security for years, but is that different than the Social Security Disability payments mentioned in Form 2015 PTR-1?
Savings accounts vs. money markets
Q. How is a savings account different from a money market account?
Protecting landlords from bad tenants
Q. If you own an income property, how to protect yourself from renting to bad tenants?