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GREGORY KARP Credit card tips might be easier to understand when they are binary do this, do that but that advice usually apply to everybody. In fact, some advice could hurt more than help. a sampling of conventional wisdom on credit cards and why it might not apply to you. use credit Cardholders can get in trouble by charging too much, then paying finance charges. That downside is real Credit cards have many benefits, including convenience, building credit, rewards and fraud protections.

is a stigma associated with credit cards, but they can be effective money- management tools as long as you use them said Paul Golden, spokesman for the National Endowment for Financial Education. of the bad reputation originates from irresponsible use, overspending and using a product that quite right for use credit For those who regularly incur credit card debt or know they trust themselves not to overspend with plastic, credit cards can be a lousy idea. Instead, cash and debit cards can help to curb spending. pay an annual Plenty of good credit cards charge nothing to hold them. But cards with annual fees typically offer rewards and benefits.

They might include signup bonuses, airport lounge access and hundreds of dollars in travel credits. transfer balances from card to The idea behind this is that moving debt to different cards address the problem of paying it off. In fact, fees could add to debt But the upside is, balance-transfer cards can provide breathing room for carrying balances without finance charges often more than a year. useful when you pay now but likely could pay later. use a rewards If you use a card as a payment tool and pay the balance in full every month, a rewards card is ideal.

But for those who carry balances and pay finance charges, the interest would be more than the rewards. close a credit card Closing an account can hurt your credit rating, because scoring formulas like to see that you using more than 30 percent of your available credit (less is better) and a lengthy credit history, both of which suffer with a closure. Still, you might want to cancel an unwanted card to avoid paying an annual fee if the issuer let you downgrade to a no-fee card. paying a hefty annual fee, you will have to decide if worth the credit- score hit to close the Golden said. pay your bill in You should pay off your credit card bill monthly to avoid paying finance charges.

An exception might be during times of hardship, when paying for a necessity, such as rent or food, trumps paying the credit card bill in full. Or you might be within a 0 percent interest period on your card and decide to use cash to address a different financial priority. a balance can be a costly proposition, so if it becomes difficult to manage the debt you owe, it is best to have a conversation with your creditor and consider getting help from a nonprofit credit counseling agency before things get says Bruce McClary, spokesman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Gregory Karp is a writer at NerdWallet E-mail: Twitter: Blanket credit card advice can mislead omen have a math problem when it comes to retirement: On average, they retire two years earlier than men but they live five years longer. The obvious solution is to make sure women save enough money to cover the longer spread and to work as long as possible, but that is not what is happening out there in the real world.

When it comes to early retirement, which most define as before 65, a study from Fidelity released this month found that the top reason women leave the workforce early is because of a health concern. This health matter typically relates to a spouse, but also sometimes to elderly parents or even grandchildren. One of Abe financial planning clients presents a common scenario. This woman stopped working when she was 63 to care for her husband until he died of lung cancer. Rather than return to the workforce, she shifted to caring for her grandchildren so her daughter could work.

She will probably have enough funds for her later years, but Ringer, who is based in Boston, has other clients he worries about. any type of financial planning, operating with a certain degree of he said. Health care costs are one of the most unpredictable factors of retirement. The Fidelity study estimated that women over 65 will need $147,000 for health care in retirement, while men will need just $133,000. That number does not include long-term care.

Those who retire before Medicare kicks in at 65 have additional costs because they have to pay for coverage either cost-sharing with an ex-employer or on the open market, said Katie Taylor, vice president of thought leadership at Fidelity. To avoid running out of money, there are several areas where women can make strategic decisions: 1. Keep working One of the major reasons women save less than men is that they spend 44 percent of their adult lives out of the workforce, compared to just 28 percent for men, according to a study from Merrill Lynch on Women and Financial Wellness released Thursday. The result: A potential cumulative wage gap of over $1 million. To combat this, working women need think about the long-term impact of stopping work.

is no longer a switch that you turn on and said Maddy Dychtwald, co-founder of Age Wave, which conducted the study with Merrill Lynch At the very least, try to keep one toe in the workforce. work is so said Ringer. He has one client who stopped working in her early 60s, because her husband was older and was retiring. Now he is ill, and Ringer is worried her funds will run out after he dies, so he is counseling her to pick up consulting projects. am awe-struck at the women who have started said Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

go out and look for part-time work, and then demonstrate how good they are. really 2. Do a cost-benefit analysis The Merrill Lynch study noted that two-thirds of care provided to older adults is done by women. Before one person in a family stops working to become a caretaker, Stuart Ritter, senior financial planner at T. Rowe Price, suggested polling everyone involved (siblings, adult children, etc.) to see if the care can be divided without anyone having to stop work.

The group can pool resources to pay for a caregiver instead, too. Ritter said family members can also all chip in for a long-term care policy for the ailing relative, and get the care covered by insurance. 3. Downsize When it comes to making hard decisions when the money is gone, Ringer suggests anything else but starting pensions and Social Security early. off, even if it means drawing down other accounts he said.

With Social Security, claiming at any age before 70 chips away at benefits. Many private pensions also have age triggers. Homeowners who are running short of money can sell. Or they can take a reverse mortgage, which allows a homeowner to cash out of the house while still living there. These contracts are more expensive than they used to be, but Ringer said they can be useful if you turn the payments into an annuity so you have steady income.

Beth Pinsker writes for Reuters. RETIREMENT BETH PINSKER One of the major reasons women save less than men is that they spend 44 percent of their adult lives out of the workforce, compared to just 28 percent for men How much will I pay? People who complete a debt- settlement plan typically end up paying 65 percent to 80 percent of the amount they owed when they enrolled, said Steven Boms, an adviser to the American Fair Credit Council, a debt-settlement industry coalition. You can eliminate a fee if you negotiate with creditors, and some creditors encourage consumers to contact them directly before enlisting a third party. Will this take care of all of my debt? Consumers who complete a debt-settlement program typically finish in two to five years, Boms said. Debt-settlement companies require that you open an account where you deposit money to be allocated toward settlement.

Completing a program can be difficult The Fair Credit Council reports that just over 50 percent of accounts enrolled in debt settlement at the start of 2013 had been settled by March 31, 2017. Will my creditors negotiate? Policies on dealing with debt settlement companies vary Some, like Bank of America and Capital One, will negotiate with the consent; some, such as American Express, say they negotiate with debt-settlement companies. A debt-settlement company can still settle your debt if the original creditor negotiate. They just have to wait until after the issuer writes off your debt as a loss. the impact to my credit score? When you sign up for debt settlement, you stop paying credit card bills, which can trigger late fees that only add to your balance.

That matter much if the debt gets settled, but what if it for some reason? You will owe that bigger credit card balance, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Meanwhile, even one missed payment will hurt your credit, and a charge-off will damage it even more Is debt settlement better than other options? Consider all options, including Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Other alternatives include debt-management plans, credit counseling or directly negotiating with your creditors. Consider consulting with experts, such as bankruptcy attorneys or credit-counseling agencies, to understand how each option works and determine what makes sense for you. NERDWALLET Five things to mull before using debt settlement When your credit card bills are piling up and you have little hope of ever paying them down, debt settlement hiring an outside firm to negotiate discounts with your creditors can feel like the only choice.

Here are five questions to ask before you sign up for a debt-settlement plan. YOUR MONEY Women who retire early face risk of missing out D4 STAR TRIBUNE BUSINESS SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018.