Dubber asked:


I really need some financial advice so I’m calling out to all the Financial Wizards out there!!!

I am a divorced 47 year old woman, permanently disabled, and receive $1683/mo from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as my only source of income ($1780 – $96.40 for Medicare) .

It’s a long story, but I had to cash out my pension for living expenses while waiting for SSDI and Long Term Disability Insurance to be approved. It was long-ago spent, thus I have no pension other than a lump sum of approximately $30,000 from a medical disability settlement.

I own my home and my mortgage is about $920 and includes insurance and taxes. In 2009 my house is appraised, for tax purposes, at $233K, in 2008 it was $212K, and 2007 was $199K. I currently owe ~ $156K. I cannot currently re-fi it due to a tax lien (another long story).

So, since I’m operating under the assumption that I alone will be responsible for myself and my finances until I die, I am trying to figure out the best way to invest this money. I realize this is a terrible market right now and won’t earn a lot. I can’t have all the money tied up so I couldn’t access it within, say, 30 days, in case of an emergency.

Are any money and retirement savvy folks out there who can give me their opinions? I realize I must make the final decision but some “If it were me, I would ___” scenarios would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Karen

Tax Lien Investing

Eric L asked:


I am graduating college with no debt and will probably be working at a large defense company making a good starting salary. My question is about investing my hard earned money. Which way should I go, get into the market try to research a mutual fund that has low fees and is emphasizing on buying undervalued stocks in the long term or try to get into a foreclosure that isn’t trashed in a decent neighborhood and try to fix it up a little. I would like to do both. I am eligible for a VA loan that requires little down and locks in lower fixed rates, but I think there is some stipulation with insurance, but I am not looking for this to be a long term house. I will likely sell it once the market rebounds. I am also going to try to start a company on the weekends that researches viable tax liens. Any advise would be appreciated.

Tax Lien Investing Fund