It's tough to get a mortgage today -- but that's not news. Every financial institution is tightening lending standards and requiring a higher down payment and raising interest rates. Well, almost every lender is doing that. But if you're a veteran who has been honorably discharged from the military, you can get a great deal on a home loan.

When should you sell? That's the most difficult question for a buy-and-hold investor to answer. It's so much easier to think about buying stocks, which only requires a basic optimism that future growth will create wealth. Who wants to think about selling -- a decision that is far down the road?

Where did all the money go? Fannie Mae lost $2.3 BILLION in the last three months, and its cousin Freddie Mac lost nearly $1 billion, bringing its one-year total loss to nearly $5 billion.

Buried in the new Housing and Economic Recovery Act is some very good news for seniors whose main asset is the family home. The new law makes it easier and less expensive for seniors to access the cash value of their homes on a tax-free basis through a reverse mortgage. And it expands the amount that can be borrowed.

The check may no longer be "in the mail" for thousands of Chicago area recipients of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. They can now choose to receive their monthly benefits electronically through a new Direct Express Debit MasterCarddebit card account, which the Treasury Department is announcing today.