I'm trying to raise my credit score to purchase my first home. My credit score is 635. I was late a few times on a couple of loans. I've since paid them off. When I purchase my score the formula uses those old accounts that I've paid off to formulate my score. Is that fair or correct?

My favorite Dollar Dilemma regarding credit scores went something like this: “I make over six-figures, my credit should be awesome!” The more we need credit scores, the more misinformation still seems to fester.

Question:  I’ve been thinking about retiring for a few years now but I’m really concerned about how expensive everything is.  I’m still working and wondering if I’ll ever have enough to retire.  How do you help people cope with high inflation?  Phillip, CT

Q. I receive 6-10 calls per day from the debt relieve people asking me to contact them so they could either wipe out my credit card debt completely or a least reduce it by more than half.

Question:  As a self-employed empty nester, what advice can you give to starting our retirement nest egg at this late date? My husband and I are both in our early 50’s. We would like something simple that we can contribute small ($50) amounts to at a time.

The argument (and trust me, there is much arguing) of foreign vs. domestic when it comes to wheels reveals another kind of value.

Q. I am watching your show "On the Money" and the topic is: "How to raise your credit score." I have great credit: 788 on Experian. I am planning on buying my first home, hopefully by September. My only debt is $2,900 on Amex Blue. In order to raise my score a little higher -- should I pay the entire balance off?

I wonder how many bloviators who blast Obama’s healthcare plan have actually—even once in their lives—paid for their own healthcare coverage or had to have treatment without coverage.  After all it’s easy to talk about how expensive, socialist, limiting, etc., etc., it all is if you’re not one of the millions of Americans who have filed for bankruptcy due to medical bills.  Or the silent sufferers who’ve had to live a much lower quality of life because they’re trying to manage their medical bills without filing bankruptcy. 

Carmen is appearing on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" the week of June 22!  She is part of an “Ask The Expert” lifeline which enables contestants to connect with an “Expert” via a live face-to-face Skype video call on any question past the $1,000 level. Check your local listings or go to millionairetv.com for more information.

I opened a credit card account to help improve my credit a few years back. The limit on the card has not increased but the interest rate has since I received the card. The credit card account has a $65 annual fee, $300 limit and 29.99% interest rate. Is it worth it to keep the account open?

Question: I’m a 57 year old clinical physician thinking about slowing down in the next few years.  I don’t feel I have enough money to retire but maybe I do? How do you analyze a client’s finances to make this determination? Any thoughts you could provide would be greatly appreciated.  Lia, MA

Our wallets are a kind of key to our souls (well, our ‘money-souls’ at least). Mine has stayed pretty much the same in boom times as in the current bust. No big change in what I carry to pay for things, but something tells me that you may have changed the contents of your wallet lately.

If you talk with 10 different advisors, they’ll all have their own opinion as to what the best way to invest for retirement is.  Some prefer actively managed investments.  Some prefer passively managed investments.  Some like to trade daily while other advisors like me prefer a combination of actively and passively managed investments.  The point is, you need to do some homework and figure out what strategy resonates with you.

Question:  I'm looking for more details about annuities.  Do they all have fees?  My sister says that hers cost her nothing and they "gave" her $5,000 for putting in about $50,000.  Do they do that? I keep hearing about large fees and hidden costs, but she said that she started with $110,000 and they haven't taken anything so far in the past 18 months.  Has she been taken?

When you search for driving directions online, a good site will give you several options like “no tolls,” “quickest route,” or “avoid highways.”  You have choices like this when it comes to paying off your credit card debt.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it’s good advice to tell someone to take the time to enjoy the tree-lined roads on their way to becoming debt-free, please don’t worry that it takes so much longer.  For me—and from what I can see also many, many of you—getting out of credit card debt was all about getting out hard and fast.  I wanted the route that not only avoided tolls (or fees, in credit-card land) but also that got me to my destination as quickly as possible—a $0.00 balance. 

Annuities are the only investment that can guarantee you an income for life, Bill Losey explains.

The stock can only go up, right? Wrong. What about all the deals on GM brands? Let's take a look.

The government is doing its part in helping to manage unfair credit card charges and now we need to help them.

NOT SEEN ON T.V.: David Pogue of the New York Times takes us behind the personal computing phenomenon.

Don't shop around based on rate, Ric Edelman says. Compare services instead.

Bill Losey says it starts with retiring when all you really need is a break.

Two of our certified financial planners offer ideas and strategies for the average investor.

So you found your dream home, you’ve got a good credit score and the bank has just approved your loan. But have you read the application closely?

John Ulzheimer takes a look at what the credit card environment may look like in a year.