This post comes from Michele Lerner at partner site Insurance.com.

Your car insurance coverage may need to change depending on where and when your college student drives. Whether your student drives your car or someone else's, contact your car insurance company for a quick policy update.

 

"Parents should always alert their car insurance company if their kids are coming home for the summer or going away to school," says Penny Gusner, a consumer analyst for CarInsurance.com. "It's always better to be upfront and to be sure they're covered. Every insurance company has different rules about how college students are insured."

Here are 6 summer situations:

1. Your student owns a car and comes back home from an out-of-state campus.

 "College students who own a car should have their own car insurance policy and be removed from yours," says Gusner. "A lot of insurance companies will ask you to prove that the student has her own car insurance, so you should provide that if they ask."

 

If your student borrows your car instead of driving his own once or twice, then your car insurance will cover any claims in case of an accident, just as it would if a friend borrowed the car. Your college student's insurance would provide secondary coverage, says Gusner.

 

 

This post comes from Steve Bucci of partner site Bankrate.com,

Dear Debt Adviser,

I am a 71-year-old divorced woman with a lot of debt. I work part time to supplement Social Security.

I own a house and a condo. I bought the condo when prices were high. I discovered I did not like condo living and rented it out and bought a house. I have mortgages on both.

The person who holds my condo mortgage is willing to take it back with a quitclaim deed. Will I ruin my credit? Will I be responsible for any of the mortgage? Thanks a lot; you have a great column. 
-- H. Bell

Dear H. Bell,
You have asked two good questions, and there is a third question you didn't ask that trumps the others. Does it make sense to sell something that you bought at a high price and lost value just when real estate prices are rising?

Before you sign away your condo, I want you to take a hard look at the economics of renting the condo for a few more years. Add in the tax benefits, an estimate of price appreciation and the rental income to all of the expenses and concerns of ownership you have. 

Paper or plastic? That is the question for Natalie Gunshannon, who's suing the McDonald's franchise that forced her to accept her wages in the form of a fee-heavy debit card versus a paycheck or direct deposit.

The class-action lawsuit, filed last week on behalf of Gunshannon and other former and current employees of a McDonald's in Shavertown, Pa., alleges that the payroll debit card, issued by Chase, carries numerous fees.

Among them: 75 cents for online bill payment, $1 for balance inquiries, $1.50 for ATM withdrawals, $5 for teller-assisted cash withdrawals and $15 to replace a lost or stolen card.

There's no charge for using a Chase ATM -- but the closest one is 60 miles from Gunshannon's home in Dallas Township, Pa.  

Children from lower-income families are more likely to suffer accidental injuries or food poisoning, according to a report released today by the Consumer Federation of America (pdf).

Some 44% of children in the U.S. live in poverty.

The category of unintentional injuries is both the Number One cause of death and injury among children from 1-14 -- about 5,000 deaths and more than 5 million emergency room visits. Millions of additional injuries go unreported, the Consumer Federation said.
 

Call it the calculations of the traveling pants. Those jeans you're wearing made a long journey from where they were manufactured in Bangladesh before they made it into the shop you bought them in. And the price you're paying? Let's just say it's a pretty hefty mark-up.

Reuters delved into the manufacturing process and came up with some alarming numbers.
 

This post is by Amelia Granger at U.S. News & World Report.

Solid credit scores take time to build. Everyone has to start somewhere, and as your teenager begins the transition to financial independence, he or she probably doesn't have any credit history.

Lack of credit history can be a hindrance to young adults as they apply for auto loans, shop for interest rates on an auto insurance or go to lease their first apartment. As such, it's important to start building credit as early as possible.

Consider these tips from financial advisers on how to help your teen build credit, while encouraging financial responsibility.

Co-sign for a debit card -– but always review the statement. Jay Freeberg, a financial adviser in Garden City, N.Y., said parents who want to help their child build credit should first consider co-signing for a debit card linked to the teenager's bank account. “This will limit the purchases to the amount in the bank account, and it will also give the child some independence on how they are spending their money,” Freeberg says. “I suggest that parents review each monthly statement -– at least in the beginning –- with the child to discuss the charges, reinforce the link between the actual spending and payment and outline a budget.” 

This post comes from Mikey Rox at partner site Wise Bread.

As Americans we're conditioned to spend money from the time we're wee boys and girls. The power of capitalism makes us want, want, want, so that by the time we're barely legal adults, we're already in debt.

That's what happened to me. As soon as I turned 18, I had creditors ringing my phone off the hook asking if I'd like a credit card. A credit card, you ask? You mean one of those beautiful, shiny pieces of plastic that'll allow me to buy whatever I want without paying for it?! Yes, please. Sign me up for two!

 

You can probably guess how that went down. Three months later the cards were maxed out, and I had creditors ringing my phone off the hook for a different reason. After years of avoiding their persistence while continuing to rack up late fees, I finally settled my bills and made the difficult decision to stop spending money.

 

This post comes from Angela Brandt at partner site Money Talks News. 

The thought of citrus and salt might bring a tasty cocktail to mind. But those ingredients can also be a cheap and natural defense against fleas.

Depending on where you live, fleas can be merely an annoyance, or a headache worse than a hangover if they infest your entire house, including your bed.

Luckily there are many natural and affordable options for protecting your pets, house and yard without resorting to expensive and hazardous chemicals.