This is part of our Financial Literacy Month Question and Answer series
Question: Is there any place besides eBay where I can get rid of my old stuff like books, CDs and movies? ~ Michael
Answer: Hi Michael, great to recycle and get something, too. There are lots of places out there. Here’s a few:

Books: Paperbackswap.com is a site on which members can trade paperback and hardcover books for the cost of postage; Bookmooch.com where you give books away and get books you want.
CDs: SwapaCD.com and DVDs at …

This is part of our Financial Literacy Month Question and Answer series
Question: Cindy, I just received a letter from my bank that they’ve frozen my home equity line of credit. I have great credit and always make my payments on time. What’s going on? ~ Sally and Jim
Answer: Dear Sally and Jim, I think many people are going to be hearing this same line from their bankers because of the sub-prime mess.
When you apply for a home equity line of credit (HELOC), the bank will look at the value of …

This is part of our Financial Literacy Month Question and Answer series
Question: Do you have any good tips for saving money on my phone bill? How about my cell?
Answer: Sure, here are a few:

You may have several telephone service providers in your area. Spend a few minutes with each of them to find out who offers the best price for the services you need.

Call you own service provider and find out if they’ve lowered the rates. Mine had cut the rates in half without notifying me!
Check with your …

This is part of our Financial Literacy Month Question and Answer series
Question: With summer coming up, I just dread my electric bills. Isn’t there any way to keep them low? ~ Thomas
Answer: Thomas, what a hot topic!
The key to achieving maximum energy savings in your home is to create a whole-house energy efficiency plan. View your home as an energy system with interdependent parts. For example, your heating system is not just a furnace-it’s a heat-delivery system that starts at the furnace and delivers heat throughout your home using a …

This is part of our Financial Literacy Month Question and Answer series
Question: My spouse and I are getting divorced and we have a lot of debt. Do you have any tips I should know about?
Answer: Yes, this is a very important topic. In your divorce, you’ll probably each take some of the debt (and whatever assets are available). The divorce decree will state who is taking responsibility for which debts.
The thing you have to know, however, is that the credit card companies don’t …