In his Smart Money column, Bruce Williams answers readers' questions on personal finance, covering concerns such as collecting debts, investing inherited money, starting a business and getting a loan. The feature is distributed three times each week by Newspaper Enterprise Association. Williams is the host of a financial radio talk show, "The Bruce Williams Show," broadcast to more than 400 stations on NBC Radio Network's "Talknet." Seven nights each week, Williams answers questions about money matters. He has been with "Talknet" since 1981. Williams gained his financial expertise in a variety of businesses. He has sold insurance, driven a beer truck, worked in a brewery and bought and sold real estate. He has founded and owned numerous businesses, including a private school and a wholesale and retail florist. He also served two four-year terms on the city council (including one term as mayor) of Franklin Township, N.J. "Smart Money has a light touch," Williams says. "It's not meant to be professional or reproachful, but rather direct and straightforward. I'll tell people when they've made a mistake, because I've been there." Williams also shares his business experiences with readers in his book In Business for Yourself (Scarborough House), a practical guide to starting and running a business. He has also published America Asks Bruce (Main Street Productions), a book containing questions and answers from Williams' radio show. Williams lives in Port Richey, Fla. He has five grown children. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2013 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Sat, 27 Apr 2013 04:01:00 GMT Sat, 27 Apr 2013 04:01:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ DEAR BRUCE: One of our friends came to my house for a visit. A major storm blew through the area and there was quite a bit of damage, including to his car from falling debris from our "healthy" trees. I... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2013/04/27/storm-damage-to-car-is-ruled-an-act-of-god-n1579934 65a906a3-7e60-42c4-a8f4-6e59a980a232 Sat, 27 Apr 2013 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: I have questions regarding what would be best for my spouse and me to keep afloat in this tough economy. I'm 46 and not working, but thinking about going back to school. My husband makes $14 an hour working... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2013/02/04/first-things-first-get-a-job-n1503343 f81c9701-542c-4a60-bd5b-f7ada07ed350 Mon, 04 Feb 2013 05:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: Recently I've been faced with a problem regarding my 69-year-old mother. My mom is in fair health, she works full time, she owns no property, and she has no savings or retirement fund. She has just inherited... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2013/01/28/inheritance-isnt-enough-to-meet-moms-needs-n1498073 b1c82a09-76e6-4bcc-b01f-f0b723f0483f Mon, 28 Jan 2013 05:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: About four years ago, a major bank called us about refinancing our mortgage. We agreed, and the bank qualified us for a loan of $1,960 per month. We are on a fixed income -- pension and Social Security for... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2012/04/05/refinancing_camouflages_cashflow_woes a79673d6-0139-40b7-84c4-585573e64cce Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:01:00 GMT Isn't tipping to be done according to the service one gets? We were at a pizza place recently and had four adults and six children, ordered two large pizzas and two pitchers of soda -- not a difficult order. Our order... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/29/can_i_be_forced_to_tip 92efbfe2-d3d7-486a-acb5-22a3bdd85677 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: I am looking for the best way to lease my commercial land. I am looking for the best tax advantages that I can take for many years. I have an offer from a restaurant to lease my land at the rate of $80,000... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/29/eatery_land_sale_possible_recipe_for_disaster be5d21ab-c216-43b7-b1ae-6be405e81909 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: Can you tell me your thoughts on owning versus renting? My girlfriend thinks that renting is throwing money out the door. I think that there are more costs to owning than she realizes. -- Mike, via... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/29/one_of_our_best-kept_secrets_renting 53ffe86c-8e76-46a3-900d-ca95972a3add Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: My husband and I had our wills drawn up in Maryland. We now live in Florida. Are our wills valid? -- H.T., Florida DEAR H.T.: The overwhelming likelihood is that the wills, if done correctly in Maryland,... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/22/smart_money_does_a_will_travel_well ca963c05-ab01-4df6-a17d-41d58c5d9ddb Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: My wife and I are in our mid-50s. She recently suffered a catastrophic brain aneurysm. The care that she will require will strain our family's resources. A family lawyer could only offer obtaining power of... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/22/smart_money_power_of_attorney_may_be_too_late 4d4aa647-c738-4397-898c-ef48446b0af9 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: I am a 60-year-old female, recently widowed. I am going to be relocating from Missouri to Iowa. My house is currently for sale. I will get a fourth of the sale price, which is $114,900. I have a guaranteed... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/22/smart_money_should_the_widow_rent_or_own 80cd7185-35a1-46b4-938a-f510a2046ab1 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: I am 65 and have always had good credit and paid every bill on time. I had $100,000 in the stock market and lost almost all of it recently. Now I owe $43,000 on credit cards, and all I have is my Social... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/15/what_can_a_credit_card_company_do_to_me 6a8eb086-4840-4d3e-8b03-09a6b4293a7d Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: I'm 37 and a single mother of two. I will be receiving $225,000 in the near future. What should I do with the money? I thought about buying a home. Is that a wise investment now? Should I pay cash for a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/15/windfall_leaves_mom_with_life-changing_choices 29d0672c-b4c2-4dc4-982f-afbc86cd16ea Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT DEAR BRUCE: One of the reasons we purchased our property years ago was the beautiful view of the lake. A new neighbor recently moved in and immediately put up a fence that blocks the view we so treasured. I checked... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BruceWiliams/2009/09/15/suing_an_option_to_de-fence 4d2ef233-96bc-4ab9-b866-cc6d0f1f3011 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:01:00 GMT