Dear Helaine: I am almost 62 years old and my husband just passed away. He had a life insurance policy for $50,000. My only debt is the mortgage on our home, which has a remaining balance of $110,000. My monthly payment is a little more than $1,100, and that includes my escrow account covering my property taxes and homeowner's property insurance. I am paying an additional $300 to $400 a month toward the principal.

I am able to live on my current income. After I retire, my pension, 401(k), Social Security and other savings will also leave me enough to live on. I am questioning what I should do with the $50,000. Should I pay down the house mortgage, or put it in another investment account so I can add to my monthly income when I retire? -- Moving Forward With Life

Dear Moving Forward: I want to start by saying I am so sorry for your loss. I'm glad you are moving forward, but I am going to suggest you start by taking a step back.

Give yourself time to grieve. Your life has been irrevocably altered because you lost someone you loved very much. If you make a decision about this immediately, you could very well make the wrong one.

It's possible that a year from now you'll decide you don't want to remain in this home, and you'll want to make a new start. So don't put the money toward your mortgage immediately. Set it aside in a one-year CD, where it will remain secure. If at the end of that period you still love this residence and don't see retiring elsewhere, ask yourself a few more questions: Is this a home I could age in place in? What kind of work will the home need so that is possible? Some of the $50,000 might need to be earmarked for that purpose, or for needed renovations and other home repair maintenance.

I am not against you putting the money toward paying down the mortgage once you answer all those questions. There is a good argument to be made that you should reduce the period of time you will owe money on the home in retirement. The less in the way of monthly bills you'll need to pay when you cease work, the better it will likely be for your finances -- and for your peace of mind.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)

Dear Helaine: A friend of mine took out huge private student loans to pay a hefty tuition bill at a private college. It's several years later, and she's struggling to make even the minimum payments. Yes, she shouldn't have taken out those loans, but what's done is done, and she's trying to figure out how to handle her obligations in a reasonable manner.

Even working both a full-time and part-time job, she is only able to pay the absolute minimum on her loans -- and that's still more than half her take-home pay. Her credit cards are maxed out with things like buying groceries.

Here's the kicker: Her parents co-signed the loans. She looked into bankruptcy and other ways to reduce the loans, but was informed that won't work for her. When she reached out to the bank, they would not renegotiate and told her they would go after her parents.

She says she feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel for her, that she will be paying the minimum on the loans for the remainder of her life. I hate seeing her struggle with the enormous stress she's under every day trying to make ends meet while paying these loans. Are there any options she might not be aware of to help her manage things, while not forcing her parents, who are near retirement and are not wealthy, to pay her loans? -- A Friend Is in Need

Dear Friend: Our nation's student loan system is a disgrace, and nowhere is this more clear than when it comes to privately issued student loans. While federal loans at least offer income-based and income-contingent repayment plans, private issuers do not need to do such things. At the same time, it's all but impossible to get student loans discharged in bankruptcy court since loan holders need to meet the very tough "undue hardship" standard. The result? Situations like the one your friend is facing. It's unconscionable.

I can't, alas, offer any magic advice that will make it all go away. Instead, I would suggest she meet with a nonprofit debt counselor like the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and see if they can help her come up with a realistic financial plan, or assist in refinancing the debt into a lower-interest loan or one with a longer repayment schedule. The latter would lower her monthly payment, but result in her paying more interest over time. Not ideal, but infinitely better than running up credit card bills buying necessities.

I'd also suggest another meeting with a bankruptcy attorney as it's possible they can more effectively negotiate with the financial institution holding the loan than she could on her own. Finally, she might want to begin thinking about something easier said than done: finding more lucrative employment.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)

Dear Helaine: My husband and I are in our mid-60s, and we're finding it harder and harder to save money because our earnings from work are going down. We have retirement savings and accounts we could tap while waiting to collect Social Security at our full retirement ages, or even later when our benefits max out at age 70. But with all the uncertainty right now, we're nervous that the promise of full benefits in a few years might not be kept, and we would be spending down our savings for no good reason.

It's hard to trust anything, including assurances that any benefit cuts would be phased in over many years. I'm inclined to think it might be a smart idea to get in while the going is good. What do you think? -- Soon-to-Be Retiree

Dear Soon-to-Be Retiree: Please don't make financial decisions based on long-term political scare tactics and rumor-mongering. The odds of Social Security benefits getting cut in the future are just about nil.

So why do you hear so much about this? It's partly because the Social Security trust fund will likely run out of money without new sources of revenue in the mid-2030s, and at current levels, the money coming in could pay for only three-fourths of what needs to be paid out. But few political experts believe benefits will be cut.

It's quite possible the entire problem will be addressed long before that comes to pass, something that can be done by raising Social Security taxes, including ending the payroll tax cap, which is currently set at $132,900. It's also possible the retirement age would be raised for future beneficiaries.

But plenty of people have realized they can make money by scaring people. That includes any number of financial advisers who have figured out they can sell people on everything from saving more money to making sometimes shady financial investments if they tell people their Social Security payments are in serious danger. Don't fall for it.

As for what you should do, if you can hold out to age 70 to claim Social Security benefits, that would be ideal, but it wouldn't be ideal to drain your savings entirely to do that. In other words, your decision depends on your financial position, not some Social Security doomsday scenario.

(To ask Helaine a question, email her at askhelaine@gmail.com.)

(EDITORS: For editorial questions, please contact Sue Roush at sroush@amuniversal.com)