Dear Helaine: I'm a 55-year-old woman living in New York City. I'm recently divorced and received a $100,000 tax-free settlement. Before the divorce, I lived in a nearby state.

There's no alimony. (We earn similar amounts of money.) I'm a contract worker, and I am responsible for setting aside estimated taxes. I don't receive benefits. I have about $15,000 in an Individual Retirement Account and live paycheck to paycheck on a $50,000 salary. That's half of what I earned prior to the 2008 economic crash. I also don't own a house; I am paying $1,100 a month in rent, and that's with taking in a roommate.

I want to invest as much of that $100,000 as I can, but I am concerned about my tax bill and living in a new state, and I am worried about health insurance costs too. What portion should be SEP IRA, Roth or regular IRA, and what other kinds of investments. Stocks? Bonds? I do not have a clue. -- On My Own

Dear On My Own: I'm not going to sugarcoat this. You are in a very precarious financial situation. You are way behind on your retirement savings, you don't own a home, and you are reaching an age where age discrimination becomes extremely common. The long-term consequences can be severe: According to research, 25 percent of women who divorce after the age of 50 end up living in poverty in retirement.

So what to do to prevent that fate? You don't say if you have any emergency savings -- that is three to six months essential living expenses set aside, something that's even more important given you are a contract worker. You need to put that sum in a money market fund if you have not yet done so and then forget it.

After that, you need to seriously consider looking for employment -- as in the employment that comes with benefits -- if you want to remain in an expensive, high-tax metropolitan area like New York City. If you don't want to do that, or do not believe you can get a full-time job with benefits, you might need to consider relocating to a less-expensive region of the country.

Finally, as for the investment angle, you can't just put all of your divorce settlement in an IRA, Roth IRA or SEP IRA; there are annual limits on that. I suggest picking up a copy of the book I wrote with Harold Pollack: "The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated." That will help you with retirement savings strategies as well as tell you how to seek out professional advice that will be in your best interests.

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

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

Hi, Helaine: I have two sons who will be entering college in 2021 and 2022. My husband and I did the Maryland prepay plan for several years. But we quickly realized they might not want to stay in Maryland, so we stopped contributing. Then we got divorced three years ago and stopped saving for college altogether.

So I am wondering: Is it smart to borrow from your 401(k) and repay yourself because you are paying the interest to yourself, not an institution? Or is it more harmful because you essentially take that money away from potential growth in the market? -- College Mom

Dear College Mom: There are no do-overs when it comes to retirement planning. Do not risk your financial future to pay your children's college tuition bills, no matter how tempting it is.

I'm guessing you haven't contributed to a 529 account or otherwise put aside money for college because you believe you can no longer afford to do so. Borrowing money from your 401(k) to pay for college stands to make your financial situation worse.

As you know, when you take money out, that's money you are not investing, costing you potential gains. Second, if you borrow money from your 401(k) and then lose or leave your job and you are younger than 59 1/2, you will most likely need to repay the sum within 60 days, or you will pay the 10 percent penalty for early withdrawal as well as face a bill from the tax man. Moreover, if you lose or leave your position, the chances are good you won't repay that loan.

Finally, while you can use the money placed in the Maryland Prepaid College Trust (as it is properly called) toward the tuition bill at out-of-state or private colleges, it's quite possible that won't be necessary. As much as your children might not want -- to quote you -- to attend your state university, it might just be the right decision financially.

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

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

Hi, Helaine: I am a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. I have been in my assigned country for about a year, and I have one more year to go.

I'm writing because of my student loans. I was fortunate enough to only need to take out about $8,500 combined to earn my undergraduate and master's degrees. Before I left for Africa, my payments were $90 a month. But even though my debt is manageable, I can't wait for some of it to be canceled.

Peace Corps volunteers accrue a small readjustment allowance for their two years of service, somewhere around $8,000 in pre-tax income. The money is supposed to help me when I return to the United States and begin looking for a job. I also recently opened an IRA and rolled over the very small amount -- I mean very small, it's about $700 -- I earned from my job before my Peace Corps service. I know I could max out my IRA contribution with part of my readjustment allowance, which would make me more comfortable about my long-term financial situation.

My questions: Should I take my readjustment allowance and pay down my student loan debt in its entirety, or as much as I can? Should I put 15 to 20 percent in my IRA? I know my monthly loan payments are manageable, and an easy way to maintain good credit, but I would also rather not pay more interest than I have to. I'm torn between the two ideas. Help! -- Torn Between Two Options

Dear Torn: You need to take a step back. First, it's quite possible you'll need to live on your readjustment allowance for a time. Unless you are planning to move in with family, you'll need it not just to get by day-to-day, and not just to pay rent, but you'll also need to stretch it so it can cover a security deposit at your new residence. As you noted, $8,000 is not a lot of money, and you will find, especially if you decide to set up in a high-cost metropolitan area, you'll go through the sum quicker than you realize.

If, however, some of it is left over after you get a job, I notice you don't mention a third option: emergency savings. You need to put money aside for when things go wrong -- and make no mistake, things will go wrong occasionally. (Just ask the 800,000 federal workers who were recently furloughed, with their pay delayed.)

I understand the desire to pay down your student loans, but given the low monthly bill due, I would not consider it a financial priority. As for retirement savings, remember what I said about an emergency account? Once money goes into an IRA, it can't be withdrawn without paying a financial penalty except in limited circumstances. My advice: Unless you already possess three months of savings for unexpected events, use this money to make that happen.

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

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