A few good fixed-rate offers remain. There’s a 6.5 percent fixed-rate card from Pulaski Bank (pulaskibank.org) and a 7.25 percent card from Simmons First National Bank (simmonsfirst.com). Capital One (capitalone.com) offers a 7.9 percent fixed rate on its “prestige” card for borrowers with the best credit scores. Before signing up, check the contract to see how long the rate is guaranteed, since most issuers reserve the right to change the rate as they see fit.

Why does it matter what the stock market is doing at the time that someone retires?
The greatest risk to a retirement plan is a significant market decline in the early years. This can diminish a portfolio so severely that even when the good returns finally arrive, there just isn’t enough left to fund the remainder of retirement. An individual with a $500,000 portfolio who experiences a 15 percent market decline in a year, and also withdraws 7 percent of the portfolio, may deplete the portfolio to $390,000 at the end of the first year. This requires a whopping 28 percent return just to break even again at the end of the second year.

What advice do you have for someone who retired on Jan. 1 and saw his nest egg shrink?
The decline since Jan. 1 should not have derailed a welldesigned retirement plan. Delaying major expenditures, like car purchases or home renovations, can help get an aggressive plan back on track.

Undergraduates should check lenders like Discover (discoverstudentloans.com) and JPMorgan Chase (chase studentloans.com) that are trying to build their student-loan businesses and may offer better deals. Ask your school’s financial-aid office to recommend a lender. Then compare that offer with what you can find at sites like MyRichUncle .com and SimpleTuition.com.

findabetterbank.com: Put in your ZIP code and your bank preferences, and this site will point you to the best institution for your needs.

ins.com: Put all your policies up for review once a year. Compare what you’re paying for your car, home and life insurance with what’s available elsewhere.

Rent “The Orphanage.” Prepare to be seriously spooked by this chilling Spanish ghost story, the first full-length film by director Juan Antonio Bayona. It’s the most elegantly terrifying horror movie of last year.

Surf cmch.tv. To mark Earth Day, Harvard’s Center on Media and Child Health has posted a list of agencies that will recycle or donate all your used electronics, from CDs and videogames to toner cartridges and cell-phone chargers. Now get out and enjoy some nature.