DEAR BRUCE: I am currently upside-down on a 2006 Malibu car loan by $6,000. I have a 3-year-old bankruptcy. My credit score is 660. I need to replace this car and want to buy a new car with $2,000 down. What can I do? -- B.M., via e-mail

DEAR B.M.: You're $6,000 upside-down on a 3-year-old automobile and you had a bankruptcy. You have a very poor credit score. Why in the world do you want to replace the car with a new one? It occurs to me that you're just replicating your mistakes. You ought to keep your 2006 Malibu and continue the payments until such time that it is paid for. That may mean that you're going to have to pay strict attention to maintenance. You cannot borrow yourself to prosperity. Our federal government has been trying to do that for years without success. Buying a new car with your $2,000 down is just exacerbating your problem. Keep the car, pay it down, take care of it and prepare yourself to drive it for five more years. Your plan is just going to perpetuate past problems.

DEAR BRUCE: I have a question that no one seems to know the answer to. At one of my past jobs I received one savings bond a month until I quit. Where can I transfer them now until I retire and not pay taxes? -- E.W., via e-mail

DEAR E.W.: I'm not sure where the problem lies. The fact that you have left your job doesn't alter the bonds -- they are in your name. You can leave them right where they are. As to keeping them until you retire, that is another matter. When the bonds reach maturity and no longer pay interest, it is certainly to your advantage to cash them in and pay the taxes. Hanging onto them once they have matured makes no sense to me. I am willing to listen to someone who takes another position.

DEAR BRUCE: My mother is now sole owner of five two-bedroom apartments located on two separate properties. She is 83 and wants to turn them over to me to manage. We would like to sell them after the market improves. But for now, I would like your advice as to how to handle the income for myself. I am 63 and on Social Security and a pension. Is there any way I could get the business deductions from her property taxes, insurance, repairs, etc., without buying the property to help keep my income down? Should I lease it from her or buy it? I think I am allowed to earn up to $10,000 per year before I lose any of my Social Security until after I am 66. -- G.S., via e-mail

DEAR G.S.: You didn't share with me how much these apartments profit, if any. You didn't tell me their value. Your mother could gift the apartments to you with no taxable consequence if she claims against her lifetime exemption. This way the property will be yours and could be sold at your pleasure. As to the property taxes, etc., they would be deducted from any net income that might be generated here. I'm sure with some good accounting practices you can keep the income under the $10,000 that you mentioned. If, however, your mother wants you to manage it, you would not have any of the tax advantages, but she could pay you a modest salary for your efforts. Obviously, that number can be controlled so there are no taxes on your Social Security. After you turn 66 you can earn as much as you wish with no penalty.