The week's best financial advice

Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial advice, gathered from around the web:

Simpler mortgage disclosures

Home loan offers are getting "easier to decipher," said Lisa Prevost at The New York Times. New rules that took effect Oct. 3 require mortgage lenders to provide consumer disclosure forms that explicitly break down the costs and terms associated with a loan. Borrowers will receive just two disclosures, unlike the previous four. The new forms, created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "are much easier to understand." The initial Loan Estimate shows the loan amount and interest rate, the borrower's monthly payment, estimated taxes and insurance costs, and how much cash is required to close. The Closing Disclosure, outlining the financial transaction, must now be provided at least three business days before the closing date.

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Health insurance for Fido

"As pets live longer and have access to more life-saving — and expensive — treatments, you might be considering health insurance," said Martha White in Time. But as with humans, pet health insurance comes with plenty of fine print. For healthy pets, premiums paid over the animal's lifetime often add up to more than out-of-pocket costs. But for serious health issues, insurance can drastically reduce vet bills. First, consider the type of plan. There are medical plans, which cover injury and illness, and wellness plans that cover routine care like vaccinations and flea and tick medication. "Some plans cover hereditary conditions; most do not." Some plans have a per-incident deductible, "which could get pricey if Snoopy likes to eat plastic toys." It's also typical for pet insurance policies to carry lifetime maximums.

Credit cards get a makeover

The small computer chip you may have noticed on the front of your new credit card is a big upgrade from the cards in most Americans' wallets, said Ben Steverman at Bloomberg​. So-called EMV chips — named after Europay, MasterCard, and Visa — "can't be copied and counterfeited the way a magnetic strip can." New credit card industry rules are prodding retailers into stepping up their rollout of the new technology, which is the standard for most of the world. As of Oct. 1, retailers that haven't upgraded to EMV point-of-sale terminals are liable for fraud that occurs at their stores. Card issuers are also liable for any fraud on cards that don't have the new technology. If you don't have a chip card yet, don't fret. You should receive one from your credit card company, but it might take a year or two.