If you’re planning to retire this year, start putting your finances in order now. That’s a given. But retirement isn’t just about money. It’s about how you will spend your time. So you might also start thinking hard about …
Financial Education
Skittish Market’s Winners and Losers Point the Way
A highly volatile stock market may have given you whiplash in 2011. But as the year draws to a close, the final numbers don’t look so dramatic: the S&P 500 is poised to end the year almost exactly where it began, and about as …
4 Ways to Start Your Kids with Credit
Most parents with heavy credit card debt want their kids to avoid the same mistake. But they are not sure how to coach them and, according to a new survey, would love for credit card management to be a required class in high school.
The Hidden Pitfalls of 529 College Savings Plans
The year-end push to contribute to a 529 state college savings plan is in full force. These plans make a lot of sense. But they also have drawbacks. Here’s how to make the most of them.
Financial Scams Target Boomers
Baby boomers are still looking out for their parents, even as they have fallen into the crosshairs of financial con artists themselves. It’s a bona fide boomer nightmare: they are becoming their mom or dad—at least as it …
5 Signs That You’re Borrowing Too Much
Consumer debt figures show it: we’re getting tired of being so darned frugal. Here are five guidelines to keep you from borrowing too much.
Why Investors Leave $200 Million A Year Sitting on the Table (And How to Get Your Share)
Investors collectively spend more than $200 million a year in excess fees on S&P 500 index funds alone, a study finds. They get nothing for that money, which could be compounding in their accounts instead.
How the Lost Decade is a Boon for Your Portfolio
The lost decade has a silver lining: investors who accumulate shares during long market dry spells end up with twice as much money, new research shows.
Student Loans: A Call for Creative Solutions
Universities raise tuition faster than the vast majority can afford. That leads to more government grants and government and private loans, which flow to universities. They then construct lovely new buildings, largely on the …
Retirement Planning Mistakes: Fear or Ignorance?
A new survey drives home some critical points about the recession’s impact on retirement planning. We fear the stock market even in the long run and probably should be taught more about money in school.
How to Fix Your 401(k) Plan
As the traditional pension disappears, the 401(k) plan is evolving into something that one day might actually be just as good. That’s saying a lot. The certainty of monthly income for life, which traditional pensions promise, is a high bar. Meanwhile, 401(k) plans have taken their licks.
What We Can Learn from a Legendary Fund Manager’s Retirement
In the end, Bill Miller was doing what he had always done. But it stopped working, and now the legendary mutual fund manager is retiring. His inglorious departure from Legg Mason Value Trust offers a telling lesson in the perils …