With the start of another school year, the air is once again filled with angst over the high cost of college. But the discussion is shifting. It’s not just about runaway tuition inflation anymore, or even the individual …
Financial Education
How Eating Girl Scout Cookies Helps Kids Learn About Money
The venerable Girl Scout cookie drive has morphed from simple fund raiser into a personal finance tutorial for kids, lending the organization heightened relevance as it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
How to Save $2,500 a Year on Lunch
Most workers eat lunch out at least once a week. It’s convenient and maybe even fun. But if you simply stop going to the deli or pizza shop you can retire on the savings. The trick is getting set up. Here’s how.
401(k) Plans Back to Pre-Crisis Levels (and Improved)
New data show that the percentage of companies offering a 401(k) match is back at pre-recession levels. Meanwhile, features like advice and auto enrollment are way up. Now, if we can just get workers to pay attention.
Why Higher Future Tax Rates are Certain but Won’t Matter
An important part of retirement planning is estimating your future tax rate. Most financial planners assume tax rates will go up in the future. But while that may be true it doesn’t necessarily mean the amount of tax you pay …
What Do You Mean We’re Going to Get Old?
Everyone seems to want lifetime-income products as a 401(k) option. But our retirement system is so skewed toward accumulating, not drawing down, assets that the income problem managed to catch us by surprise. Change is coming–but not nearly fast enough.
Student Debt: Why Even the Affluent Struggle
Student debt is soaring in the households of the well-off. Will this be a turning point in the way we think about education and how much we are willing to pay for a degree?
Back to School: How to Vet Student Bank Accounts
If you have ever looked for the perfect bank account for your teen, you know how frustrating the search can be. Linked accounts, transfer limits and fees, ATM fees, overdraft protection and more vary from bank to bank and from account to account. How do you sort through this maze?
Bernanke: Kids Will be Better Off Than Parents, But…
Speaking at a Fed town hall meeting with educators, Chairman Ben Bernanke said kids today will have it better than their parents. But they’ll also need to be financially astute, and Bernanke said every student should be exposed …
Social Security Now Takes More Than it Gives
Social Security has reached another critical threshold: For the first time, a typical husband and wife retiring today can expect to collect less in benefits than it paid in payroll tax over the course of their life.
Are ‘Safe Accounts’ the Answer to Our Consumer Banking Problems?
So-called Safe Accounts offer extremely low fees and no overdraft penalties. Banks are still experimenting but the early results have been encouraging and a product geared at the unbanked may just right for many others too.
Why Kids Will Feel the Pinch on Back-to-School Duds
If any good came of the recession it was that individuals refocused their values and that families started discussing debt and what they could and could not truly afford. Psychologists predict it’s just a matter of time before …
