Were you sitting and drumming your fingers while waiting for this page to load? Do you think instant coffee takes too long? If you’re impatient, more than just your blood pressure will suffer: You’re also liable to have poor …
Financial Planning
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 …
American Dream Deferred: We Now Embrace More Modest, Personal Goals
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 Earn 5% No Matter What the Economy Looks Like
A new study suggests that investing your retirement money half in bonds and half in stocks will produce 5% annual returns like clockwork, despite bumps in the economy. But is this a smart strategy for everyone? No.
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.
Pension Backstop Posts Record Shortfall. Is a Bailout Next?
Put another nail in the coffin of private pensions. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., a government agency that insures corporate defined-benefit plans, has been running a record deficit. Now it’s sending up flares for either a taxpayer bailout or higher insurance premiums from the companies that still offer these plans. Good luck on …
What Separates A Pro Athlete From His Money?
When Michael Vick declared bankruptcy, it raised our eyebrows. Sure, we knew his legal defense against dogfighting charges would have cost a lot of money, but not THAT much money. He, like a host of other visible athletes, made …
Smart Cookies: Girl Scouts Learn Financial Literacy
Think the Girl Scouts are all about making s’mores and campground sit-upons? Think again. A new overhaul of the organization’s merit badge program includes learning some decidedly 21st-century survival skills: budgeting, …
When a Savings Account is Not a Savings Account
Money market mutual funds are not the same as savings accounts. A lot of people don’t understand that, and now the SEC wants to make it clear.
Warren Buffett Is Buying. Is It Time to Celebrate?
It’s possible to over-analyze Warren Buffett’s investment moves. But that doesn’t seem to stop anyone, and the Oracle of Omaha’s latest disclosures are whipping up a stir over prospects for a robust recovery.
Why So Many Unwisely Turn Down Free 401(k) Advice
Free advice on how to manage your 401(k) is widely available and routinely ignored. Here’s why you should give it a try.