Consumer activity gives a good indication of how the economy is holding up, and here are five trends indicating that consumers are having a particularly hard time lately.
Saving
Modern Retirement: Mortgage and Kids Still at Home
Boomers are reshaping retirement by doing it with a mortgage and adult kids at home. This isn't the way it's supposed to work.
How Much Should You Save for Emergencies?
As our national economic malaise threatens to drift into a fifth year (and a possible third presidential administration), more and more people seem to have come to the same conclusion: The best way to deal with future financial …
A Bank Account for Teens—That’s Custom-Made for Helicopter Parents
The online bank ING Direct is introducing a new debit card and e-banking account designed specifically for teenagers. But considering how the product works—daily spending is limited, there’s no possibility of overdrafts, and …
How the Newly Prudent Consumer Is Killing the Economy
Today’s consumers are increasingly likely to pay off credit card bills in full, skip vacations, dine out less, hold off on buying big-ticket items like new cars, and even trim everyday expenses by, say, subbing a generic cereal …
Use Targeted Saving to Achieve Your Goals
Most people work toward several financial goals at once but keep their money clumped together in a single savings account. With this setup, it’s easy to forget how much you’ve saved for each goal — and to borrow money from one …
Extreme Couponers Dumpster-Diving for Sunday Newspapers
Who says newspapers are dead? Some editions are so popular these days that people are digging through others’ trash for them. Long live print!
How to Boost Your Income
I’ve written a lot — at TIME Moneyland and other sites — about the importance of taking charge of your own financial life. Nobody cares more about your money than you do. If you’re not willing to be smart with your money, you …
This Is an Emergency Fund Emergency: 64% of Americans Don’t Have $1,000 in Savings
If you suddenly needed $1,000 to cover an unexpected expense, how would you come up with the money? In a new survey, only 36% of Americans said they’d simply turn to their trusty savings accounts. The rest would be forced to hit …
Best Wedding Gift Ever: A House Via the FHA Bridal Registry
Little-known HUD program allows couples, graduates and expectant parents to amass cash gifts from friends and family into a down payment on an FHA mortgage.
Alas, Gay Marriage Will Yield Gay Divorce. So Prenups Are in Order
As gay couples in New York gear up for the first full weekend during which they’re eligible to tie the knot, someone they hope they’ll never run into has a few words of caution: be careful. That someone is the divorce lawyer.
149 Money Tips: Save on Gas, Cars, Kids Gear, Prescription Meds, and More
We’ve also rounded up advice on how coupons and buzz words and phrases (“Limited Time Only!”) can easily push consumers to waste money they otherwise would have saved.