At a speech in Washington a few weeks ago Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen declared that a large number of American families are “extraordinarily vulnerable” to financial setbacks because they have few assets to fall back on.  To them, a financial crisis is a month or two without a...

One of the most heatedly debated questions regarding Social Security (SS) is when to start.  You have the option of initiating benefits as early as age 62 or as late as age 70.  The longer you wait, the greater the monthly payment you will receive over your lifetime.  If...

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently ran an article about affluent individuals and families who, despite large six-figure salaries, managed to pile up a huge amount of debt.  They cited one woman who had accumulated $300K in debt despite earning more than $200 a year.  Reader responses, unsurprisingly, were...

When it comes to saving for college, most people think about setting up a 529 College Savings Account.  However, you can also use individual retirement accounts (traditional IRA or Roth IRA) as well as 401(k) plans to pay for most college expenses.  But you have to make sure to...