A popular prescription in the personal finance domain is to increase or maximize annual contributions to 401(k)s or similar retirement plans. However, one of the best financial decisions I’ve m

As America prepares to tuck into turkeys, Byrd became our longest serving lawmaker, Birds Eye is being bought by Blackstone (BX) and yesterday’s equity action was one for the birds. With h

Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, best known for chronicling the rich in The Great Gatsby, supposedly said to Ernest Hemingway, “The rich are different than you and me.”To which Hemingway rep

In a sea of blue economic projections about holiday retail spending, there’s one beacon of hope. The two big shipping companies are forecasting increases in their holiday deliveries. Atlanta-ba

The past quarter century was a fun one for the American consumer. But after all that borrowing and spending, consumers have re-discovered the benefits of thrift and prudence. This is good news for pe

If you think you’re immune to the machinations of the credit-card industry, think again. Read every communication like it’s your very first one. I recently got a preferred customer 0% APR

The health-care sector is huge here in the US, accounting for 16% of GDP, and politicians have decided the system demands a radical overhaul.So, on Saturday, as you kicked back beers at the local bar

You buy your sister a $100 general-purpose gift card. It's for her birthday, but it might be the bank that has reason to celebrate.Despite your good intentions, such gift cards often come with a tang

Farewell, KB Toys, Circuit City, Mervyn’s, and Linens ‘n Things.Each retailer, now defunct, offered good prices, but that’s not enough in a recession. Quality and brand strength cou

1. The Worst is Behind UsIn the 1974 film Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, the title characters spend an hour and a half eluding a small-town country sheriff in a helicopter with a 1968 Dodge Charger before