Your 401(k) plan is your primary source of retirement savings. In the past year, particularly the past few months, it has dropped in value almost 50%. Everything you read or hear tells you to “sit tight.” Almost every source of financial advice recommends not cashing out, and not replacing your equity assets with fixed income [...]

The economy has gone as sour as a lemon. Investments are severely depressed. Is there anything good about the current Wall Street melt-down? Anne Tergesen thinks there is, as she wrote in an article in the Wall Street Journal: “Yes, your finances are likely taking a beating this year. Which means it’s the perfect moment [...]

First, you always want to take advantage of any employer match—it is free money. For example, if the employer matches $.50 for each dollar you contribute, that’s like earning 50% after taxes for each matched dollar. Regardless of economic conditions, you should always contribute up to the amount that the employer will match.

The current financial crisis is often described with sound bites such as “Executive Bail Out,” “Wall Street Bail Out,” “Credit Markets Collapse,” or “Failed Economic Problems.” None of these labels or sound bites helps the average person understand what is happening and, more importantly, how it affects them. Granted there are many pieces to this puzzle, but the one that may impact the average person the quickest is the collapse of the credit market.