On one hand, low interest rates are good for those borrowing money. On the other hand, easy cash can lead to excess debt — a place far too many Americans find themselves.   Today, the median credit card debt is $2,000 per person, the median student loan debt is around $9,000 and the median mortgage…

Chemotherapy may be highly effective in treating cancer, but its side effects also can be a nightmare for patients. Medical researchers have long tried to determine how to successfully cure cancer without chemotherapy, and a recent study yielded some very positive results.1   In the largest-ever study on breast cancer treatment, funded by the National…

The first half of 2018 went well in terms of market performance and economic growth. In fact, the second longest-running bull market in U.S. stock market history managed to weather a few bumps and bruises to climb even higher. That’s the good news. 1   The bad news are the expected near-term headwinds that could…

Sixty-three percent of surveyed affluent adult children between the ages of 18 and 22 say they’ll need to rely on their inheritance for financial security during retirement. Before the inevitable groan about the entitlement of youth, bear in mind that today’s young adults do have different financial challenges than in past generations. 1   It…

There’s an old saying: A rising tide lifts all boats. Applied to the economy, this means that general improvements could benefit all participants within the economy. The same appears to be true for women.1   As the U.S. economy continues to grow, there is an influx of money available for small business startups. This is…

One of today’s new housing trends was also popular more than thousands of years ago — communal living.1   In the Middle Ages, society was more interdependent. It wasn’t unusual for households to consist of far more than just biological family members; a myriad of shifting residents included townspeople, friends, poor married couples, other people’s…

For decades, young people were told college was the surest route to financial success as an adult. Get a degree, get a good job.   However, this formula seems to be broken. During the recession, jobs for recent college graduates were scarce, causing many to continue their higher education and sink deeper into student loan…

  As he does each year, the United States’ arguably most successful investor, Warren Buffett, shared his wisdom and observations at this year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting. Buffett is known not just for his investment prowess but for his ability to pare down his insights into information the average investor can understand.   Wealth…

  Long-term care continues to be a challenging issue in the U.S. It appears the second wave of baby boomers is even more determined to “age at home,” while at the same time, they are more likely to suffer from multiple chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.1 This confluence of factors makes it…

Over the years, you may have heard it’s good to have different “kinds” of money as you head into retirement. A financial advisor may recommend a combination of tax-deferred and tax-exempt financial products, diversifying your money to help take advantage of the tax benefits both types of products provide.   What many people don’t understand,…

The American Society of Civil Engineers has given the U.S. an overall infrastructure grade of D+. Throughout the next decade, it will take more than $4.5 trillion to fix our aging infrastructure — including upgrades to roads, mass transit, wastewater treatment plants and the electrical grid.1 We’ve reached the mission-critical stage. One industry analyst observed,…