Tough economic times have tested the vast majority of Americans - and that includes celebrities. Lately there have been several high profile individuals from the worlds of sports, entertainment, and the arts who have seen their financial woes hit the front pages. A money meltdown is right up there with...

In these recessionary times, millions of Americans have found themselves drowning in one of the most expensive types of debt out there -- credit card debt. Thanks to the Credit Card Act of 2009, however, relief is on its way. Come February 22, 2010 (and potentially as soon...

Newly released Census data has once again brought the question of women, work, happiness and the issue of "opting-out" into the limelight. Given my focus on personal finance for women, I wanted to dig into this a little deeper. So I spoke with Cathy Greenberg, who along with Barrett...

If there's one thing we've all learned the hard way over the past two years, it's the degree to which money affects every one of us on a daily basis. I recently had the chance to speak with Dr. Kathleen Gurney, Ph.D., the CEO of Financial Psychology Corporation, author of...

In these recessionary times, financial tips are flowing fast and furious about how to save money and stick to a budget. Facing a sea of information many people are asking, "Where do I start?" For most of us, five areas of spending will consume over 50% of the money...

American society is systematically encouraging women to give up financial control.

Now that we have your attention, let us share the evidence...

Exhibit A: The Princess Problem - you are what you get

USA Today Contributor Laura Vanderkam recently wrote a must-read Op-Ed entitled "The Princess Problem." The crux...

Once upon a time there was a nice clean line between "bad debt" and "good debt." Bad debt was money you borrowed for expendable items (think: clothes and consumer electronics). Good debt was money you borrowed for assets that would go up in value over time (think: housing and education)....

"It was a shock to me to see that her assets were as small as they were, just given the way that she always was so unstinting with everyone."

So said a former law clerk of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's routine financial statement disclosure....

In a recent New York Times Op-Ed piece, Paul Krugman, the noted Economist, Nobel Prize Winner & Princeton Professor said, "...these days America is looking like the Bernie Madoff of economies; for many years it was held in respect, even awe, but it turns out to have been a...

The Obama administration has put forth an ambitious $75 billion plan to right the sinking ship that is the US housing market. With nearly 1 in 10 American mortgages either delinquent or in foreclosure, such a plan comes none too soon. According to the widely quoted Case-Shiller index...

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.... Starting today, we must pick...

A reporter's recent query left us grinning ear-to-ear with holiday cheer: Has the dividing line between "good debt" and "bad debt" changed in today's rocky economy?

The short answer is no. What has shifted - as indicated by the very nature of this question - is people's willingness to...

The American Dream has turned into The American Scream.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, a record 1 in 10 borrowers in the US were either delinquent or in foreclosure at the end of the third quarter of 2008. Given this data point was tallied before the massive wave...

Are you stressed about money? If so, you are not alone.

According to a recent American Psychological Association survey a whopping 80% of Americans say the economy is causing them to feel stress, up from 66% back in April. Declining GDP, rising unemployment, the nefarious specter of deflation...