Do you need a college degree to succeed? That assumption is long-entrenched, and it isn’t hard to see a relationship between education and earning power. Yet the cost and debt linked to getting a degree are so significant now that some contrarians are saying “skip it” – go learn in the world rather than on…

INFLATION DECLINES Consumer prices retreated 0.2% in March as fuel costs fell, a sea change from the 0.7% rise in the Consumer Price Index seen in February. (Labor Department data did show a 0.1% rise in core CPI.) Annualized consumer inflation was at 1.5% in March, down half a percent in a month. Year-over-year inflation…

Is the bond bull history? Bond titan Bill Gross called an end to the 30-year bull market in fixed income back in 2010, and he has repeated his opinion since. Legendary investor Jim Rogers predicted an end to the bond bull in 2009, and he still sees it happening. This belief is starting to become…

How will you pay for long term care? The sad fact is that most people don’t know the answer to that question. But a solution is available. As baby boomers leave their careers behind, long-term care insurance will become very important in their financial strategies. The reasons to get an LTC policy after age 50…

Suddenly, a bear market in gold. On April 12, the precious metal settled at $1,501.40 on the COMEX – diving 4.1% in a single trading day and 20.5% under its all-time closing high of $1,888.70 on August 22, 2011. Statistically, that was the end of a lengthy bull market – one marked by 12 years…

HOUSEHOLDS BOUGHT LESS LAST MONTH Retail sales were down 0.4% in March, according to the Commerce Department. This unanticipated dip was the deepest retreat in nine months. Even with volatile car and truck sales factored out, the March decline remained 0.4%. CONSUMER SENTIMENT SLIPS The University of Michigan’s overall index of consumer sentiment came in…

Have you invested too much of your 401(k) in company stock? This can happen – and you may not be fully aware of it. Back when corporations offered traditional pension plans, the federal government watched out for this tendency. In 1974, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) made it illegal for pension plans to…

Are you worried about being audited? The fear may be overblown – according to Internal Revenue Service data, only 1% of taxpayers had their federal returns examined in 2012. Last year, 12.1% of millionaires had their returns scrutinized, down from 12.5% in 2011. The agency reviewed only 0.6% of returns sent in by taxpayers making…

This video would be hilarious if it weren’t so true! I just don’t understand why ALL advisors wouldn’t want to put their client’s interests first. It’s called fiduciary duty and it is one of the most important requirements when looking for a financial advisor who will give you advice.

For years, consumer groups and rival industry factions have battled — before Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission and, of course, the press — over whether that “advice” should be required to be in the client’s best interest (the so-called fiduciary standard) or merely “suitable.” Under current rules, advisers can adhere to either one of…