Jan 07 Money can buy happiness, especially when you invest it in others By Paul Solman Money can buy happiness — that is, as long as you follow five core principals on how to spend it. Continue reading
Jan 06 Watch 5:36 After a boom year, what's down the road for the auto industry? By PBS News Hour In 2015, Americans spent roughly $570 billion dollars on more than 17 million cars and trucks, breaking a record set 15 years earlier. But it was also a year of automaker scandal, including a probe into GM's defective ignition switch… Continue watching
Jan 06 Watch 8:26 Fighting the debt trap of triple-digit interest rate payday loans By PBS News Hour Payday loans are supposed to be a short-term quick fix for those who can't get traditional credit. But the loans are rarely actually short-term, and borrowers frequently need to take out a second loan to pay off the first. Special… Continue watching
Jan 06 Watch 3:34 Left behind by banks, poor Americans pay more to borrow By PBS News Hour It’s expensive to be poor. Unable to maintain a minimum balance or provide the necessary ID to open a bank account, many low-income Americans rely on fringe financial services like check cashing stores and payday lenders, which charge interest rates… Continue watching
Jan 06 16 thought-provoking global predictions for 2016 By Vikram Mansharamani How can we possibly navigate the radical uncertainty presented by this chaotic tangle of events and trends?… Continue reading
Jan 06 Overworked and leisure starved, skilled workers move to city center By Making Sen$e Editor Moving closer to city centers is a time-saver for better-educated, better-paid "leisure losers."… Continue reading
Jan 05 How to create a savings plan that really works By Helaine Olen, Harold Pollack You can’t begin to save until you educate yourself about where and how you are spending your money. Chances are you don’t know. Continue reading
Jan 04 Can I return to work and still receive Social Security disability benefits? By Laurence Kotlikoff Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff answers your retirement questions. Continue reading
Jan 04 Big changes coming to Medicare in 2016 By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press Whether it's coverage for end-of-life counseling or an experimental payment scheme for common surgeries, Medicare in 2016 is undergoing some of the biggest changes in its 50 years. Continue reading
Jan 03 Watch 8:47 How Oregon is investing in the next generation of blue collar workers By PBS News Hour Over the next decade, economists and business leaders say America faces a shortage of millions of skilled workers for blue collar jobs as Baby Boomers retire. Now, Oregon is planning ahead by ramping up efforts to train Generation X'ers and… Continue watching