Jumping right into buying individual stocks with no experience can be an emotional rollercoaster, and lunging into mutual funds without some preparation is ill advised too.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Retirement Portfolio, REITs, Bank Stocks, Demographics & Housing, Emerging Industries, Five Financial Planning Decisions, RH - Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc., MOS - Mosaic Co., AGU - Agrium Inc., POT - Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., CVRR - CVR Refining L.P.

What retirees don't understand is that they are unknowingly exposing themselves to potentially costly risk.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Individual Account vs. Roth IRA, Free Cash Flow, Volatile September?, Four Retirement Regrets, TWIEX - American Century International Growth Fund Investor, KKR - KKR & Co. L.P., TIF - Tiffany & Co., SCHX - Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF, GEO - GEO Group Inc., Reverse Stock Split, CNX - Consol Energy Inc., Real Estate or Stock Market.

Almost three-quarters of Americans are experiencing financial stress. Money anxiety can be triggered by what are labeled as “thinking traps.”
Today's Stocks & Topics: Stocks and Taxes, STKAF – Stockland, Term Life Insurance, Wall Street, Bonds, ZINCQ - Horsehead Holding Corp., Reinvest Dividends, Stash & Robin Hood Apps, ABX - Barrick Gold Corp., GDX - VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF.

Economic growth prospects have improved on the back of recovering business and consumer confidence.
Today's Stocks & Topics: 401k & Credit, ULTA - Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc., Cost of Assisted Living, Most Expensive Places to Raise a Family in the U.S., BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., TRN - Trinity Industries Inc., KHC - Kraft Heinz Co., Free Cash Flow, Janet Yellen & Interest Rates, APTS - Preferred Apartment Communities Inc., FBR - Fibria Celulose S.A. ADR, The Stock Market, MGIC - Magic Software Enterprises Ltd., BAC - Bank of America Corp., Global Investments.

If you aren't saving enough money or always receive a tax refund, you may need a financial advisor.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Roth I-R-A, Fibonacci Program, Negative Interest Rates, Baby Boomers are Working Longer, AIG - American International Group Inc., SFL - Ship Finance International Ltd., PFF - iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF, Emergency Funds, F - Ford Motor Co., Preferred Stocks, the Fed, HPI - John Hancock Preferred Income Fund, DVN - Devon Energy Corp., Projected Earnings.

An extended flood of money into these investments raises the risk that they are overvalued.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Roth I-R-A, RRD - R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., ABX - Barrick Gold Corp., PYPL - PayPal Holdings Inc., GILD - Gilead Sciences Inc., World Economy, Mutual Funds, Property & Taxes, ODP - Office Depot Inc., Gold, Home Sales, MNK - Mallinckrodt PLC.

It's the first step toward becoming an investor, and it's important to thoroughly evaluate your options to find the best one for you.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Mutual Funds, SKX - Skechers USA Inc. Cl A, Global Currency War, Electric Cars, S&P Valuation, PFE - Pfizer Inc., Stock Market vs. Bond Market, 401k, POT - Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., PHK - PIMCO High Income Fund, RCS - PIMCO Strategic Income Fund Inc., EBAY - eBay Inc., Investing.

When the stock market gets really high or low, and bonds have little return, people start searching for alternatives like real estate.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Investing for Retirement, Investing for Kids, TGT - Target Corp., Global Currency, GEO - GEO Group Inc., Roth I-R-A, JEC - Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., FLR - Fluor Corp., U.S. Recovery & Immigration, Mutual Funds, Share Types, Retirement.

Renewed interest in gold, the holdings in global gold exchange traded funds have pushed it to its highest levels since 2013.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Agricultural Sector, Technical Numbers, Stay Away from Day Trading, iPhone, Most Livable Cities in the World, BABA - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ADR, POT - Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., NAVI - Navient Corp., the Dollar, GEO - GEO Group Inc., CXW - Corrections Corp. of America, ABX - Barrick Gold Corp, Oil, Gold.

You don’t have to be a financial whiz kid or have the acumen of a Warren Buffett to make smart money decisions.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Japan, USO - United States Oil Fund LP, REITs, BHP - BHP Billiton Ltd. ADR, WLL - Whiting Petroleum Corp., New Investor, Buying Foreign Stocks, FSLR - First Solar Inc., EME - EMCOR Group Inc., JNJ - Johnson & Johnson, Hedge Funds.

Those who were scared out of the market at the lows may be feeling the overwhelming urge to try and make up lost ground.
Today's Stocks & Topics: New Investor, MYGN - Myriad Genetics Inc., TSO - Tesoro Corp., FLO - Flowers Foods Inc., CXW - Corrections Corp. of America, GEO - GEO Group Inc., Portfolio Weighting, Returns, VWEAX - Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Admiral, Mortgage, BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

In retirement, are you going to be forced to withdraw principal, or gamble for yield on junk securities?
Today's Stocks & Topics: Where to Invest?, VXX - Barclays Bank PLC iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN, VIX - CBOE Volatility Index, Why the Dollar is Weak, Protect Access, TCX - Tucows Inc., 401k or Mortgage, TWTR - Twitter Inc., What Does It Mean to Be Rich?, 401k, SAN - Banco Santander S.A. ADR, REITs, STEM - StemCells Inc.

In the 401(k) world, having every possible fund in your program doesn’t help you much. It can create confusion and lead to some bad decisions.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Market Makers, IBUY - Amplify Online Retail ETF, VGHCX - Vanguard Health Care Fund Investor, Retirement, SEP I-R-A, PRU - Prudential Financial Inc., Live Longer And Happy Retirement, TCTRX - TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Fund Retail.

Introducing children to money early on may help them avoid costly financial disasters in adulthood.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Retirement, SAEX - SAExploration Holdings Inc., Economy Predictions, Sales Report, SEC Rule, UTX - United Technologies Corp., URA - Global X Uranium ETF, FBIOX - Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio, FIT - Fitbit Inc., Old Stocks, AAPL - Apple Inc.

Well-intentioned folks blindly investing in mutual funds, or even annuities, and then brag about their shrewdness.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Fixed Annuities, Variable Annuities, AAPL - Apple Inc., European Central Bank, You Shouldn’t Listen to the Experts, Japan’s New Holiday, CALM - Cal-Maine Foods Inc., BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., LGND - Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., P.E. Ratio.

Few individual investors succeed in the futures market. But, don't be scared completely off though, because there can be room for this product in the average portfolio.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Taxes & Dividends, MET - MetLife Inc., the DOW, A Typical Millionaire, JPM - JPMorgan Chase & Co., ITC - ITC Holdings Corp., the Fed, ETFs vs. Closed End Funds, Covered Call, Money Printing, Two Top Places to Retire.

Not all money advice is helpful. Some so-called tips may not be right for you.
Today's Stocks & Topics: ETFs vs. Mutual Funds, TMUS - T-Mobile US Inc., World Debt, Productivity, IBN - ICICI Bank Ltd. ADR, VRX - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., Private Equity Trust, Roth I-R-A, DBLTX - DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund, Roth 401k.

41% of investors reported that they believe having their net worth in a single mutual fund is sufficient diversification.
Today's Stocks & Topics: The Stock Market, Companies & Dividends, Wal-Mart & Jet.com, Living Beyond Your Needs, RH - Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc., Credit Unions, KATE - Kate Spade & Co., IDOG - ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF, DRAD - Digirad Corp.

Women express much more concern about retirement than men, and they also discuss it quite differently.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Gold Miners, VIX - CBOE Volatility Index, Portfolio Allocation, MUR - Murphy Oil Corp., Oil Prices, AGU - Agrium Inc., Jobs Report, POT - Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., PRU - Prudential Financial Inc., KSS - Kohl's Corp., VGPMX - Vanguard Precious Metals & Mining Fund Investor.

In order sustain higher returns pension funds are increasing their exposure to riskier assets.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Property Insurance, SQ - Square Inc. Cl A, VIAB - Viacom Inc. Cl B, Jobs Report, Wealthy Universities, FSLR - First Solar Inc., HFC – Holly Frontier Corp., Fundamentals, QRVO - Qorvo Inc.

Investors don't always know the cards in their hand, and they often don't know the rules of the game.
Today's Stocks & Topics: 529 Plan, GILD - Gilead Sciences Inc., Tesla, Hackers Stealing Big Coins, 10 Commandments of Personal Financing, KO - Coca-Cola Co., Japan Stock Market, MAS - Masco Corp., TASR - TASER International Inc., KR - Kroger Co., HST - Host Hotels & Resorts Inc.

It may seem complicated, but there are formulas to help you match your annual spending with growth in your portfolio.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Financial Ratio, International ETFs, Weak Auto Sales, China and Russia Are Buying Gold, Earnings Season, SDRL - SeaDrill Ltd., GGN - GAMCO Global Gold Natural Resources & Income Trust, CVX - Chevron Corp., XOM - Exxon Mobil Corp., 401k & Retirement, CCF - Chase Corp., BLUE - Bluebird bio Inc., VLO - Valero Energy Corp.

Most people lose their home because of taking on too much debt, not due to losing a job or other hardships. Buyers underestimate the true cost by about 30%.
Today's Stocks & Topics: Earnings Per Share, CVX - Chevron Corp., SYNA - Synaptics Inc., Warren Buffet, Good Annual Return, Mergers & Acquisitions, VPU - Vanguard Utilities ETF, VZ - Verizon Communications Inc., ARMH - ARM Holdings PLC ADR, BAC - Bank of America Corp., BBT - BB&T Corp.