One of the biggest frustrations for investors is that there is one huge factor no one can control—the returns that the financial markets are going to provide in any given stretch of time.

When we first start investing, we probably …

Has your 401(k) become a 201(k)? That’s a pretty common joke these days, as financial commentators look for new ways to talk about plunging markets—and plunging 401(k) balances.…

Retirement … retirement … retirement. Most of us are painfully aware that the responsibility for providing for ourselves in retirement rests squarely on our own shoulders. If we didn’t fully appreciate this sobering situation before, we certainly do now.

Retirement …

On March 31, I was in New York City as a member of a panel speaking with a group of financial advisors on the issue of retirement income. Being back in the city brought back a lot of great memories, …

I’ve had a hard time deciding which way the economic and investment winds are blowing, so I decided to make a list of the things I think have changed and those that haven’t.…

Driving through the Pennsylvania countryside at 7:30 one morning, here’s the news I hear on the radio (read breathlessly): “And in the morning business news, Dow futures are down 300. S&P futures down 40. Nasdaq futures down 80.”

I’m amused …

In an earlier post, I asked readers to share techniques that have helped them to save. After all, spending less than you earn is the essential first step in investing. Vanguard shareholders tend to be people who’ve long made …

The impact of unnecessarily complicating our lives became clear to me this weekend.

With 260,000 miles on our two cars, we decided this was the time to get that new car we’ve been talking about. We did the research, bought …

Here’s a table that codifies the pain of investing over the past decade. It compares the results of investing in several asset classes under two scenarios: A $10,000 lump-sum investment at the beginning of the decade, and a regular $1,000-a-year …