The idea that you should have a cash reserve equal to three to six months of your living expenses would almost certainly make any “Ten Commandments” list for personal finance.

It might also be one of the least obeyed commandments, …

From the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) to the cartoon people interviewed on TV with zippy music, a recent theme in the financial press is that it’s “madness” to build a portfolio using the traditional method of setting an asset …

Graduation season is upon us. Many of us have children, grandchildren, or acquaintances sailing out of school … and hitting pretty rough seas in the job market.

I had planned to speak to my sons about investing once they graduate. …

My recent blog post on 401(k) accounts has generated controversy among some Vanguard investors.

Perhaps the biggest complaint was that I was trying to distort statistics by focusing on the change in 401(k) account balances during 2008. The evolution of …

We spent part of last weekend looking for replacements for our old washer and dryer, which definitely were on their last legs. In doing a bit of research before heading for the appliance store, I found an unexpected parallel with …

The headline from a recent survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) says it all: Only 13% of working Americans are “very confident” they’ll have enough money for retirement.

That’s the lowest level on record for the survey. …

As Americans, we’re accustomed to having options. There’s always another answer, another solution, another way to lick a problem. (Sometimes, though, I think that’s how we got ourselves into the mess we’re in right now. Don’t have the money? Charge …

A piece that aired last week on “60 Minutes” has gotten some attention and a lot of play from those arguing that a retirement system based on 401(k)s or other investment accounts is fundamentally broken.

But I couldn’t disagree more …