At 39 years old, I was unprepared for breast cancer. With no family history of the disease, I had my first mammogram about a year ago. Two days later, I received a call suggesting that I return to the office …

In sixth grade, I’d take my allowance to Phil’s Pizza, exchange the bills for quarters, and feed a week’s worth of funds into the Pac-Man machine. Within 15 minutes, I was broke. To behavioral economists, I was a case study …

Just as getting to know someone is important before committing to a long-term relationship, getting to know your investments is equally important. Fortunately, for mutual fund investors, your fund comes with a prospectus.

Yes, a prospectus can sometimes be a …

I started Vanguarding in 1997. Since then, I’ve developed better financial behaviors. I pay myself first, automatically directing cash from my paycheck to investment accounts before it can burn a hole in my pocket. I diversify widely, limiting my exposure …

We’ve all come across the magazine and web quizzes. Answer five questions and you can find out what kind of exerciser, dieter, or driver you are.

I thought I’d have a little fun and apply this exercise to investors. I’ll …

A colleague sent me a link to “The Juggle,” a Wall Street Journal blog that explores “the choices and trade-offs people make as they juggle work and family.”

The topic was financial planning for “people too busy to plan,” and …

I’m not one to pore over the newest self-help book. After reading All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, I figured everything that could and should be said had been. But I do fervently believe that …

Over the weekend, my husband and I signed a contract to buy a new house. After months of indecision—and driving our realtor crazy—we finally committed. (Now, if we could just decide on the color of the knobs for the bathroom …

Many of us, if not most of us, are managing our social connections—and increasingly our financial lives—on mobile devices. No longer tethered to the desktop or that pesky laptop, we pay bills, make deposits, and access accounts and balances from …

I recently wrote about the connection among Mother’s Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, and how my mother “taught” me to become financially literate. In this post I’d like to acknowledge teachers—and the role they can play in teaching financial literacy—more directly.…

The timing of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7–11) and Mother’s Day (May 13) got me to thinking about what my mom taught me about finance. While mothers may not be teachers in the official sense, they play an important role …