The start of the year, is always a good time to take an inventory of your current financial position.. This is essential information you’ll need for making any wise financial decisions and for doing your long-range financial planning. Assessing your financial position (or net worth) begins with listing the kinds of assets (things you own) [...]

Q: I’m need a new car soon and know it’s going to be a major purchase for me. I know I have many options and don’t want to lease. To get the best value, what should I be looking for as I’m deciding which car to buy? – S.D., California  A: You’re right — a [...]

Q: We have a car that is getting on in years and we’re getting ready to get a new one. Someone said that leasing might be better than purchasing for us. Please give us some background and ideas on how to decide. – S. J., Arizona  A: Leasing a car has become popular in recent [...]

Q: We are getting ready to purchase our first home and are now looking into homeowners insurance. This is a confusing subject for us. Can you give us some background and guidelines on homeowner’s insurance?  — J.S.H., California  A: If you buy or own a house, you need an up-to-date homeowner’s policy to protect you from [...]

Q: We need a new car and have just started looking. With the price of fuel unstable, and the job market uncertain, do you have some suggestions to help us not waste money? - H. K., Idaho  A: New car excitement can cost you a small fortune over your lifetime. That’s money that could go a [...]

Q: With the drop in housing prices, how do we determine what we can really afford? – T. J., Illinois A: Buying a new house is an emotional and financial lifestyle decision. In the recent past many homebuyers were encouraged to stretch themselves financially, either to get into a house or to move up. Many [...]

Q: –– We just got transferred and are in the market for a new house, but are getting confused by all the mortgage options. Can you help us sort it all out? – J.P., California  A:  Getting the right mortgage “for you” is a vary important financial decision. By choosing poorly, you could end up [...]

Q: We have three teenagers and would like to start introducing them to investing for their futures. Something I wished my parents would have talked to me about. How do you suggest going about doing this? - S.W., New York  A: Unfortunately, the principles of investing are seldom taught in school, so it’s up to us [...]

Q: We’re a middle class family and we have two teenagers. A friend of ours has a child that got into financial trouble by severely overspending on her credit cards and the parents had to pay a lot of money to get her out of debt and protect her credit. We don’t what this to [...]

Q: Our teenage son is doing quite well in school, but he doesn’t know anything about paying bills or dealing with money. Do you have any suggestions to help us get started? – S.L., Washington  A: Checking accounts and debit cards, ATMs, e-cash (electronic cash) and paying bills are all important parts of our everyday [...]

Q: We have two kids 4 and 5. When and how should we start teaching them about shopping and spending money? – K .& L., Georgia  A: There are a number of  key concepts about shopping and spending money that are worth introducing and teaching children at an early age. As the years go by, [...]