Personal Finance News, Banking, Budgeting, Saving & Investing News at WSJ.com

Credit-Card Users Face Higher Fees
The Fed has slashed its benchmark rate to 1%, yet many people are getting hit with higher rates and fees on their credit cards. Even customers who pay their bills on time will find it more expensive to carry a balance.

ROI
Where the Herd is Heading Next
Merrill's monthly survey of fund managers shows some movement into stocks and bonds. Should you follow?
Cranky Consumer
Easing the Headache of Paying Bills
We test three online bill-paying services that let users handle the chore all in one place: Quicken Bill Pay, PayTrust and MyCheckFree.
Money
Burdens Rising for Caregivers
The burdens are increasing for families who care for chronically ill relatives, new research finds.
Education
Colleges Refocus Funding Campaigns
Colleges and universities are encouraging donors to contribute directly to education rather than asking for big gifts toward buildings and programs.
SmartMoney Stock Screen
Growing Dividends
The news is mixed for dividend fans. But there's good reason for investors to focus on companies that steadily increase dividends.
Family Money
Ways to Trim Unsightly Bills
Carrying a few thousand dollars in credit-card debt is unsafe for your financial health.
- Video: Diet Plan for Your Debt
Autos
Car Makers Fail to Boost Resale Values
Detroit's auto makers continue to lag behind Asian and European competitors in car resale value, an important consumer gauge.
Personal Finance
Getting In on Buffett's Goldman Play
There's a rare opportunity for the average investor to invest on terms that may be even better than Warren Buffett got.
SmartMoney Fund Screen
Seasoned Managers
Navigating the credit crisis has been difficult for both young up-and-comers and veterans, but experience still counts.
Retirement Planning
Many Boomers Fearful of Retirement Expenses
Baby Boomers nearing retirement are thinking less about living the good life and more about whether they will have the resources needed to meet their basic needs, according to a survey.
ROI
A Bout of Irrational Pessimism?
Fund manager Marty Whitman says investor panic – and not declining businesses – have sunk current market valuations. Is he right?
Business
Record Losses Hit Big Firms' Pensions
The nation's largest corporate pensions won't meet federal-funding requirements without a big infusion of cash, improved asset values or a change in law.
Real Estate
Investors Hit BofA Loan Modifications
Investors holding securities backed by Countrywide mortgages are criticizing Bank of America's move to modify loans following a settlement.
Personal Finance
Maybe There Is an Upside to This Mess
One big positive has emerged from the economic downturn: The plunge in prices of all kinds of commodities, from oil and natural gas to steel and copper.
Getting Going Sunday
How to Invest Well and Sleep Better
Some research indicates you can keep less money invested in stocks than conventional wisdom would dictate, without giving up your retirement goals.
Yoder & Son
Readers' Turn: College, Gas and Entitlement
When we get lots of reader email, we know we've struck a chord. College choice is clearly a chord.
Health Industry
Scouting Drug Savings
Prescription costs continue to rise, but consumers have various ways to save: shopping around, asking lots of questions and using available resources.
Barron's Insight
Investing Outlook For Obama Reign
Obama's approaches to economic issues and the policies he promotes are likely to produce winners and losers among an array of industries.
Family Finances
Employers Cut 401(k) Matches
As if the market weren't doing enough damage to your 401(k) retirement plan, your employer might be hurting it, too.
Ask Dow Jones
When to File Taxes Separately
Depending on your economic situation, you and your spouse may save money by filing separate income taxes.

Cheapskate

A Grocery Battle Plan
Neal Templin provides a cheapskate's guide to grocery shopping. Even in this tough terrain, it's still possible to cut your food bill.

Video: The Cheapskate Guide to Shopping
Tax Report
Feds Rethink Rules on Retirement Savings
The government is weighing relief from rules requiring millions of Americans who are 70½ or older to withdraw money from their retirement accounts.
The Intelligent Investor
Joe Investor, the Markets Are All Yours
The tables have turned in favor of the little guy as virtually every investment that carries any risk is on sale as fund portfolios implode.
- Video: Advantage Goes to the Individual Investor
Crunchonomics
A Survival Guide for the Downturn
A collection of recent Journal articles and past advice on what readers can do to secure their family finances, careers, retirement savings and homes during financial turmoil.
Yoder & Son
Financial Test: Has Steve Taught Isaac Well?
Isaac puts Steve's teachings to the test by answering some questions on a money-knowledge quiz from the U.S. Treasury Department.

The Wallet

Active Management vs. Index Funds: Do You Get What You Pay For?
A new survey from S&P shows pricey actively-managed mutual funds have not outperformed low-cost index funds in the last six years.
Convertible, But Not Controversial
What's Your Bill-Paying Strategy?
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The Wealth Report

World’s Most Expensive Homes, Now at Reduced Prices
Remember the good old days of 2007, when there was a flood of homes on the market for $100 million or more? Well, there isn't much left for the panicked, $100-million-plus buyer who needs a place to live. Here's a sampling:
Will the Crisis Hit the Rich Like 1990 or 1929?
Rich Cut Back on Payments to Mistresses
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Journal Community
- Ask & Answer ▶
“Are investments in mutual funds protected by the SIPC just as brokerage accounts are?”

Family Finance

Five Ways to Save on Child-Care Costs
The cost of raising kids has become exorbitantly high, but there are ways to save on child care that don't entail bringing your toddler to the weekly sales meeting.
Music and Job Money: The Readers' Turn
An Estate Plan Built for Special Needs

Insurance

New Policy: Checking Out Insurers
As the life-insurance industry is rattled by slides in the stock and bond markets, more consumers are questioning the financial strength of their insurers.
Beware of Out-of-Pocket Costs
Is Your AIG Policy Safe?

Investing

Perils of Investing in Your Employer
Companies have long awarded employees with shares and discount options. But a look at Citigroup shows these plans can backfire.
The Year of Wall Street's Fallen Idols
A Little-Known Tax Break for 529s

Loans & Credit

'Underwater' vs. Foreclosure
Why most people who owe more than a property's worth will still keep their homes.
Debt-Relief Firms Attract Complaints
Your Cash: How Safe Is Safe?

Taxes

Tax Data Highlight Corporate Loopholes
The IRS found that U.S. companies paid income taxes at far less than the 35% statutory rate, offering a potential revenue source for an incoming presidential administration.
Bailout Bill Helped Tech Workers
Taxes for 2009 Set to Rise and Fall

Retirement Planning

Solving the Caregiving Puzzle
Caregiving promises to be a defining issue in the U.S. in the next two decades. And many are recognizing the need for, and beginning to develop, strategies to help people stay in their homes and to ease the burdens on caregivers and care recipients.
Cashing Out IRA May Not Pay Off
Easing Back to Work After You've Retired

Columns

R.o.i.
By Brett Arends
Where the Herd is Heading Next
Ask encore
By Kelly Greene
Cashing Out IRA May Not Pay Off

Tax report
By Tom Herman
Feds Rethink Rules on Retirement Savings
The intelligent investor
By Jason Zweig
Joe Investor, the Markets Are All Yours

Real Estate

Off-Campus 'Crash Pads'
As finals near, homes for lucky college students or helicopter parents.
Only a Buyer Knows a Home's Value
Michael Vick Cuts Price in Atlanta

Autos

Gas Prices Spiral Down to Near $2
The sudden reversal in oil and gasoline prices is bringing relief to some and complicating business for others.
Big Three Plead for Aid
Subscriber Content Read Preview

Ford Cuts Mazda Stake

Fitness & Health

Subscriber Content Read Preview

Sanofi Settles Allegra Patent Suits
Sanofi-Aventis settled litigation with two drug makers over U.S. sales of generic versions of its allergy treatment Allegra.
Subscriber Content Read Preview

Baidu Removes Certain Listings
Panel Warns on Wrinkle-Filler Risks

Careers

M.B.A.s Veer Off Path to Finance Jobs
The collapse of major banks on Wall Street has many soon-to-graduate M.B.A.s rethinking their post-graduate paths.
Protecting Your Privacy When Job Hunting
Job Seekers Bend Ears of Advisers, Recruiters

Healthy Consumer

Subscriber Content Read Preview

After a Layoff: Replacing Health Benefits
One of the toughest things to cope with when you get laid off is losing the health benefits. Here are your main options for staying insured.
- Podcast: What to do if you're facing a loss of benefits
Perils of Investing in Your Employer
Companies have long awarded employees with shares and discount options. But a look at Citigroup shows these plans can backfire.
Lawmakers Push to Expand Paid Leave
Obama's ambitious work-family agenda includes a federal sick-day mandate and expansion of family leave. But such proposals face historic obstacles.
- Work & Family Mailbox
Workers Get Health Care at the Office
More companies are providing services like free check-ups, screening exams and prescription drugs that can save employees hundreds of dollars a year.
New Videogames: Cute and Combative
Videogame companies are cutting game-console prices, beefing up supplies and releasing a vast crop of new games in hopes of attracting a wider audience.

Market Data

* at close Source: Dow Jones, Reuters
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Personal Finance Video

Personal Finance Calculators
Figure out how much home you can afford, estimate your taxes, plan for college and more using WSJ.com's personal finance tools.
Fed to Discuss Interest-Rate Cuts
The Federal Reserve meets Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss interest-rate cuts … oil companies will announce earnings … and more.

Subscriber Content Read Preview

1.
Citi Weighs Options, Including Firm's Sale
2.
Bankruptcy Still Off Table for GM
3.
Opinion : Andy Kessler: Ignore the Stock Market Until February
4.
Industrials Fall 445 Points
5.
Big Three Head Home Empty-Handed

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