For current college kids, it may be too late to avoid learning about debt the hard way. But if you still have children at home, save them (and yourself) some heartache by teaching them the basics of smart money management.

Want to give your child or grandchild a financial head start? A Roth IRA might be a choice to consider. Read on to learn more about how doing this may benefit both of you.

Retiring early? What's the best course for you? Your spending pattern will depend on your personal choices as you enter retirement. A carefully designed strategy can help you be prepared and enjoy your retirement years.

New retirees sometimes worry that they are spending too much, too soon. Should they scale back? Are they at risk of outliving their money? This concern may be legitimate.

The typical retirement strategy is built on the pillars of your 401(k) plan, your Traditional IRA, and taxable savings. Getting the instruments of your retirement to work in concert has the potential to help you realize the retirement you imagine.

One of the most common questions people ask about Social Security is when they should start taking benefits. Making the right decision for you can have a meaningful impact on your financial income in retirement. Before considering how personal circumstances and objectives may play into your decision, it may be helpful to preface that discussion with an illustration of how benefits may differ based on the age at which you commence taking Social Security.

Preparing for retirement is not entirely financial. Your degree of happiness in your “second act” may depend on some factors that don’t come with an obvious price tag. Here are some non-monetary factors to consider as you prepare for your retirement.

As a parent, you teach your children to dream big and believe in their ability to overcome any obstacle. By investing wisely, you can help tackle the financial obstacles of funding their higher education – and smooth the way for them to pursue their dreams.

When the market drops, some investors lose the perspective that downtrends and uptrends are part of the investing cycle. When stock prices break lower, it's a good time to review common terms that are used to describe the market's downward momentum.

Regardless of how the markets may perform, these three principles should be incorporated into your financial strategy.