how saving works

Investing may seem complicated, but there are ways to build your portfolio while minimizing risk. What's the best plan for diversifying your investments?

Maybe keeping up with the Joneses is running you into the poorhouse. But will cutting out your luxuries make your friends think you're in dire straits?

Financial planners will tell you that creating your own personal budget is a great way to help you find your way out of debt. How hard is it to write a budget and stick to it?

You have a big expense coming up. You need a better car, or a bigger home, or you want to go back to college. What do you do? Borrow, borrow, borrow -- right? Well, maybe not. Working off of a budget just may save your sanity -- and credit.

College can be an expensive endeavor, even with scholarships and other kinds of financial aid. However, there are ways to save. From buying used textbooks to choosing the right campus meal plan, here are a few tips. And don't forget to apply for thos

People buy bonds as investments, similar to buying stocks. The difference, though, is that bonds are much less risky than stocks. And, while both can be traded, bonds usually earn less money than stocks do.

Trendy clothes. Daily Starbucks coffee. All the newest CDs. In budgeting, these common spending habits are identified as discretionary expenses. Discretionary expenses can be a reward, or they can wreck your budget. So what's your weakness?

With taxes and medical expenses increasing, it isn't hard for U.S. workers to get discouraged. Nothing is more frustrating than working hard all year, just to have the government and the pharmacy take your money. But flex funds may help you save.

Losing a job can put a person in the poor house. An emergency fund can prepare you for a disaster, keep you out of financial hot water, and get you back on your feet sooner.

The Wall Street Journal reported that there were 7.5 million millionaires in the world in 2004 -- a record number. Want to be one, too? Researchers have found quite a few common traits that most millionaires possess.