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The article reports on financial investments in "green" mutual funds that invest in alternative energy sources, which have grown almost 700% since 2000. Rona Fried, editor and publisher of the newsletter "Progressive Investor," comments on the growing trend to invest in renewable energy and the increasingly widespread recognition that change is imminent.

The article presents advice on how to make the most of retirement funding. The article tells readers to figure out a retirement budget, redo their investment plan, tap their house for cash by moving to a smaller house or getting a reverse mortgage, cover the cost of health care through things like long-term-care insurance, and decide whether or not one should leave their 401(K) plans in their company plan or roll it into an Individual Retirement Account.

An excerpt from the book "Smart and Simple: Financial Strategies for Busy People," by Jane Bryant Quinn is presented. INSETS: A CHECK LIST FOR MAKING CHANGES IN YOUR LIFE;A SHORT, EASY ACTION LIST.

The article offers advice on saving money on taxes. Exemptions have increased due to inflation. People who are saving for retirement will also enjoy increased savings. Tax breaks are available to people affected by Hurricane Katrina, both victims and volunteers. The article also provides information on deciding which tax write-offs are best.

Offers advice on how to teach kids about money. Importance that children learn what the things in their world cost, how to make choices, how to live within limits and how to save; Tips on allowances; Helping them to save money; Prepaid credit cards for children.

Offers advice for managing investments and retirement finances. Efforts of older Americans to maintain financial stability after retirement; Financial status of investors in the baby boom generation; Recommendations for selecting mutual funds; Importance of seeking investment advice and education in retirement planning; Advice for balancing investments in company and outside stocks; Benefits of 401(k) savings accounts; Potential benefits of a personal pension annuity.

Presents a tax-saving guide for 2003. Stashing of money into company retirement accounts; Using up of any dollars left in a company flexible-spending account; New tax cuts; Addition of a 529 plan for college.

Offers advice on how to save money. The importance on making a budget; Deciding which debts to pay off first including college loans; Investigating personal credit history.

Focuses on problems with 401(k) plans, which are used to help plan retirement. Effect of a bear market on 401(k) investments; Use of 401(k) plans to supplement Social Security income after retirement; Idea that 401(k)s should have a limited choice of funds to invest in.

The article discusses retirement planning for people 50 and over. Anticipating future income needs, making appropriate investments now and planning for long-term care are all essential. Early retirement will reduce Social Security benefits. A fee-based financial planner can help with planning and forecasting.

The author focuses on how to make retirement savings last for life. She gives information on immediate annuities, variable annuities and other types of investment plans, such as automatic withdrawal plans using mutual funds, interest and dividends, mixing annuities and mutual funds and reverse mortgages.

The article presents advice for recent college graduates on managing their money efficiently. Several philosophies can prepare former students for managing their money in the real world, including respecting money, managing spending, paying off credit card debt, and investing long term for retirement.

This article provides a guide for sorting good financial planners from poor ones. According to the article, a genuine financial planner is one who is certified (CFP). The North American Securities Administrators Association warns against the various types of elder or senior specialists financial planners, whose training was minimal. The article also advises people to find a CFP who is a fee-only planner with at least five to six years of experience. A list of sources is provided.

Focuses on Harvey Pitt, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and his appointment of William Webster to head an accounting watchdog board. How Pitt mishandled Webster's appointment; Webster's role as head of the audit committee of a company whose accounting record had been questioned; Concerns that broad reform is unlikely; Speculation on Pitt's survival; Background on Webster; How Pitt kept information from the SEC; Outlook for corporate reform.

Offers retirement strategies and investment advice. Analysis of Social Security and pensions, the so-called safety nets for retirement planning; Increase in 401(k)-type plans being offered; Advice on choosing stocks or bonds, types of stock funds, and lifestyle funds; Comparison of planning strategies for people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.

Presents a speech by 'Newsweek' columnist Jane Bryant Quinn, given before Saint Mary's College (Notre Dame, Ind.), dealing with the issue of how to choose a career that one can enjoy.

Discusses activity on United States stock exchanges in August 1998. Drops from the July 17, 1998 peak of the Dow Jones industrial average; The Standard & Poor's 500-stock average and other stock indexes; Assessment of the US economy; Questions for investors to themselves.

Offers advice to investors in the wake of the stock price drops of the last week of October,1997. Reminder of the risks involved in the stock market; Relative safety of bonds; The odds of making or losing money in leading United States stocks over various holding periods.

Answers readers questions about personal finance in the United States. The payment of taxes for prizes won on game shows; The addition of a nondeductible contribution to an Individual Retirement Account; The cancellation of insurance by employers; Rights involved with profit-sharing plans.

Argues that the states have failed to tame life-insurance deceivers and now it's time for the Feds to try. Contention that the life insurance industry is riddled with self-dealing, unsound investments, and more; The McCarran-Ferguson Act; Stratagems the industry tolerates and how to deal with them; Churning; Pension destruction; Phony policy illustrations; More; Examples; What should be done; National Insurance Consumer Organization.

Reports on how the past is catching up with television moneyman Charles Givens. The Charles J. Givens Organization, which sells books, tapes and workshops on how to improve your financial life; Jury verdict in March 1993 against Givens in suit brought by the Beadle family of Iowa; Comment by attorney David Tedder; Criticisms of Givens' advice; Insurance Clearinghouse (IC); Details. INSET: What's the real story, Chuck? (facts the jury heard)..

Supports the idea that in April 1998 the United States economy is strong enough to produce the gains in corporate earnings needed to continue the bull market. Points in the argument, including the federal budget surplus; The biggest risk to the current peacetime expansion in the stock market.

The article discusses safe places for people to keep or invest their money in the midst of the 2008 U.S. financial crisis including bank accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), money-market mutual funds, and the insurance policies and annuities from America International Group (AIG).

This article reports on the U.S. economic downturn in 2008 and offers financial advice to investors. It is recommended that consumers keep money that they will need within several years in insured accounts where it will be protected from loss and that they diversify their stocks. Investors should also consider adding commodities to their investment plans. The article also discusses gold prices, tax-free municipal bonds, and websites where consumers can compare financial services.

This article reports on the growing need for financial planners in the U.S. as more members of the baby boom generation reach retirement. The article offers information for finding qualified financial planners and indicates designations and commissions to look for. Information on college programs and employers' efforts to recruit and hire new planners is also provided.

The author reports on possible changes to the U.S. tax code which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has yet to decide on. The changes which are being debated are in regards to a cap on the automatic tax increase. According to the article, if changes are made to the law, the filing of 2007 tax returns and the receiving of 2007 tax refunds may be delayed.

The article provides a guide to wills, heirs, and inheritance. Additional children should be added to the beneficiary form of life-insurance policies. The 401(k) retirement plan overrides the beneficiary. The beneficiary form for an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) trumps a will. Living trusts, probate on property, marriage, domestic relationships, and divorce are discussed. In the event that the will holder cannot act, lawyers would advise to have a power of attorney already appointed.

This article examines of the changes in the tax code for 2007. Energy-saving costs are a new way to gain tax breaks. Anything from insulation to solar panels trigger generous state and federal tax credits. 401k plans are another way to save money, as limits on contributions have been raised. There is also a rebate on phone bills due to a government error.

This article suggests financial options for the real estate of baby boomers as they reach retirement age. Some options discussed are paying off your mortgage, renting, and not buying a second house. Details are given on how to use reverse mortgages. Three examples of television's most famous houses, and how they have gone upscale throughout the years, are presented. INSET: Ever So Humble.

Analyzes the efficiency and quality of the U.S. health care system. View that reforms will not work due to the essentially flawed organization of the system; Difficulty of receiving preventive care and prescription medication without health insurance; Details of the health care proposals offered by President George W. Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry during the 2004 Presidential campaign. INSET: IF ELECTED, I PROMISE TO INTRODUCE....

Discusses the severity of the mutual fund scandal and its effect on average investors. Activity by the SEC and New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer; Several examples of how the funds cheat; Paying brokerage firms to get on a "preferred list"; Inaccessibility of the boards of directors; Brokers who don't give required discounts on sales commissions; Charging the investor double loads; Recommendations for investors to avoid crooked tactics.

Reports on the value and costs of life insurance in the United States. Consideration of lower insurance costs due to improvements in life expectancy; Consideration of mortality data; Recommendation for coverage through terms that can be converted to lifetime cash-value coverage.

Offers advice on financial aid for college students in the U.S. Alternatives to loans, including tuition-payment plans; Types of loans available to students and parents; Loan programs from individual states; Tax deductions for college loans.

Focuses on prepaying mortgages, and whether it is worthwhile, in light of increasing home ownership in the U.S. Assertion that prepayment is not a real-state investment; Observation that to profit from a home sale, one must move to a smaller or less expensive house, or borrow against the house once one has retired; Benefits to prepayment, including gaining job and retirement flexibility by not having to pay the monthly bill, as well as it disciplining borrowers to save; Investment advice for mortgage payers with spare money.

Offers advice on investing. Investment mistakes the author has made; Advantages of using credit cards; Rules regarding personal finance which the author believes everyone should follow.

Offers tips on personal finance and debt. Idea that one must change spending habits and attitudes about credit cards; Suggestion to save for retirement, pay off high-interest credit cards, and start an emergency fund; Recommendation that one not borrow against the mortgage to pay consumer debt.

Answers questions about investment in the United States. Question about the low earnings from an equity-indexed tax-deferred annuity; How to postpone payment from a fund started under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act; Topic of starting a retirement portfolio at the age of 52.

Answers questions on finance and investment. Topic of the maturity date for redeeming callable certificates of deposit; Investment mistake of selling through an Internet account at Charles Schwab that resulted in a margin call and loss of $6000; Question of Conseco's financial stability.

Presents responses to readers' questions regarding investments and personal finance. How to determine the legitimacy of high-rate certificates of deposit available via the Internet; Advantages of United States 529 college-savings plans; Advice for financial planning during retirement; Others.

Discusses investing in light of the stock market plunge in the United States in April, 2000. Discussion of momentum investing, buying into rising stock; Complaints being made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission by people looking for someone to blame; Forecasting about the economy.

Offers answers to financial questions from readers. Advice on what to do with a portfolio of mutual funds with substantial unrealized capital gains; Whether to roll the money from an account under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act to a new college-investment plan; Advice on using a 401(k) to purchase a home.

Discusses the United States economy and the stock market. The classic market rule of buy-and hold; Consumers ability to offset part of the loss seeping in from the failing economies abroad; Attitudes toward investment changing with new money being diverted into bonds; Comments from advisors, such as Jim Lynch of the Lynch Municipal Bond Advisory on investing taxable money.

Discusses several aspects of Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). How much singles can contribute; Rules about the minimum time you must hold the Roth to take accumulated tax-free earnings; Comparisons with traditional IRA; Information for spouses with no earnings of their own; Questions about Roths.

Focuses on retirement concerns of United States middle-class baby-boomers. Trends which are pushing the baby-boom generation in the right direction, including how pension coverage has greatly improved since the days of the previous generation; Problems involved in retirement savings, such as underestimating longevity; Estimating how much of a person's salary might have to be saved each year to have an old-age income equal to 80 percent of final pay.

Offers tips on how to handle the costs of college. Middle-class families who want to send their children to the best schools; Different ways that people pay for college including loans, grants, personal investments and strategic saving; Chart showing how to invest on a monthly basis; What parents are expected to pay for college.

Offers suggestions from Secretary of Labor Robert Reich for protecting 401(k) plans from dishonest employers. Stopping firms from using the money as a 90-day checking account; Requiring faster information from audits; Installing independent trustees; Requiring more frequent employee reports; The need for watchdogs.

Declares that workers should be certain they are not being shortchanged of retirement benefits by checking their pay statements carefully. What happened to Alain Tasse, a GTE employee, and Denise Wassenar, an IRS employee's spouse. Three yellow flags which should signal problems in a person's retirement plan; Tips to follow.

Discusses how investment advice in mainline magazines teases the prurient financial interests of readers without going all the way. The competitive personal-finance publications market; Success of the tips; Analysis of July 1995's `BusinessWeek' article on building retirement savings; The money illusion of the press.

Analyzes the effects of the weak dollar on imports and on sales of Treasury securities and examines implications for the long-term investment climate. Effects of the Mexican peso crash on interest rates and bond prices; When United States stocks should rise; Long-term investment abroad; The views of Nicholas Sargen of J.P. Morgan in New York, and others.

Informs on two life-insurance policy scandals under investigation in California and Illinois that highlight `churning'--a deception that guts the savings built up inside a traditional whole life policy. How it works; Why Carol Nicholson has joined in a suit against Prudential Life Insurance Co.; Suits against Metropolitan Life Insurance; Comments on John Hancock, American General Life, Allianz Life and Monumental Life; Motive for the deception.