Money Advice

With luck, most of us match our family income to our costs of living and come out ahead of the game. At times, of course, we may experience a run of expenses, often unanticipated, that cause us to dip into savings or even float a temporary loan to tide us over. As long as the problems are resolvable and the costs controllable, we can usually work our way out of the difficulty. There are, however, circumstances that spell real trouble. Let’s look at a few of these situations to see what can go wrong and how they may be tackled.

1. Family illness. One of the principal reasons for economic hardship, often resulting in the filing of personal bankruptcy, is serious family illness. Medical services are expensive.

An ancient Chinese curse proclaims: "May you live in interesting times." Most certainly 2008 qualifies as economically interesting. It’s unlikely that anyone predicted last New Year’s Day the problems destined to befall investment banking firms Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, prominent mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, IndyMac and Washington Mutual Banks, global financial services titan Merrill Lynch, government-sponsored mortgage guarantee enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurance giant American International Group, to mention only the more prominent institutions experiencing distress.

Perhaps the most famous newspaper headline of all time appeared in the New York City Variety on October 30, 1929, the day following the massive sell-off in the stock market known as Black Tuesday. It read: "Wall Street Lays An Egg." A period of economic malaise followed, culminating in a worldwide depression lasting throughout the 1930s that strained the very fabric of society. That financial cataclysm shattered the confidence of a full generation of Americans in stock investment. Many never returned.

It has been a difficult couple of months in the markets, and slowly we all are starting to feel the troubles closer to home. This economic crunch could have dire consequences in a marriage if you and your spouse are not comfortable talking about money and if you aren’t quite on the same financial page.

Here are a few tips to help keep your marriage from needing its own rescue plan during our current financial crisis.

Getting married doesn’t just mean a possible change in your last name—it also may mean a change in your address. As you merge your individual lives together and begin to plan for your future, that third floor apartment may begin to look a bit cramped, which can lead to the purchase of a new house or condo.

With this address change it's important to keep in mind the need to properly insure your new investment. Millions of homes across America are damaged each year—from fire, lightning, hurricane or hail—and many homeowners are stunned to discover

We are swimming in the vortex of a fear-driven market, caught in a riptide, feeling as though we are being pulled under water without taking a final breath before going under.

Do you know what to do if you are caught in a riptide? Above all, do not fight the current because you will surely drown. Just keep calm and swim off to the side because only a few short feet away are safety, light, air and calmer waters. Stressful times require us to draw from a synergy of de-stressing techniques so that you can move away from internally-driven stressors like shame, a lack of empowerment, loss and grief.

There’s something about October. The stock market crashes of both 1929 and 1987 occurred that month.

With President Bush’s October 3rd signing of the hotly-negotiated federal bailout bill, many Americans anticipated an instantaneous improvement in the nation’s economy. Unfortunately, things then went from bad to worse as the Dow Jones Industrials promptly responded by posting its greatest weekly decline in more than 125 years. Our troubles are far from over.

Our nation’s political establishment addresses these problems with its customary tri-fold approach: