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Knowing how much you should save for retirement is critical. But what if you are late getting started? The longer you delay, the shorter the time that compound interest can do its magic on your savings.

Studies show that onetime windfalls can actually impoverish you. They make you feel rich, which inevitably leads to overspending. But wealth is what you save, not what you spend.

Most Americans assume a progressive tax code is needed to promote equality and remove some of the burden of other taxes on those with the lowest income. But the progressive nature of the tax code changes behavior in many ways.

You should save 15% of your take-home pay for retirement over your working career. As your situation varies, you must adjust your safe savings rate.

“Anyone who’s bought gas, paid a medical bill or sent a child off to college recently knows that the Consumer Price Index doesn’t tell the whole story of inflation.”

Many families seek financial planning advice specifically for retirement. But if they wait too long, they miss an important tax-planning opportunity. A great strategy is to take advantage of the time between retirement and Social Security at age 70, the so-called gap years.

Franco Modigliani won the Nobel Prize for a simple technique that squirrels know intuitively from birth. You have to squirrel away some nuts during times of plenty so you can survive during times of scarcity.

Studies suggest that brains may be wired with either a utopian or a tragic view of the world, corresponding roughly to liberals and conservatives. We continue to talk past each other in political debates.

Advisors who offer comprehensive wealth management are like financial concierges. Their only goal is to meet your needs. If you ask for fresh strawberries, they try to find them for you.

It can be useful to maintain a grid where all of the available asset classes are arranged in order, by tax efficiency and potential return based on time horizon, so clients can clearly see when and where tax-deferral can offer the greatest benefits.

“Unfortunately, some are also misleading the public by saying that a fiduciary standard would prevent the delivery of financial services to middle-American Main Street investors.”

Investment fees are generally about 1% of assets under management and drop as assets rise. The critical question to ask is “Where do financial advisors add value that might exceed the 1% fee they charge?”

Fi360 promotes a culture of fiduciary responsibility and improves the decision making processes of investment fiduciaries and other financial service providers.

Fee-only financial planners are registered investment advisors with a fiduciary responsibility to act in their clients’ best interest. They do not accept any fees or compensation based on product sales.

A U.S. Public Interest Research Group report in 2004 found that one in four credit reports have serious errors that could significantly lower your chances of being approved.

A large number of people in the United States are worried about our profligate spending and the resulting devaluation of our currency. They are worried about politics and socialism and the economy.

Think of static asset allocation as where to set your sails and dynamic asset allocation as a way to keep your balance as your boat glides and sometimes bounces through the waves.

What we would really like to measure are the changes in price (P) that cause a company with a good long-term track record to look relatively cheap. Economist Robert Shiller created just such a measurement.

The Marotta allocation method is a proportionally weighted allocation based on the square of each Sharpe ratio. Squaring the Sharpe ratio drastically reduces asset categories in proportion to their distance from the efficient frontier.

Crafting portfolio asset allocations is a combination of art and engineering. Just as a blending of colors can produce cerulean, so a blending of indexes produces a unique shade of risk and return.

The efficient frontier measures all investments on a scale of risk and return. Risk is commonly placed on the x-axis, and return is placed on the y-axis.

A stock’s valuation is measured on a continuum from “value” to “growth” In broad strokes, value stocks are cheap and growth stocks are expensive.

The second factor of investing is size as measured by a stock’s total capitalization. Over time small cap will outperform large cap even after factoring out measurements of volatility.

Modeling investment returns seeks to find an equation to predict your expected returns as much as possible. The simplest equation for the markets would be “Return equals 11.71%.” This has been the average return from 1927 through 2010, the zero factor model.

Couples that fail to prepare for a shared money maturity will likely experience longer and sharper growing pains.

Social Security benefits can represent a big stack of cash. A typical monthly benefit of $2,200 has a present value well over $500,000. Consider all your Social Security options carefully to avoid making a costly mistake.

You may be a good candidate for a Roth conversion in 2012 if you can answer “yes” to any of these statements.

Now at year end, I will review how freedom investing fared in 2011 and in the decade since 2002.

“Many investors think active managers can shift out of stocks in time to stem losses in bear markets. Not true.”

Computing your net worth annually is like taking a sextant reading to chart your course toward financial security. Net worth gives you a snapshot of how much money would be left if you converted everything you owned into cash and paid off all your debts.

Financial resolutions usually don’t even last until the end of January. Making a permanent change in our behavior requires both time and a steely resolve. We can only develop financial character one action at a time. Here are seven practices to take you from pauper to prince or princess if you add one each year.

With impulses reeling, it is easy to find a gift that children will appreciate but difficult to find one that they will love to have. The gifts that I loved to have and the presents that I still cherish are the vocational gifts that my parents purchased for me.

True life planning begins when you realize you are unique. There will never be another you in the history of the universe. Your calling is yours alone. Understanding yourself is the first step in managing your financial affairs to support your life plan.

In the midst of this turmoil, especially after this past summer’s sharp drop, many investors wonder if they should put all of their investments into something safe and avoid the markets altogether.

Just because something costs a lot doesn’t mean it is an investment. An investment is something that pays you money.

If my parents had been in control of the purse strings, I would not have learned the value of money. To a child, “My Money” is valuable where “Your Money” is worthless.

With money in my pocket and impulse in my veins, I used to cherish our weekly trips to Toys ‘R’ Us. However, it was on the Barbie aisle under my parents’ guidance that I became a money-savvy kid with the millionaire mindset.

When it comes to teaching financial lessons, setting a good parental example is important, but actually giving the child some experience making wise financial decision is essential.

Most of us rationalize why we can’t get our finances together right now. Many Americans prolong these excuses during their entire working careers. Here are three lies you must stop telling yourself in order to build a solid financial foundation.

“Small changes over a long period of time make all the difference.” Learn how to teach financial wisdom to your children with Megan Marotta’s series, “Rich Dad, Rich Daughter.”

Not every investment consultant has your interests as the top priority, or even the necessary credentials. Here’s how to find the right type of adviser.

I recently read two articles that provided insight on how investors should respond to a market downturn.

Americans seem to be divided on the importance of raising the U.S. debt ceiling. Regardless of your personal politics, avoid investing in countries that cavalierly allow their debt and deficit to balloon.

The old saying is true: Money can’t buy happiness. Families earning $25,000 a year overspend trying to keep up with those making $50,000, who in turn attempt to live like those making $100,000. For many families the lure of consumerism wins out over qualities like foresight and patience that saving requires.

Someone asked me what disclosures I would require for financial advisors. I’ve written these principles in a yes-or-no format and reworded the questions. “Yes” is the best answer and “no” means you should seek more information or not consider that advisor at all. Although answering affirmatively to all 10 questions would be my first screen in selecting a financial advisor, it still does not guarantee the person has the competence necessary to offer comprehensive wealth management.

Finding countries where you can plant your investments in fertile soil may be one of the most important asset allocation decisions you make for the next several years.

Surprisingly, studies show that onetime windfalls can actually impoverish you. They make you feel rich, which inevitably leads to overspending. But wealth is what you save, not what you spend.

To build real wealth, you need specific wealth management tools.Most families have less than half of the accounts they really need, and young newlyweds often only have a checking account.

The greatest engine to generate real wealth is saving and investing. And the best way to ensure that your default is saving and investing is to automate the process. Pay yourself first, and your savings will grow exponentially.

Most investors are not aware of a critical division of professionals in the world of financial services. This distinction lies between fee-only fiduciaries who are free to act in your best interests and commission-based agents and brokers who are required to act in the best interest of the companies that employ them.