Why Amazon instead of Wal-Mart? Maybe because I'm a techie Boomer and shop more like my Millennial friends, not like my parents. I LOATHE Wal-Mart. Outside of groceries (I go to a local chain with superb produce and great customer svc), I shop as much as possible on-line. I haven't walked into a shopping mall in decade...more

Yes, we've tasted the difference in our Peet's brand. The Italian roast is harsher than before, so we went down to French roast. But we eat out a lot, and when a restaurant uses Illy, boy can we tell the difference! Illy has kept their quality up, and frankly, we're thinking of switching our home brand to them. Expensi...more

A successful retirement is NOT just your ROI. It takes a comprehensive risk analysis, which as the author states, is always individual and never simple. We use certified advisors and on a recent AARP discussion thread, it was asked what results everyone had seen in 2011. Everyone except me was a fervent DIY, I-can-do-i...more

Not a bad article, although it oversimplifies a lot - and I do mean, a LOT.  Two things it misses:   - Investing is not Financial Planning. A financial plan is a roadmap to ID your goals and show you how to get there with the least risk. There is a reason why you can only get financial planning done by a certified/...more

Great column! I have had serious discussions with friends about why I think Apple will fade (Cook is a manager, not an inspired leader like Jobs) and Google will have serious issues ahead (they own marketshare but not content, and no consumer will pay Google directly for what they have always given away for free).   ...more

The lack of mandatory financial education is the single biggest factor I've encountered in the many forums I participate it. The ignorance of factors such as basic investing principles, legal and tax knowledge for proper estate planning, and how to make both debt and savings work for you rather than against you, is kil...more

DH and I bucked the advice of CR (not always the ultimate font of wisdom) and got LTC policies in our late 40's. 4 yrs later DH had a stroke and would now be ineligible for an affordable policy. No children, moderate but not huge assets - having a solid, tax-qualified LTC policy gives each of us real peace of mind. Sad...more

One article can never 'fit all', and especially on retirement planning. This one restates TheStreet columnist Joe Mont's "Retirement Savings-Don't Go With Your Gut" which is linked at the end. It's all pretty basic stuff, but remember that many WWII retirees started with these assumptions which have proved unreliable. ...more

We would hate to see the bricks & mortar bookstores close up shop. We spend about half our book $$$ at Amazon and half at B&N. Unlike rsanders27, we spend approx. $2000/yrly on books and other reading materials - and have done so for the last four decades. As convenient as Amazon is, there are many books we would never...more