CollegeSavings

By Kimberly Lankford, Kiplinger If you have a refund check coming your way, consider using it to bolster your personal balance sheet. The average refund has been around $3,000 for the past two years. (Most people receive their refund within three weeks of filing their returns.) That's a nice...

Parents put less money into college savings plans during the past year, according to new data released this week, perhaps learning the lesson that it's best to take care of yourself first before saving for your child's college expenses.Assets in college savings plans were an estimated $85.9 billion...

I'm an eager member of a group in Portland called the "urban homesteaders." We meet to discuss ways to utilize our assets better; gardening, preserving, buying from local farmers and generally finding ways to get off the grid a bit, while still living in the city. One of the group's founders is...