Jerilee Wei never expected to be living next to a cow pasture when she bought her home in Lakeland, Fla., in 2007. In her upscale community, newly constructed houses were selling for between $300,000 and $425,000. Then one morning she woke up and found some cattle had moved in.

If 32 million people get health insurance in 2014 under health reform, will you still be able to find a doctor when you need one? That's a question a lot of people are asking, and no one truly knows the answer. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) projects a shortage of 55,300...

Bert Martinez found out five years ago that his chronically ill daughter's medical bills would top $50,000 a year -- an amount the father of five children could not afford.* So Martinez quickly learned the art of negotiation. Soon he was haggling and bartering with doctors, hospitals and other...

Ever wish you could find one place to go for basic financial information about anything? If that's your wish, you'll find all that you need at the government's newly launched MyMoney.gov website, which was developed with financial information from 12 Federal agencies, departments and bureaus that...

Most Facebook users debate about whether they should "friend" a co-worker or boss, but what about a doctor? While social networking and e-mail may offer easy access to a doctor who is typically hard to reach, getting too cozy online could carry some serious ramifications -- for both the patient and...

What do you do when you have just received a serious medial diagnosis and have to decide which hospital to use? In most cases, you'll depend solely on your doctor's recommendation, but you want to be sure you'll get the best care. If you have a few options or you still need to find a specialist,...

Many credit card companies let you personalize the way your credit card looks, but American Express has taken this personalization one step further with its new ZYNC credit card, a card that allows you to pick and choose the rewards and benefits you want. You'll pay for the privilege, but if you...

Consumers more often research an insurance company online and make a purchase at the website rather than make a call to talk with someone at the company. Not surprising, since insurance salespeople have such a bad reputation for withholding full information or selling the product that will give...

With credit card interest rates soaring as high as 30%, people continue to look for alternatives to credit cards, especially when an emergency comes up. Personal loans can be a good option, but only if you have a good credit score; otherwise, the rates can be even higher than credit cards. Just...

With the threat of having to rebate customers if they make too much profit, Anthem Blue Cross withdrew its request for premium increases as high as 39%. That's great news for an estimated 800,000 Californians who buy individual health insurance policies from Anthem Blue Cross, a subsidiary of...