Financial Planning

Like most parents, Rose Bloom dotes on her children, which means she's spending a lot of money toward their education and other needs. Bloom had raised her two offspring herself and thought little of sending her daughter to England to study for a month and helping her son buy a car as his high school graduation gift. "I try to help people all the time. I get sucked into that vortex," Bloom said. "I'm always at the bottom of the pile, which I don't mind."

Like many Americans, Steve Kriegsfeld has been watching his life savings bounce up and down each time the stock market takes a dramatic turn. Lately, it's the drops that have grabbed his attention. In just one day last week, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 465 points before partially recovering. It is down nearly 6% since Jan. 1. "Does it concern me when it goes down?

If the country's economic malaise leaves you out of a job, here's the first thing to remember: Stay calm. That's because once you know you'll be out of work, there are several steps you can take to help you survive a sudden job loss without economic ruin. But time is of the essence. "Don't ignore it. Don't think it will go away," said David Jones, president of the Assn. of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies, which represents nonprofit counseling services.

A few words of advice for the graduating class of 2008: When you get your first real job, you may feel rich. But don't act like it. There are a handful of money moves you can make now that will virtually ensure your financial security -- and possibly create great wealth -- later in life. The younger you are, the greater the opportunities and the easier the wealth strategies are to execute.

Richard Broadway, 66, doesn't intend to retire. "When you retire, you die," he said. "I always want to do projects of one nature or another." But the Newport Beach resident and partner in a dental-product business is old enough to receive Social Security benefits. And he's wondering whether he should. The question is echoed by many seniors. If you can start getting monthly Social Security payments at age 62, why would you put it off?

In a financial crisis, the typical advice from experts is to stay the course, keeping investments in place for the long term and waiting out the downturn. But people close to retirement may not have that luxury. Although the stock market rebounded sharply last week after plunging earlier in the week, share prices remain well below their levels at the start of the year. With all the recent volatility, here are some tips for a contingency plan.

Most parents want to leave their kids some inheritance. But for Ian and Lisa Revell, it's a necessity. Their daughter, Monica, 19, suffered traumatic brain injuries from a car accident nine years ago and needs continual care, something the Revells have been able to do on their own -- so far. But Ian, 50, and Lisa, 42, now are looking at their own mortality and want to leave enough money to provide for Monica after they're gone.

Adults make plenty of mistakes with their money. Themint.org wants to keep teenagers from doing the same. The financial literacy website, produced by the Northwestern Mutual Foundation and the National Council on Economic Education, aims to help teens learn how to earn, save, budget and invest money. The youth-friendly site is filled with colorful graphics, polls and playful quizzes such as "When will you be a millionaire?"

A major Wall Street bank crumbles. A money fund tanks. The stock market retreats to levels not seen in years. And as investors are bombarded with scary bulletins from the financial system, financial planners are finding that their textbook advice -- "Stay the course" -- can be hard for clients to swallow. "Every time the stock market tries to rebound, another shoe drops," said Kurt Brouwer, chairman of Brouwer & Janikowski in Tiburon, Calif.

Everybody makes mistakes. But when it comes to money, even little errors can prove devastating. Bruce McClary, communications director for Clearpoint Financial Solutions, recalls a senior on a tight budget who was getting along fine until a $250 car repair sent her into a tailspin. She borrowed money at double-digit rates that she couldn't pay back, which was then compounded with late fees. Her mistake was simple: She had no emergency fund.