The Upshot
Financial Aid, Simplified: A Better College Calculator
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Wellesley's net-price calculator is simpler than the typical one. As a result, most students who start using it finish the process, in a few minutes.
Ángel Franco/The New York Times
Bernadette Gatling said she has lost job opportunities because employers viewed her credit report, which included voided debts.
Officials suspect that big banks ignore bankruptcy court discharges, keeping debts alive on credit reports and impairing borrowers’ ability to secure housing and jobs.
The Upshot
Paternity Leave: The Rewards and the Remaining Stigma
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER
When a new father takes time off from work, his whole family can benefit. But maybe his career won’t.
Financial Pressures Ease on Students, Studies Say
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
It was unclear whether the changes marked the start of a shift toward better news on the economics of higher education or just a temporary pause in more worrisome trends.
Sketch Guy
Saving Ourselves From Not Saving
By CARL RICHARDS
Americans do not appear to save enough, but individuals have options for addressing this admittedly touchy subject.
Your Money
Dependent Care Accounts, Hamstrung by Limits, Are Still Worth Exploring
By RON LIEBER
The $5,000 set-aside can be used for some babysitting, after-school programs and even summer day camp. The cap hasn’t increased since 1986, however.
Retiring
Finding, and Battling, Hidden Costs of 401(k) Plans
By JOHN F. WASIK
Despite federal requirements on disclosure, few workers and retirees realize how fees could be eating into their savings.
Wealth Matters
Focusing on the Human Element of Estate Planning
By PAUL SULLIVAN
A lawyer’s institute takes a more personal approach to trusts, encouraging clients to craft them in a way that is not destructive to beneficiaries.
The Haggler
The Company Is Still Tight-Lipped, but Shareholders Aren’t
By DAVID SEGAL
A lawsuit by retirement funds against Conn’s — the appliance store chain that isn’t talking to the Haggler — followed a sharp decline in the company’s stock price.
Motherlode Blog
The Child Who Declares ‘I Want to Be Rich’
By RON LIEBER
It’s a statement that makes some parents uncomfortable — what are we teaching them, if that’s the goal? It’s still worth talking about honestly.
DealBook
Fannie Mae Official Details Plans on Low Down Payment Mortgages
By PETER EAVIS
The chief executive of Fannie Mae said that Fannie would accept more low down payment mortgages but would require private mortgage insurance as well.
Your Money Adviser
More Expensive Cars Are Leading to Longer-Term Loans
By ANN CARRNS
Car loans used to last three or four years, but the average length of a new-car loan is now a record five and a half years, with some loans reaching eight years.
Sketch Guy
Ways to Increase Your Wealth When Your Income Is Flat
By CARL RICHARDS
Lowering debt, adding to savings or learning more about investing are strategies that can help combat stagnant income.
Shortcuts
Beyond a Parent’s Reach: When a Child Legally Becomes an Adult
By ALINA TUGEND
Most parents know that their children are legally adults when they turn 18. But the full significance may not be apparent until something drives it home.
Charles Schwab to Offer Free Advisory Service for Online Investments
By RON LIEBER
The brokerage firm is moving to compete with companies like Wealthfront and Betterment that put customers into low-cost exchange-traded funds.
The Upshot
A New Push to Get Low-Income Students Through College
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Michael Bloomberg’s charity announced an effort to reduce the number of poor students who excel in high school and fail to get through college.
Wealth Special Section
Learn more about time management, limiting risk in your retirement portfolio, the new Gotham funds and luxurious health spas that cater to affluent executives.
Older Women and Challenges of Wealth
By FRAN HAWTHORNE
Thanks to gains made in their generation, and to demographic factors, many women now nearing retirement age control substantial assets.
More Boot Camp Than Spa
By PAUL SULLIVAN
Many established spas and retreats are retooling their offerings to attract the same target: wealthy, successful and highly stressed-out executives.
Making Sure Retirement Savings Don’t Run Out
By CONRAD DE AENLLE
Financial advisers say investment portfolios, financial plans and lifestyles can be adjusted to limit the risk of running out of money before you run out of time.
Robert Neubecker
Tens of billions of dollars sit in the unclaimed property funds that states run, waiting to be taken back by owners.
Wealth Matters
A Billion Still to Spend, and Only Two Years to Do It
By PAUL SULLIVAN
Foundations that plan their own demise have bucket lists and regrets too.
Retiring
The Ethical Will, an Ancient Concept, Is Revamped for the Tech Age
By CONSTANCE GUSTKE
Originally an oral tradition to pass on wisdom from a family patriarch or matriarch, ethical wills today are more likely to be videos or Facebook pages.
Shortcuts
The Downsides of Generous Workplace Perks
By ALINA TUGEND
Some high-tech companies offer top-shelf extras like gourmet meals and child care, but critics say this just keeps people at work longer.
Money Management
Calculate Your Financial Comeback
See how long it could take for your portfolio to return to its peak value.
The 1% More Savings Calculator
What would happen to your savings balances if you saved just one percent more a year?
Interactive Feature: 31 Steps to a Financial Tuneup
A customizable checklist to guide your own financial tuneup, providing tips, the time needed to achieve them and links to additional resources.
Interactive Feature: Managing Your Money Through the Ages
An interactive checklist to help navigate ways to prepare and secure your financial future at each stage of life.
Special Section: Giving
Doing Good in Harm’s Way
By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Those who go abroad to scenes of disaster or conflict already take considerable personal risks — and those who go where Ebola is prevalent can face misunderstanding at home as well.
New Donor Generation Stimulates U.S. Giving
By DAVID GELLES
Five years after the Great Recession reshaped the global economy, charitable giving is making a big comeback.
Financial Calculators
The Upshot
Is It Better to Rent or Buy?
By MIKE BOSTOCK, SHAN CARTER and ARCHIE TSE
The choice between buying a home and renting one is among the biggest financial decisions that many adults make.
Student Loan Calculator
A guide to student loans at various universities, and what it takes after graduation to repay that debt.
INTERACTIVE FEATURE: Sketch Guy: Personal Finance on a Napkin
Carl Richards, a financial planner, has been explaining the basics of money through simple graphs and diagrams.
INTERACTIVE FEATURE: What Percent Are You?
See how your household income ranks in 344 zones across the United States.
What Do the One Percent Do?
Students and Money, in Their Own Words
The college-application essays that four students submitted this year on emerging stronger from economic challenges.
Inexpensive Advice for Index and Exchange-Traded Fund Investments
These companies offer help picking and rebalancing index and exchange-traded funds or similar investments, and none charge more than about 0.5 percent of your assets each year for the privilege.
Sunday Business
The Upshot
When a Stock Market Theory Is Contagious
By ROBERT J. SHILLER
Is the world economy suffering from “secular stagnation”? True or false, the idea alone could keep hurting stock prices.
The Haggler
When a Company Doesn’t Sound Like a Broken Record
By DAVID SEGAL
After asking Comcast about a customer’s billing issue, the Haggler got a quick answer — and a rare look at a corporate attempt, called Einstein, to fix a systemic problem.
The Upshot
Why the Economic Gender Gap Will Eventually Close
By TYLER COWEN
Research shows real differences in men’s and women’s economic behavior, but suggests more equitable times to come.
Applied Science
Your 401(k) Is Healthy. So Maybe You Are, Too.
By MATT RICHTEL
A study finds that people who are good at planning their financial future are more likely to take steps to improve their physical health.
Student Loans
Number of Student Loans in Default Declines
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
It was the first drop in the default rate in years, but 21 schools still have rates so high that they could be barred from federal loan and grant programs.
The Upshot
What We Mean When We Say Student Debt Is Bad
By SUSAN DYNARSKI
Student loans need reform. But recent gloomy reports obscure the key benefit of borrowing for college: a college education.
The Upshot
Q. and A. About Student Debt
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Readers have questions. Co-authors of a recent study from the Brookings Institution have answers.
The Upshot
The Reality of Student Debt Is Different From the Clichés
By DAVID LEONHARDT
A new research paper finds that typical debt burdens have not risen significantly over the last two decades.
Your Money
A Beginner’s Guide to Repaying Student Loans
By RON LIEBER
A road map to help those with student loans steer clear of common repayment mistakes and protect their credit scores.
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The Upshot: A Closer Look at Simplifying Financial Aid Applications
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Your Money: High Cost to Focusing on Student Loans Over Saving
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The Upshot: Remember the Problems With Mortgage Defaults? They’re Coming Back With Student Loans
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The Upshot: Finding Shock Absorbers for Student Debt
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High & Low Finance: The Hefty Yoke of Student Loan Debt
From Sunday Business
The Haggler
The Company Is Still Tight-Lipped, but Shareholders Aren’t
By DAVID SEGAL
A lawsuit by retirement funds against Conn’s — the appliance store chain that isn’t talking to the Haggler — followed a sharp decline in the company’s stock price.
Strategies
The Stock Market Is on Edge About a Cable Merger
By JEFF SOMMER
As regulatory issues swirl, investors are fretting over a Comcast deal with Time Warner Cable.
Your Money Contributors
Paul Sullivan
writes Wealth Matters, a column looking at strategies that the wealthy use to manage their money and their overall well-being.
Special Sections
Retirement
Valuing knowledge and experience, some employers are making extra efforts to encourage longtime workers to stay.
Giving
Guide dog schools are considered charities that do work of great value, but they have commensurate expenses. Also, a step-by-step guide to choosing a charity wisely.
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- Wealth Matters: Focusing on the Human Element of Estate Planning
- Inexpensive Advice for Index and Exchange-Traded Fund Investments
- Your Money: An Emerging Price War in the World of Investment Advice
- Your Money: Dependent Care Accounts, Hamstrung by Limits, Are Still Worth Exploring
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