Retirement savings

Whether it's lottery tickets, bar tabs or lunch dates, we all have something we spend money on that we think we shouldn't. But according to personal finance expert Paula Pant, waste is in the eye of the beholder.

Allan Sloan, senior editor at large at Fortune magazine, explains why he thinks Obama's proposal to limit tax-free retirement savings is a bad idea.

Ten years ago, Marketplace Money listener Greg McKenna was over $20K in debt. Today, he's debt free and has a nest egg worth over $100,000. Here's how he did it.

Why one woman refused to let cancer alter her retirement planning.

An economics professor at Yale has found the way a speaker uses the future tense can affect their likelihood of saving.

Can my wife and I share one Roth IRA and contribute as much as $10,000 a year to it, or must we each have separate IRAs with the normal $5,000-a-year contribution cap? Jake, Madison, WI

What should investors -- especially those in their 50s and 60s -- do with their already diminished retirement savings?

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke may announce a new plan for interest rates today on Capitol Hill. Six in 10 Americans want the Federal Reserve to consider the negative impact of low interest rates on retirees and savings.

I returned to graduate school and accrued about $45,000 in federal student loans. The interest rate on these 10-year loans is 6 percent, with repayment beginning in 2013. I also have a 401(k) worth about $100,000 (roughly $60,000 of my contributions and $40,000 of employer contributions). I realize that an early 401(k) withdrawal would result in a 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty and that any withdrawal would be considered taxable income. This would effectively reduce the amount the 401(k) would need to earn in order to be the better investment. Still, it can't be much less than 6 percent, can it? Is there anything about my assumptions that are wrong, or is there anything I am overlooking? Derek, Chicago, IL

I am very lost and uncertain of our financial road to retirement. Our company doesn't offer defined payment retirement; it is all up to individual and 401(k). The company does match 3 percent. I am married and we have been working for 14 years now and have combined liquid assets (401(k), outside investment account, savings) of about $400,000, plus home equity of $100,000 on a good day. What shape are we in on our road to retirement? Thanks much. Martin, Chicago, IL