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14 Back-to-School Shopping Hacks 07/21/2015 08:00pm • Back-to-school shopping is serious business: The National Retail Federation reports that this year, parents with children in kindergarten through 12th grade plan to spend $630.36 on average. Over the last decade, that number has climbed from $443.80. "We're seeing a consistently more confident con 10 Blunders Investors Make With Their Money 07/21/2015 08:00pm • No investor is perfect, but hanging onto an imperfection a bit too long can add up to the point where it wrecks a portfolio, cuts a hole in your wallet or costs you a ton of money somewhere down the line. Here's the rub: How do you know you've made a mistake when you had no idea you were chasing y 4 College Savings Strategies for Parents With Student Loans 07/21/2015 08:00pm • Lucy Knutson says she was fortunate because her parents helped pay for her undergraduate education. But when she decided to go to law school, she had to foot the bill, and she graduated with more than $100,000 in loans. Now that she's a mom of two, she and her husband automatically put money from A Timeline of Federal Student Loan Delinquency, Default Consequences 07/21/2015 08:00pm • In June, The New York Times published an opinion piece that encouraged students burdened with debt to consider letting their loans default. As you might imagine, this argument created a lot of chatter -- at least around Student Loan Ranger headquarters. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and we c 10 Life Events That Require Financial Planning 07/20/2015 08:00pm • Sometimes, even the best events in life -- a birth, new job or dream relocation -- require a financial plan. They might necessitate the need for more insurance coverage, a new budget or guidance from a financial advisor. Here are 10 positive events that should inspire you to do some financial plann Sell This, Not That: How to Manage an Estate Sale 07/20/2015 08:00pm • It's a situation many of us will face one day, if we haven't already: A relative dies or goes into a nursing home, leaving the survivors to figure out what to do with all the nice things left behind. Or, before you arrive at that point, you or your parents may decide to dispose of most of their belo Which local pizza offers the most pie for the best price? 07/20/2015 01:53pm • WASHINGTON -- The D.C. area is bursting with pizza joints -- &Pizza, Italian Pizza Kitchen, Pizzeria Paradiso and the list goes on. That said, all pies are not created equal. Some aren't worth the money, or it's overpriced for the size you receive. Eater DC examined some of the most popula Virginia horse farm up for grabs in essay contest 07/20/2015 01:49pm • WASHINGTON — A Virginia couple is willing to give up their farm for the "write" price. Through a contest, the 35-acre Rock Spring Farm in Essex County, Virginia will be given to an essayist "who can convince a panel of judges his or her story is a bestseller," according to a post on the fa Savings Showdown: 401(k)s vs. IRAs 07/19/2015 08:00pm • Although anything from certificates of deposit to money market accounts to an envelope under the mattress can be used for retirement savings, 401(k)s and IRAs remain two of the most popular options. And with good reason. Both offer incentives that encourage workers to pad their retirement accounts w Pensions Are Taking the Long, Lonely Road to Retirement 07/19/2015 08:00pm • Pensions were once just as much a given in the full-time working world as rock-solid health insurance and gold watches on retirement day. Remember that time? Touch-tone phones were still all the rage, too. But in the 21st century, many employers have already made the call to eliminate pensions, wi Greece Adjusts to New Normal as Banks Reopen 07/19/2015 08:00pm • Greek banks were open for business Monday for the first time in three weeks, as packages of emergency aid allowed the embattled Mediterranean economy to finally start getting back on track. Greece's government is still reportedly keeping a tight cap on just how much cash people are able to withdraw How Marriage Affects Your Student Loan Repayment 07/19/2015 08:00pm • It's wedding season. And brides and grooms are combining all the parts of their lives -- their hearts, their families, their households and yes, their student loans. Sorry romantics, but marriage may require a heart-to-heart about those pesky student loan payments. That conversation was necessary How to Save When Outlet Shopping 07/17/2015 08:00am • During the summer months, and especially as families prepare kids to head back to school, outlet shopping is a popular activity. Not only is it nice to walk around an outdoor mall in warm weather, but outlet stores have a reputation for lower prices, closeout sales and deep discounts. If you're p Feds, non-feds learn about identity theft 07/17/2015 01:36am • GERMANTOWN, Md.  — Fearing their personal information may be in the hands of hackers, people packed the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown Thursday for a forum on preventing and dealing with identity theft. Many of the attendees were current and past federal employees who believe thei Obama and Boehner Are Right to Call for Criminal Justice Reform 07/16/2015 08:00pm • Speaking Thursday in Philadelphia, President Barack Obama tried to impress on the NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, the importance of addressing the problem that "in too many places, black boys and black men, Latino boys and Latino men experience being treated differently under t