Michael Sheehan

To maximize yield in the current low-interest environment, financial experts recommend the CD ladder. These take advantage of higher long-term CD yields without tying up cash for long periods of time.

Some experts estimate that distressed properties now account for almost a third of home sales nationwide. But buying a foreclosed home is not like a typical real estate deal and real estate mavens have some tips for would-be bargain hunters.

Some estimates peg the average cost of “extra” items for an incoming college freshman at more than $820. Consumer experts have some tips on how to save on those costs.

High insurance costs, arcane parking rules, and heavy traffic make owning a car in a major city an expensive and not very enjoyable proposition. One solution to this problem: car sharing.

For years, consumers have been told that the best way to foil identity thieves is to treat their Social Security numbers as if they were gold bars. It turns out that that advice is being undermined by government agencies and consumers who put personal information on social networking sites.

Unexpected expenses can punch holes in your budget and even drain your cash reserves dry. When you need to put your hands on some ready cash, the choices may be few. Here are some ideas from financial experts.

After a heady rally off its March lows, the stock market has hit some upside resistance, and each trading day brings new uncertainty. If you want to get back into this market, what’s the best way to do it?

When the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation takes over a failed bank, the first order of business is to try to find another bank that will buy the doomed bank’s assets.

You buy a new car and, and as a perk, you get a guarantee that you won’t pay more than $1.49 a gallon for gas for the next year. That’s the offer being promoted by Korean car maker Hyundai to new-car buyers.

As banks tighten lending standards and insurance companies stiffen underwriting rules, your credit score has become one of the most important numbers in your life, right next to your Social Security number.

Crunching the numbers to compare leasing versus owning is an essential step in the decision process, but car shoppers should weigh other factors, too.

If Congress decides that some form of universal health coverage should be a part of an overall healthcare reform package, many healthcare experts are predicting that the already existing shortage of primary care doctors could become a crisis. Shouldering much of the blame for the shortfall is the crushing debt that medical students incur.

The stimulus signed by President Obama calls for more than $140 billion in healthcare spending, including more funds for research, money to maintain Medicaid benefits that might be cut as state budgets shrink, and incentives to encourage doctors, hospitals, and health insurers to adopt electronic medical records and e-prescribing.