WASHINGTON -- You can buy a car with cash. I have to say this because there are a lot of people who have just accepted that borrowing for a vehicle is the only way to get one.

But think of the money you can save if you pay cash for your ...

WASHINGTON -- Every year I like to provide advice to college graduates.

By the time I graduated, I had in place some pretty good money habits thanks to my grandmother Big Mama. Because of her, I've made it my mission to pass on the financial ...

WASHINGTON -- If you're as busy as I am, asking you to weigh in on yet another request for comment from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is likely to be greeted with a well-understood "humph."

Since the bureau's inception, it's been ...

WASHINGTON -- On my first day as a full-time journalist, I called my grandmother Big Mama to tell her what it was like.

My grandmother, who was determined to raise me to be a good money manager, didn't want to hear about the fire I was sent to ...

WASHINGTON -- I vividly recall the 1978 television documentary "Scared Straight," about inmates serving anywhere from 25 years to life trying to scare juvenile delinquents from ending up in prison themselves. The intervention was raw. It was scary...

WASHINGTON -- My brother Ross recently died of complications from lung cancer. He was 40.

Ross left a wonderful personal legacy. He was a good father, friend and coach. He was a dedicated educator who devoted his career to working with children ...