Personal Finance

How do you choose a "good" password? When it comes to cyber-crooks, "good " is anything a ne'er-do-well couldn't easily guess just by, for example, combining your children's names or knowing your birthday.

Welcome to the Daily 5, our lighthearted look at the business news that amuses us.

Unless you want to work until the day you die, you face a scary decision in trying to figure out when and how you'll retire. For many people, once you walk off your job site for the last time, getting a high-paying job again is no longer an option. So before you pull the cord on your paycheck prospects, it pays to make contingency plans for everything that could happen during the rest of your life.

When you're hiring a financial planner, it pays to screen carefully. For one thing, you need to understand exactly how planner candidates are paid, so that you can make an informed market decision. But remember -- not many worthwhile pros work for peanuts. You don't want to get so ruthless about cost that you end up with worthless advice.

According to the Hewitt 401(k) Index, in March, many investors moved their 401(k) money from stocks to bonds. (OK, from "equities" to "fixed income investments," if you want to get all fancy about it.) Unfortunately, that's one of the worst possible moves those investors could make.

When it comes to company credit cards, abuses are legendary. (And we're all ears!)

By Dayana Yochim:

1. Pay your bills on time. More than one-third of your credit score -- the most popular being Fair Isaac 's FICO score -- is based on your bill-paying habits. Late payments can have brutal consequences, particularly those that are 90 days or more past due. While recent changes to the FICO calculations make isolated incidents a bit less damaging, 90-day late payments can be just as troubling for picky lenders as a bankruptcy filing, a tax lien, a collection, a judgment, or a repossession.

By Jim Mueller:

Go with your gut, we're told. Play to your instincts.

But for many people, going with that gut feeling can keep us out of the market when we most need to be in it. Ignore your gut, keep your cool, and invest with your brain.

While seated in the comfort of your bedroom or office, a few mouse-clicks on the laptop work wonder now-a-days. You can check your account balance, your account usage, transfer cash, or just pay for your utilities like electricity, telephone bills or insurance premiums without standing in the long queues, it’s all possible by netbanking or online banking.

Using an ATM/Debit card is indeed a very safe way to bank, shop or transfer cash. But you need to be careful with your card. Here’s how;

Welcome to the Foolish Money Lab, where I don my jester's hat and put common personal-finance advice to the test. This month, your humble servant ventures intrepidly into the world of discount warehouses.

If you've ever tried to dig yourself out of credit card debt, you might already know about a practice that some lawmakers denounced this week -- the policy among some credit cards to raise your interest rates when your credit score drops, even if you're faultlessly punctual with your payments.

Lots of credit card companies offer their customers rewards for using their cards. If you're careful, those rewards can give you free money. But for many, those rewards simply aren't worth the cost.