Americans are loaded up with credit card debt. What’s worse is that some husbands, wives and even children hide those money woes from their families. The results are often devastating.

A year ago, when all sorts of investments — stocks, bonds, commodities — were being tossed on the scrap heap, dyed-in-the-wool bargain hunters who had the courage to sift through the market’s ruins were richly rewarded.

The proposal would differ from the current practice, which strongly encourages lenders to evaluate defaulting borrowers for a modification but does not make it mandatory.

Savings, income and health care costs top list of concerns.

Tax season is upon us. And while nobody likes shelling out their hard-earned dollars to the IRS, this year the government is offering up some new opportunities that could save you big money. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus bill, Congress introduced several new tax goodies that could help millions of Americans save — as long as they know to claim them.

Great bargains abound, but you have to shop carefully.

In our third installment of Ask the Expert, Tina Salandra, a certified public accountant, continues to answer questions from same-sex couples about taxes.

Merrill Lynch veteran optimistic about the thundering herd.

In another sign that mobile banking may be the way of the future, Wells Fargo recently announced that its text banking service is now available to all customers, even those who aren’t enrolled in online banking.

The odds are against picking a winning, actively managed mutual fund and the payouts don’t justify the poor odds.