The rule on staying alive as a forecaster is to give 'em a number or give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once.

You don't date an annuity, you marry it. An annuity isn't a mutual fund that you buy today and sell tomorrow. Nor is it a certificate of deposit, ready for any new use at maturity. When you buy an annuity, you are making (or ought to be making) a 15- or 20-year commitment, at least.

Everyone can get a little sloppy with cash and it's smart to notice. But what's squeezing you is the big stuff you ladle onto your credit cards.

It's a fact: stock investors sometimes lose money on their way to wealth. Get over it.

Never try to time the bond market. Anyone who claims to know the future of interest rates is certifiable.

The chief function of stock-market forecasters is to make astrologers look respectable.

hindsight is not a strategy.