In a curious turn of events, Congress appears poised to reduce the level of protection provided to holders of IRAs and 401(k) retirement plans. Read the full article

The long-running tradition continues: many of the finest restaurants in the Greater Boston area will offer special discounts starting next week. Read the full article

Citing negative feedback from customers, Bank of America has done a complete about-face from its plan to charge most customers a $5-a-month debit card usage fee starting next year. Read the full article

Earlier this week I noted that it's getting harder to find banks that don't charge for checking accounts. Here are the names of several MA banks that still offer full-service checking accounts for free. Read the full article

A number of banks are developing annoying new checking account fees. What’s a consumer to do? Read the full article

This week, a friend expressed concern to me about the safety of his bank. So today I'm addressing two questions: how can you find out whether your bank is in good financial shape, and just how strong is the FDIC's insurance fund? Read the full article

Boston Restaurant Week, now in its 11th year, starts next week. For two weeks, August 14-19 and 21-26, fine restaurants in the Greater Boston area will offer discounted fixed-price menus to draw customers in during a traditionally slow month. Over 200 restaurants will offer 2-course lunches for $15.11, 3-course lunches for $20.11 and 3-course dinners for $33.11. Boston holds Restaurant Week twice a year, in August and March. Read the full article

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts will have its sales tax holiday this year on August 13-14. Read the full article

As the Greek debt tragedy plays itself out, it’s become apparent that problems in Europe have the potential to nick some U.S. money market funds. Read the full article

Everyone understands, at some level, the need to save for long-term goals. Buying a house, preparing for retirement, or sending a child to college are goals that we know we have to save for. But how much difference does it make whether we start saving now versus saving later? Read the full article

With money market accounts paying essentially 0%, what's a saver to do? Read the full article

One of the provisions of the health care bill was a change in the rules that apply to flexible savings accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs) and other health savings plans. After December 31st of this year, the cost of over-the-counter drug purchases will no longer qualify for reimbursement from these plans. After the end of 2010, only insulin and prescription purchases will be reimbursable. There's a small exemption provided for plans that use debit cards; these purchases remain qualified through January 15, 2011. The IRS is providing further information on changes in the reimbursement rules for over-the-counter medicines and drugs at its web site. Read the full article

Last week I attended a talk by Boston Federal Reserve Bank research economist Chris Foote. His subject was the Great Recession, but Foote also dropped a fairly big hint about the likely direction of short-term interest rates for the foreseeable future. Read the full article

With all the hoopla over the consumer protections in the July financial reform bill, a permanent increase in the FDIC deposit insurance limit went into effect with relatively little notice. Read the full article

Credit cards are convenient and they effortlessly provide a record of every purchase you make. But using a credit card doesn’t feel like spending money. Consequently, it's easier to overspend with one than it is if you only use cash and checks. Unless you constantly monitor your purchases, there’s no easy way to stay aware of how whether your spending out of control. In a few months, though, Citigroup will introduce a credit card that lets you define a monthly cap for different purchase categories: instant budgeting for credit cards. Read the full article

New rules taking effect August 15th mean two things if you have a checking account: (1) you must make explicitly authorize your bank to enroll you in their overdraft plan if you wish to make debit card overdrafts, and (2) expect changes in your bank’s fees and checking account rules in the near future. Read the full article

Now in its 10th year, Boston Restaurant Week | Summer 2010 will kick into gear next month. Fine restaurants in the Boston area will offer reduced-price versions of their cuisine, giving thrifty diners opportunities to eat well at a discount. Read the full article

Yesterday’s second hour of the radio program “On Point” featured the author of “Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon: A Guide to the Best Time to Buy This, Do That, and Go There.” Read the full article

Figuring out which cell phone plan to buy can be a huge pain. There's no point in paying for services that you don't use, and if you pick the wrong plan, you're stuck for as long as two years unless you pay a termination fee. Over at the Flowing Data blog, there are some graphs that help simplify the process. Read the full article

Yesterday the Bureau of Labor Standards provided a CPI update through July 2009. Prices seem to be firming, but no clear pattern has yet emerged. Read the full article

For several years Massachusetts, like many states, has had a summer tax holiday weekend – sort of like Christmas in August. This year, the Grinch has come to the Bay State. Read the full article

Probably we could have avoided last year’s economic crisis if only everyone had watched Saturday Night Live a few years ago. Read the full article

Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research recently released a brief that examines whether people nearing retirement should pay down their mortgages. Read the full article

When I moved to Boston, I was surprised to discover that despite the severity of New England winters, ice cream is a regional obsession. Here’s a useful resource for finding the area’s finest ice creameries as you travel this summer. Read the full article

The IRS is drawing attention to the fact that the cost of sending your children to a summer day camp can qualify you for lower taxes via the child care tax credit. Read the full article

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