Finance & Economy

When it comes to insurance, however, ignorance is not bliss. What you don’t know — or think you know that isn’t so — could lead to financial disaster. Take this true-or-false quiz from MetLife Auto and Home.

We are told that there are too many “rich” people. Instead, we should think that there are not enough rich people. Because only wealthy people can pay the taxes that will fill in our budget deficits.

A change in personal circumstances can also warrant a change in investment approach.

Once upon a time, the banks wanted your business so badly they actually gave you a free toaster as an incentive to make a deposit. That’s a time few remember — a tale told by elders to amuse the younger generation.

Very quietly, and without any of the fanfare with which it was announced a year ago, the government ended its safety guarantee for money-market mutual funds. Last Sept. 18, the Treasury Department’s Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds was allowed to expire.

Like crabgrass in spring, debt-settlement firms are spreading fast all over the country. Tempting radio commercials tell you they can negotiate with your credit-card issuer so you’ll pay as little as 40 percent of what you owe. Don’t fall for it. Most debt-settlement companies require you to divert your current payments to a savings account giving them the leverage to negotiate.

It seems the credit-card companies have all the power these days, in spite of the benefits of the new Card Act, which took effect in February. If you make the decision to close your credit-card account, assuming your credit is in good standing, it might have a small impact on your credit score.

There’s a lot of talk these days both on the street and in the news that the United States is poised to enter a season of inflation. Some insist that things are so economically serious we need to get prepared for “runaway inflation.” Inflation is, by definition, “a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.”