Author: Peter Dunn, Special to USA TODAY

My philosophy has always been to pay cash for a lightly used car and then drive it until the doors fall off. But which repair should be the last?

Buying your parents’ home could be a good financial move. But when you are nearing retirement age, calculate its effect on your overall savings plan.

Enjoying yourself at a friend’s wedding means taking a practical approach, and budgeting for travel and gifts from the moment the invitation arrives.

By working another few years, a 66-year-old will avoid tapping an $80,000 nest egg.

Losing a job in your 50s is a devastating moment, especially if the job is connected to a long career ripe with upward mobility.

I have credit card debt of $5,300 but $6,000 of student loan money in an account. Do I pay down the debt? Or do I leave the money in the account.

I want to help you find your breaks – when you experience an unordinary influx of money or the disappearance of a monthly obligation.

Think you need a perfect 850 credit score? You’ve been bamboozled. Tricked. Hoodwinked. We all have.

At the start of each year, I declare goals that can be quantified. And by New Year’s Eve, I’ve either delivered or not. Here’s how I succeed.