The media spotlight often shines on the unemployed, but many Americans under 30 face an equally frustrating problem—they have educations and skills but work in jobs below their earning potential. If this is you, the right combination of perseverance, optimism, and creativity can help you stick it out and eventually land the job you want. [...]

Today I was on Philadelphia’s NPR station WHYY (91FM) discussing how the economy is affecting the careers and finances of today’s 20-somethings. Listen to or download the mp3 of the entire hour program here. I join the discussion about 15:00 into the program. You can also download an edited 15 minute version featuring only my responses. [...]

For many Americans, tax-time means a refund check. But others may owe Uncle Sam a big chunk of change. Happened to you? You’ll want to make quarterly estimated tax payments this year so it doesn’t happen again. But what if you owe the IRS but don’t have the money now? (Hint: You can’t just file an extension until you have the money to pay). [...]

Most credit cards report several pieces of information to the three credit bureaus: Your payment history, your current balance, and your card’s credit limit. That last one is important because a big part of your credit score is based upon how much of your total available credit you use. Unfortunately, some credit cards do not report your credit limit. Carrying a balance on these cards could lower your credit score. [...]

One of the most common questions I receive via my contact form is: “Can I close old, unused credit card accounts without hurting my credit score?” Most often, the answer is no. Here’s why. [...]

President Obama will ddress the nation again tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time to talk further about the steps his administration is taking to bolster our uncertain economy. What would you want to ask him? What steps would you propose he include in his administration’s efforts to correct our economic situation? [...]

These days, everybody’s looking to save money. And with good reason—the more you can cut back on monthly expenses, the better prepared you’ll be to weather the recession, including the frightening prospect of losing your income. That said, there are a few things to which you should continue to allocate money as long as you possibly can. [...]

I have written a lot recently about my strong belief in the concept of social lending—including my own experiences as a borrower with Prosper.

Now that my Prosper loan is almost paid off, I decided to get some experience on the other side of the social lending coin as a lender. Since Prosper is temporarily not accepting new accounts as it awaits SEC registration, I decided to open a lender account with another big player: Lending Club. For those considering doing the same, here’s a step-by-step look at what it takes to open a Lending Club lender account. [...]

You need to be contributing money to a Roth IRA! If don’t have a Roth IRA, aren’t sure, or simply don’t a clue as to what a Roth IRA is—please read on. [...]

When I asked readers how you split expenses with your partner or spouse, a few responded that they maintained separate checking accounts but shared a joint credit card account for monthly purchases like groceries and utilities.

I recently started doing the same thing with my fiancee. We think, at least for the time being, it’s a good idea. But before you do the same, there are a few things you should consider when you decide to add an additional authorized user to your credit card account or become an additional user on your sweetie’s account. [...]