Over the past month, the failure of banks, brokerages and major corporations has rocked the nation and the market. The market is regaining its footing, but the rest of us still are trying to figure out what happened and what we should do next to protect our portfolios and finances -- for when the next shoe drops.
The stories below will help you figure out what investment moves to make now and how to protect your money if your bank, broker or insurance company fails.
FROM THE EDITOR
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15 Things to Know About the Financial Crisis
A crash course in why it happened, how it's strangling the nation's finances and how it might work itself out.
SLIDE SHOW
10 Things That Are Going Right
The markets may be in turmoil. The economic outlook is grim. But not all the news is bad.
INVESTING
How I Keep My Sanity While My Savings Vanish
In this first of a series on coping with a plunging stock market, the editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance reveals how he is turning disaster into opportunity.
In this second of a series on coping with a plunging stock market, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Senior Editor Bob Frick urges you to build up your reserves -- even if it means investing less to do so.
Hold Fast to These Five Tenets
In this third of a series on coping with a plunging stock market, Senior Associate Editor Anne Kates Smith says hold fast to the investing advice we at Kiplinger have preached for years.
Here are answers to 12 pressing questions about the current financial turmoil.
With share prices as cheap as they are, my gains will be even bigger when the market recovers.
Advice From a Bear Fund Manager
Buy gold, save money and cut expenses, says David Tice, whose fund is up 10% in this volatile market.
The Bright Side of the Financial FallHout
T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation fund's David Giroux is finding companies that will emerge stronger from the current crisis.
YOUR MONEY
Your Financial Crisis Questions Answered
From retirement accounts to mortgages to annuities, here's what you need to know.
More Answers to Your Financial-Crisis Questions
Kim Lankford explains the drawbacks to ditching an AIG annuity, warns about new scams and more.
5 Things Retirees Should Do Now
Follow these steps to make sure you have enough money.
How to Safeguard Your College Savings
Is your shrinking 529-plan balance making you nervous? You're allowed to switch investments in the account once a year.
How the Rescue Plan Helps Taxpayers
Recently passed legislation that aims to help the financial market also provides several tax breaks for regular folks.
We have frank answers to your tough questions about banks, brokers and mortgage middlemen.
What the AIG Bailout Means for You
Policy and annuity owners, don't panic -- there are several layers of protection for you.
What Happens to Lehman's Customers?
Their assets are protected, but there is some risk for those who invested in the company's mutual funds and exchange-traded funds and notes.
OUTLOOK
Small changes won't do the trick. Here are eight bold initiatives we need.
Reasons to Cheer Lehman's Demise
The company's bankruptcy may help curb the lousy judgment and ultra risk taking that led to the subprime mortgage disaster and then the broader credit crisis, says economist Robert Morici of the University of Maryland..
Bank Failures Will Spread to Main Street
Hundreds of banks will be closed over the next two years as housing investments go sour -- and regulators start taking a hard look at the books.