Are you searching for gift ideas for the holiday season? It’s never easy, especially for older children and teenagers. They’re too old for toys, but do they really need another sweater or computer game?

Roth IRAs have been around since 1997, but two recent changes may make them even more attractive. First, let’s recap why you might consider a Roth.

Changing jobs can be a stressful event. A new boss, new co-workers, and new benefits to sign up for. These days you might well have one more decision to make — what to do with your 401(k) plan?

Many of us are living close to our financial limit these days. We pay our bills on time, but there’s not a lot left over. But that’s a dangerous situation. If things go wrong, your financial situation can change very quickly from adequate to critical. Without a cash reserve, you could find yourself in serious trouble.

Do you know how much your net worth is changing from year to year? We all want to enter retirement with a comfortable nest egg, owning more than we owe. A good way to chart your progress toward that goal is to prepare a personal balance sheet at least every year. That will give you a score card to measure how you’re doing.

As you lay out your investment strategy for the year ahead, keep one important factor in mind. Make sure that you’ve diversified your investments. Diversification means not having everything invested in one stock, or one class of stock, or even one type of asset. It’s important because it reduces your risk of loss if disaster hits that one particular investment.