Plan carefully with flexible medical account

One of the tricky issues employees need to sort out as they choose their benefits for next year is whether to put money aside in a medical flexible spending account, and if so, how much. - 11/16/2009

Flexible spending accounts face hit in health overhaul

Those tax-free spending accounts that you and your co-workers use to help pay for dental work, insurance copayments or over-the-counter drugs face a hit under the health overhaul bills in Congress -- unless a coalition that includes a powerful union, insurers and others can stop it. - 11/16/2009

6 rules if the boss is a buddy

You have lunch together every day, grab an occasional drink after work, and have gotten each other through work-related crises. So wouldn't it be strange if your office buddy became your new boss? - 11/16/2009

Recession intensifies GenX discontent at work

CHICAGO -- They're antsy and edgy, tired of waiting for promotion opportunities at work as their elders put off retirement. A good number of them are just waiting for the economy to pick up so they can hop to the next job, find something more fulfilling and get what they think they deserve. Oh, and they want work-life balance, too. - 11/16/2009

Brian J. O'Connor

Grand Experiment: Unplug utility costs

This week's Grand Experiment has really flipped the switch on some big savings. The budget category is "utilities" and, as with every week of this project, I aimed to cut at least $100 out of my family spending. That included water, electric, cable TV, phone and cell phone service. - 11/09/2009

Making debt vanish? Don't bet on it

Reduce your debt by 60 percent! Stop collection calls! Be debt free in 12 months! The siren song of debt settlement firms is getting harder to ignore these days, especially if your finances are out of control or creditors are knocking at the door - 11/09/2009

IRS may have a refund for you

Wouldn't it be great if the Internal Revenue Service were looking for you to give you money? - 11/09/2009

ECONOMY WATCH

5 tips for better meetings

Do your weekly meetings feel like a waste of time? More importantly, does your company have that kind of time to waste? - 11/09/2009

What you need to know if your bank fails

New York -- Dozens of banks have failed this year. What do you need to know if yours is next? - 11/05/2009

Lose your job? Rebuild your career

As the U.S. unemployment rate climbs to almost 10 percent, and Michigan sits at 15.3 percent, no industry or profession has been spared when employers needed to cut jobs. That includes fields once considered untouchable. - 11/02/2009

Brian J. O'Connor

Cutting some junk from financial trunk is slam dunk

This week's foray into frugality takes aim at the "Misc." category of my budget, the metaphorical junk drawer of family finances where old expenses go to be forgotten even though they still put a drain on the pocketbook. - 11/02/2009

7 rules for working at home

Amid high unemployment, many people are moving from employee to entrepreneur, says business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter, author of "When the Little Things Count ... And They Always Count." - 11/02/2009

Brian J. O'Connor

$1,000 savings goal hits pothole of reality

After 10,000 flops in his attempt to invent the light bulb, Thomas Edison famously said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." In that spirit, let me say that in my first week of trying to cut $1,000 from my family's monthly budget -- an even grand -- that I also did not fail. I just found four ways that won't work. - 10/26/2009

• New FHA condo rules may hinder mortgages
• 5 ways to protect a child's ID

• Blog: Brian O'Connor's Your Money

New FHA condo rules may hinder mortgages

The Federal Housing Administration is ready to implement new rules that could, in some cases, make it harder to get a mortgage to buy a condominium unit. - 10/26/2009

• $1,000 savings goal hits pothole of reality