Each week we bring you words of wisdom to help make your financial condition and life just a little bit better. Sometimes, that advice can require some time and resources to implement. This week, I am going to give advice that everyone can implement immediately.

A worldwide recession now appears inevitable.

With the economy on a turbulent roller-coaster ride, more people than ever have credit problems. While these credit problems don’t derail the law-abiding among us, they will likely bring more predatory thieves to our holiday shopping season.

Just before the dot.com bubble burst, “experts” were peddling books with titles like “Dow 36,000,” “Dow 40,000” and even “Dow 100,000.” According to a 1999 book review, “it’s not a question of if the Dow Jones Industrial Average will blast into the financial stratosphere, but how high it will go.”

Weekly business rail, with tips for entrepreneurs, a look at the most valuable NHL teams and more.

Retailers aren’t waiting for Black Friday in this economy. They can’t afford to, say retail executives and industry analysts. A just-released annual holiday forecast from the National Retail Federation found nearly three-quarters of people surveyed nationwide have only just begun holiday shopping.

It’s one of the most common questions uttered by retailers these days: Credit or debit? Either choice can net consumers certain benefits, as well as certain drawbacks. But consumer groups warn that fees, limits and security issues could catch shoppers off guard, and recommend not always relying on swiping to make transactions.

When it comes to war, it’s all about firepower. In a sense, the same thing is true about the car-buying process. Traditionally, dealers had all the weapons at their disposal, but the Internet has changed that equation.

There may be time to cut your income tax bill and either owe less or get a larger refund next year. Let's start with the most obvious: investments that have lost money.

Layaway, that throwback from an era when consumers actually paid for purchases before taking them home, has been dusted off and put back out on the shelves – just in time for the holidays.

Waverly, Ill., is a long way from Detroit and the Big Three automakers. And T&S Auto Sales in Waverly is a long way from needing a bailout from the government.
 

Weekly auto rail, with a look at the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, winter driving tips and more.

Weekly business rail, with a tip about online video, a look at America’s largest private companies and more.

Oil. It's almost become a dirty word. Evoking painful thoughts of high gasoline prices, associated with terrorism, war and synonymous with the rising cost of nearly everything that depends on it. It's also associated with America's seemingly unquenchable thirst for the stuff. But after it's been used to keep the motors moving, what happens to the gallons that get left behind? 

To balance your budget, you’ve got to have a budget, which is easier said than done. But the experts say budgeting is the most important element to keeping your finances straight, or straightening them out.