Americans will soon face a recession that few are prepared to endure. In fact, if you're under age 45, you haven't seen a severe recession in your entire working life.

When everyone is telling you that this credit crisis could not have been predicted, you can point to one man who boldly – and incredibly accurately – told you...

Nancy Kelly-Ristau is the face of the American nightmare. She's 55, divorced and facing the fact that she can no longer afford her home in west suburban River Forest, where she lives with her two daughters.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again!

It's amazing how easily fear overcomes resolution, and how easily long-term investors turn into panicked sellers in a market decline. That's what happens when you don't have a plan that you understand, and a commitment to stick to the plan.

Gotcha! That's what the market said to all those investors who panicked and sold out of fear on the way down recently. And guess what? The ones who panicked most were the professionals!

Just when America was warming up to the idea of purchasing long-term care insurance to protect family assets from the devastating costs of custodial care, the three largest insurance companies have shaken up the market by raising prices on existing policies, not just on policies to be sold in the future. How should that impact your planning?

Are you keeping score of the presidential nominees' economic policies? Or do you view the contest simply as an endgame – waiting to see who wins and who loses?

It's tough to get a mortgage today – but that's not news. Every financial institution is tightening lending standards and requiring a higher down payment and raising interest rates. Well, almost every lender is doing that. But if you're a veteran who has been honorably discharged from the military, you can get a great deal on a home loan.

Labor Day is the day we take a break from our labor to honor those who work. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, a celebration that was created by the Central Labor Union. Two years later, the date was fixed as the first Monday in September.

Where did all the money go? Fannie Mae lost $2.3 billion in the last three months, and its cousin Freddie Mac lost nearly $1 billion, bringing its one-year total loss to nearly $5 billion.

Buried in the new Housing Bill (The Housing and Economic Recovery Act) is some very good news for seniors whose main asset is the family home. The new law makes it easier and less expensive for seniors to access the cash value of their homes on a tax-free basis through a Reverse Mortgage. And it expands the amount that can be borrowed.

Don't buy U.S. Savings Bonds. For years, I used to promote the benefits of U.S. Savings Bonds, reminding readers that even people with small amounts of money could easily and automatically start a regular savings program – and get current market rates of return. In other words, Savings Bonds were a good deal.

In the next few weeks, the millions of Americans who have been investing their retirement funds in the stock market through their 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) are going to open their second-quarter statements and be shocked by the losses in their retirement nest eggs.

With the passing of the July 4th holiday that inspires our most patriotic thoughts, it's hard to imagine that any American would voluntarily give up his or her citizenship. But perhaps politicians are starting to understand that the taxpaying public is growing wary of being fleeced, either through increased taxes or the stealth tax of inflation, as a way to repay all the debt that Washington has incurred.

Why worry about a little inflation? Because even a little bit adds up over the years and can make a real dent in your wealth – if you haven't prepared with investments that will not only match, but outpace, the ravages of inflation.

As the housing crisis and mortgage mess move off the front pages, some nagging questions remain. Many of those questions revolve around how so many smart people – not the homebuyers, but Wall Streeters – could have been so dumb or blinded by greed to the eventual results of what they were doing. I wonder how they can complain now that they're losing money.

Imagine being a 24-year-old girl, graduating from college, with more than $65,000 in debt. Now you're looking for an entry-level job that – if you can find it – might pay $40,000 a year. And you're stuck with monthly payments of nearly $600 on your consolidated loans. Those payments will consume more than a quarter of her after-tax paycheck, every paycheck, for 20 years.

Don't say you weren't warned. The long-term care crisis is upon us. The rumblings have already started in small towns around the country. The government is already having trouble paying the cost of long-term care for the indigent elderly.

There's no end in sight to the woes of consumers and very little help on the way. The statistics are shocking, and they grow worse by the month...

What's your favorite pizza topping? That's not an idle question when it comes to protecting your identity. In fact, it's one of many security questions now being used by banks to verify your online banking transactions.

How do the rich get richer? They hedge their investment bets using hedge funds!

Will you have to work an extra three years before retiring in order to overcome the drag of excessive fees in your 401(k) account? 

Who doesn't dread opening a letter from the IRS? If you know it's not a refund check, it probably means an AUDIT! Even if you're the most honest taxpayer in the country, you don't want to be in a disagreement with the IRS.

Don't speculate on interest rates with your mortgage. Even as the Federal Reserve Board made its latest and well-anticipated cut in short-term interest rates, mortgage rates started to climb higher last week. It was the first up-tick after the sharpest four-week decline in mortgage rates in 18 years.

If you're planning for retirement, you have more to worry about than your investments. You really should be concerned about what this country will look like in 20 or 30 years, when you're trying to live on a fixed income or a limited pool of assets.

If there’s a high school senior in your family, your first task of the New Year is to get ready to file the FAFSA form — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Filing starting Jan. 1, and the early bird gets the aid!