Is a $150 pair of jeans a better deal than a $50 pair? Is a $60-per-month gym membership worth it? Should you spend $20 more for a better coffee maker?

The city of Los Angeles is putting banks it does business with on the spot.

Welcome to Hollywood's newest version of risky business: movie derivatives.

It was the one-year anniversary Tuesday of the day the stock market began to heal from its 57 percent downturn, and a traditional gift on such occasions, appropriately, is paper.

Is it safe to drive off in an auto stock?

The percentage of workers with virtually no savings is growing, and the outlook for a financially stable retirement is dismal, according to a report released Tuesday.

GEN Y AT WORK: Millenials want more vacation and time for themselves away from the job than young people did 30 years ago, and they also value compensation more, according to a recent study.

The stock market continues its erratic behavior of jumping up one day and falling down the next, leaving investors in a state of uncertainty as to when it will be safe to invest. Our minds are naturally inclined to avoid risk, so when the market looks unstable we stay away. Unfortunately for those who stay away, those down times are sometimes - but not always - the best time to invest.

Jack the cat was sick of living in a basement apartment and yearned for his own window ledge. His owners, Nou Thao and Brian Bussey, were ready to move, too. Fortunately for the engaged couple, their timing couldn't be better. Interest rates are at rock bottom, properties are more affordable than they've been in years, and dozens of valuable home-buying incentives are enticing buyers into the market.

Piles of tour books, brochures and maps are strewn across the kitchen table. It's two weeks before the trip, and you're feeling anxious about last-minute scheduling hitches.

When you're shopping for a free credit report - totally free - you can skip that singing pirate in the commercials. Free isn't free with this guy unless you buy something else - but what would you expect from a pirate?

Even kids can get rattled by the recession.

Bank-bashing is the thing to do these days, but some people still want the comfort and security of having their money in a financial institution.

A Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) allows investors to purchase stock in a company directly. But to participate in a DRIP, you generally need to already own at least a share of a company before you can start buying stock.

If you've heard about the turmoil in overseas markets - the demonstrations in Greece, the Federal Reserve Board's investigation of Wall Street's role in hiding the debt crisis there and talk of a possible default - then I'm guessing you're a tad worried about what all this might do to your investments.