With stagnant incomes and roller-coaster investment returns over the past decade, individuals on the brink of retirement might wonder what became of all those “rules of thumb” affecting how they handle their nest egg once they walk away from their jobs.
They’re still there. But the question of how well they work comes down to the individual.

Current estimates from AARP put the annual cost of a private nursing home room at a national average of $78,000. As older Americans are still struggling to reassemble their retirement plans from the worst economic downturn in 70 years, relatively few are considering the potentially most devastating threat to their plans: the spiraling cost of long-term care.

The ancient Greek expression “Know thyself” carries a lot of weight when it comes to investing. Indeed, an investor’s personality can speak volumes to their ability to spot opportunities and avoid risk. If more people truly “knew themselves” when it came to money over the last decade, it’s arguable we would not have seen many of the individual excesses and mistakes that marked the recent economic slowdown.

Despite the recession, Americans haven’t shut down much of their charitable giving. According to the Giving USA Foundation, U.S. charitable giving stood at $307.65 billion in 2008, down only 2 percent from the previous year.

This year may not be an exception given the outpouring after the Haitian earthquake. But if you’re going to give, give smart. It makes sense to develop a long-term giving strategy that dovetails with your current finances, your estate-planning strategy and your values.