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This article is by staff writer Honey Smith.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — no, not the holidays — performance-review season at work! Now is when many employers evaluate their employees’ contributions to the organization’s mission and bottom line, and then make decisions about raises, bonuses, and promotions accordingly. So it’s a great time to ask for a raise.

But if you aren’t able to make a good case for yourself, then you might find that not only is your career becoming stagnant but also that you could be first on the chopping block in the event of corporate (or wider) economic misfortune. Assuming you don’t want to be considered disposable in the eyes of your employer, here are some tactics and strategies to implement before you ask for a raise. They might just help increase your chances of success.

This article is by editor Linda Vergon.

According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, the number of young women living with relatives is rising – to levels not seen since the 1940s. Fully 36.4 percent of young women between the ages of 18 to 34 are not financially capable of striking out on their own these days – even though five times more of them are college-educated today.

The gender gap

It’s no different for young men. In fact, more men than women in this age group (42.8 percent compared to 36.4 percent) live with family members today.

But a recent Payscale.com survey on the gender pay gap indicates that men will earn far more than women by the time they reach their 50s, in part because of the types of jobs men and women typically take.

This article is by staff writer Suba Iyer.

Have you started shopping yet? No, I’m not talking about shopping for the holidays; I’m talking about something more important – your health insurance.

It’s that time of year when many employers have their open-enrollment period and the federal and state health insurance marketplaces are open for business. Open enrollment is your annual opportunity to review and make changes to your health insurance plan so you end up with the best plan for your needs.

Here’s what to consider when selecting an individual or family plan offered by your employer or the health insurance marketplace.

This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.

One of our parenting goals is to rear frugal kids. Take care of their stuff. Spend wisely. Save for a rainy day.

Making the goal is easy, but implementing the goal? Definitely harder.

How our (current) allowance system works

Over the last couple of years, we’ve been experimenting with the best ways to teach our kids to manage money. What I’ve learned is that it’s best to keep our system flexible as the kids mature and develop more skills. So we decided that our system will probably always be subject to change so we can accommodate their growth, but here’s how our family’s allowance system currently works: