Well the Boomers are crying now. Market is down, 401k's are shrinking, and dreams of early retirement fading. The mad bull market that had us believe it would go up forever has faltered. The gains were so exciting it was easy to lose sight of the real goals and priorities. Financial accumulation became a mission rather than a means to an end.

I know, I know, what about retirement. Well what about it? Personally I don't believe in retirement, I believe in working. Work and activity are the measures of physical and mental health. Ideally, you are passionate about the work you do and it gives your life meaning. We are the only country in the world that has this ridiculous viewpoint of a magical age where we are not longer suppose to work. And WE didn't have it before the advent of social security. After all, the word retire was only used twice in the Bible, and in both cases as a punishment.

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's First Family of Personal Finance, answer your money questions every Friday.

Dear Ken and Daria,

My wife and I have the money to pay off our mortgage. Should we pay it off or invest for a higher return?

-Richard

Thinking of re-financing your mortgage? Check out the Dolans' guide to negotiating the best mortgage for you.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

Just when you think there is insurance for everything, Commemorative Life Insurance has come out with, "AfterThoughts Birthday Insurance" which will provide birthday cards and cash to your lovely little grandchildren even after you have left this world. The program is a whole life insurance policy with premiums ranging from $141 to $725 depending on age and tobacco use. While the thought of providing a birthday greeting for the rest of your grandkid's life may be appealing, providing them a gift directly is likely to make more financial sense.

Imagine for a minute that you are a 60-year-old non-smoking female and you want to make sure your grandchild receives a $100 check and a birthday card for the rest of his life beginning when you die. If you live another 20 years and pay in $141.26 each year you will have paid AfterThoughts just shy of $3,000. At a payout rate of $100 per year for his life your grandson the investment wouldn't pay out any profit until his 49th birthday, assuming you bought the insurance the day he was born.

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's First Family of Personal Finance, answer your money questions every Friday.

Dear Ken and Daria,

My daughter just got her first job and I'd like for her to begin saving and investing. I suggested a Roth IRA but she's wary of the market. How do I get her started?

-Cliff

Feeling wary about the current unstable world of investing? Ken and Daria Dolan show you how to jump in at any age with advice on proper investment strategies and planning tips for a fruitful future. Get started now at Dolans.com.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

I have a two-letter word for you that could double or triple your retirement savings. It is the answer to each of the following questions:

1. Open an account with us and we will put together a portfolio of stocks and bonds for you.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

Brett Arenda, who writes a personal finance column for WSJ.com., has a hot tip for you. Buy shares in the Global Energy iShare.

According to Mr. Arenda, "You're already paying for the gasoline and energy at home. Shouldn't you be pocketing some of the profits as well?"

Here is my hot tip that will boost your retirement savings.

Don't listen to him or to any other stock picker.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

If that headline conjures up an image of a circus barker, you have hit the nail on the head.

Yet every day, millions of investors engage in the same kind of activity when they make investment decisions that are critical to their retirement planning.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

What is the biggest threat to your retirement savings?

You may be surprised to learn that it is the securities industry. Specifically, your "investment professional" to whom millions of investors entrust their retirement nest eggs.

This is the part of a new series of columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as many as he can.

The are many minefields for investors who want to save for retirement. Fortunately, the warning signs are clear. If you see any of these signs, you are driving on the road to financial perdition. Stop. Turn around and go in the opposite direction:

1. "This mutual fund has a 5-star Morningstar rating." It still is unlikely to beat an index fund with a comparable risk over the long term.

A recent study of the investing activity of millionaires has found that 27% plan to invest more in individual stocks this year. Only half as many will invest more in real estate, and only a very small percentage say they'll decrease their stock investments.

This is seen as good news for the American economy! Our economy grows when people invest in companies and technologies, which creates new opportunities, new jobs, and new wealth. It can have a snowball effect, much the same way as decreased investment can have a negative snowballing effect on our economy.

You're thinking to yourself, "Who cares! I'm not a millionaire." We might not be millionaires, but there are certainly some lessons we can learn from them, and one is about the value of saving and investing.

Oh sure, it's much easier to save or invest when you have several hundred thousand dollars lying around waiting to be used. But if millionaires were interested in only spending all the money they're making, they may not be millionaires for long.

Retirement expert Dan Solin is the author of The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read (Perigee Books 2006) and The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read (Perigee Books, June 24, 2008).

Ask him your questions in the comments box and he will answer as many as he can. You can visit his website at Smartestinvestmentbook.com.

Read his most recent "Naked Truth" posts here. This column is designed to provide information about investing for retirement that will be relevant to a large group of readers. If you require legal service or other expert assistance, please seek the services of a competent professional.

For most people, the benefits received from a charitable donation are simply the "warm fuzzies" and a tax deduction. However if you happen to be sitting on some extra cash earning a paltry 3% in a CD then an annuity could net you an even greater return!

A charitable gift annuity is a vehicle for giving to charity which also provides income for life to the donor and their spouse based on a set rate tied to your age. While this may sound too good to be true, charitable gift annuities have been around for many years and are used by many respectable charities.

Charitable gift annuities can be set up with almost any charity and will provide payments back to the donor on either a quarterly, annual or semi-annual basis. These payments don't fluctuate with the market and will last your entire life, even if the return surpasses your original gift amount.

The rate for charitable gift annuities is set every year in July based on the discount rate and the longer you've been living the higher your interest rate is. Currently a 55-year old can earn 5.5% for life while an 85-year old can net a 9.5% return on the principle donation. These rates are based on a one-life annuity and will be slightly lower on a two life plan.

With the stock market causing many of us pain this year, you may have heard commercials advertising the benefits of investing in gold. Gold is considered an excellent investment during rocky financial times because it has historically held its value well.

Gold is particularly attractive right now as the dollar's value is low and interest rates are low too. It gained 31% in 2007 and is showing impressive numbers for 2008 as well. Yet experts disagree on the future of gold. Some say its value is just going to keep rising and the sky is the limit. Other's say the value of gold can't keep rising and a "price correction" (a drop in value) should be coming soon.

Should you invest in gold now? With gold at a historic highs of $900 per ounce, some experts are saying consumers should buy because in the long-term, the price will only go up further. Other experts are saying that the stock market is a much better investment in the long term.

I say that as with any investment, diversification is key. I think it is good to have some of your money invested in gold, but to have other types of investments as well, including real estate, stocks, cash accounts. Never put all (or most) of your eggs in one basket, and you will probably be best prepared to weather difficult financial times.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

What would you do if you got an unexpected windfall of $100,000? Would you run right out and spend it as fast as you could? Would you save it for a rainy day? Would you do a little bit of both? Would you give it away?

Unfortunately, I've seen many people squander their windfalls. They feel like they owe it to themselves to "treat" themselves to some nice things, and before they know it, their money is gone.

What does $100,000 get you these days? Well suppose it's an inheritance on which you don't have to pay taxes. Stop and figure out how long $100,000 would last you if you weren't working and you were fairly conservative with your money. That helps put things into perspective.

My best advice is to sit down and figure out a strategy for the money before you start spending. It's a little hard to un-spend the money, so you want to take into account any savings goals and debt pay down that you're working on.

A study by two university professors has found that those who are reckless behind the wheel of a car are more likely to be reckless when investing their money. Strangely enough, they found a correlation between speeding tickets and risky investing activity, reported in their study "Sensation Seeking, Overconfidence and Trading Activity."

The professors compared Helsinki databases of speeding tickets issued in the late 1990s and early 2000s, to databases on investment portfolios and trading records. With some funky math, the professors were able to determine the correlation between speeding tickets and investment portfolio turnover.

They found that an investor's portfolio turnover rate rose 11% after each speeding ticket received. They also found that as an investor got older, their speeding tickets decreased and their risky trading activity also decreased.

The professors think that the correlation between speeding tickets and risky trading activity has to do with overconfidence. A risky driver thinks he can avoid being caught, and therefore he may also believe he can do an exceptional job picking stocks. So all you speeders beware: You're probably playing a little fast and loose with your investments too. Take more time and look at your investments carefully before heading off into the land of high risk stocks.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.