NEW YORK (Reuters) – Not long after the megastorm Sandy hit the northeast United States, Maryum Goodwin and her little girl Ryleigh, 6, saw a disturbing picture of the New Jersey shore devastation.

“That’s somebody’s house?” Ryleigh asked.

“It used to be,” said Maryum, a stay-at-home mother from Kennesaw, Georgia.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – How well do financial planning firms respond to the needs of the LGBT community? The report card just came in. They flunked.

Financial giant Prudential Financial Inc today released an online survey of more than 1,400 Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. For institutions hoping to tap into this lucrative market, the numbers are a serious wake-up call.

NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Hurricane Sandy is charging up
the East Coast as a cold front is tearing across the U.S. from
the west and an arctic blast is barreling down from the north.
The resulting “Frankenstorm” could cause gale-force winds, heavy
rains and flooding – along with billions in damages along the
Eastern Seaboard.

Valerie Dziengiel isn’t worried one bit.

That’s because Dziengiel, for the last 11 years, has lived
in “survivalist luxury” in the Connecticut woods with her
husband, Walter, a homebuilder. They have a flood-proof
basement, backup power systems and freezers full of food. The
worst thing that might happen as Sandy rampages: They’d lose
their cable television.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Devin Pope never expected to find himself shuttling between his mother’s and father’s homes, caring for his aging parents separately.

Sure, the 33-year-old financial planner from Salt Lake City always knew his parents were going to get older. And he realized there would probably be health problems along the way, like when a stroke in 2001 left his dad partially paralyzed and without much of a short-term memory.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The TV and radio ads make it all seem so easy. Walk into a lender’s office, refinance your home loan at a rock-bottom rate, and walk out with a lower monthly payment.

Here’s a little tip: It’s not so easy.

If you know the pitfalls, you can at least prepare for them – and perhaps chart a wiser course. A few issues that could have your application earmarked for the ‘Rejected’ pile:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – For Scott Laperruque, every day is Groundhog Day.

That’s because the commercial photographer from Short Hills, New Jersey is refinancing his house for a rate of 4 percent. Trying to, anyway. And every time he wakes up, just like Bill Murray in that classic film, he discovers he’s living the same day all over again.

“The bank will ask for one document, and a week will go by,” says Laperruque, 55, who now pays 5.75 percent and would save almost $400 a month if his refinancing would close. But the bank keeps asking for more, and more, and then because they have to have everything within a 30-day period, they have to re-ask for things like payroll stubs.

By Chris Taylor

NEW YORK, Oct 13(Reuters) – The TV and radio ads make it all
seem so easy. Walk into a lender’s office, refinance your home
loan at a rock-bottom rate, and walk out with a lower monthly
payment.

Here’s a little tip: It’s not so easy.

If you know the pitfalls, you can at least prepare for them
- and perhaps chart a wiser course. A few issues that could have
your application earmarked for the ‘Rejected’ pile:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – If you’re an employee who’s looking to save money or make more of it, here’s a little advice: Step away from the cigarettes and chocolate éclairs. They might cost you – and not just in your lungs or on your hips.

That’s because more companies than ever are attaching financial rewards and penalties to their employees’ health. Do a wellness screening, get $50. Stop smoking, enjoy lower insurance premiums. Hit a weight or cholesterol target, get a contribution to your health savings account.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – For a guy who helped create the modern investment-management industry as the founder of Vanguard Group, John “Jack” Bogle has an interesting relationship with money: He hates to use it.

Bogle doesn’t care for the fancy things people often buy, and he sure doesn’t like how it has corrupted the financial system. He thinks that everyone should save for the future, of course, but he can’t stand to spend on himself. He is happiest when he is at the family getaway in the Adirondacks with his wife, six kids and 12 grandchildren.

NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) – This summer, I decided to take
a couple of weeks for a much-needed getaway in southern
California. I lounged by the Manhattan Beach pier, spent some
quality time with my parents and sister, and brought my two boys
to the wallet-destroyer known as Disneyland.

My wife stayed home.

As I write this, she’s in Haiti, visiting her hometown in
the country’s west. She’s eating local dishes like diri ak
djon-djon (rice with black mushrooms), getting all the village
gossip from her father, and getting respite from the summer heat
in the river that snakes down from the mountains.