Personal Finance - Claudia Buck

Uh-oh. Did you forget it's Mother's Day?

The embarrassing tweet. The drunken party photos. The DUI arrest. The messy divorce or business scandal.

Got a gripe? Whether it's a faulty cellphone, a cranky washing machine or a designer dress that falls apart, inevitably something goes wrong with something you've bought. What do you do?

Maria Garcia never dreamed she would land in so much trouble with the IRS. But a few years ago, she found herself owing about $32,000 in back taxes – a situation she says was partly caused by a family member fraudulently using her name and Social Security number for work.

Pity the poor tax preparers.

To raise $15,000 for a new business venture, Sacramento artist Danny Scheible went the route of many creative professionals: crowdfunding. In a matter of weeks, his online appeal to launch a new line of quirky eyeglasses scooped up more than 200 interested donors.

Doing your taxes is taxing enough, without having to worry about getting scammed in the process.

As the creator and visionary behind the brand, Walt Disney worked hard to ensure that Disneyland's guests felt ensconced in the "Happiest Place on Earth." But it didn't happen at the touch of a fairy godmother's wand.

How do families tackle the emotional, financial and day-to-day realities of coexisting again under one roof? It's a delicate dance.

OK, we didn't make the Top 10. But Sacramento-area residents performed well in a recent ranking of average credit scores nationwide.

While the IRS isn't putting out numbers on how many refunds have been issued so far this tax season, refunds got off to a bit of a bumpy start this year.

In their glory days, paper stock certificates were mini artworks, embellished with engraved images of eagles, cherubs, Gold Rush miners and sheaves of wheat. Or even sexy Playboy centerfolds.

Last week, we wrote about clearing out financial clutter, especially the paperwork that piles up at home and work.

There's no punting on this one. Football aside, now's a great time of year to tackle that dreaded exercise: paper purging.

He's not a household name like Ben Bernanke. And he'd easily pass down a city street unrecognized. But as an economist, John C. Williams holds one of the most prestigious and powerful jobs in the country.

From the time he was 12, financial writer Peter Sander has been fascinated by the stock market.

Jessica, 16, is a librarian with a police dispatcher husband, a toddler, a $1,700 past-due credit card bill and $4,500 in monthly income.

They're both young, socially conscious entrepreneurs with MBAs. They've both attracted funding from Silicon Valley venture capitalists. They're both passionate about helping people improve their financial lives.

In a tiny, unmarked room inside the state's unclaimed property office in Rancho Cordova, there's a veritable treasure trove just waiting for the right people to claim it.

Silly to serious: That's the personal finance mix this week. At such a busy time of year, it seemed somehow fitting to offer a dollop of fun, along with some practical news bits.

For 11-year-old Max Schwartz, the holiday gift he's most curious about is a little box of dollar bills.

The holidays are that generous time of year, when hearts and wallets open wide. It's not only giving gifts to family and friends, but also making charitable donations to causes we care about.

First it was the door-busters dangled by America's retailers on Thanksgiving night.