Personal Finance - Claudia Buck

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.

When it was announced in February, the nationwide mortgage settlement was historic: $25 billion from five major banks to help struggling homeowners, including hundreds of thousands in California.

Here in California, with the winter rainy season under way, the devastation of Hurricane Sandy is a not-so-subtle reminder that flooding could happen anywhere to any of us.

You've got cancer and your insurer says your chosen treatment is too experimental. Or your toddler has been diagnosed as autistic, but your insurance company says his behavioral therapy is medically unnecessary.

Recently we wrote about open enrollment season, that annual autumn rite where employees with health care coverage at work get to choose their medical benefits for the coming year.

At a time when college costs are accelerating and part-time hiring is stuck, Nigerian check schemes are particularly troubling.

Like a sore tooth, choosing your health care plan can be a real pain. Confusing choices, funny-sounding acronyms and rising premiums are mind-numbing.