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Continuing his series of "back to basics" financial advice, financial adviser Dan Danford tackles the topic of why it's important to invest.

Danford said he is frequently approached by people wanting to know the difference between savings and investing.

Danford, CFP®, CRSP®, MBA, of Family Investment Center, explains three reasons to invest and why savings alone will not allow you to meet your financial objectives.

Financial adviser Dan Danford takes a "back to basics" financial advice approach with this week's episode of Money Made Easy.

Danford said he is frequently approached with questions about savings from people faced with a mountain of debt or divorced dads looking for financial advice on divorce.

A common question he hears is:

"Why even bother to save at all? It seems like I’ll never be able to get ahead anyway, so why should I even try?"

Danford, CFP®, CRSP®, MBA, of Family Investment Center, says that saving and spending habits have more to do with personal discipline than level of income. He explains different ways you can save, how to use the Dan Danford eBay test, and more importantly, why you need to save money.

In this week's edition of Money Made Easy, host Dan Danford answers this financial question from a viewer: How many months worth of emergency savings do I need? What about if I am approaching retirement and will have a very stable income of my pension and social security benefits?

Danford, MBA, CRSP of Family Investment Center, debunks the general rule of thumb for emergency funds and offers financial advice on how to prepare for retirement.

Listen to the podcast for all your personal financial help.

Question:

I am going through a divorce. She took all the money and savings before she filed for divorce and after I confronted her about an affair she is having. Now I have found out she has been hacking into my computer and cell phone records. Can I use any of this marital misconduct against her in court? Will this help me?

By Angela Neave

Conventional wisdom tells us that parents should begin saving money for college soon after the birth of a child.  There are many options when it comes to saving for the expense of college, including prepaid college programs, 529 plans, other qualified tuition plans, or other investment or savings vehicles such as custodial accounts and trusts. 

But what happens, when after years of mutually contributing money to a college plan or account, the parents divorce?  How do you keep one parent from raiding the account?  How do you get both parents to agree on a distribution from an account?  What sort of agreement should be hammered out between the parties to ensure the higher education of the child or children remains a priority?