[1][2] Her columns talk about financial topics such as investor protection, health insurance, Social Security, and the sufficiency of retirement plans.

She was born in Niagara Falls, New York, and graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College in Vermont, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi fraternity for women.

Her twice-weekly, syndicated Washington Post Writers Group column, "Staying Ahead", ran for 27 years in over 250 newspapers until she opted to reduce her workload in 2001.

She has been a regular on ABC's The Home Show as well as a guest on Good Morning America, Nightline, and other programs.

She is currently a director of Bloomberg L.P., the financial services company, and of GSE Systems, Inc.[5] The World Almanac named her one of the 25 most influential and powerful women in America.