Less good is not good, but less good is better than worse... When I say less good, I mean less bad.
-- Vice President Joe Biden

You can feel it in the air. Long-awaited change is afoot. In the Northeast, the summer that almost wasn't has finally arrived with a vengeance, just in time for "back to school." And, although lagging job growth continues to inflict pain (perhaps more than in recessions past), the recession that wouldn't end is finally showing signs of abating. And with it, a shift in national attitude that has been bubbling beneath the surface has begun to emerge. A couple I met with last week said it beautifully:

"We're not saying we're glad the recession happened, but the truth is, it was a timely wake-up call." In other words, enough of the grieving over what's been lost and what never should have been and whose fault it was. It's time to accept what is, acknowledge whatever role each of us might have played, and, with the newfound wisdom gained through surviving this crisis, take action to improve from here.

But take care! In parallel to this positive shift are hints of backsliding to the old ways that got us into this mess. So I propose we kick off the school year with a plan for capturing the painful but important lessons the recession taught us.

Job security: a thing of the past? Maybe, but financial security doesn't have to be. In this webinar, we'll look at why the simple personal finance rules of thumb that used to work no longer make sense for a lot of people. Then we'll run through several post-pink slip scenarios, highlighting financial planning strategies that enable families to survive -- and even thrive -- in these difficult times, as well as better weather future financial storms.