Spare Change

Wise Planning

The Problem: Making sure a living will is available when it’s needed.

The Solution: Make it part of your medical record. Because a living will gives instructions about whether you would want to be put on life support, a copy of the document should be given to your primary-care doctor and to the hospital any time you go in for scheduled surgery or other procedures.

Market Tip

Commodities markets around the world are facing a new wild card: Japan. The world’s second-largest economy appears to be firmly on the mend after years of lackluster growth. As prices gyrate, Japan adds another driver of demand at a time when supplies of copper, crude oil and other goods already are tight.

Money at Work

Here’s a good rule to adopt when you’re job hunting: Legitimate employers pay you, you don’t pay them. There are legitimate mystery shopping jobs out there, but this is one of those fields so fraught with scams that consumers need to be extra cautious. Don’t respond to unsolicited e-mail advertising shopping jobs and avoid any company that requires you to pay money to get jobs.

Survey Says

College graduates are landing fat salaries and signing bonuses again as a stronger economy leads to the best college hiring market in years, a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers says. Aggressive hiring also means higher salary offers: The average starting pay for accounting degree graduates is up 5.4 percent over last spring, to $46,188, while salary offers for computer- engineering graduates are up 5.3 percent, to $54,200.