By TIM GRANT, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The conventional wisdom for both male and female employees when it comes to shedding tears in front of co-workers in the workplace is: Don't do it.

Things can go wrong and difficult issues can come up at work, but most workplace consultants agree that crying is not the best way to deal with job-related stress.

When married couples file joint tax returns, one spouse can end up being held responsible for a tax liability created by a dishonest partner. But if the so-called "innocent spouse" can prove that he or she was unaware of the wrongdoing, the wrath of the IRS can be averted.

Investors and business owners have just a couple of weeks left to bet on what Congress will do in 2012 about capital gains tax rates and what effect any changes might have on profits from the sale of stock or a business.

The rising cost of a college education and the failure of federal grants to keep pace has led to average student loan debt hitting an all-time high.

The class of 2010 not only faced one of the toughest job markets in recent memory, but an estimated two-thirds of them are saddled with an average student loan burden of $25,250. Average student debt for the class of 2009 was $24,000.

When a former enforcement official for the Securities and Exchange Commission says the securities industry "is as dirty as a plumber's boots," it's worth taking note.

Pat Huddleston's new book, "The Vigilant Investor," exposes what he says is the ugly side of many brokerages, from the secrets of sales scripts to the dangers of the "free lunch" seminar.

An anthropology major in his junior year at the University of Pittsburgh, Patrick Buehler has racked up $60,000 in student loan debt -- and he expects it will be around $80,000 by the time he graduates.

"Anthropology is not really that high paying of a major," said Buehler, 20. "I'm hoping I can pay the debt."

There's still a chance for a do-over for some retirement savers, but time is running out.

Investors who took advantage of a law that allowed them to convert a traditional individual retirement account to a Roth IRA last year can still change their minds -- and some might want to if recent stock market declines have hit hard or if their personal finances have declined.

When Bonnie Caver and her husband Jon married in 1967, one of the first things they did was buy life insurance policies, mainly because it was something they were taught early on by their families.

They had no idea how important their decision would be. Fifteen years later, Jon became seriously ill and then died of leukemia at age 46.

If you install a swimming pool without notifying your homeowner's insurance company, it could result in any claims involving your pool -- or even your roof --being denied. The same goes for trampolines.

Most employees enrolled in their company 401(k) plans have no idea what they are paying the investment firms that manage the accounts.