Your Money: Could the U.S. dollar be the best house in a bad neighborhood?

The volatile global investment world in which we live means Greece's default (and it's likely a question of when, not if) could have positive implications for the flagging U.S. dollar. The dollar could recover as other currencies, especially the euro, spiral downward in the wake of a Greek default.

The American greenback is looking like the best house in a bad neighborhood, as Europe struggles to avoid a default that would resemble the collapse of Lehman Bros. in 2008.

Investors are likely to seek haven elsewhere, particularly in the U.S. currency, which has been weak of late because our government wants it that way. A weaker dollar makes our exports more affordable and keeps the value of our ever-expanding debt in check.

The most likely scenario under which a disorderly breakup could happen, wrote Citi's Mark Schofield last week in a note to clients, is that Greek politicians, under huge pressure from an exasperated electorate, renege on further austerity measures and reforms. As a result, the world's central banks would withdraw funding support for Greece under the condition of noncompliance, and the European Central Bank would no longer purchase Greek government debt or provide liquidity to Greek banks.

"Faced with a run on the banks and the impossible challenge of financing a still-deteriorating debt burden, Greece is then left with little choice but to default on its debt obligations," Schofield said.

A Greek exit from the euro could result, maybe very soon.

The turmoil could push the euro down in value. Trevor Williams, chief economist at Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, told Bloomberg on Friday that the euro could fall to $1.10, from its present value of $1.37 vs. the U.S. currency.

Should you want to make a wager on the dollar recovering against the euro or other currencies, there are currency exchange-traded funds available to make that bet. Caveat emptor: These are not for the faint of heart.

One is PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish & Bearish Fund, which replicates being "long" (bullish) on the dollar against the following currencies: euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc. There's also U.S. Dollar Up (UUP) or Dollar Down (UDN), and ProShares UltraShort Euro (EUO), which allows you to "short" on the Euro.

The discount brokerage firm Charles Schwab's latest quirky survey found that most singles (69 percent) and married Americans (53 percent) believe being single is an advantage when it comes to retirement planning.

In fact, the data show being married is in your favor when it comes to retirement ("Honey, I swear we'll save more this year"). Singles are actually significantly less prepared and less confident than married individuals in their retirement readiness - 85 percent of married Americans have already started to save, compared with only 67 percent of singles.

Other findings include:

Fifty-eight percent of married Americans say it would be easier to decide when to retire without having a spouse to consider.

Sixty-two percent of those that are married say choosing where to retire would be easier if they were single.

Twenty-seven percent of married respondents say their financial confidant is someone other than their spouse, while 55 percent of singles turn first to close family members, such as parents and siblings.