Graduation for the Class of 2019 is here. Some college graduates have studied physics and will pursue rocket science as a career. Others plan to become doctors, memorizing every bone in the body, while a few are walking encyclopedias when it comes to history. But how many of them can – and do – balance
Financial Planning
You don’t want your boss to fire you, but being FIRE is good… when FIRE is the acronym for “financially independent, retire early”.
A FIRE retirement requires careful planning. You’re going to need more money than most to sustain your early retirement plans – perhaps covering up to forty years of retirement. Where can you
You’ve set up a spending plan – but your plan didn’t consider the fun events that you see on your social media feeds. You can’t afford to go to all of them, yet you can’t afford not to thanks to the fear of missing out (FOMO). What do you do?
According to Charles Schwab’s 2019
A good 401(k) plan can be an attractive selling point for businesses looking to hire the best and brightest. However, smaller businesses may have a hard time establishing a 401(k) plan capable of competing for the attention of potential employees.
Few small businesses have the resources to carry out 401(k) administrative tasks, and the smaller
The ability to save money is one of the many skills one must learn in order to become financially successful, and one of the most difficult. Moody’s Analytics analyzed different demographics and determined that savings rates increase as we age.
Sadly, according to their data, only one age group saves between ten and fifteen percent
There’s a lot of financial advice out there, from the Wall Street Journal to podcasts to your brother-in-law’s stock tips to “A penny saved is a penny earned.” The infographic above, developed in collaboration with the Common Cents Lab at Duke University, shows six simple steps to get your finances on sound footing.
How would you like to retire early? Millennials certainly like the idea, according to a recent survey from Bankrate.com. Millennials identified the perfect retirement age as 61 – a full six years before their full retirement age (FRA) as defined by Social Security and one year before they can even claim reduced Social Security
Did you realize that not all financial advisors are obligated to act in your best interest? Financial professionals are obligated to offer products and advice that are suitable for your needs, but not all of them are obligated to offer the best advice possible.
Two standards govern financial advisors – the fiduciary standard and the
How much longer would you have to work beyond your full retirement age to equal an additional 1% retirement savings over the thirty years prior to your retirement? You might expect to work an extra year or two – but according to a recent study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), you
Do you have enough cash to handle an unexpected emergency expense? According to a new survey from Bankrate.com, a significant number of Americans don’t have an emergency savings fund – and don’t see the lack of one as a problem.
Bankrate found that almost one in four respondents has no emergency fund at all, and
Do you plan to relocate when you retire? If so, where would you like to go?
It’s easy to rattle off a favorite vacation destination as your preferred retirement location, but it’s far different when you are visiting a location instead of living there. Try keeping an open mind and evaluating multiple retirement locations and
Your kids are growing up fast. Soon, it will be time to have … the talk.
No, not that one. We’re referring to the talk about responsible use of credit. If you don’t drive home the importance of good credit practices while your children are young, they’re more likely to learn about credit the hard
Do you have a financial plan? A real, written plan with goals, targets, and timelines, not just “I plan to stay out of debt this year”? If you have no such plan, you have plenty of company.
According to Charles Schwab, only 25% of Americans have a written financial plan. The good news: Schwab’s 2018
You’ve made some life decisions that you’ve regretted, and some of those decisions surely involve money. What sort of money mistakes have you made?
Don’t be shy about admitting your financial mistakes. According to the latest version of Finder.com’s annual America’s Biggest Money Mistakes survey, you have 192 million fellow Americans to keep you company.
We know the stereotype of the unmotivated millennial, living at home with their parents without any long-term plan or concern about their situation. Is that a fair representation? Do millennials disproportionately live with their parents? If so, is this from necessity, lack of motivation, or part of a grander strategy?
It’s logical that younger generations
Women often face greater financial challenges than men in retirement. Lower average salaries and fewer working years make it difficult for women to achieve suitable nest eggs. Results from the recent Transamerica Retirement Survey of American Workers highlight the anxieties that women face.
Sadly, only 12% of women are “very confident” in expecting a comfortable
Have we bridged the gender gap when it comes to household roles, domestic duties, and career choices? Not entirely – but a new survey suggests that women are leading the way in closing the gap and preparing the next generation of men and women to continue the fight.
According to the YouGov survey Women’s Voices:
Are you financially literate? How about your kids? MoneyTips can help, but there may be something special soon going on in your neighborhood to help you learn more about personal finance.
Money Smart Week®, a public awareness campaign designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances, will take place April 21-28, 2018. The effort,
What’s in your savings account? If you’re a millennial, there’s a decent chance that there’s nothing in your account but IOUs and promises.
A 2017 survey by GoBankingRates found that 46% of millennials aged 18-24 have $0 in their savings account – a sharp increase over the 2016 survey where 31% of millennials reported empty
1. Lead by example – Great leaders operate with humility and a “Do as I do” rather than a “Do as I say” mentality. They never ask anyone to do anything they are not willing to do themselves.
2. Use the 7 P’s – In the military, I learned that
Proper
Prior
Planning
Prevents
Pitifully
Retiring without the worry of running out of money is a major goal for many of us. But what is the best way to ensure that you never run out of money in retirement?
It used to be that many retirees lived off of a pension, interest income, Social Security, or all three. This made
For eight years in my 20’s, I was working 80-90 hours a week, fixated on chasing the all-powerful dollar. I barely saw my wife and first-born child, and I was miserable. I made a lot of money, but had no balance. At 30, when we found out my wife was pregnant with our second child,
What sort of structure makes the most sense for your small business – a corporate structure or a sole proprietorship? If neither structure fits you well, perhaps the best choice for you is a Limited Liability Company (LLC) – a structure that represents a middle ground between a regulated corporate structure and a simplified sole
Do you consider yourself a financial risk-taker? If so, what is the standard that you use to analyze risk? If you don’t fully understand risk, you may be looking at the wrong criteria to make the best financial decisions for you and your family.
A recent survey by AMG Funds suggests that very few investors
What are your personal goals for 2018? How will your financial planning support you in achieving them? While you have your New Year’s cap on, take this chance to make the personal financial resolutions that will get you closer to the life you want.
Define your Objectives – The SMART model is an effective guide
Who would dare to make economic predictions for 2018 in the age of Trump? We can try, with the help of economists and other experts in the financial field. Here are our predictions for five major economic metrics in 2018.
1. Economic Growth – Current predictions for 2018 US economic growth are around 2.5%. The
For many people, the end of the year represents a hectic time, and the last thing anyone wants to do is add to an already full plate. However, building the following financial moves into your fourth- quarter routine can really pay off over the long run and give you greater peace of mind for the
Do daily finances give you daily heartburn? You aren’t alone. According to a new survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), 43% of Americans have trouble making ends meet. One-third of survey respondents reached the level of financial or material hardship during the past year, such as running out of food or being unable
If the recent ups and downs of the stock market have you tossing and turning at night, it’s not because you need to get out of the market – it’s because you need to get a real financial plan.
You can pinch pennies or throw money into a retirement account or make any other financial
With summer ending, the end of the year will be around before you have time to figure out whether it is better to finally take down the Christmas lights or, at this point, just leave them up. That makes it a good time to look ahead on your taxes, as well as a few other