MoneyTips By Andrea Woroch Every year, countless people throughout the country dream up personal finance-related New Year’s Resolutions. Most of the goals are centered around saving more money, whether it’s by earning more or spending less. Some folks have trips they want to take or projects they need to cross off their to-do list, while
Jobs
By Andrea Woroch
As a new decade begins, many have their sights set on change. After what feels like a lifetime of working, though, it can be difficult to transition to a cold-turkey retirement. To stay busy and supplement income many people are “semi-retiring” instead.
Folks are leaving their traditional jobs, cutting costs and
Did you know that your credit history could affect your ability to get a job? Prospective employers are unlikely to turn you down solely for having bad credit, but items in your credit report can make the difference between you and another equally qualified candidate. “Your credit score matters, even if you’re not in the
Your credit score is one of the most important factors that lenders review when deciding whether to extend credit to you – but it’s not the only factor. It’s possible to get a loan with a poor credit score and be denied a loan with a good credit score based on other considerations.
Your credit
“Attention, employers. This is Denise. She’s just entering the working world, but she’s already concerned about retirement. She knows that traditional defined benefit pensions covered 84.4% of workers in 1979 but only covered 27.7% as of 2015 – and the share probably hasn’t been increasing.
She expects you to offer a 401(k) or similar defined
Simplification Creates Complexity Do you love getting a big tax refund? You shouldn’t. You paid more than you owed and gave the government an interest-free loan when you could have been putting that money to better use.
Believe it or not, the government agrees. The IRS prefers that you pay the exact amount of taxes
By Andrea Woroch
There’s nothing more rewarding than starting your own business. Opening the front door of a shop for the first time, launching a new product or watching your problem-solving solution take flight can be life altering. However, regardless of your business idea or efficiency of execution, there’s one certainty – it won’t be
By Roshni Chowdhry, head of customer experience at SafetyNet
Being laid off is not something most people plan for. Even though unemployment is low right now, some industries (including retail) have seen several layoffs in recent months. The bad news is that nobody is fully immune to layoffs. The good news? It’s possible to survive
Finding a job can be a stressful and difficult task – and if you have poor credit, you may have an even harder time finding a job. A 2016 CareerBuilder study found that almost one-third of employers run credit checks on their potential hires, on the assumption that people with good credit are more likely
When you graduated, you probably entered the workplace with plenty of optimism.You were ready to take the workplace by storm and earn a comfortable living – maybe even outpacing the rest of your classmates. How is that plan working out?
Find out by comparing your current salary with new data from the Bureau of Labor
You’re in a cash-flow crunch again. An important bill is due, and you’ve earned the money to pay that bill – but it’s not payday yet. You’re on a two-week pay cycle and have to wait for another week or so before your money is available.
What are your options? Ask a friend or relative
How Low Can It Go? According to economic theory, low unemployment will lead to rising wages as employers compete for the small pool of qualified workers. Unemployment in America hit a historically low 3.8% in May 2018. Aside from a one-month dip to 3.8% in April 2000, the unemployment rate hasn’t been 3.8% or below
America’s total student loan balance has topped $1.5 trillion, according to recent Federal Reserve data. Default rates on student loans are at 11%. While the job market has improved for recent graduates, many are struggling with excessive debt (over $39,000 at graduation on average) and entry-level jobs that make repayment difficult.
Enter an alternative
Affordable Housing? What Affordable Housing? Affordable housing is increasingly hard to find in today’s market. According to data from Trulia, America’s inventory of starter homes has decreased by almost half compared to six years ago while prices rose by almost 58%.
As consumers recovered from the housing crisis and Great Recession, more people became financially
Are you planning to work in retirement? If so, is it because you need money? The recent American Working Conditions Survey (AWCS) from the Rand Corporation think tank suggests another reason – you want to be there.
A Rand brief on the AWCS survey compared working conditions and expectations of older workers (age 50+) to
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
What happens to your employer-based 401(k) account when you leave a job? That’s for you to decide – and if you make no decision, you may end up losing hard-earned benefits.
A recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that over the ten-year period from the beginning of 2004 through 2013, more than
For some holiday shoppers, bargain hunting is a competition and Black Friday is the Super Bowl. All the preparation throughout the year goes into a few frenzied hours that determine winners and losers. Did you get that 50″ TV you were aiming for, or did you camp out all night only to be caught in
Are you entering the holiday season short of cash? You may want to consider a seasonal job. Once Halloween passes and cold weather sets in throughout the country, demand increases for temporary workers to fill in during the holiday shopping season.
Online – Check online employment sites for local opportunities – if you are looking
Did you realize that your Social Security benefits are based on the highest inflation-adjusted 35 years of your income? To maximize your benefits, it’s important that you have 35 years of a solid wage history. A zero-earnings year or two can cause your benefits to drop significantly.
A recent study by the Center for Retirement
“It’s not what you know, but who you know.” This old saying still apples to job searches and remains the most effective way to find a new job.
Lou Adler, CEO of The Adler Group, conducted a survey to find out how people got their last job and his results for 2015-2016 are broken into
The total civilian
labor force is slightly over 160 million people, according to the July 2017
Employment Bulletin from the BLS. 153.5 million of the labor force is currently
employed, while 6.9 million are unemployed. 125.9 million of those employed are
full-time workers. Hopefully, you are one of them.
Do you think you are
Are you familiar with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)? If so, you probably associate the BLS with either jobs and unemployment reports, or statistics quoted by politicians (sometimes incorrectly or out of context) who want to make a point. However, the BLS contains a treasure trove of other useful statistics and functions of which
During his successful Presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, promising, “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall.” Do we still want a wall built? A recent MoneyTips survey says no, but Trump voters say yes. In fact,
In his first few weeks in office, President Trump has issued multiple executive orders covering a range of topics, and done so with great fanfare. He has established himself as a man of action — but how will his actions affect labor and the workplace? Predicting Trump’s strategy is difficult, if not impossible, but we
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted in 1974 primarily to set standards for private pension programs. Prior to ERISA, the management of some large pension funds had been indulging in questionable investments and loans. ERISA was enacted to make sure that pensioners get the benefits that they deserve from their fund contributions.