Where did you learn how to handle credit cards? According to a new survey conducted by the website CreditCardsExplained.com, there’s almost a 50% chance that you’re self-taught.
The survey of 2,500 respondents showed that 45% of consumers never had a proper education on credit cards. Of those who received their credit card education in school,
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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.
How do you plan to fund your children’s education? According to the 2017 Report from Sallie Mae, How America Pays for College, you are probably counting on scholarships and grants.
Sallie Mae finds that reliance on scholarships/grants is the highest in a decade, while college savings is on the decline. Savings covers less than one-quarter
Are you having difficulties paying off your student loan debt? If you don’t qualify for other methods of help, refinancing your student loan might be a suitable option. Consider these seven questions to see if refinancing makes sense in your case.
1. What Are You Trying to Achieve? – Are you trying to reduce monthly
How’s your retirement plan holding up? If you are a woman, you’re probably having more difficulty with retirement plans than your male counterparts.
Despite advances, women still face lower average salaries – 82% of the average man’s salary, according to the Pew Research Center. Fewer working years on average, often due to time off for
What goes up must come down – when considering the effects of gravity. That principle doesn’t typically apply to taxes. In the rare cases where taxes do go down, other taxes tend to go up to compensate government coffers.
Because state taxes are often linked to the federal tax code in different ways, changes in
Are you counting on Social Security for most of your retirement funds – and if so, how comfortable are you that the funds will be there at retirement? According to the recent Transamerica Retirement Survey of Workers, you probably aren’t comfortable at all.
A surprising 76% of survey respondents are concerned that Social Security won’t
It Will Cost You More to Buy A Home The housing market topped a new threshold over the past week. Buoyed by a strong economy and a series of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve, thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates reached 4.61% – the highest number since May of 2011.
Rates crossed the 4%
Welcome to the 2018 home-buying market. Rising demand and an extremely tight supply of homes, especially in the critical starter-home market, make it difficult to realize your goal of home ownership.
In this buyer’s market, you’ll need two important things to land your dream home – more money and a higher credit score.
Data from
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
The recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) represents one of the biggest changes to the tax code in many years. Will the Internal Revenue Service be up to the challenge of enforcing these changes?
For the last five years, the IRS has been examining fewer and fewer returns. In calendar year 2016, 1.1 million
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
Are you satisfied with your credit cards? If so, are you convinced that your current card best fits your needs – or have you never considered other options?
Whatever the reason, many Americans tend to stay with their existing card. A recent survey from CreditCards.com found that 28% of Americans, about 49 million, have always
Who’s thinking about retirement when they’re young? Retirement accounts are typically not a priority for young workers – but they should be. That’s precisely the time to take the greatest advantage of compounding interest by contributing as much as your fledgling budget can afford.
A new study from the University of Missouri suggests that millennials,
President Trump promised changes in Washington upon his election. Whether you are a Trump fan or foe, there’s no question he’s succeeded in that goal. Sometimes the change is precipitated by the President’s choice to lead an agency, as in the case of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The CFPB was born out of
Let’s face it: Americans are woefully unprepared for retirement. Surveys consistently tell us that far too many workers have insufficient retirement funds or even absolutely nothing saved for retirement at all. Sadly, these workers will be too dependent on Social Security benefits to have a comfortable retirement.
Many of these workers will claim benefits before
Which is the worst first-date mistake – talking about an ex, eating food off your date’s plate, or mentioning that you are heavily in debt?
We have no idea, but we’re guessing that a second date is unlikely in all those cases. A new survey from Finder.com suggests that in the case of excessive debt,
How bad is America’s student loan situation? According to recent data from the New York Federal Reserve, our $1.38 trillion in outstanding student loan debt is second only to mortgage debt but comes with a higher delinquency rate.
As of the end of 2017, approximately 1.3% of mortgage balances were delinquent by ninety or more
Confidence Without Reason Is the rising stock market giving workers confidence that they will have enough money to live comfortably in their retirement years?
The 28th Annual Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) shows a slight increase in the number of respondents that are very confident or somewhat confident in
It’s time to honor that special woman in your life. Mother’s Day is approaching, and whether you are buying for your mother, your wife, or both, consider some inexpensive alternatives or ways to save money on classic Mother’s Day gifts.
Flowers – Flowers are a popular Mother’s Day present, but you don’t necessarily have to
Who would turn down free money? According to the Motley Fool, approximately 20% of workers with matching 401(k) retirement plans are effectively dismissing free money by making a significant mistake with their contributions.
Approximately three-quarters of companies with 401(k) plans offer a matching program where the employer contributes an equal amount to the employee’s contribution
Home ownership is a fulfilling but difficult goal. The challenges of being single can make it even more difficult to find an affordable home to buy – especially for single women.
According to data provided by Zillow, the typical single American requires almost eleven years to save up a suitable down payment for a home
How’s your 401(k) or IRA doing? A typical 401(k) plan returns from 5% to 8% based on a portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds and other conservative investments. If your retirement plan is not meeting expectations, you may be tempted by the high returns of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin – but should you be wary
We frequently hear about America’s crushing student loan debt – but auto loans are not far behind. While student loans are approaching $1.5 trillion, outstanding auto loans topped the $1.2 trillion mark in the third quarter of 2017 according to the New York Federal Reserve.
Subprime borrowers (FICO credit scores below 620) hold almost one-quarter
Subprime Loans are Back Since the housing crisis began over a decade ago, subprime mortgage loans basically disappeared – thanks to regulatory actions from government and self-preservation for both lenders and borrowers. The effects of borrowing more than you could safely afford to repay became obvious to all parties.
Subprime mortgage loans have been making
You are experiencing sweet satisfaction knowing that your taxes were filed on time. That is, until you realize that you took a deduction when you did not qualify for it, or forgot to claim an important tax credit that could save you hundreds of dollars … or until Congress suddenly resurrects some expired tax breaks,
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
Did your paycheck increase due to the recent tax cuts? Many Americans saw a change in their take-home pay beginning in February once the IRS issued its new tax withholding tables.
Businesses adjusted the withholding for their employees according to the new tables. To avoid a tax surprise in 2019, you may need to make
If you’re a Medicare beneficiary, check your mail very carefully. You’ll be receiving a new Medicare card with an important new identification number that you’ll need soon.
Your current Medicare ID card contains a Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN), which is the same as your Social Security number. Your HICN serves as your identification for
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