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“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
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Have you ever seen ads for “Get Rich Quick” books? We suspect the only person getting rich quickly is the author selling his book! Perhaps the first page of the book reads, “The secret to quick riches is to publish and sell a book on getting rich quick.” At MoneyTips, all of our eBooks filled
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When you are shopping for a home mortgage, you will probably be given the opportunity to “lock in” an interest rate when you are initially approved for your loan. This enables you to fix the interest rate you’re quoted upon loan approval for a limited period of time. Mortgage interest rates can be volatile, changing
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Do you have life insurance? Good. That brings up the question, could you have multiple life insurance policies? More importantly, should you? When Kathleen, a member of the MoneyTips community, asked this question, many of our financial professionals weighed in from coast to coast. Gordon Kushnick, an Insurance Agent in Seattle, Washington, puts
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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
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Debt collectors have been known to go to great lengths to collect unpaid debts. On occasion, a debt collector will go too far and face legal action. Consider the recent case of Joseph Onwuteaka, a lawyer and debt buyer from Houston, Texas, who faces $25 million in civil penalties and another $560,000 in legal fees
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Applying for life insurance is not most people’s idea of a good time, especially when it comes to the required medical exam. Thanks to new advances in the insurance industry, you may be able to get insurance without having to be probed or prodded at all. Says Kirby Thomas, Customer Service Lead at LifeInsuranceToday.US, “The
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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
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The era of historically low mortgage interest rates may be coming to an end, but it doesn’t appear to be winding up anytime soon. As of this writing, interest rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage have once again dropped to 4%, despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases. Low rates present an excellent opportunity to
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You may receive calls from debt collectors trying to recover past-due debts whether you have debts or not. The calls may be from legitimate debt collectors or they may be from debt scammers attempting to extract payment for debts that don’t exist. How can you distinguish between the two? You shouldn’t simply assume that if
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Earlier, we presented some money-saving tips for college students. Here are additional ways to save cash: Car Pooling – if you go to school close enough to drive home every so often, be sure to establish a car pool. Considering the price of gas and tolls, this could result in substantial savings. Many students know
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When it comes to saving for retirement, low-income families can have difficulty finding a suitable program that meets their needs – but it’s especially important that they do find one. Everyday bills and unexpected emergencies can easily push lower-income Americans into difficult financial positions without having a regimented savings program to help with budgeting and
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College can be a great adventure in scholarship and life for many young people. But when it comes to managing a budget, it can be a sobering learning experience in how quickly their money can disappear. Even worse, six months after a student graduates, when he or she gets their loan payment schedule, they will
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Money or sex: which topic causes the most trouble within a relationship? A recently released Money Habits and Confessions Survey, conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of LearnVest, suggests that the answer is… money. Finances were a greater source of relationship tension than sex, according to 68% of survey respondents. Incompatibility with finances can even
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Consider the stereotype of stodgy old codgers, set in their ways. Unable or unwilling to accept changes and handle risk, these overly cautious folks allow opportunities to pass them by. Could this stereotype fit baby boomers in their approach to retirement? Perhaps, given that a new survey from Legg Mason suggests that boomers are falling
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You’ve decided to pass your home on to your children, but you haven’t settled on the best method to transfer ownership. You are also questioning whether you want to stay in the home or downsize to a smaller place. What factors should you be considering as you make your decision? Start by reviewing the typical
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According to the 2016 U.S. Consumer Payment Study conducted by the credit card service company TSYS, credit cards have displaced debit cards as America’s most preferred payment method. Why is credit the new king? The sheer number of credit cards plays a role, with 61% of Americans saying they have two or more credit cards
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Financial advisors tell us to save money for various reasons – save for an emergency fund, save up for a down payment on your home, save for retirement, save for your children’s college educations – but is it possible for savings to go too far, and does it matter how you save? Recessions tend to
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Whether you are sending your kids off to kindergarten or to college, back-to-school time means a serious dent in your wallet. With some planning, however, you can limit the size of that dent. Here are some helpful hints: Set A Budget – As with any shopping run, if you do not make a list and
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Have you been frustrated over the last few years with an inability to get credit? A recent survey by the Federal Reserve of New York suggests that while credit may be loosening, your frustration may continue. Three times a year since October 2013, the New York Fed’s SCE Credit Access Survey assesses the state of
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“I love paying my property taxes! I wish I could pay even more!” — said no one, ever. Property taxes are one of the necessary but unpleasant side effects of home ownership. Personal Finance Expert and Author Jordan Goodman (aka America’s Money Answers Man) notes that new homeowners often underestimate the amount of property taxes,
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As we age, our cognitive skills begin to decline and our ability to take proper care of our finances begins to fade. When you hit that point in life, you run the risk of missing bill payments and losing track of other important account information. What do you do when that time approaches? Start by
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If you work in the private sector, you likely have access to a 401(k) plan that allows you to put aside a portion of your paycheck toward a tax-deferred retirement account. However, government and certain non-profit employees have alternative investment opportunities that are unavailable to the general public. The alternatives for government employees are known
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Do you know how much you pay in fees for the handling and management of your investments? If not, how do you know you are getting the best value for your money? Fees cut into retirement savings more than most people realize, because they are essentially compounded along with your earnings. The Securities and Exchange
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Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase “Power of Attorney” on a TV lawyer show, or even from a real lawyer. Ever wonder what it means? What is Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney (POA) is a document granting one person or organization (typically called an agent or attorney-in-fact) the authority to act on the behalf
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Life can get hectic fast and people can easily allow certain tasks to fall through the cracks. Unfortunately, sometimes we never remember to complete those tasks — or even what those tasks were — and it can end up costing you your hard-earned money. For example, you may forget to leave a forwarding address with
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