There are more advantages to claiming early than you might think. Choosing your Social Security filing age is perhaps the most important retirement decision you’ll make, as it can affect your benefit amount by hundreds of dollars per month. You can begin claiming as early as age 62, but that comes at a steep price: […]
If you have take-home pay of, say, $3,000 a month, how can you pay for housing, food, insurance, health care, debt repayment and fun without running out of money? That’s a lot to cover with a limited amount. The answer is to make a budget. What is a budget? A budget is a plan for every […]
What does it mean to live frugally? It’s not about deprivation or penny-pinching. Instead, frugality is a mindset focused on intentional spending and maximizing the value of your money. When you embrace a frugal lifestyle, you make room in your budget for what matters most, whether saving for the future, pursuing your passions, or simply […]
Rule-of-thumb guidelines about withdrawals and expected returns are the basis of many Americans’ retirement plans. But experts say it can pay to look deeply into the details. One example: the 4% rule, which assumes that someone who withdraws 4% of their nest egg in their first year of retirement, then adjusts that amount annually for inflation, […]
Inflation has cooled down to its lowest level in three years, according to the latest Consumer Price Index numbers. Despite that, food prices and costs at the grocery store remain high. However, there are a few ways you can save a few bucks while grocery shopping. It might take a little extra time and planning […]
Travel can be expensive, whether it’s high gas prices during your road trip or increasing travel demand causing hotel and airline costs to rise. But it doesn’t have to be as costly as you might think with these 12 tips for saving money on travel. 1. Pack light Packing light is undoubtedly beneficial for avoiding […]
Americans are in serious trouble when it comes to retirement. Around 45% are at risk of running out of savings during their senior years, according to a new research report from Morningstar Center for Retirement & Policy Studies. Not everyone is equally likely to go broke, though. The same report showed one key financial choice […]
Being a smart spender in retirement makes good financial sense. After all, you’re probably living on a fixed income and need your savings to last you through your golden years. According to a Gallup poll, 79% of retirees between the ages of 65 and 80 feel they have enough money shored up to live comfortably […]
On today’s episode of Wealth!, Host Brad Smith breaks down key personal finance stories, from anticipated interest rate cuts to a lookahead to the holiday shopping. Traders have been pricing in a 25-basis-point interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve at its September meeting next week. Crescent Grove Advisors co-chief investment officer Andrew Krei notes […]
The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security for 2025 is projected to be the smallest since 2021 amid cooling inflation. The annual COLA, which boosts beneficiaries’ monthly benefits to account for inflation, is determined using the average inflation rate over July, August and September in comparison to the prior year as measured by the […]
A recent Fidelity Investments report found that there are currently about 497,000 401(k) accounts with at least $1 million. That’s a 2.5% increase from earlier this year when the number of 401(k) millionaires was 485,000. It’s also a new record. Accumulating $1 million in retirement savings is a key milestone, one that’s worth celebrating. Depending […]
Some of the tax cuts that were passed as part of the 2017 Tax and Jobs Act (informally known as the Trump tax cuts) have an expiration date at the end of 2025, which brings a potentially significant increase in some taxes for Americans. This may be of special interest to retirees, who are already […]
