Paying off debt might seem like the most important thing to do for your financial health, but building up a savings buffer is just as critical. That way, when unexpected expenses come up, you’ll have funds set aside — and you won’t fall deeper into debt. Here are common banking tools to use that can […]
Vanguard Group issued a series of recommendations to defined contribution sponsors on improving participant outcomes beyond increasing enrollment and account balances. The recommendations, released Friday, are based on Vanguard’s latest annual report, “How America Saves,” tracking results of participants in record-kept plans during 2020, as well as other Vanguard research. The recommendations are contained in […]
If you’ve worked hard to achieve and maintain a good credit score, it can be upsetting to see it drop. But “life happens, and sometimes how you react is going to blow back and affect your credit score,” says credit expert John Ulzheimer. People lose jobs, cars break down and pipes leak. Credit may be […]
Not all debt is the same. So how should you decide which to repay first? Amid the coronavirus pandemic last year and ensuing economic recession, debt grew for many Americans. In 2020, consumer debt ballooned to a new high of $14.88 trillion, a 6% increase from the previous year, according to credit rating company Experian. […]
New regulations are making it easier to invest in alternative assets via crowdfunding, and the recent explosion of crypto and NFTs means that investors are more diversified than ever. Keeping up with such a variety of investments may prove difficult to those who want to handle managing their investment portfolios on their own. Money Minx, […]
College debt can drain your finances, especially when you’re trying to save up for a down payment on a home or build your retirement nest egg. Student loan refinancing rates are near record lows, which means it may be a good time to refinance your student loans to save money on interest and pay off […]
You know that putting money aside is a good idea, but counterintuitive though it might seem, putting it all in the same place can make your budgeting more complicated than it needs to be. To keep things straight, why not sign up for multiple savings accounts and divide your savings for specific purposes? Think of […]
Yes, the super-rich are different than the rest of us. A lot of them pay very little in income taxes. Some of the world’s wealthiest executives, including Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Elon Musk, pay little to no taxes compared to their wealth, a ProPublica report revealed on Tuesday. “The tax law is […]
Americans want their summer vacations. After a year of restricted movement during the pandemic, 80% in a recent survey by tourism market research firm Destination Analysts said they are ready to travel. However, with that demand comes higher prices. Airline tickets are up 7% for the month and 24% from the year prior, according to […]
More than 2.3 million new stimulus checks have been sent, representing over $4.2 billion in payments to Americans, the government announced on Wednesday. In total, more than 169 million payments worth about $395 billion have been issued since Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in March. That legislation authorized payments of up to $1,400 […]
Mortgage applications have fallen for the third straight week, driven by a drop in refinance activity, according to the latest weekly report from a mortgage industry trade group. That’s despite mortgage rates that remain at near-record lows, offering millions of homeowners an opportunity to refinance their houses into cheaper loans. Borrowers can save hundreds of dollars […]
While retirement plan committees, also known as plan fiduciary or plan oversight committees, have structures as varied as the companies that sponsor them, new research shows key consistencies in how committees are designed and operate. Retirement plan committees are entrusted with a wide array of decisions regarding a plan’s operation, benefits and cost, and they […]
