FINDING THE BEST DEALS can often feel daunting, with fluctuating prices and pressure to secure discounts before they’re gone. And with the holidays upon us, it can often be an advantageous time to secure deeply discounted products. However, in many cases, it may pay to wait until other times of the year to capitalize on […]
Americans have a complicated relationship with cars. Aside from buying a home, a car is probably the second-most expensive purchase you will ever make in your life. After more than 10 years of writing about money on my personal finance website, Financial Samurai, I’ve found that being too fixated on the advertised price of a car is […]
America’s personal financial meltdown has begun — and it’s playing out in the doctor’s office. The record debt US consumers are ratcheting up is propelling a rise in mental illness and widespread emotional distress, according to experts. Family fights over missed credit card payments and millennial tears over student loan obligations are sharpening the pain. […]
For many Americans, taking Social Security benefits at 62 is less of a choice and more of a necessity. A huge fraction of Social Security participants rely on the program for the majority of their income, and for some, their Social Security check is just about the only income they can count on month in and month […]
Ron Dolde is my new hero. He retired at age 55 after spending his entire career at a telecom company. How did he do it? “When I was a young man,” he writes, “I got promoted and was given a sizable raise.” An older colleague asked what he was going to do with the extra […]
Though Social Security will provide today’s workers with some amount of income in retirement, those benefits generally won’t be enough to sustain seniors by themselves. If you’re an average earner, you can expect your Social Security income to replace roughly 40% of your previous income. Now that might seem like a decent chunk of money, […]
Retirement is not something any of us should leave to chance. Few of us are guaranteed ample income on which to live comfortably for decades in retirement, so it’s up to us to make sure we’re saving enough and investing it effectively. Here’s a look at some numbers that can deliver a wake-up call in […]
Falling victim to fraud can be devastating to your financial affairs, both because of the actual monetary loss and because of the resulting loss of confidence in managing your assets. Unfortunately, scams and schemes are far too common, and victims in the U.S. lost almost $1.5 billion to them in 2018. The good news is […]
“If you can’t pay for it in cash, you can’t afford it.” “If you can’t buy it twice, you can’t afford it.” You’ve probably heard one of those aphorisms. The point is that even if you’re paying with a credit card (for the convenience or the cash back or travel rewards), if you can’t cover […]
There’s plenty of financial advice available on the Internet and in books, so it can sometimes be hard to decide which tips to follow. But sometimes, you’ll read a quote or stumble upon some wisdom that can make you change the way you think about how you handle your financial life. These quotes could be […]
If you are making $50,000 a year, planning to save $2 million for retirement can seem like an impossible goal. Yet, with some hard work, dedication and a lot of time, you can get there, regardless of your age. As a rule of thumb, most financial advisors suggest you save 10% to 15% of your […]
As you choose your benefits for 2020, don’t overlook a key saving account that could beat your 401(k) plan — at least in terms of taxes. This year, nearly 3 in 10 employers that offer workplace benefits provided a high-deductible health insurance plan along with a tax-advantaged savings account, according to data from the Kaiser […]
