People across the economic spectrum are struggling to pay their medical bills today. A recent survey by the Commonwealth Fund found that 41% of Americans have problems with medical bills or problems paying off medical debt. The situation is often especially challenging for freelancers with unsteady income. It can be hard to keep pace with […]
Category: Personal Finance
1.5 Million Americans Supersize Their Retirement Savings. Can You Join Them?
In order to retire comfortably, you have to be cleverer than ever in taking advantage of all the retirement savings options available to you. With so many potential obstacles to making ends meet during your golden years, the more you can save over the course of your career, the easier it’ll be to live the […]
This one investment move can give you lifetime yearly income in retirement
The investment business is full of theories and recommendations about how to accumulate wealth. But the field has very little to say about the best ways to decumulate, or spend down wealth. This is an astonishing oversight, considering that the period over which wealth decumulation occurs is often as long as that of accumulation. If […]
Consumer Watch: How women can become more aggressive in personal finance
More millennial women are interested in an active role in their finances, but they may still be waiting too long to get started. When we’re talking money, the stats are not on most women’s side– from earning less on average to waiting longer to invest, but some changes can help make sure you have a […]
Millennials Unrealistic About Homeownership, Retirement
You want to buy a home, but you haven’t been saving for one. You want to retire near the typical retirement age, but you haven’t been saving for that, either. Don’t worry, the homeowner and retirement fairies will be pulling up to your door soon to deliver a truckload of cash. Absurd, isn’t it? Nobody […]
The End Of Risk-Free Retirement
In the last 150 years, we’ve had a number of innovations that radically changed the way we live. You can tick off the list: electricity, the automobile, refrigeration, TV, the Internet. But one innovation rarely makes those lists. It is just as significant if not more so… Retirement. The idea that people can stop working […]
How The Latest Report On Social Security’s Solvency Changes Your Retirement Plan
Each year the trustees of Social Security issue a report on Social Security’s financial condition to Congress and the public. The 2019 report came out a few weeks ago, and you can find the 2019 report here. The report sparks and lot of headlines and discussion about the fate of the program and those who […]
Amazon is selling entire houses for less than $20,000 — with free shipping
Residential builders have found a new home: Amazon. Prefabricated and modular housing — with homes prebuilt in factories — is having another moment. From 2013 to 2018, industry revenue grew an annualized 8.6% to nearly $10.5 billion, including growth of 4.1% in 2018 alone, according to research firm IBISWorld. Previously associated with Dwell and other […]
Shocking number of Americans can’t cover $400 surprise expense
Even as the U.S. economy Opens a New Window. strengthens, many Americans are having a hard time saving Opens a New Window. – even for unexpected emergencies. The Federal Reserve Board released its Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households on Thursday, finding that only 61 percent of Americans could cover an unexpected $400 […]
Survey: Nearly 7 in 10 Americans could easily boost their savings by banking online
If you haven’t opened an online savings account, you’re likely missing out on extra cash. Without the overhead expenses that come with operating a branch, digital banks can pay more interest. Today’s best online savings accounts pay more than 2 percent APY. By opening one of these accounts, the average American could earn up to […]
Bipartisan retirement bill clears House, moves closer to becoming law
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have passed a bill that aims to improve the nation’s retirement savings, moving it a step closer to becoming law. Called the Secure Act and backed by both Republicans and Democrats, the measure includes a variety of provisions intended to increase the ranks of savers and the amount they […]
Couples are savings thousands of dollars on their wedding day by buying used goods
Patty Angeles got the deal of a lifetime when she went shopping two years ago for secondhand furniture for her new apartment. The 25-year-old from Austin, Texas picked up almost-new shelves — and a fiancé. “We tell people we met on an app,” Angeles told MarketWatch. That’s true, but not in the way most people […]