Are you saving enough for retirement? For a lot of us, it’s hard to say—but we can look at how our savings compare to other people in our age group. As Investopedia explains: A June 2018 report from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies looked at a nationally representative sample of 6,372 workers, age 18 […]
If you want to grow your net worth, saving as much of your income as possible is a good start—but it’ll only get you so far. To truly maximize your income’s potential, you’re going to have to do more than stick it in a savings account. You’re going to need to invest. This means setting […]
For many people, retirement plan assets make up a meaningful portion of their financial wealth. In a divorce proceeding, retirement plans often present additional challenges to an already difficult process. Most states treat retirement plan assets as marital property. Therefore, unless you’re operating under a prenuptial agreement, you’re legally entitled to a portion of your […]
You’ve heard of savings accounts and money market accounts. Which one should you choose? Savings accounts are great for when you want to put away your money but still want relatively easy access. It’s not a checking account — that’s used for everyday transactions. The idea is to save your money. And keep it in […]
Charlotte Stewart’s Personal Finance Class at Tug Valley High School has completed a 10-week simulation with H&R Block. The H&R Budget Challenge is a personal finance simulation played in real time over a 10-week period. Students receive paychecks and bills in real time and are challenged to build a budget that allows them to pay […]
Very few people enjoy commuting. It’s time spent in a car, maybe in traffic, accomplishing nothing. In fact, commutes not only cost us time, but they also cost us money: The average commuter wastes 42 hours each year sitting in traffic, which costs $1,400 in gas, according to data provided by Driving-tests.org. There’s a physical […]
It has often been observed that capital is the mother’s milk of business. The story of American prosperity is also the story of the world’s deepest and most liquid capital markets. Today we look in particular at the market for equity capital (stocks). Stock markets serve two critical objectives: to raise funds from outside investors, […]
Want to save more money? The go-to solution, according to many financial experts, is to create a budget and cut down on your expenses. But personal finance coach Ramit Sethi says budgets don’t work for most people. ”‘Create a budget!’ is the sort of worthless advice that personal finance pundits feel good about prescribing, yet […]
SHELBY COUNTY, AL – A team from Oak Mountain High School is competing in the national championships this Friday in the Council for Economic Education’s 10th Annual National Personal Finance Challenge. The Oak Mountain state championship team will square off against 19 other teams from around the United States. The competition, held at at the […]
Let’s be brutally honest on this one. Budgets simply don’t work for most people. Here are six reasons budgets don’t work in the real world. Budgets suck. They’re not fun to live with. And so most people don’t. Budgets take time. And you’re too busy to create one, much less stay on one. Budgets are […]
Modern banks sit on treasure troves of data and can access even more from readily available public sources. Yet the question remains: What’s the most valuable way to use it? At U.S. Bank, this resource fuels what’s always been — and continues to be — a top priority: serving customers in their preferred way, to […]
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, Fidelity Investments reported that 133,800 of the retirement accounts it manages had a balance of $1 million or more. That’s only a small percentage of the company’s accounts, but the number of 401(k) millionaires has been rising steadily, and these savers are often seen as role […]
