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 […]
If you’re concerned about saving enough money for retirement, you’re not alone. One in five Americans has no retirement savings at all, according to a survey from Northwestern Mutual, and one-third of baby boomers have $25,000 or less stashed away. But while most of the news surrounding workers’ retirement savings seems all doom and gloom, […]
Maybe you won’t hit an actual million in retirement savings. But if you change your strategies now, it’s definitely possible to double or triple the size of your retirement account. It all depends on how much you learn and how much you invest. You can take 100 people who are the exact same age and […]
Estate planning remains one of the most misunderstood areas of planning. Over the years, I’ve met with people who “only needed a financial plan, not an estate plan” or “didn’t need a financial plan, just some help with estate planning.” I’ve also met with people who labeled themselves too young (or too old) to engage […]
We get blanket advice about preparing for retirement, but is that hurting more than helping? Americans are often told not to touch their retirement savings until the future, but the government isn’t entirely sure how well they’re listening because there’s no solid data to show it. The U.S. Government Accountability Office said this week it […]
When you’re in the early stages of your personal finance journey, the majority of your financial goals tend to revolve around specific numbers: I need $12,000 in my savings account for my three-month emergency fund. I need to pay off $45,000 in student loans. I need to contribute 10% of my salary to my 401(k). […]
