Becoming a more valued and respected employee often boils down to changing some of your personal behavior. If you want your career to move in a positive direction during the coming year, here are a few key habits to get into. 1. Maintain a tidy desk The less physical clutter you have around you, the […]
Category: Personal Finance
Why now could be the best time to make a career move — and the 3 tips to consider first
There’s no time quite like the New Year to shake things up and set yourself new goals. For many, that can mean pursuing a different role at work — or looking for a new job entirely — and this year could be a better time for it than most. With unemployment in the U.S. at […]
Is your 529 savings plan in the red? Tuition may still be due
With stock returns in the red this year, people are generally advised to leave their investments alone until they recover. That can be hard with a 529 college savings plan if you expected to tap the account for a tuition bill due in a few months or weeks. The state-sponsored investment plans encourage parents to […]
4 critical questions to ask during a market downturn — and how financial advisers answer them
Investors might have gotten used to a nearly decade-long bull market, and they may not know how to handle anything else. That will likely change soon. The stock market has seen record gains since the Great Recession in 2008, but many believe a downturn is looming. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +4.98% and S&P […]
Is It Ever a Good Idea to Make an Early Withdrawal From Your IRA?
Once you contribute money to an IRA, you’re not allowed to withdraw it before you turn 59 1/2 or you face a 10% early withdrawal penalty on top of income tax. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. If you need money for a qualified reason and you don’t have the cash or […]
How to make personal finance resolutions for 2019
The U.S. economy is predicted to slow in 2019. But that doesn’t mean your personal finances have to take a hit. According to a Fidelity Investments survey, almost one-third of Americans plan to make a money resolution for the new year, with 48 percent planning to save more and 29 percent aiming to pay down […]
This is how many million U.S. workers will get a pay raise in the New Year
The New Year is off to a fruitful start for millions of Americans. Some 5.3 million workers will be receiving higher pay starting Jan. 1 as minimum wage increases kick in for the New Year, according to an analysis from the left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute. The EPI analyzed data from the Current Population […]
Leaving a Job? How to Decide If You Should Do a 401(k) Rollover or Not
Most of us have worked for a company that offered 401(k) plans to their employees. In fact, you and I have likely worked for multiple companies that provide this benefit. And as a result, you might have a number of 401(k) plans to your name if you opened an account with each employer. That’s not […]
If You Want to Retire Comfortably, It Isn’t All About Investing
A lot of people — maybe even most people — can be successful DIYers through the early years of their investing life. Unless you’re a high earner, have a high net worth or have some other special planning needs, you probably can figure out how much you want to contribute and how to allocate your […]
Pension Funds Should Buy Bitcoin (BTC), Says Crypto Advocate
Anthony Pompliano, the founder of Morgan Creek’s “Digital” branch, has long been a zealot for the decentralist movement, lauding the crypto space for years on end. Case in point, each and every week, Pompliano, better known as Pomp to the crypto community, subjects his 179,000 Twitter followers to the “long Bitcoin, short the bankers” rhetoric […]
A Bear Market: What 401(k) investors need to know now
Investors that have been holding on for dear life, held on a bit tighter Monday as the S&P 500 slipped into a bear market, off 20 percent from the highs, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 600 points, now below 22,000. The declines ahead of the Christmas holiday come after weeks of […]
This Percentage of Americans Got Raises in 2018
If you got a raise in 2018, you were in pretty decent company. This year, an estimated 30% of employees saw their salaries increase, according to data from GOBankingRates. Still, that means that the majority of workers didn’t see a bump in their earnings, and that’s unfortunate. If you didn’t manage to snag a raise […]