If you want to avoid hefty penalties when you start using money from a 529 college savings account, there are some important rules to follow, according to the financial team at Consumer Reports. If you don’t spend the money on legitimate 529 expenses, you will have to pay income tax on the earnings and a […]
Even if the economy is on a roll, many Americans aren’t feeling the benefit. Real wages effectively declined in 2018, according to figures from the PayScale Index, a formula from the Seattle-based salary comparison site. PayScale said the median wage increases, when adjusted for inflation, were only 1.1% since last year and 1% over the past […]
For many workers, the idea of retiring early is a dream they’ve pursued throughout their careers. Being able to have more time to do the things you want is a goal that nearly everyone has. However, in order to make early retirement work, it’s important to understand the potential difficulties involved and to address them while there’s still […]
That can mean paring back on areas of your budget where you’ve been lax. It can also mean lightening up on bad habits that add up over time. And to accomplish this, you will need to take a hard look at how you manage your money and where you’re making mistakes along the way. “We […]
IF YOU’RE making New Year’s resolutions, you’ve probably thought about your finances and habits to adopt or drop this year. The difference between getting ahead or falling behind financially usually comes down to small actions you repeatedly do. If you want to create more financial success in 2019, try implementing these six daily habits. Stay vigilant […]
Knowing the right time to buy house is just as important in the home buying process as knowing what house you’re going to buy, where you’re going to buy it, and how you’re going to buy that home. Why is the “when factor” so important? As with most financial endeavors, timing can be everything, and that […]
The 2019 tax season is bound to be an interesting one, since it’s the first following the massive overhaul that came into play for 2018. And the sooner you mark this year’s filing deadline on your calendar, the sooner you’ll be motivated to get your paperwork in order and start working on that return. Without further ado, this year’s […]
Something seem out of the norm there? Maybe not for much longer! South Carolina lawmaker Luke Rankin, Horry County Senator, has pre-filed a bill that would require high school students take a personal finance class. The class would cover things like budgeting, insurance, taxes, retirement planning, banking, and how to avoid too much debt. “You […]
There are billions of reasons to do this job. Many of today’s self-made billionaires and multimillionaires held a sales job, or jobs, when they were younger — a fact they consider crucial to their current success, according to research conducted by sociologist and historian Rainer Zitelmann and published in his recent book “The Wealth Elite.” […]
As a parent, it’s natural to want to be there for your children — even once they’re grown and have families of their own. But while it’s one thing to offer your adult kids emotional support, it’s another thing to offer them support that’s financial in nature. A new study from Merrill Lynch and Age Wave, […]
A majority of Americans are renting on the cheap — at least, compared to what they’d be paying if they bought a home. In more than half (59%) of housing markets nationwide — 442 of 755 U.S. counties — renting a three-bedroom property is now more affordable than buying a median-priced home, according to a […]
Millions of seniors depend on Social Security to pay the bills in retirement. But that dependence might be reaching an unhealthy extreme. In fact, 66% of seniors believe that Social Security will be their primary source of income over the course of their retirement, according to a new Transamerica study. And that means a host of older Americans […]
