If you’re starting your first job or are still relatively young, starting to save for your retirement or increasing your retirement savings is perhaps the smartest financial decision you can possibly make. The long-term compounding power you have could transform seemingly small amounts of money into a large retirement nest egg down the road. One […]
Social Security is a crucial source of income in retirement, but the amount you get in Social Security varies significantly depending on when you decide to begin receiving it. If you don’t plan properly, you could miss out on big money, or worse, end up in poverty. For instance, if you plan to claim Social […]
Savings rate-chasing is a strategy in which savers consistently use a tool such as Bankrate or MyBankTracker to determine which savings account is offering the highest interest rate, then regularly move their cash reserves to the highest-yielding account. For example, if a rate-chaser has $25,000 in savings in Bank A, which offers a rate of […]
The stock market has been extremely volatile during 2018, but the past month has brought new optimism to the market for investors. Most major market benchmarks, including the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, have rocketed higher to new record levels. Yet through it all, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) has been one […]
Promotions, opportunities, and big raises generally go to the employees who manage to stand out from their peers. To become one of those people — an employee who is clearly a leader among equals — there are a handful of things you can do. It’s not about promoting yourself or saying how great you are. […]
Perhaps the biggest variable in your situation is how long it will take you to pay off the credit card. For example, if you can pay the credit card balance off in five months, you’ll only end up paying about $300 in interest, which is just 6% of the $5,000 you need. Meanwhile, the IRA […]
If you hold a degree from an American university, chances are, Sallie Mae swings by your inbox every few weeks to remind you that you have a student loan payment due. Today, approximately 70% of American college students graduate with a “significant” burden of student loans. The average graduate will have to pay back about […]
If you’re like most Americans, this past summer season was filled with short trips out town, family vacations, and likely some extra spending on eating out and entertainment as well. A recent NerdWallet survey found that Americans planned to put $1,019 on their credit cards to cover travel summer travel costs and said they’d spend […]
A lot – says a new article at MoneyWatch, based on a report in the Wall Street Journal, in which Dan Ariely and Aline Holzwarth report on research at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University, which identified a pay replacement level of 130%, meaning you should expect to spend 130% of your preretirement […]
National 401(k) Day has been celebrated the Friday after Labor Day since 1996, in a drive to remind Americans to prioritize saving for retirement. The trick to becoming a 401(k) millionaire is to start young and allow your money to go to work for you. It may be difficult for someone who is just starting […]
Identity theft accounted for $16.8 billion in losses in 2017 spread across 16.7 million victims, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. Were you one of the unfortunate 16.7 million? Victim or not, it’s wise to consider freezing your credit to make it difficult for identity thieves to use your personal data – and now, you […]
One of the first things you’ll read as you look into Social Security is how big of a difference the age at which you decide to claim your retirement benefits can make. With the ability to claim as early as 62 or as late as 70, when you start getting payments can have a massive […]
