We’re told of the importance of saving for retirement, yet an alarming number of workers aren’t listening. Only about 57% of U.S. households aged 35 to 64 are on track to cover 100% of the average costs retirees face, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. This means that almost half of today’s workers are […]
When it comes to saving for retirement, the more money you can set aside, the more financially secure you’ll be. If you diligently save over the course of your career, you’ll find that by the time you retire, the size of your retirement nest egg can grow to a number that’s a lot bigger than […]
We all need money to function, but let’s face it: It can be an unwelcome source of tension in our lives. In fact, 54% of Americans claim that their finances cause them anxiety, according to new data from Northwestern Mutual. Specifically, here are the top three sources of money-related stress: Rising healthcare costs (59%) Unplanned financial […]
Q: You’ve written that cash, or cash-based investments like money market funds and CDs, are a bad place to keep your assets because they pay next to nothing. With recent interest rate increases, is this still the case? Generally speaking, I’m still an advocate of a well-allocated portfolio of stock- and bond-based investments. That said, […]
Social Security is arguably the most important social program for senior citizens. More than three out of five retired workers lean on Social Security to provide at least half of their monthly income, with another third relying on Social Security for virtually all of their income (90% to 100%). Yet, truth be told, we still […]
When you want a job — whether it’s your dream job or you’re simply ready to move on — it can be all too easy to accept any offer you’re given, even if it’s not the right offer for you. “The No. 1 misstep I see clients take is the failure to step back, take […]
Keeping your financial life in shape takes time and planning, but there are some ideas and rules anyone can follow to help ensure that they are on the right track. Here are three personal finance basics everyone should follow to ensure their finances are in order: Identify, Quantify and Prioritize Your Goals Setting goals is […]
If you think of your business as an extension of yourself, it’s easy to see how important it is to follow the same finance rules as you would for your personal financial health. Consider for a moment what would happen to your household if you had no cash on hand (cash flow) to pay your […]
Most taxpayers who filed their return in April can breathe easy for a year before facing another Internal Revenue Service deadline. The self-employed aren’t so fortunate. If you have income from a side gig or from full-time freelancing and contract work — i.e., no company is withholding taxes from your paycheck — it’s time to […]
The economy has shifted into high gear, with corporate profits surging, bankruptcies and foreclosures tumbling and the national unemployment rate easing to 3.8%, an 18-year low. Americans have become more optimistic, but their personal finances don’t necessarily mirror the economy’s progress. The latest assessment of household financial health by the Federal Reserve shows “many signs […]
We all have bills to pay and financial goals to meet. Some of us can get there by cutting expenses in our budgets to eke out savings from our paychecks. But in many cases, getting our hands on extra money means taking on a side hustle. A side hustle is just another term for a […]
As the weather heats up, so does consumer spending. Americans not only dish out more money on travel and entertainment from June to August than other times of year, but the relaxed, laid-back vibe of the season entices people to track their spending less, leading to careless credit card swiping. With the average American spending […]
