You might be among the 29 percent of parents who have had their child use a credit or debit card without your permission. Or you might be among the 52 percent of parents of have let their children borrow one. Do you fit into either one of those categories? Then you probably understand the risks… Read More
The Many Flaws of 401Ks (as reported by Stephen Schurr on www.thestreet.com)
401k plans are the new normal for retirement funding, with the majority of Americans counting on them to live the post-work life they desire. But these plans, as effective as they may be, are not always perfect. And there are certain things that you should look for as you evaluate yours. First, most 401k plans… Read More
When Spending Less Costs More (as reported by J. D. Roth on www.getrichslowly.org)
A common piece of personal financial advice you are likely to hear around spending is to look for bargains. The advice is coming from a good place. Every dollar you are able to save is another dollar that you can invest toward the future. But there’s a problem. Often, when we shop for bargains, we… Read More
Start Saving for Retirement Sooner (as reported by Annie Nova on www.cnbc.com)
If you start saving for retirement at the age of 25, you are ahead of the game. Though you should start saving as early as possible, most people put it off. Still, even those of us who do start saving young, are not saving nearly enough. According to experts, if you are 25 and you… Read More
Change Your Financial Mindset (as reported by David Ning on www.moneyning.com)
Saving more is hard. Identifying opportunities to pay down debt or save extra money is also hard. And it certainly is not fun. But it can be very rewarding, because every time you make the effort to save more, invest more, or eliminate debt, you are getting closer to your financial goals, whatever those may… Read More
Credit or Debit? (as reported by John Ulzheimer on www.thesimpledollar.com)
Should I use a credit card or a debit card for this purchase? It’s a common question we ask ourselves from time to time. Different people have different strategies for how they pay for certain items, because the truth is, there is no one size fits all answer. Credit cards come with some obvious perks… Read More
FICO Plans Big Shift in Credit-Score Calculations (As reported by AnnaMaria Andriotis on www.wsj.com)
Read about how new credit-scoring system aims to ease loan approvals. “A decade after the subprime-mortgage binge nearly brought down the U.S. financial system, consumer lenders remain wary of borrowers with low credit scores. Banks have spent much of the past 10 years chasing ultra-creditworthy borrowers. Yet that slice of the market, which has grown… Read More
Eliminate Poor Spending Decisions (as reported by Gaby Del Valle on www.vox.com)
The saying goes, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” No matter how proactive we are about making a budget, growing our income, and planning our investments, poor spending decisions can wreak havoc on our personal financial plans. So how do we avoid poor spending decisions? This article from moneyning.com offers… Read More
Millennials Can’t Afford To Buy a Home (as reported by Miranda Marquit on www.moneyning.com)
It’s been frequently reported of late that millennials, those born roughly between ’78 and ’95, are not buying homes at the same rate as previous generations. And there has been much debate offered as to the reasons for that. A new study by Bank of America finds that, counter to the popular wisdom behind this… Read More
Personal Finance Manifesto (as reported by Allison Schrager on www.qz.com)
Rich people have always been able to afford to pay for the best financial advice available. That is part of the reason why they stay rich and the rest of us struggle to get by. But even without expensive advisors, lawyers and accountants, there is some simple financial advice we can all take advantage of…. Read More