A 401k, pension account, or IRA are all built to help people save for retirement. However, what about saving for emergencies or other needs that crop up earlier in life. Often, those retirement savings can’t help you, because if you withdraw from them early, you are left to pay expensive penalties. That leads to a… Read More
Personal Savings Rates (as reported by Trent Hamm on www.thesimpledollar.com)
Your personal savings rate is an important financial metric to track. Calculating it is simple. To do so, you need to know two things: How much money you added to long-term savings last year How much money you earned after taxes last year We use long term savings to differentiate from money you put in… Read More
6 Stages of Financial Freedom (as reported by J. D. Roth on www.getrichslowly.org)
How close you are to achieving your financial goals depends a lot on what those goals are. For most of us, just having enough money to pay the bills each month is a step in the right direction. But if you don’t know where you currently stand, or don’t have any plans for how you’re… Read More
How to Earn More Money (as reported by J. D. Roth on www.getrichslowly.org)
It is an oft-repeated bit of wisdom about personal finance – the key to building wealth is to spend less and earn more. It will always be a good idea to work to limit the expenses side of the equation. But what about earning more? One of the best ways to increase your earning potential,… Read More
Save for College with a 529 Plan (as reported by Matt Becker www.thesimpledollar.com)
The cost of college continues to climb, and unless something changes in how we treat higher education in this country, it’s not likely to come back down anytime soon. So for those of us who would like to help finance our children’s education, 529 Savings Plans provide for a smart investment. 529 Plans, sometimes called… Read More
Chicago’s Youth Connection Charter School Is Top High School Teaching Personal Finance Nationally
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Working in Support of Education (W!se), a New York City-based, national educational nonprofit, today announced that Chicago’s Youth Connection Charter School earned first place in the 2018 “100 Best W!se High Schools Teaching Personal Finance” rankings. W!se announced the annual rankings at a ceremony sponsored by Voya Financial®. The Youth Connection… Read More
Teaching Your Children About Credit (as reported by John Ulzheimer on www.thesimpledollar.com)
The key to avoiding debt or credit issues in one’s lifetime is knowledge. The more we know about credit, and the potential dangers out there, the better we can set ourselves up for success. And you are never too young to start worrying about credit. If you want to start your children off on the… Read More
The Magic of Compounding (as reported by J. D. Roth on www.getrichslowly.org)
$100 invested with an annual return of 8% (a conservative estimate of stock market returns) will be worth $108 in one year. At the end of year two it will be worth $116.64. That’s because you get 8% on the full $108 value at the end of year one, rather than just another $8 every… Read More
The Guide to Debt-Free Living (as reported by Catherine Alford on www.frugalrules.com)
Many Americans struggle to avoid debt for much of their lives. The goal for all of us, however, should be debt-free living. One way to learn how to live a debt-free life is to take a cue from those people who are already doing it. When we examine the lives of people who don’t take… Read More
Track Your Net Worth (as reported by Trent Hamm on www.thesimpledollar.com)
Your net worth, the combined value of all your assets (car, home, checking accounts, investments, etc.) is something that many people keep track of. And for good reason. This represents the total amount of wealth that you have accumulated over the course of your lifetime. And if managed correctly, you can see this value begin… Read More