Preparing for eventual care needs as we age is becoming a critical part of every American’s retirement planning. Retirees are living to a more advanced age, and funds need to last longer than ever before. The further in advance you plan, the better off you are likely to be if and when you need long-term [...]
Tax season doesn’t end when you file your taxes on April 15. Tax issues continue all year round, so it’s important to regularly assess your tax situation, and now—halfway through the year—is the perfect time. At this point, you probably have some idea about the direction in which your personal balance sheet is headed, and [...]
Today, one in four women in marriages bring in more income than their husbands, which is up from six percent in the 1960s. Whether you are a man or woman, the pressure to bring home the bacon can be overwhelming. As our society shifts, having more women breadwinners can lead to resentment and failed relationships [...]
You’ve done all the right prep work to buy a home. You saved for a down payment, cleaned up your credit, and got pre-approved for a mortgage. You found a home that you can afford, and now the days are ticking down to closing—and everything seems too good to be true. Unfortunately, it could be. [...]
Investing may seem like it’s just for the super-rich, but you don’t need a million dollars to start. In fact, you can start investing with a measly $1,000. If you have a job that offers a retirement savings plan, you’ve probably already started making some investments. The next step—investing on your own—really isn’t that scary, [...]
Crushing student loan debt is making it harder for some Americans to buy a house. With the cost of a college education growing much faster than average salaries and inflation rates, it’s no wonder families are struggling to participate in the housing market as early as they’d like. Student loan debt is usually considered a [...]
Often, the most frustrating part of preparing your taxes is searching for the information you need—and that process can make tax time much more stressful than it needs to be. Trying to track down all of your forms by the April 15 deadline is enough to drive anyone crazy. On top of the added stress, [...]
(Scroll down for video) If you’ve been thinking about buying your first home, this could be the year to finally pull the trigger. But with all the information out there about the real estate market, it can be difficult to determine what it all means for a first-time homebuyer like yourself. Before plunging headfirst into [...]
The housing market right now is a “crapshoot.” Economist Karl Case—co-founder of the heavily-followed S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices—told CNNMoney that today’s housing market is nothing like the predictable pre-crash housing markets, where you could bank on small but reliable price appreciation every year. "You've got much more negative vibrations in the housing surveys about homeownership [...]
Growing up, I was constantly told that buying a home was the American Dream. When I was in the military, I was sometimes looked down upon because I was a renter, but it just made more sense for me at the time. Here are four reasons you might consider renting rather than buying a home: [...]
