You don’t need to be rich to start investing or saving money. Even people working at their first jobs or newlyweds living on a tight budget can develop the habit of saving. Here are five ways to automate your savings program to make it effortless: 1. Set up a savings account and simply arrange automatic [...]
This article was written by guest blogger Bahiyah Shabazz. Imagine you’re taking a summer road trip and the check engine light on your dashboard suddenly pops on. You pull over to the nearest auto shop to get a diagnosis, only to find out that your transmission is going out. The mechanic can fix it today, [...]
Which cities are the best for recent college graduates looking to settle down? With the economy still in recovery mode, a sluggish job market and staggering student loan debt, college graduates have a lot of obstacles in their path to success. According to Homes.com, several cities around the country are more promising than others, offering [...]
Given the flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, and other severe weather of the past few years, you’re probably fully aware that these conditions have a direct impact on rising homeowner’s insurance costs. If you haven’t already, it’s likely you soon will be contacting your insurance agent to find a way to combat these huge rate increases. However, [...]
It’s one of the most common financial conundrums: What do you do when your spouse’s money style is different from yours? If your spouse is the polar opposite of you when it comes to money management, you may have challenges to overcome. According to a working paper, Fatal (Fiscal) Attraction, published by professors at Northwestern [...]
In between Baby Boomers and Generation Xers, another group has emerged, dubbed “the sandwich generation.” These are middle-aged adults between 40 and 59 whose financial and emotional responsibilities are increasing due to aging parents and debt-laden kids. According to a 2013 Pew study, nearly half of adults in the sandwich generation have a parent age [...]
Even if you’ve done a great job saving up money for retirement, you may eventually face healthcare expenses that could quickly drain your savings. Fidelity estimates that a 65-year-old couple needs $220,000 for healthcare expenses in retirement, but the truth is that healthcare costs are tough to quantify because you never know what issues you [...]
Did you go into shock when you saw how the 2014 tax laws affect you? I couldn’t believe how much of a marriage penalty Congress created. We’re back to the bad old days, when my best advice for folks in the top tax brackets was to get a divorce. Divorce can be good for your [...]
This article was written by guest blogger Steve Cook. Many of the important differences between buying a condominium and buying a single-family home are obvious: living space, neighborhood type, yard, maintenance, convenience, amenities, security, utilities, and transportation. However, there are some lesser-known, and often overlooked, differences that should also be considered when deciding between a [...]
You may have considered leaving an inheritance to someone close to you—a child, a sibling, or perhaps your best friend. While it’s nice to know that you might make someone’s life a little easier by giving him or her money, real estate, or personal property, it’s also daunting to figure out how to go about [...]
