Student Loan Debt Makes it Hard for Some to Buy a House
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 [...]
How Much Money Should I Have in My Emergency Fund?
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, [...]
Spender vs. Saver: How to Compromise on Money Matters with Your Spouse
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 [...]
Four Finance Tips for the Middle-Aged; Caring for Parents and Kids
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 [...]
How to Help Ensure You Leave Your Family an Inheritance
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 [...]
3 Ways to Make Your Cash Work Harder For You
You’ve probably got some cash stashed—if you’re subscribing to this newsletter you know how important I think it is to have enough in savings—but your cash probably isn’t working that hard for you. Even if you keep a meaningful percentage of your assets in cash, the bank is probably paying you next to nothing on [...]