Deciding whether or not to hire a financial planner can be an important financial decision in its own right. You have to weigh the cost of a financial planner against the potential benefit that they might provide. Going it alone is not always the best decision, because personal finances are complex and difficult to manage… Read More
12 YEARS TO OUT-EARN THE COST OF YOUR DEGREE (AS REPORTED BY AMY X. WANG ON WWW.QZ.COM)
A lot has been written about the cost of a college degree. Tuition costs keep rising, despite a more general plateau in wages for most American workers. The spread between costs and earnings has become so dramatic that debt resulting from school loans has ballooned to become larger even than mortgage debt. So how long… Read More
Expenses Drop in Retirement (as reported by www.freemoneyfinance.com)
As one gets closer to retirement, it can be a little scary trying to figure out how to pay for all of life’s expenses without an income for the first time in your life. But do remember that there are a number of expenses that will go down dramatically, or disappear completely, in retirement. For… Read More
10 Common Financial Mistakes (as reported by Tracie Fobes on blog.credit.com)
There are many financial decisions that we as Americans make throughout our lives. Some are big, like buying a house or opening a new retirement account. Some are small, like trips to the grocery store. Often, there are financial mistakes that we make because we don’t have the right knowledge or fail to pay attention… Read More
5 Year Rule for Homeowners (as reported by Thursday Bram on www.moneyning.com)
A common piece of advice new homebuyers are likely to hear is that they should plan on staying in the same house for at least five years. Why is that? The basis for this argument is that if you decide to move and sell before five years is up, you will likely lose money on… Read More
Finance and Marriage (as reported by Michael Chamberlain on www.forbes.com)
Marriage is a defining moment in one’s life. It is also a time, though most people choose to believe otherwise, when personal finances take on even greater importance. The reason why is that two people with two separate financial situations and views are now joining together. The most important thing couples can do before they… Read More
50/20/30 Budget Rule (as reported by blog.mint.com)
Budgeting can be a difficult skill to learn for most people. As humans, we have a natural tendency to value the present over the future. And so when we begin making money, we would rather spend it than save it. A simple rule can help you begin to think differently. The 50/20/30 Rule (or 50/20/30… Read More
Thinking About Money (as reported by Claudia Hammond on www.qz.com)
This may seem obvious, but how we think about money impacts how we spend it. A classic thought experiment repeated many times over proves the theory that as human beings, we mentally separate money into different “accounts” by what we intend to use it for. And the way we do this makes it more or… Read More
Donald Trump’s Impact on Your Finances (as reported by Rob Berger on www.forbes.com)
It’s official, Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States of America. Whether or not you voted for him, this fact is likely to result in a number of changes that could impact your financial well-being. First, depending on how much money you currently make, you could see a change in taxes…. Read More
SPENDING IN RETIREMENT (AS REPORTED BY ALLISON SCHRAGER ON WWW.QZ.COM)
The most common bit of personal financial advice you are likely to get throughout your working life is make sure you are saving for retirement. But Allison Schrager, writing for Quartz, suggests that that might be the easy part. We also have to plan for how we will spend the money we do save. In… Read More