Saving and Investing

A 401k employer match is one of the best things any employee can ask for. Why? Because it means free money toward your retirement. Many employers in the US still offer this benefit to their employees – they match 50-100% of employee 401k contributions up to a certain limit. But according to the Society for… Read More

All of the experts agree – the sooner you start saving for retirement, the better off you’ll be when the time comes. But what if you haven’t started yet? What if you are getting close to retirement age and you are worried you won’t have enough saved? According to a recent survey, 28% of Americans… Read More

The concept of a pension is something that private employers have all but abandoned, putting more of the onus of retirement savings onto the individual. But most public positions still offer a pension, and so many Americans either currently work towards a pension or are already receiving benefits. And that’s why the coming pension crisis… Read More

If you are lucky enough to have an employer who offers a 401k retirement plan, there are tax advantages to directing a portion of each paycheck toward it. You are even luckier still if that employer matches some or all of your contribution, because that is free money available to you simply for joining the… Read More

Too many of us don’t know exactly how much money we will need in order to retire worry-free. Chances are, even after you retire you won’t be sure you have enough. Here’s a simple way to tell. Create a realistic budget based on what you are spending now. Then start to make modifications based on… Read More

In the past, a majority of employees were able to earn a pension from their employers. More Americans would spend the majority of their careers in one industry, with one company. And when they retired, the pension would pay out in retirement, the amount based on the amount they earned during their careers. For the… Read More

Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most widely respected investors, recommends that those saving for retirement invest 90% of their nest egg in stocks and 10% in short term government bonds. But depending on your tolerance for risk, and how close you are to retirement age, that may be a little too risky for most… Read More

Do you know how compounding interest works? If you do, you are in the minority. A recent study of over 50 thousand individuals in 30 different countries testing their financial knowledge and behavior found that only 42% of respondents could correctly answer the following question: Will a $100 savings account compounding at an interest rate… Read More

There are big differences between the way rich people invest their money and the way poor people invest their money. Some of this has to do with taste or accessibility, but some of it unfortunately has to do with awareness. Rich people, it seems, are simply more aware of the investment options which historically outperform… Read More

It is the dream of many working Americans to be able to retire ahead of schedule. The average retirement age in the US is currently about 65 years old. How can we aim to retire before 60? Before 50? Michael Ruderman, writing for Personal Capital, put a list together of seven of the top lessons… Read More