We all have certain causes that we choose to support monetarily. In fact, in 2017, Americans gave more than $410 billion to charities, breaking the $400 billion mark for the first time in history. But anytime that we give our money to an organization, it’s important to do our due diligence, ensuring that the funds that we give will be used effectively.
Personal finance, like just about everything else, is mainly common sense. Advice like “don’t spend more than you make; start investing while you’re young; don’t loan money to friends with the expectation of getting it back,” have been around for generations, and most likely will survive the next few generations as well. Even money mistakes that are corrected early enough will have little impact on your wealth going forward. What you do want to avoid are money mistakes that can be hard to recover from.
With the rise in popularity of financial planning robo-advisors, many experts predicted the beginning of the end for financial advisors. But as many investors are starting to see, there are distinct advantages to speaking with a live person when determining just how you should invest your money.
Time certainly goes by fast. One day you’re interviewing for your first job and the next thing you know you’re a few short years from applying for Social Security.
If you’ve planned for your retirement, you’ll likely have a good stash of funds saved. But the unfortunate news is that according to...
While owning a home is the quintessential American dream, not everyone is able to purchase a home when they desire. If you’re fresh out of school with a boat load of student debt, it’s probably best to wait until you’ve been working for at least a year before you start looking to buy.
Most consumers typically have both a credit card and a debit card. Of course, the biggest difference between the two is that a debit card will immediately take money out of your bank account when used, unlike a credit card, which will pay for the purchase and later add the amount of the transaction to your monthly statement.
If you’re interested in beginning to invest but are nervous, or simply don’t have a lot of money to invest, why not start slow?
How to Avoid Retirement Woes
According to the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the top concern of retirees is running out of money. While it’s a known fact that many of us don’t begin to save for retirement when we should, it appears that nearly half of all current retirees are concerned about...
In recent years, reverse mortgages have been enthusiastically marketed to homeowners ages 62 and over. Optimally designed for homeowners with at least 50 percent equity in their home, reverse mortgages allow homeowners to tap into that equity, providing them with a regular monthly payment – the complete opposite of a standard mortgage.
There are many ways that we support our favorite charitable causes. However, one of the most beneficial ways to support a favorite charity now and into perpetuity is through planned giving. While almost any larger nonprofit organization has an active planned giving program, it may come as a surprise that many smaller nonprofits are also eager to work with their donors on planned giving options.
Even if you're not ready to retire, understanding how you benefit from Social Security can help with your retirement plans.
If you’re new to investing, some of the information on the Internet can be downright confusing. While investing itself is fairly straightforward, many people find themselves shying away from the entire process because they simply don’t understand the terminology, which can be somewhat overwhelming.
