How To Get Free Help With Your Finances

October 08, 2015

Want free help with your finances? From the beginning of Oct to the beginning of Nov, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNING™ Board of Standards, the Financial Planning Association®, the Foundation of Financial Planning, and the US Conference of Mayors are offering Financial Planning Days in cities all across the country. At each event, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals will be volunteering to provide free one-on-one financial counseling and education sessions to members of the public without selling products, giving out business cards, or collecting contact information. Continue reading “How To Get Free Help With Your Finances”

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

October 01, 2015

I was recently talking to my parents about Social Security and was surprised to discover that they had no idea they could delay their benefits past their retirement.This is important because it’s usually the best strategy yet most people collect at the earliest age of 62. Here are some reasons why delaying might make sense: Continue reading “Good Things Come To Those Who Wait”

How Far Would You Go To Get Rid Of Student Loan Debt?

September 17, 2015

A colleague of mine recently shared this article titled “How Far Would You Go to Get Rid of Your Student Debt?” that focused on the extreme lengths many people were willing to go to get rid of their student loans. It’s not surprising when you consider that the average college student graduated this year with over $35k in loans. If they pay just the 4.66% interest rate on federal student loans for undergrads, they’ll pay almost $9k in interest by the time they pay it off in 10 years. But if they can put an extra $300 a month towards their debt, they’ll pay it off in under 5 years and save more than half the interest. They can then put those payments towards buying a home or becoming financially independent. Continue reading “How Far Would You Go To Get Rid Of Student Loan Debt?”

Permanent Life Insurance or Mortgage Payoff?

August 20, 2015

We recently received a question on our Facebook page from a couple in their 50’s who are trying to decide between a fixed universal life insurance policy with a quoted return of “7% minus fees” vs paying off a mortgage with a 3.5% interest rate. This combines two common question topics: using permanent life insurance as an investment and paying off a mortgage early. Let’s take a look at some things to consider: Continue reading “Permanent Life Insurance or Mortgage Payoff?”

The Kids (Credit Scores) Are All Right

August 06, 2015

Which generation has the lowest average credit score? According to this article, it’s the Millennials, who have a 625 VantageScore vs 650 for Generation X and 709 for Baby Boomers. This is unfortunate since Millennials are the most likely to look for a new job or buy a home, which are two of the situations when having good credit can be most important. Continue reading “The Kids (Credit Scores) Are All Right”

Some Of The Riskiest Investments May Surprise You

July 30, 2015

One of the biggest fears people have when it comes to investing is a year like 2008, when the US stock market fell almost 40%. But as long as you didn’t bail out of stocks, you would have recovered your losses in about 5 years and then gone on to make more money. The same is true of every other market downturn since the Great Depression. If you’re worried about the real risk of permanent loss, some of the riskiest investments actually seem much safer. Here are ones that may surprise you: Continue reading “Some Of The Riskiest Investments May Surprise You”

Is A Financial Advisor Worth Paying For?

July 23, 2015

If you’re hiring an advisor to pick investments that will outperform the market, the answer is probably no. There’s no evidence that financial advisors’ recommendations add value in this way even if their advice were free. Add a 1% advisory fee and you’ll probably underperform the market. There are also now a host of “robo-advisors” that will help you put together and manage a customized portfolio of low cost index funds for a much lower fee. However, here are some services that may be worth paying a financial advisor for: Continue reading “Is A Financial Advisor Worth Paying For?”

Which Colleges Make The Best Investments?

July 16, 2015

With the rising cost of college, more students and their parents are rightfully looking at their of college in financial terms. In that spirit, I saw this report on the best “value colleges” by “return on investment.” This can be a much more useful measurement than simply looking at a school’s general “ranking” but there are a few thing to keep in mind: Continue reading “Which Colleges Make The Best Investments?”

What To Do If You Owe The IRS

July 09, 2015

One of the biggest fears of many Americans is getting audited by the IRS. Even worse, is finding out that you owe thousands of dollars in back taxes that you can’t pay. That’s the position that one of my recent helpline callers was in. Not only could she not afford to pay the debt in full, but the balance was actually increasing since the interest and penalties each month were considerably more than she was paying. If you find yourself in a similar situation, here are some options to consider: Continue reading “What To Do If You Owe The IRS”

5 Retirement Plan Benefits You’re Probably Overlooking

July 02, 2015

One thing that I’ve noticed when speaking to HR executives and other employees about their benefits is that many valuable retirement plan benefits aren’t being taken advantage of. These benefits are part of your compensation so not utilizing them is like not taking your whole paycheck. Here are 5 in particular: Continue reading “5 Retirement Plan Benefits You’re Probably Overlooking”

What Makes A Good Mutual Fund?

June 25, 2015

That’s a common question I get in our investing workshops. Most people instinctively look at performance. After all, that’s how we typically measure ability and try to predict future performance in most areas but investing is different. Continue reading “What Makes A Good Mutual Fund?”

A 6% Guaranteed Return?

June 18, 2015

Would you like a guaranteed 6% return on your investments? Is that even possible? I recently got a helpline call from a woman who thought it was. Her advisor had suggested that she roll her 401k into an annuity that paid “a guaranteed 6% return regardless of what the stock market does.” She thought the only downside is that she had to leave the money in the annuity for 10 years and that there was a 1% fee so the guaranteed return would be 5% after fees. Continue reading “A 6% Guaranteed Return?”

Should You Buy or Rent a Home?

June 11, 2015

Summer is often a popular time for people to buy a home. In fact, I was recently talking to an employee who wanted to buy a place but she noted that the mortgage payment would be more than the rent for similar priced homes in the area she was looking at. However, after looking at the tax breaks and possible home appreciation, we discovered that owning would actually be cheaper for her. Continue reading “Should You Buy or Rent a Home?”

The 10 Question Financial Checkup

June 04, 2015

Earlier this week, I spoke to a couple of callers to our Financial Helpline. One was a woman who had just inherited some money and wasn’t sure what to do with it and the other was a man who wanted a complete “financial checkup.” While seemingly very different questions, both involved looking for vulnerabilities or opportunities in their financial situations. Want to do the same thing? In honor of our 4 Week Financial Check-up Challenge, here are some questions to ask yourself: Continue reading “The 10 Question Financial Checkup”

3 Reasons You Probably Don’t Save Enough

May 28, 2015

Whether your main financial goal is to pay off debt, buy a home, or retire comfortably, chances are that saving money will be instrumental to achieving it. Yet too many of us just aren’t saving enough. Why is that? The following are the three main culprits I’ve found and what to do about them: Continue reading “3 Reasons You Probably Don’t Save Enough”

Would You Turn Down All 8 Ivy League Schools?

May 21, 2015

That’s what a high school senior named Ronald Nelson did to accept a free ride at the University of Alabama. While very few students will be in Nelson’s enviable position, many families will have to decide between a more expensive higher-ranked school and a lower-ranked but less expensive school. With both education and student loan debt increasingly important factors to many young people’s financial well-being, this is not always an easy decision to make. Here are some things to consider: Continue reading “Would You Turn Down All 8 Ivy League Schools?”