Retirement. While it may feel like a long-time coming, it can also seem like an insufficient amount of time to save everything you need. So how can you prepare? A traditional 401k has been the go-to investment option for many years. But in the last two decades, another tax-advantaged vehicle has seen increased interest: a Roth 401k. What is a Roth 401k, and how can it help you reach your retirement “number”? What Is A [...]
How much life insurance does one person need? Well, that depends. First, ask yourself, is life insurance ever about just one person? If you have a family or people who depend on your income, life insurance can be a lifeline. Not that you expect anything bad to happen to you, but it is a good idea to prepare in case something does. The hope is you already have life insurance and that the only question [...]
Our financial market is in a volatile state. Stocks are down, inflation is sky high, interest rates are increasing, and faith in the market is dwindling. When financial instability becomes mainstream, many people’s thoughts and attitudes toward their money follow suit. This phenomenon is known as market psychology, and market psychology represents the overall sentiment investors carry toward the stock market at any given time. And right now, it’s not all that pretty. Market psychology [...]
What comes to mind when you hear "financial planning"? You probably think about money management—investments, budgeting, saving, debt, etc. You might think about it as an endless loop of spreadsheets, numbers, statistics, and fact-based meetings with your advisor, all of which blur together. While financial planning will involve some data and money talk, What if we told you that wasn't even close to the complete picture? Your investments, family budget, retirement projections, and more make [...]
You know what they say about the best-laid plans....or maybe not? In our book, the best-laid plans are the ones you review again and again, which is especially true for your estate plan. Say something happened to you and your family had to care for your estate. Wouldn’t you want to have all your ducks in a row, so they don’t have to wrangle them? And what happens if, when they have those ducks, they [...]
Facts are facts, and the facts say that women are awesome investors. Recent data from Fidelity discovered that when women invest, they tend to outperform their male counterparts by 40 basis points (0.4%). Couple that with data from McKinsey, which estimates that women will control a significant portion of the $30 trillion wealth transfer from the baby boomer generation, and the future of money is looking female. But for all of these “wins,” there will [...]
As a parent, you may always feel like you want to take care of your children. But that shouldn't translate to paying for everything throughout their lives. It’s a wonderful gift to financially support your kids, and it's another to empower them with the knowledge and care to financially support themselves one day. There is a saying, “if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish, [...]
Graduate school applications and admissions are on the rise. With more and more students pursuing graduate-level education, it begs the question, Should parents have to foot that bill, too? Maybe you’ve already committed funds to your child’s undergraduate degree. Or perhaps this is the first time your child is asking for your help with education expenses. You may find yourself in either situation wondering if you have the resources to fund any part of your [...]
Buying a house is an exciting journey, but it can also be stressful (and costly), especially if you walk into the process unprepared, something far too many people do. In fact, over a third of home buyers said they underestimated the total costs of homeownership. Sure, the price tag may be the biggest cost up-front—but the sale’s price is just one expense homebuyers must consider. Beyond mortgage and insurance, there are additional costs all new [...]
The U.S doesn’t have the greatest track record for prioritizing financial literacy, especially for children. A financial literacy study for young adults found that young people didn’t grasp basic financial concepts like budgeting, how stocks and bonds work, interest, taxes, and more. On the 31-question test, the average score for high school students was only 48.3%, and college students didn’t fare much better at 62.2%. These numbers, unfortunately, make sense since many states don’t require [...]