We cover the basics and more about personal finance, answering frequently asked questions about credit and debt, identity theft, saving for college, retirement, estate planning, insurance, taxes, job hunting, and raising money-savvy kids. Check out the articles, columns, blog posts, radio shows and videos for tons of personal finance advice.
Student Loan Debt Makes it Hard for Some to Buy a House
Crushing student loan debt is making it harder for some Americans to buy a house. With the cost of a college education growing much faster than average salaries and inflation rates, it’s no wonder families are struggling to participate in the housing market as early as they’d like. Student loan debt is usually considered a [...]
Tips for Keeping Your Taxes Organized All Year Round
Often, the most frustrating part of preparing your taxes is searching for the information you need—and that process can make tax time much more stressful than it needs to be. Trying to track down all of your forms by the April 15 deadline is enough to drive anyone crazy. On top of the added stress, [...]
Five Ways to Automate Your Retirement Savings
You don’t need to be rich to start investing or saving money. Even people working at their first jobs or newlyweds living on a tight budget can develop the habit of saving. Here are five ways to automate your savings program to make it effortless: 1. Set up a savings account and simply arrange automatic [...]
How Much Money Should I Have in My Emergency Fund?
This article was written by guest blogger Bahiyah Shabazz. Imagine you’re taking a summer road trip and the check engine light on your dashboard suddenly pops on. You pull over to the nearest auto shop to get a diagnosis, only to find out that your transmission is going out. The mechanic can fix it today, [...]
Five Reasons Your Homeowner’s Insurance Rate May Rise
Given the flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, and other severe weather of the past few years, you’re probably fully aware that these conditions have a direct impact on rising homeowner’s insurance costs. If you haven’t already, it’s likely you soon will be contacting your insurance agent to find a way to combat these huge rate increases. However, [...]
Spender vs. Saver: How to Compromise on Money Matters with Your Spouse
It’s one of the most common financial conundrums: What do you do when your spouse’s money style is different from yours? If your spouse is the polar opposite of you when it comes to money management, you may have challenges to overcome. According to a working paper, Fatal (Fiscal) Attraction, published by professors at Northwestern [...]
Four Finance Tips for the Middle-Aged; Caring for Parents and Kids
In between Baby Boomers and Generation Xers, another group has emerged, dubbed “the sandwich generation.” These are middle-aged adults between 40 and 59 whose financial and emotional responsibilities are increasing due to aging parents and debt-laden kids. According to a 2013 Pew study, nearly half of adults in the sandwich generation have a parent age [...]
Six Tips for Reducing Healthcare Expenses in Retirement
Even if you’ve done a great job saving up money for retirement, you may eventually face healthcare expenses that could quickly drain your savings. Fidelity estimates that a 65-year-old couple needs $220,000 for healthcare expenses in retirement, but the truth is that healthcare costs are tough to quantify because you never know what issues you [...]
Three Important Tax Facts Wealthy People Need to Know
Did you go into shock when you saw how the 2014 tax laws affect you? I couldn’t believe how much of a marriage penalty Congress created. We’re back to the bad old days, when my best advice for folks in the top tax brackets was to get a divorce. Divorce can be good for your [...]
How to Help Ensure You Leave Your Family an Inheritance
You may have considered leaving an inheritance to someone close to you—a child, a sibling, or perhaps your best friend. While it’s nice to know that you might make someone’s life a little easier by giving him or her money, real estate, or personal property, it’s also daunting to figure out how to go about [...]