Have you ever dreamed of ditching the 9-to-5 grind and living life on your own terms? Retiring early is an appealing fantasy for many. The idea of escaping the daily work routine decades ahead of schedule is enticing. But is retiring early realistic or just a pipe dream for most people? Let’s move on to see how to retire early and what it takes. View full post…
Raising financially responsible children is no easy task, but if done right, it can be incredibly gratifying. Teaching your kids the value of hard work, budgeting, and planning for their future will not only help them to be successful adults, but also free them from the burden of debt and other financial problems.
It’s never too early to start equipping your children with all the money knowledge and finance basics skills they need to become View full post…
You’ve finally taken that big step and have retired. You look back and realize that you’ve been paying a lot of different taxes all throughout your working years. Most taxes have been paid on your wages like federal and state income taxes, social security tax, and Medicare tax, but now, some of that will change. When you do your taxes by yourself, they might View full post…
For many individuals, retirement means switching to a life style that is more relaxed, and having more time to do all of the things you couldn’t do before. Some like to travel, take up hobbies, and take part in recreational activities. For many others though, it’s a time of worry and apprehension because they didn’t save up for retirement the way they should have.
The pandemic created even more problems View full post…
If you make huge money mistakes early on in your life, it could have a negative effect on your future. This is why young people starting out in their career need to be very careful in making financial choices. Any of the 7 money mistakes listed here could easily develop into a habit that could have a lasting impact on View full post…
If there’s one sure thing in life, it’s that times and conditions will change. People that retired many years ago are now facing some of the results of that change. We now have higher taxes, low interest rates, and people, on average, are living longer. It may be time for View full post…
(BPT) – How do I plan for a comfortable retirement? This question is top of mind for many Americans. Yet how to afford that dream retirement remains a mystery to most. According to The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2019 Retirement Confidence Survey, only 42% of working-age people have tried to calculate just how much they need to save to live comfortably in retirement.
But “how much money you need to retire” is not the only retirement questions you should be asking — and not even the initial one. There are a few key questions you should consider first to help determine what “retirement” means to you, which will help paint a clearer picture of that magic savings number. Before you pull out your calculator, consider these View full post…
(BPT) – As their 65th birthday looms, many people eagerly anticipate the affordable access to health care that Medicare will provide. After all, Medicare covers everything, right? Not exactly. Because of this common misconception, many people are caught off guard when they realize that each one of the dozens of Medicare options available to them comes with its own set of out-of-pocket cost implications. In fact, a survey of the newly retired found 43 percent are spending more on health care than they had planned & have a hard time understanding Medicare Facts & Myths.
The more you know about Medicare plans and costs, the better prepared you’ll be to avoid unpleasant surprises. Think you’re savvy enough to discern myth from fact when it comes to your health care costs in retirement? Read on to put your knowledge to the test.
Myth: When comparing Medicare plans, it’s best to choose the lowest-premium option to help minimize your costs.
Medicare Fact: While premiums are an important factor when choosing a health care plan, they should View full post…
This topic is a hot potato in many respects. Should the parent’s primary responsibility be to save for the child’s education first or to save for retirement? The answers to that question will vary depending upon who responds – the parent or the child.
As parents, we know all too well how high college costs are and the student loan problems that exist today. We all want our children to be successful and have many of the financial advantages that we didn’t have. Student loans now average $35,000 to $37,000 per college graduate, and no parent wants this burden for their child.
However, many financial advisers are of the opinion that a parent can take better care of the child if they take care of themselves first. By this, they mean that the parent should save for retirement first, then college. Following are some of the reasons View full post…
If you’re employed by a firm that has a 401(k) plan, you know how to save for retirement…it’s a no brainer. But suppose you’re an entrepreneur who just started a new business?
More often than not, saving for retirement isn’t a priority at this time. The new business isn’t making a profit and cash flow is very limited due to the high start-up costs. As a matter of fact, some entrepreneurs use current retirement accounts to fund the new business, which is not a good idea.
The primary focus when starting a new business is View full post…
