Filling Out the FAFSA There is really no reason to wait. November is here – the ideal time for college students to apply for financial aid. October 1, in fact, marks the first day a current or future college student can submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for the 2019-20 academic year. Since some states offer aid on a first-come, first-serve basis, submitting a FAFSA as soon as possible is wise.1,2 You can even apply using [...]
Guarding Against Identity Theft Take steps so criminals wont take vital information from you. America is enduring a data breach epidemic. The latest annual study of the problem from Javelin Strategy & Research, a leading financial analytics research firm, says that 16.7 million people across the nation were impacted by I.D. theft in 2017 an all-time high.1 The problem is getting worse much worse. Last year, 30% of U.S. consumers were alerted about data breaches by firms holding [...]
Save & Invest Even if Money Is Tight For millennials, today is the right time. If you are under 30, you have likely heard that now is the ideal time to save and invest. You know that the power of compound interest is on your side; you recognize the potential advantages of an early start. There is only one problem: you do not earn enough money to invest. You are barely getting by as it is. Regardless, the saving and [...]
Are Your Beneficiary Designations Up to Date? Who should inherit your IRA or 401(k)? See that they do Here’s a simple financial question: who is the beneficiary of your IRA? How about your 401(k) or annuity? You may be saying, “I’m not sure.” It is smart to periodically review your beneficiary designations. Your choices may need to change with the times. When did you open your first IRA? When did you buy your life insurance policy? Was it back [...]
Financial Fraudsters Preying on Boomers & Elders If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you are in or near retirement, it is a safe bet that you would like more yield from your investments rather than less. That truth sometimes leads liars, scammers, and fraudsters to pitch any number of too-good-to-be-true “investment opportunities” to retirees. Given all that and the classic money scams perpetrated on elders, you have good reason to be financially skeptical as [...]
