How Much Home Can You Afford? That depends on a number of factors. Check on them to see if you are ready to buy. Does buying a home make sense for you financially? It may or may not, depending on some financial, career, and lifestyle factors. Your savings, your credit, your salary, your level of disposable income, and your housing preferences all count. If you are serious about becoming a homeowner, you should have three priorities: keeping your credit score [...]
Social Security: Myths vs. Facts Dispelling some misperceptions about the program. Some myths & misperceptions keep circulating about Social Security. These are worth dispelling, as more and more baby boomers are becoming eligible for their retirement benefits. Myth #1: Social Security will go away before you do. The federal government has announced that Social Security may become insolvent between 2033 and 2037 if no action is taken – but it is practically a given that Congress will act on the [...]
Think About Your Lifestyle Before You Retire Sometimes planning for retirement isn’t entirely about money. How many words have been written about retirement? It’s a preoccupation for many, and we devote so much time, thought, and energy toward saving for the last day we go to work. Saving and investing in such a way that we no longer have to work may seem ideal at first, but it raises a question: what do you have planned for all of that [...]
The Many Benefits of a Roth IRA Why do so many people choose it rather than a traditional IRA? The Roth IRA changed the whole retirement savings perspective. Since its introduction, it has become a fixture in many retirement planning strategies. The key argument for going Roth can be summed up in a sentence: Paying taxes on retirement contributions today is better than paying taxes on retirement savings tomorrow. Here is a closer look at the trade-off you make [...]
What Will the Election Do to the Market? Will volatility seize Wall Street? Or will calm prevail? Wall Street has had a rather calm summer. How about fall? Will volatility increase before and after Election Day? So far, the market is performing roughly in line with historical patterns. In 19 of the prior 22 presidential election years, the S&P 500 advanced from June through October. The median gain for the index during that 5-month period: 4.1%.1 During those 22 election years, [...]