Establishing Good Credit in College After you get that first card, how can you build up your FICO score? Good credit opens doors. It is vital to securing a loan, starting a business, and buying a home. When you establish and maintain good credit in college, you create a positive financial profile for yourself that can win over lenders, landlords, and potential employers. Unfortunately, some college students do not [...]
A Look at HSAs Health Savings Accounts may provide you with remarkable tax advantages. Why do higher-income households inquire about Health Savings Accounts? They have heard about what an HSA can potentially offer them: a pool of tax-exempt dollars for health care, a path to tax savings, even a possible source of retirement income after age 65. You may want to look at this option yourself. About 26 million Americans now have HSAs. You must enroll in a high-deductible health [...]
When a Family Member Dies A financial checklist for the most difficult of times. The passing of a loved one irrevocably alters family life. After a death, there is so much to attend to; it is better to do it sooner rather than later. Here, then, is a list of what commonly needs to be looked after. Request copies of the death certificate. Depending on where you live, you have two or three places to turn to for this document. [...]
Preparing to Retire Single Unmarrieds need to approach retirement planning pragmatically. In an ideal world, it would be simple to prepare for a solo retirement. You would just save half as much as a couple saves, buy half as much insurance coverage, and expect to live on half the income. Reality dictates otherwise. Real-world planning for a solo retirement begins with an assumption. You assume, at some point, [...]
Build Your Rainy Day Fund Like an emergency fund, it can come in handy. Sometimes, life gets expensive. A little bad luck or a twist of fate can hit us right in the checkbook and challenge us to live within our budget. An emergency fund may help us handle major financial disruptions. For the minor ones, a rainy day fund may suffice. A rainy day fund and an emergency fund differ in scale, but not purpose. Both funds are designed [...]
