Saving Early & Letting Time Work for You The earlier you start pursuing financial goals, the better your outcome may be. As a young investor, you have a powerful ally on your side: time. When you start saving and investing for retirement in your twenties or thirties, you can put it to work for you. The effect of compounding is huge. Most people underestimate it, so it is worth illustrating. We will use reasonable annual return rates to do [...]
Protecting Yourself Against Cyberattacks How vulnerable is your data? 25% of Americans were cyberhacked between March 2014 and March 2015. The American Institute of CPAs announced that alarming discovery in April, publishing the results of a survey conducted by Harris Poll. Disturbing? Certainly, but the instances of pre-retirees being victimized were even greater 34% of adults aged 55-64 reported having their data stolen or compromised within that period.1 Small businesses are also commonly victimized. While identity theft has [...]
Mid-Life Money Errors If you are between 40 & 60, beware of these financial blunders & assumptions. Between the ages of 40 and 60, many people increase their commitment to investing and retirement saving. At the same time, many fall prey to some common money blunders and harbor financial assumptions that may be inaccurate. These errors and suppositions are worth examining, as you do not want to succumb to them. See if you notice any of these behaviors or assumptions [...]
You Could Retire...But Should You? It might be better to wait a bit longer. Some people retire at first opportunity, only to wish they had waited longer. Thanks to Wall Street’s long bull run, many pre-retirees have seen their savings fully recover from the shock of the 2007-09 bear market to the point where they appear to have reached the “magic number.” You may be one of them – but just because you can retire does not necessarily mean [...]
Reining in Your Debt Americans are spending freely again. That has a downside. As the Great Recession faded, American household debt gradually decreased. In fact, it declined by $1 trillion between mid-2008 and mid-2014, according to the Federal Reserve.1 Now household debt is increasing once more. The Fed found it climbing by $78 billion (0.7%) during Q3 2014.1 On the macroeconomic level, that can be interpreted as a positive: it hints at greater consumer spending, easier credit, and more [...]