The first rule of financial planning is that you need to have an emergency cash reserve which is sufficient to cover your living expenses for at least three to six months. At the same time, there is no need for you to park your funds in a savings account which offers negligible returns, and that’s […]
Forced retirement is a problem many folks are grappling with these days. Around 37% of retirees in the country leave work earlier than they had expected, typically due to health problems, layoffs, shutdowns and cutbacks. Many forced to retire early struggle with their day-to-day expenses as a result of losing their only source of income. […]
Some people pick up frugal habits early, learning from their parents or grandparents. Others may develop the habit of frugality after going through financial troubles. Frugal people’s view of money is different for many reasons, the topmost of them being that managing money effectively is the key to financial freedom. Whatever the reasons, the point […]
Someone once said that it takes guts to grow up and accept maturity, to become an adult. This is particularly important when the economy veers toward hard times and a recession looms. Here are four recession-proof and decent-paying jobs you should always consider in times of need. Law enforcement If there is any job that […]
A Roth individual retirement account (IRA) is a powerful financial tool that offers unique advantages for retirement savings. Unlike traditional IRAs, contributions to a Roth IRA are made with after-tax dollars, meaning withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. In this blog post, we will explore how to effectively utilize the money in your Roth IRA during […]
Is your goal to retire with $1 million? That’s a goal for many, and not an unreasonable goal to have. After all, $1 million is likely to generate about $40,000 a year as a safe withdrawal rate. Add to that the typical Social Security payout of about $19,000 and you have an annual income that’s […]
Diamonds are inherently worthless, believe it or not. Before the late 1800s they were extremely rare, which made them valuable. Cecil Rhodes found plentiful diamond mines in South Africa and flooded the market in the early 1900s. Later, he created a diamond cartel to control supply and maintain high prices. Diamond supplies thus are strategically […]
Many freelancers would benefit from saving into a new kind of 401(k) just for them. Unlike corporate plans, these are easy and cheap to administer. Contribution limits are much higher than other small business plans of the past. Many Americans rely on their employer-sponsored 401(k) plans to save for retirement. But what about all those […]
Tourists behaving badly is not a new phenomenon. What is new is that the digital age means such antics are instantaneously viewable for the world to see. One French couple was arrested recently in Italy for trying to take 90 pounds of white sand from a Sardinia beach. The beach is protected for a reason. […]
Are you carrying a painfully large balance on your credit card? Are you finding it difficult to make payments every month? If so, you are certainly not alone. Data from the Federal Reserve shows that more than 40% of the households in the country have credit card debt. The amount of debt carried by the […]
