WEEKLY QUOTE“Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes WEEKLY TIP If you want to improve your credit score, an inactive credit card will not help (and it may even hurt). The key factors in credit score determination are recent activity and recent...
WEEKLY QUOTE“In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy.”- J. Paul Getty WEEKLY TIP If you are getting married and want to buy a home, consider setting up a wedding registry that collects money specifically for a down payment. WEEKLY RIDDLE What item binds two people yet touches...
The frenzy is building. Should you care? Anticipation is high. Facebook filed an S-1 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 1, taking its first big step toward going public. It aims to raise $5 billion through its upcoming IPO. Some of the details...
The economy grew 2.8% in Q4, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Our economy is reasonably healthy… or is it? By the initial estimate of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, America’s fourth-quarter GDP was +2.8%, not bad, but not what economists anticipated.1 How could the best...
WEEKLY QUOTE“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.” - David Brinkley WEEKLY TIP When it comes to couples and money, a plan is better than an assumption. Discuss your financial goals together and stick to the...
A noted economist disputes that generalization. True or false? You may have heard this claim before (or something like it): “Many Americans are being forced to retire later because their savings and investments took a hit in the Great Recession.” Recently a big-name economist disputed that belief....
WEEKLY QUOTE“If you would be loved, love and be lovable.”- Benjamin Franklin WEEKLY TIP As your retirement progresses, your retirement strategy should be reviewed in light of budgeting and inflation concerns and the current financial climate. WEEKLY RIDDLE A lone pine tree stands on a cliff. The wind is blowing from the...
WEEKLY QUOTE“Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” - Robert Louis Stevenson WEEKLY TIP Spending and value should go hand in hand. Reduce or forego spending money on things that don’t bring you much value. WEEKLY RIDDLE It has no crown, yet when the chips...
Meeting your obligations and finding some opportunities. After you turn 70½, the IRS requires you to withdraw some of the money in your retirement savings accounts each year. These withdrawals are officially called Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs).1 While you never have to make withdrawals from a Roth...
Two-thirds of us have no financial plan. 64% of Americans have no financial strategy at all. That’s right – no plan whatsoever to build wealth or keep it. That finding comes from the 2009 National Consumer Survey on Personal Finance conducted by the Certified Financial Planner...