Author: Kevin Nast
08 Jul Rising Interest Rates. How might they affect investments, housing & retirees?
How will Wall Street fare if interest rates climb back to historic norms? Rising interest rates could certainly impact investments, the real estate market and the overall economy – but their influence might not be as negative as some perceive. Why are rates rising? You can...
02 Jul Bad Spending Habits That Can Be Corrected. A little frugality may lead to a lot of financial progress.
Americans have a great deal of disposable income relative to many other nations, yet our free spending can take us further and further away from the potential for financial freedom. Some people fall into crippling spending habits and injure their finances as a consequence. Bad habit:...
21 Jun The Inevitability of Risk
How do you contend with it? How do you avoid letting it unnerve you? If you want significant reward potential, you will have to assume some risk. Anyone investing in securities – particularly stocks – must accept that reality. Investing in the markets gives you an opportunity...
04 Jun 72(t) Distributions
Sometimes you can take penalty-free early withdrawals from retirement accounts. Do you need to access your retirement money early? Usually, anyone who takes money out of an IRA or a retirement plan prior to age 59½ faces a 10% early withdrawal penalty on the distribution. That...
23 May Flash Boys Takes Aim at Wall Street. A new best-seller makes two provocative assertions. But how true are they?
Is Wall Street out of control? Main Street and Wall Street are abuzz over Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, the new book from Berkeley-based journalist Michael Lewis (author of Moneyball and The Blind Side, London School of Economics graduate and former bond salesman). Flash Boys...
17 May Should You Reduce Risk Exposure As You Get Older? A study suggests the “conventional wisdom” may be flawed.
If you move away from equities with age, are you making a mistake? For some time, financial professionals have encouraged investors to lessen their exposure to the stock market as they get older. After all, a 60-year-old has less time to recover from a market...
12 May The Heartbleed Threat. How vulnerable are your accounts?
A plague at the heart of the Internet. Anyone who ventures online should be aware of the risks posed by Heartbleed, the biggest threat to Internet security in at least a couple of years. All Internet users need to respond to its reality. What is it?...
01 May Tax Scams & Schemes
The “dirty dozen” that criminals & cheats try to get away with year-round. Year after year, criminals try to scam certain taxpayers. Year after year, certain taxpayers resort to schemes in an effort to put one over on the IRS. These cons occur year-round, not just...
17 Apr The Retirement We Imagine, the Retirement We Live
Examining the potential differences between assumption & reality. Financially, how might retirement differ from your expectations? To some degree, it will. Just as few weather casters can accurately predict a month’s worth of temperatures and storms, few retirees find their financial futures playing out as precisely...