A new series of consumer surveys from Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP®Board) reveals four distinct groups of Americans based on their saving patterns, including one segment that exhibits optimism about their financial futures even while wrestling with the sharp competing interests of saving monthly, paying down debt and meeting retirement goals. The…
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Your retirement may seem near at hand or far away, but one thing is certain: your future will differ from your present. Financially, that fact is worth remembering. Some of the costs you have paid regularly all these years may suddenly decrease or fade away. Others may increase. Will your insurance costs rise with age?…
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Should you own your home free and clear before you retire? At first glance, the answer would seem to be “absolutely, if at all possible.” Retiring with less debt … isn’t that a good thing? Why not make a few extra mortgage payments to get the job done? In reality, things are not so cut…
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Robert Pagliarini and his latest book, The Sudden Wealth Solution: 12 Principles to Transform Sudden Wealth Into Lasting Wealth, were recently featured on the Goldstein on Gelt Show. In the episode, Robert discusses how you can find proper financial help and guidance if you receive a sudden windfall — either from an inheritance, lawsuit, lottery win, or any…
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$6,876. That is the average amount of credit card debt owed by an American household headed up by an individual aged 65-69. If you are newly retired or close to retiring, that figure may alarm you. It is more than twice the amount of Social Security’s maximum monthly income payment. Credit card use is surging,…
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Just how many millionaires does America have? By the latest estimation of Spectrem Group, a research firm studying affluent and high net worth investors, it has more than ever before. In 2015, the U.S. had 10.4 million households with assets of $1 million or greater, aside from their homes. That represents a 3% increase from…
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September is National Life Insurance Awareness Month – a good time to think about the value and importance of insuring yourself. According to a recent Bankrate survey, 42% of Americans have no life insurance at all. They may not know that life insurance coverage has become much more affordable than it once was. Many people…
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Will you receive tax-free money in retirement? Some retirees do. You should know about some of your options for tax-free retirement distributions, some of which are less publicized than others. Qualified distributions from Roth accounts are tax-free. If you own a Roth IRA or have a Roth retirement account at work, you can take a…
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Man is Mortal. That makes life insurance a little unique and interesting, doesn’t it? We purchase things like health insurance, car insurance and home insurance, then hope we never have a need to use them. Life insurance is different because it’s a widely accepted fact that, sooner or later, each one of us will die.…
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As Bankrate.com noted, 43% of Americans have no life insurance. Some view it as optional; some have simply procrastinated when it comes to buying a policy. Others believe that they can’t afford it. In reality, life insurance is cheap today. If you just want term life coverage – essentially, life insurance that you “rent” for…
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