The importance of budgeting is undeniable, but many don’t do it because it is time consuming and difficult. Learn how to build a basic budget in 15 minutes which meets both your financial needs and goals.
The debate about whether a budget is a necessity or a waste of time often centers on a fundamentally flawed definition of budgeting. The exercise of budgeting shouldn’t be designed to limit you, but to give you the freedom to spend money in the manner you wish to spend it.
There is a lot of talk in the financial media about the benefits of automating your finances. But what exactly does that mean? And how do you go about doing it? Here’s one simple method of automating your finances which ties your budget in with your pay.
The importance of budgeting is undeniable, but many don’t do it because it is time consuming and difficult. Learn how to build a basic budget in 15 minutes which meets both your financial needs and goals.
Inflation is an insidious beast, and it’s surprisingly more dangerous than a market crash.
How would a slight increase in expected inflation impact your retirement plans? For the vast majority of my clients, inflation is the single biggest concern when stress testing the analysis and statistical models of their retirement plan.
The most recent Equifax data breach has left the door wide open on personal security. Getting your credit report is just the first step in protecting your identity. To fully protect your identity, you'll need to go beyond the three big credit bureaus to protect yourself against banking fraud, tax fraud, Social Security fraud, and other criminal activities.
In the wake of the Equifax Data Breach, consumers are justifiably fearful of their financial security and how the stolen information could be used against them. This fear, however, is creating an opportunity for scammers to extract even more information from consumers, or to make new victims by stealing information from people who are not part of the original security breach.
The Equifax response to the 2017 cyberattack is a good start but falls far short of what is needed for the company to live up to their responsibilities. Equifax's current offer to victims does not address the magnitude of the damage which was caused by the breach, and the true cost of Equifax's mistakes will be borne by consumers.
Calculating the right amount of insurance is as much art as it is science. There are a wide variety of methods developed to calculate life insurance needs, including ones that rely on rules of thumb and make it easy to come to a number. Simpler methods make calculating your life insurance needs so simple you can do it in a few seconds with a calculator. But are they accurate?
Life insurance isn't a "set it and forget it" part of your financial plan. Each year you will need to review your life insurance needs and see if you have enough life insurance to provide for your family. Even though it's not comfortable, asking these questions each year can help you determine if your family has enough life insurance to provide for their needs.
Health Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, and Flexible Spending Accounts all offer you ways to manage the costs of healthcare by providing a mix of tax savings, investment growth, and free money. Learn more about what each account does and the potential benefits they could provide you.
Health Savings Accounts, if you qualify for them, provide you with a wide variety of advantages, including: lowering your income taxes, providing tax-free growth for investments, allowing you to increase your retirement savings caps, and giving you greater flexibility for spending your 401k and IRA funds.
