Moving out from the family home as a first time renter is an incredibly exciting, yet exhausting and stressful process for many people. Whether you’re a young college student or a professional who’s been living with their parents to save money, eventually leaving the nest and finding a place of your own is pretty much inevitable. However, taking out a mortgage right after leaving the parents’ home would be financially unfeasible for most people, which means your first independent living experience will probably be renting a room or apartment. Renting is becoming the “new normal” in America, according to a June 2015 story from The New York Times, and statistics compiled by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University … Read more
Financial Management is not an academic subject. No one gets exam marks to indicate how they are progressing with the subject. It is a matter of making good decisions and learning from any mistakes which hopefully are not too costly. The USA consumer finance statistics are fairly disturbing. There are too much credit card debt and certainly insufficient retirement savings in society. Some people must be stressed every time they open their credit card statement or read about the Social Security System’s problems and the fact that an insufficient number of people are saving enough for a comfortable retirement. The sooner you get into the habit of saving and spending sensibly the better your chances of living a trouble-free future. … Read more
Lauren Greutman is everywoman. And her tale of coming back from a life of debt is inspiring. In her new book, The Recovering Spender, Lauren Greutman lays out her mistakes (like many of us), how she overcame them, and then how you can too. The Recovering Spender by Lauren Greutman is half memoir and half “how to” book on taking back control over your finances and control over your spending. I’ve often been critical of my fellow personal finance bloggers. Most of them fall into two camps. They typically are: #1 – fall along as I chronicle my life getting out of the massive credit card and student loan debt that I’ve created. #2 – financial experts with the degrees … Read more
While the internet is abuzz with news of the imminent iPhone 7 launch – boasting, among other things, the end of the Headphone jack that we have all come to love, waterproof abilities and an improved camera – you would be forgiven for leaving mouth agape and light-headed at the ‘prescribed’ price tag at which the device will be offered to the UK consumer market.
As traders and spread betting companies will be well aware, the Pound has taken a rather intense beating thanks to the successful Brexit vote, and while recent sentiment has been positive in the market place, it seems that Apple has decided to take no prisoners when it comes to their latest release.
While the US has seen limited changes to their original price tags, the loss of a 16GB version means that the entry model for the iPhone 7 is now £599 and their top spec version is £799. Should you opt for the ‘Plus’ option instead however, you can expect to fork out even more, spending somewhere in the region of £719 to £919 dependent on your choice of Internal Storage space.
I’m usually not an early adopter of new technology and gadgets. But this time is different. This time, I am trading in my old iPhone 5 and taking advantage of my Apple iPhone upgrade eligibility to purchase a new iPhone 7. Last week, after months of rumors, Apple finally unveiled the new iPhone 7 to the public and started taking preorders. So, I went to my local Verizon store and preordered one. There are many reasons why I took the plunge despite not being an early adopter type of person. See my rationale below. This week, customers can start receiving their pre-ordered phones. And you can also start purchasing new iPhone 7 smartphones this week if they are available. Lock … Read more
Here is the next installment in our Reader’s Questions Series, which highlight questions emailed to me by you, the readers of Money Q&A. This time we’re talking about income replacement with dividends when you retire.
Be sure to find out at the end of this article how you can receive a free copy of Dave Ramsey’s book, The Total Money Makeover. If you’re not familiar with Dave Ramsey’s book, you should run right out and get it. It is one of the best personal finance books that everyone should read. Now….on to our reader’s question. This week’s Reader Question is from Ralph who writes…
“I am 54 and planning on retiring in another 10 years. I recently read a book about income investing where you buy stocks that distribute income through dividends. And, you use that for any monthly shortfalls between what you receive in social security, 401k, etc. and what you need to live on. But, the book never said at what time to start doing this. Is it when you are retired, couple years before you retire?”
The short answer to Ralph’s question is that you should probably start investing in dividend paying stocks as early as you can in life. Like most investments, the best thing young investors have is time on their side.
I personally wouldn’t wait until you retire to start investing in dividend paying stocks, although you certainly can do that if you choose. It would take a lot of cash to buy enough shares of stock to generate the dividends needed for income replacement in one shot though. Buying a little along until retirement would be more feasible for most investors. Below are the details of what it would take.
Income Replacement with Dividend Stocks
For most people, it will take a lot of shares of stock to generate the replacement income needed in retirement from dividends. Assuming that most investors won’t have piles of cash available invest in a lot of stock when they hit retirement age, it’s best to start buying dividend paying stock as early as possible.
“Earlier is better than later to start moving money into dividend paying stocks,” says Blake, publisher and blogger at the popular personal finance site, The Dividend Pig. “Or, if you have a large amount of cash and want wait, you can purchase shares as you get closer to retirement age.”
In that case, Blake recommends at least starting to research which companies you’ll want to own, at what price per share, and exactly how much income you will need to replace with dividends.
While the internet is abuzz with news of the imminent iPhone 7 launch – boasting, among other things, the end of the Headphone jack that we have all come to love, waterproof abilities and an improved camera – you would be forgiven for leaving mouth agape and light-headed at the ‘prescribed’ price tag at which the device will be offered to the UK consumer market.
