May 2020

Top 10 Ways to Manage Your Debt for a Brighter Tomorrow

There is no skirting around the issue; debt can ruin your life and the lives of those you are closest to. It can be easy for debt to spiral out of control; however, you can regain control. If you’ve struggled to manage your debts, you need to make decisive changes to handle your finances. Here are ten ways that you can manage your debt so that you can eventually be debt-free. 1. Know How Much You Owe If you have several debts, it can be easy to lose track of how much you owe exactly. It may have gotten to the point where you ignore bank statements and bills as they drop through your letterbox. Avoiding the problem is only going to … Read more

Do Your Investments Suffer From Mutual Fund Overlap?

by Hank Coleman

How many mutual funds do you invest in? Do you have several funds spread out between Roth IRAs, or do you invest in several mutual funds through your company’s 401k retirement plan? Do you know which stocks those funds invest in? You may suffer from mutual fund overlap. You may be surprised to learn that many of these mutual funds overlap. There can be a real danger in overlap, and you may not as diversified as you think. What Is Mutual Fund Overlap? When a mutual fund does well, investors pile into the investment. Eventually, you wind up with incredibly large mutual funds. For example, the Fidelity Contra Fund (Ticker Symbol – FCNTX) has over $56 billion in total assets … Read more

Young Investors Hold Too Much Cash in Their Portfolios

by Hank Coleman

A recent survey by MFS Investment Management, the nation’s oldest mutual fund company, found that young investors are staying away from the stock market and holding large cash positions. In fact, the survey shows that the youngest investors, those of Generation Y, are actually increasing their cash positions in their nest eggs while shunning the stock market to a large degree. While it can make young investors have a little better feeling when they try and simply protect their principle, far too many young investors have too much of their portfolio in cash. How Much Cash Is Too Much? The survey by MFS Investment Management found that Generation Y investors, which are defined as young adults who were born in … Read more

What Are the Benefits of Consumer Proposals?

by Guest Contributor

You’ve tried a long list of strategies to pull yourself out of serious debt. You’ve tried credit counseling, budgeting apps, money-saving challenges, loans, and lottery tickets, and you’re still not out of this financial rut. Before you throw in the towel and prepare to file for personal bankruptcy, you should learn about one more debt relief strategy: consumer proposals. What Is a Consumer Proposal? A consumer proposal is a debt relief strategy meant for individuals that have less than $250,000 in debt (not including the mortgage of their primary residence). The proposal is a legally binding agreement made between a debtor and their creditors, lowering their total debt amount in order to make their repayment more manageable. The debtor can … Read more

Three Ways To Ruin Your Own Financial Recovery

by Hank Coleman

Don't trip up your own financial recovery.

Things are looking up with the economy as more economic indicators are turning positive. In the past couple of weeks, we have seen positive signs from unemployment, housing starts, consumer spending, and of course the stock market. But, how can you have a financial recovery? But, there are a few ways that you can trip yourself up and screw up your own personal financial recovery. It does not have to be that way though. You can avoid these stumbling blocks and continue your own recovery. Three Ways to Ruin Your Financial Recovery Not Being in the Stock Market No matter how much we wish we could, the truth of the matter is that we simply cannot time the stock market. … Read more

Top 3 Cost-Effective Ways You Can Save on Electricity Bill

by Guest Contributor

We all want to make big savings every time, and the good thing is, we don’t need to look much farther than our homes. There are many hassle-free ways to cut costs on electricity. Let us check out some of the better and more cost-effective ways to save on electricity bill. Opt for Small Neon Bulbs Although it is a little advancement for your home, using CFL bulbs will undoubtedly cut the utility bill by approximately $25 yearly. CFL lights use one-third of the power of other conventional light bulbs. CFLs also last 10 times longer than other lights. By saving electricity, the homeowner pays fewer bills and does their part to keep the environment healthy. It is a fact … Read more