Guide to Investing in Your 30s – What You Need to Know

family

Everyone matures at their own pace, but generally speaking, your 30s are a time when you’re no longer spending money as frivolously as you did when you were younger and you’re starting to get really serious about how you want to map out and pursue your financial goals for the rest of your life. You need to learn about investing in your 30s. Whereas 20-somethings are still figuring out who they are and what they want to do in the future, a 30-something is likely established in their career, ready to start (or already started) a family, considering the possibility of buying a home (primary residence or rental property, if you already have the first one), and is getting serious … Read more

How Rising Healthcare Costs Can Frustrate Your Retirement Dreams

Benefits of a health savings account

Although elderly people (ages 65 and older) only account for 16% of the current U.S. population, data from the Kaiser Family Foundation found this age group accounts for 36% of all healthcare spending in the U.S. each year. When you factor in people 55+ years old, this demographic comprises just 29% of the U.S. population but accounts for 56% of all healthcare spending. The fact that older people have more expensive, more frequent healthcare needs than younger people is no surprise, but it’s alarming to see just how much money quality geriatric care requires, especially in a time when healthcare costs are rising much more quickly than wage growth and cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for social programs like Social Security. The … Read more

What Affects Stock Price and Makes Prices Move?

Tips and Hints for Your First Stock Market Investment

Everyone knows that the stock market fluctuates frequently and that it increases and decreases sometimes by large amounts. But why do the stock prices change? What are the factors that cause the changes? It’s important to identify the forces that cause this volatility. Here are some of the key reasons why stock prices fluctuate. The Economy  When there are changes in the economy it has a direct impact on the stock market. Whether this is a boom or a depression, you’ll see a change in stock prices the moment that this happens.  When the conditions are favorable, share prices will be at their peak, whereas when the conditions are unfavorable, you’ll see share prices drop dramatically – something that’s good … Read more

Can I Use a Roth IRA to Pay for College?

Which is better a public or private college?

Whether you have children or grandchildren who are looking to receive a college education in the future, you’ll be considering the ways in which you can effectively and efficiently put money aside to help them pay for college. You can do this in several ways, including utilizing your Roth IRA or setting up a 529 college savings plan. What is a Roth IRA? Before discussing the effectiveness of using a Roth IRA as a means to pay for college, it’s important first to identify exactly what it is. For those who aren’t familiar with this term, a Roth IRA is a type of retirement account that’s tax-free.  Any withdrawals made from it when you hit retirement age are also tax-free. … Read more

How to Save Money on Your Mortgage

Why is my house not selling?

Everyone wants to save money on the cost of owning a home, but very little people know how to save money on your mortgage.  A large monthly expense that many people can struggle to pay, it’s good to know efficient ways of decreasing your monthly payment so that it’s more manageable, and how to pay off your home loan quickly so that you don’t have years and years left on the term. The Perks of Paying Your Mortgage Early  You’ll own your own home – the sooner you’ve paid off your mortgage, the sooner you’ll own your own home. This helps to give you peace of mind that it won’t be repossessed if you ever miss a payment on it. … Read more

Do You Need Renters Insurance? Here’s What You Need to Know

Save Money and Time with Your Short-Term Rentals

When you’re renting an apartment, condo or single-family home, your landlord may or may not require renter’s insurance before signing the lease. Even if your landlord doesn’t require it however, you may still want to take out this insurance as a precaution against the potentially devastating consequences associated with personal property loss/damage and even the unlikely (yet possible) circumstance in which the residence becomes uninhabitable. Renter’s insurance can be a financial lifesaver in some cases, yet only one-third of renters actually take out a renter’s insurance policy (and many could be doing it solely because their landlord required it). Whereas a vast majority of homeowners have homeowner’s insurance – likely because mortgage lenders require it and some states even have … Read more