Financial Stress – Is Stress Negatively Impacting Your Finances?

financial stress

An April 2020 survey released by the National Endowment for Financial Education found that 88% of Americans were reportedly stressed about finances as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Of those respondents, 54% said they were stressed about not saving enough money (for emergency savings and/or retirement), 29% were concerned about fluctuating income, and 48% were stressed about paying regular bills like mortgage/rent, utilities, and healthcare. Considering the fact that Covid-19 has impacted almost everyone on Earth in some capacity, it’s understandable if you’re also feeling stressed about money matters lately. Even with the vaccination rollouts, it’ll be months – if not years – before we return to any semblance of “normal” life. Since uncertainty about the future can create … Read more

Should You Reinvest Dividends or Take the Cash – Two Investing Strategies

Great dividend stocks you should love

When you invest in a company, the company will pay out dividends to its shareholders. Reinvesting dividends is when you reinvest those dividends back into the same stocks that are paying them. Reinvesting can help build your portfolio faster and make more money over time, but it does come with risks. If you’re not sure what to do or if you need some guidance on investment strategies for your portfolio, this article should be able to provide some insight! Many people are faced with the decision of whether they should reinvest dividends or take the cash. Reinvesting dividends can be a great way to grow your investment portfolio, but it can also result in less spending money if you don’t … Read more

How I Plan to Maintain My Lifestyle in Retirement

Why You Should Still Make IRA Contributions After Retirement

Note – The following post is the 3rd and final article in a series of retirement education blog posts on Money Q&A and sponsored by USAA. Be sure to check out the 1st and 2nd articles in the series, “Am I Saving Enough for Retirement?” and “How Long Will My Retirement Savings Last?”. Like always, all opinions are my own about every topic, including choosing a lifestyle in retirement. With the cost of living rising at what seems like rapid rates every year, adults of all ages are beginning to wonder how they’ll ever manage to retire and still maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed during their working years. The concern to maintain a consistent standard of living during … Read more

What to Know Before You Invest in a Rental Property

How To Evaluate The Rate Of Return On Rental Property

Buying a second home may seem like an extravagance in today’s cash-strapped economy, but it can potentially become a secondary source of income. With low home prices and interest rates, this may be an ideal time to become a real estate investor. However, you’ll want to conduct your research carefully and keep the following tips in mind before you invest in real estate and sink your money into a rental or holiday property. Invest in Real Estate and Rental Property Look at Different Types of Investments Before you invest in real estate and make this significant investment, you’ll need to look at all of your options closely. Some investors look for a vacation home that they can rent out on … Read more

What Is Payment for Order Flow and Why Investors Should Care About It

stock prices

Payment for order flow is payment from a broker to a stock exchange for directing stock market orders its way. The payment may not be in the form of cash but rather as a credit to the broker’s trading account on the exchange. Payment for order flow can significantly impact market quality and liquidity because it incentivizes brokers to send their trading exclusively to specific stock exchanges. The practice has recently emerged as an important issue that investors should care about because of its effects on the market and liquidity. What You Need to Know About Payment for Order Flow Why Investors Should Care One of the key problems with payment for order flow is that it incentivizes brokers to … Read more

Top 9 Simple Strategies for Overcoming Lifestyle Creep in Your Budget

Reasons to Add Fun Money to Your Budget

When you start making more money through your business, job, or investments, the next thing that typically happens is you start spending money more freely because you can finally afford to do so. There is a danger of lifestyle creep. Unfortunately, our desire to disregard our budgetary restrictions comes with a serious downside. We won’t make much progress in our financial goals if we’re too busy spending money and living at our means. It’s nice to have a little cash to wave around, especially if that wasn’t always the case. Nevertheless, you really need to rein it in, or you’ll end up practicing lifestyle creep. What’s that? In a nutshell, it dwells on the logic that an increase in income … Read more