Personal Finance

The following is a guest post by Anthony Delauney, author of Owning the Dash: The No-Regrets Retirement Roadmap. If you’d like to submit a guest post to Money Q&A, be sure to check out our Guest Posting Guidelines. We often associate financial success with achieving a target amount of wealth, finding the ‘hot’ stock, or discovering the most cost-efficient way to achieve the maximum rate of return. In essence, it’s all about the money. It’s a rat race to see how much better you can do than your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers, and even your own family. Some individuals love to share success stories about when they bought into a certain company or cryptocurrency or real estate holding and … Read more

Budgeting can be a challenge for many people, even if you’re good with numbers and diligent about regularly tracking your income and expenses. Sometimes, life gets in the way, and the budget goes out the window, whether it’s due to an unexpected and costly emergency or an extended period of impulsive shopping and overspending. But, what do you do when your budget fails and goes off-kilter? Steps to Take When Your Budget Fails The first step to getting back on track with your budget is by recognizing there’s a problem. Denial can be a powerful defense mechanism against confronting a problem spending habit, so there’s no point in making excuses like “I’ll spend within my means next month” or “It’s … Read more

Queen Elizabeth II has reigned as queen ever since, nearly 70 years. In her lifetime, she has achieved it all — power, prestige, and perhaps most significantly, wealth. But, how much is the royal family worth? According to Forbes, the British royal family is now worth over $28 billion; that’s more money than the entire GDP of Iceland. The queen herself is estimated to have a net worth of over $600 million, most of which comes from her investments, jewels, and two castles. The queen may be sitting comfortably, but how about the other members of the royal family? Sit back, pour yourself a cup of tea, and check out our latest infographic to find out the net worth of your favorite royals. … Read more

Millions of people love and own pets in the U.S., even though some pet care expenses can rival the costs of having kids in some instances. To make pet care more affordable, many people have embraced the plethora of pet-friendly side gigs as a means for animal lovers to supplement their income while doing something they love. How Animal Lovers Can Make Money Side Hustling If you’ve been looking for viable work from home opportunities then consider some of the following side hustles and small business ideas for animal lovers who love being around animals. Professional Petsitting Petsitting is an excellent option for people with flexible job schedules and minimal responsibilities at home (e.g., no or low-maintenance pets, no young … Read more

Divorce is expensive for anyone, but especially for the rich. After 27 years of marriage, Bill and Melinda Gates officially separated this month. While the exact details of their settlement are likely still ongoing, Melinda French Gates could receive as much as $63.5 billion in assets – by far the most in history.  This unfathomable transfer of wealth has only been seen a few times in history. The most recent of which was in 2019 when MacKenzie Scott received $38 billion USD in Amazon stock from former husband Jeff Bezos for their divorce. The following infographic on the most expensive divorces first appeared on the ACE Cash Express blog and is reprinted with permission.

A living trust, or inter vivos trust, is a trust you set up while alive. It places your assets into a trust to be managed by a third party for your benefit. At your death, the assets are distributed to a chosen beneficiary.  In many states, the assets are transferred to the living trust beneficiary without going through probate at death. Living trusts can assist limit estate investigation by limiting taxable value and avoiding property loss due to a lack of knowledge about it being a part of a living trust. They allow for simple modifications if necessary, and they offer more control over who receives what when someone dies without a will. Avoid Probate in Multiple Jurisdictions Avoid Probate Entirely Avoid … Read more