Today’s post will be a quick one but important. When you open a retirement account like an IRA or 401(k), the money you contribute often goes into a money market account. After you make a contribution, you still have to invest that money! Some folks open retirement accounts and think that because the money is…
Though the current average retirement age is 62, retirement culture is swiftly changing. Today’s college graduates may not be able to retire until 75. If you’re a decade or more away from retirement, that could mean your retirement is pushed back closer to your early seventies. The good news here is that this gives you…
Compound interest is pretty much a miracle. Albert Einstein called it the eighth wonder of the world. But if you read a lot of personal finance blogs, they’re all yelling at 20-somethings to open retirement accounts and using math formulas to show all the amazing compound interest you’ll save up by barely putting in anything.…
Having the money you need to retire doesn’t necessarily mean having a lot of money saved or having paid a lot into Social Security. By simply learning how to make smart financial decisions in retirement, you can still live well. You may not be taking a vacation to St. Tropez every year (or maybe you…
It’s never too early to think about retirement. It will come one day and those who even save a small amount while they are in their 20s are likely to have a much more comfortable and satisfying time than those that spend all their income as they go along. The Social Security System was never…
I am a list maker and a goal setter. How else do you achieve things if you don’t know what you want to achieve? I’ve never actually been a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but since I started blogging, I’ve used that as my time each year to reassess my financial goals and sort…
The other day I got an email reminding me to do an annual review of my Social Security benefits. If you’ve logged into the government website before to check out any of your social security information, odds are good also get a similar email once a year. Social Security can be a little confusing.…
Have you heard of Incubate: The Time-Delay Messenger? I was reading a CNN article about it earlier this week and as soon as I saw it, my personal finance wheels started to turn. It lets you record something today and send it to yourself in the future – as far as 25 years in advance!…
Now that you’ve gotten a ballpark number you need for retirement, I bet you’re ready to do some saving! So you’re finally ready to take the plunge and open an IRA but have no idea where to get started? To start with, let’s consider a few things. Do you have a lump sum to open…
As you all probably know by now, I’m not the best choice for investment advice. However, it really does interest me, since it’s one of the next financial steps I’d like to stop sucking become proficient in. With that in mind, here’s a great guest post from Tony over at Trading Slugger. He’s actually got…
Everywhere you look in America, there are endless headlines about debt – every generation and every type of debt. We seem to be very thorough about getting into debt here. Plenty of other nations moan about their debt levels, but America isn’t really doing that awesome (although also not as bad as some seem to…
The 60’s are your home stretch before sliding into retirement (for most people anyway). Some people are playing a fast and furious catch up game with their finances to make that transition and some are coasting to the finish line thanks to 4 decades of good saving habits. 1.) Assess your financial state for retirement.…