We need to face the reality that we’ve chosen a system that prioritizes lower taxes over centralized health care.
Thanks to technology and the rise of passive investing, putting together a sophisticated, diversified portfolio has never been easier.
Financial loss is one of the most common secondary losses. The death of a family breadwinner can bring crushing financial uncertainty. Even when the deceased was not the primary earner, grief can derail financial stability.
If you find holiday spending overwhelming, it might be time to ask yourself a question: Who is doing your shopping? It may be an inner four-year-old.
Waiting until 67 or 70 may not feel like the best choice in the moment. Yet the extra income could mean more freedom from financial stress and more ability to enjoy your later years with peace of mind.
For couples, merging two financial lives can be tricky. Not every financial planner has the skills to effectively help you navigate that challenge. Yet the right advisor can guide you away from chronic money conflict and toward a successful partnership.
Understanding how to help a couple explore each partner’s financial history and validate their goals and anxieties can make all the difference in helping them reach a middle ground without feeling sidelined or resentful.
Don’t wait for financial symptoms to show up. Annual financial checkups can help maintain your current financial fitness and support your long-term financial wellbeing.
Despite being the generations with the most knowledge, experience and potential resources, many are still unsure about their financial future.
Politicians often promise to cap prices, but success is unlikely and would result in worse outcomes.
With polls showing Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in a close race, how do the key economic metrics favor each candidate?
Choosing to make your coffee or your lunch at home instead of hitting the café every day is not just about saving a few dollars—it’s about setting yourself up for long-term financial success.
If we all acted purely on logic, coffee shops would be out of business. Is that likely to happen any time soon? Don’t bet your latte on it.
Reaching age 65 with a net worth of $1 million dollars is a way to provide a comfortable and secure retirement. It is also a reasonable and achievable goal for many middle-class workers who would, quite accurately, never describe themselves as wealthy.
What is your personal financial code of conduct? Whether you’re consciously aware of it or not, chances are you have an internal set of standards and taboos that guide the way you handle money.
Despite these positive developments, many people continue to feel uneasy about the economy.
How do you convey your value and convince qualified prospects that hiring you will be a worthwhile investment without breaching your compliance obligations as an advisor?
If your home and/or its contents are destroyed or damaged by a disaster such as a fire or flood, the insurance company will need a complete list of what was lost. Do you have such a list?
Whether someone’s problematic relationship is with food or money, recovery involves addressing the trauma and issues that underlie the behavior.
Given the inevitable ups and downs of the financial world, the joy of missing out on the frenzy might be a strong component of long-term financial and emotional wellbeing.
Exaggerated concerns about the viability of Social Security continue to circulate like a persistent urban legend that refuses to die. They have only intensified during the political silly season leading up to the November elections.
What does a “private equity firm” do? You may not know or care. Yet one of these specialized companies might possibly own your favorite restaurant—or your hospital.
You don’t need a fortune to channel your giving through a DAF. These funds are designed for everyday people who want to make charitable donations in a way that offers tax efficiency, flexibility, and choices.
Travel insurance is a game-changer. It can keep a physically and emotionally stressful travel experience gone wrong from becoming a financial disaster. But only if you have the coverage you need.
I thought I knew a lot about travel insurance until recently, when I learned something new. It was an expensive lesson.
How safe is your IRA? Not from economic ups and downs, but from your own vulnerability to scammers? While financial scams are often perceived as targeting senior citizens, younger generations are equally susceptible.
There is a benefit to simplified language that can help consumers understand and engage with economic issues. Yet oversimplifying nuanced concepts to the point of inaccuracy only fosters miscommunication and misunderstanding.
Why do people so consistently underestimate their lifespan? Their thinking is influenced by the money scripts, financial circumstances, stories, and emotions that drive a person’s cognitive biases, or mental shortcuts.
A planner using a fee-offset model sets an annual fixed fee for their services. Then any commissions earned from the sale of products, usually insurance products, are credited back to the client, offsetting and reducing the annual fee by the amount of the commission.
What’s the best age to start taking Social Security? That is a frequently asked question for financial advisors. It’s also, as any financial advisor will admit, completely unanswerable without significantly more information. Social Security is too inherently complex for one-size-fits-most recommendations.
The goal that was so theoretical in my 20’s had become a reality in my 60’s. I had become financially independent by investing in real estate.
How much do you pay every month for invisible stuff you don’t use? I’m referring to subscriptions or memberships for things like music streaming, movies, software, magazines, gyms, shopping clubs, and other services or online resources you may have forgotten about.
When each of my children was born, I had their application for a 529 college fund filled out, mailed, and funded with the first $100 before they were released from the hospital.
What do Americans receive in return for our considerable spending?
Senior discounts aren't just about age; they're about a lifetime of work and contributions and a way of giving back to you. They also allow you to stretch your income and enjoy more experiences. You’ve earned the right to enjoy them.
News reports announced the deregulation of real estate brokerage fees would slash commissions by 25% to 50%. How would that happen?
A recent series of articles explored the intricate, expensive, and often confusing web of the long-term care industry.
Here are some reasons couples should sign a formal prenuptial agreement.
It is essential to have open and honest pre-wedding conversations about both partners’ personal finances and attitudes about money.
The more strongly people buy into the rhetoric of their political parties, the more difficult it is to be pragmatic about their investments.
How much of your income should you spend on rent or a house payment?
There is power and freedom in acknowledging our financial mistakes rather than shaming ourselves for them.
Millions of people in the U.S. have a great offense when it comes to earning money that could provide them financial security. Yet it does not, because their defense in protecting and creating that security is gravely underperforming.
Let’s look at some of the important financial professional designations. I’m informally putting them into three categories based on the level of training and time commitment they require.
Calling bitcoin an investment is like calling a lottery ticket a financial strategy.
Given the interplay of economic data, cognitive biases, and political agendas, it’s no wonder that our views on inflation are complex and may not reflect economic reality.
What denomination of coin will you spend two seconds to pick up?
Understanding the spectrum from financial dysfunction to financial wellness can help you find a more holistic approach and give you a clearer, more balanced perspective as you navigate your journey toward financial wellbeing.
This week we’ll look at five Ps that define wellbeing, along with their negative counterparts.
While overall economic inflation has slowed over the past 18 months, health insurance costs keep going up.
