Caregivers Must Also Care (Financially) for Themselves

If you're a caregiver, possibly for a loved one dealing with an illness such as Alzheimer's disease, you're probably already facing some significant emotional and physical challenges – so you don't need any financial ones as well. Yet, they are difficult to avoid. What steps can you take to deal with them?

Avoid Financial Mistakes During Retirement

When you retire, you've learned a lot about all sorts of things, helping you avoid some of the mistakes you made earlier in life. However, you may still be susceptible to financial missteps specifically related to your retirement years. How can you dodge these errors?

Can You Influence Your Financial Aid Award?

Most colleges do offer financial aid packages that can greatly help with these expenses. But it pays to know, well in advance, how financial aid works. And the key platform for determining much of your child's financial aid is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In fact, if you have children starting college next year, now is the time to get going on the FAFSA, which became available Oct. 1 for the 2021-22 award year.

Lessons from Experienced Investors

Those who have lived a long time have done a lot, seen a lot – and can teach us a lot. And that’s certainly true when it comes to investing.

Financial Moves for Widows and Widowers

Don't make hasty decisions. Even though you will need to make some moves in the near future, don't feel rushed into decisions that may prove to be ill-advised. For example, don't immediately sell your home or liquidate all your stocks.

Open Enrollment Choices Can Have Big Financial Impact

It’s that time of year again, where, if you work for a medium-to-large employer, you’ve got some decisions to make because it’s open enrollment time.

Grandparents: Consider These Financial Moves

Each year, on the first Sunday after Labor Day, we observe National Grandparents Day. Although it's not as widely recognized as Mother's Day or Father's Day, if you're a grandparent, you probably want to do whatever you can to help your grandchildren on their journeys through life. So, you might want to consider the following moves.

Labor Day: Make Investments Work as Hard as You Do

Get the Most from Your 401(k)

What Does an Unplanned Career Transition Mean for You?

If you're in this final group – those either offered, or feeling forced to accept, an early retirement, how should you respond?

How Can You Prepare for the 'New Retirement'?

But now, it's different: The large Baby Boom cohort, and no doubt future ones, are insisting on an active lifestyle and continued involvement in their communities and world.

How Can You Help Lower Your Longevity Risk?

Insurance companies and pension funds view longevity risk as the risk they incur when their assumptions about life expectancies and mortality rates are incorrect, leading to higher payout levels. But for you, as an individual investor, longevity risk is less technical and more emotional: it's the risk of outliving your money.

Create Strategies to Help Achieve Your Financial Goals

To achieve these various goals, you may have to follow different investment strategies – and you might have to make some tradeoffs along the way.

What Should You Do With an Inheritance?

That's because the baby boomers – often referred to as the richest generation in history – are poised to transfer some $30 trillion in assets over the next few decades, according to the consulting firm Accenture.

Protect Yourself Against Financial Scammers

Consider this: In 2019, more than 3.2 million fraud cases were reported to the Federal Trade Commission, with identity theft being the most common type of fraud, accounting for about one-fifth of the overall cases. And fraudulent new accounts (mortgages, student loans, car loans and credit cards) amounted to about $3.4 billion in 2018, according to a study by Javelin Strategy & Research.

Managing Withdrawals Carefully Can Protect Retirement Income

First of all, you need to establish a proper withdrawal rate – the percentage of your portfolio's value needed for one year's worth of retirement expenses.

Work to Achieve Your Financial Independence

Still, as we prepare to observe Independence Day, it's comforting to realize all the freedoms we still have in this country. And taking the right steps can also help you achieve your financial independence.

Ensure You Are Properly Insured

You might be surprised at the lack of protection among your fellow citizens. Less than 60 percent of Americans have life insurance, and just about half of those with insurance are underinsured, according to LIMRA, a research organization.

Can You Invest for Retirement and Education?

It is indeed possible, although you may need to prioritize somewhat. Specifically, you may not want to put off saving for retirement in favor of education. But by viewing these goals together and investing as early as possible in each of them, you can take advantage of one of your biggest assets – time.

Nearing Retirement? What Questions Should You Ask?

But assuming your employment is still stable, what adjustments in your financial and investment strategies might you need to make for your retirement?

Sticking to Budget Can Boost Your Emergency Fund

In normal times, it's a good idea for you to keep three to six months' worth of living expenses in a liquid, low-risk account. Having an emergency fund available can help you cope with those large, unexpected costs, such as a major car repair or a costly medical bill.

Know Your Risk Tolerance at Different Stages of Life

The answer to this question may depend on where you are in life.

Five Steps to Help Cope with Employment Issues

If your employment has been negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic, how should you respond?

What Can Investors Learn from Cyclists?

But even if you're not much of a rider, you can apply some of the guidelines and lessons of bicycling to other areas of your life – such as investing.

Smart Moves for Women Business Owners

As we all know, mothers have a difficult job. And many mothers also run their own businesses – another demanding task made even more difficult these days. What special challenges do women face who embark on careers as business owners?