Retirement

9 Secrets Your Credit Card Is Hiding

Maybe you’ve had your credit card since 1975. Or maybe you’ve just waded into the credit waters this year. Either way, you might be surprised to learn a thing or two that creditors don’t clearly disclose. This isn’t to say your credit card company is deceptive or intentionally shielding some awful truth. It could be that they assume all cardholders already understand all the fine print. Technology continues to...

6 Ways to Pay Yourself First

It’s nearly impossible to read a savings or budgeting blog without coming across the phrase “pay yourself first.”  And there’s a good reason that this is such a popular piece of advice:  By “paying” yourself first — in other words, setting aside a specific amount of money out of each paycheck — you can build good financial habits and ensure that your savings account continues to grow. Sounds easy,...

How To Improve Your Finances in Just 20 Days

Looking for a way to get your finances in order?  Want to set some goals, revisit your budget, or lower your monthly bills?  Who doesn’t? Most of us want to save more, spend less, and build financial security – but things like budgeting and shopping for better interest rates can take time.  But if you just take things day by day, a step at a time, it’s not so...

Dreaming of an Early Retirement? Avoid these Common Obstacles

If you’re in the middle of your career, you’ve probably given some thought to retirement. Whether you imagine a post-career future of traveling or pursuing a particular passion or interest, or whether you simply dream of the day when you don’t have to commute to an office five days a week, you probably have a few ideas in mind about what your ideal retirement looks like. But have you...

The New Realities of Retirement: Safeguarding Your Future

Retirement is a much different reality today than it was even a generation ago.   First of all, the age when people retire is shifting upward: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the proportion of people age 65 and older in the workforce grew to 16.1 percent in 2010, up from 12.1 percent in 1990.   Another thing that’s different? The ways people are building their retirement funds. For...

Considering Retirement? Here are 5 Things to Think about

If you’re getting close to the finish line in your career, you’ve probably spent some time daydreaming about the things you’ll do when you don’t have to spend your weekdays in the office.  It can be fun to daydream about retirement, but if you want to make sure that you can live out those daydreams it’s important to spend some time planning and making sure that you and your...

Choosing a Roth IRA That’s Right for You – in 3.5 Easy Steps

If you’ve been looking for a good way to save for retirement, you can’t get much better than a Roth IRA.  A Roth IRA allows you to invest a portion of your annual income (up to $5,000 per year) in a variety of different things like stocks, bonds, CDs, mutual funds, or real estate.  Your investments earn interest, and when you retire, you can pull your money out –...

Retirement vs. Debt: From IOU to IRA in Two (Sort of) Simple Steps

Are you ready for retirement? If you’re like most Americans over the age of 25, chances are, probably not.  According to a recent study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), Americans are dreadfully unprepared for their golden years.  In fact, according to the EBRI data, about 30 percent of us only have about $1,000 in our retirement funds.  Some people have even less than that. If you...

The Basics of Retirement

How to have enough gold for your golden years.

Pay It Forward

Paying Yourself Back . . . In The Future.