Last year there were changes to our health insurance plan. The employer has always used a high deductible plan and they have always been kind enough to contribute $2,000 toward that deductible. The money has always been available at the…
Category: Retirement
Ten Things Seniors Need to Know About Purchasing Annuities But Don’t!
By Bob Hock If you walk into a meeting with any financial adviser, there’s a very good chance that the adviser will present an annuity for your nest egg. Annuities have turned into the Mr. Fix-It for all age groups.…
Planning for Old Age: You Need to Do More Than Save Money
You’d think that all anyone has to do these days to secure an enjoyable and comfortable retirement is save money. The media, financial gurus, and your employer harp on money as the end-all, be-all of retirement. Just get there with…
Pushed Out of the Workforce. Are You Ready?
We all tend to think that retirement won’t come until we’re in our sixties or even seventies. We think we have plenty of time to save and prepare for that next phase of our lives. But what happens if it…
10 Important Personal Finance Lessons Every Person Should Know
Managing your money is hard and the current times make it more so. The fact is, though, it’s never been more important to get a handle on your personal finances than in today’s economy. Regardless of whether you’re a wage…
Top 5 Dying Regrets, Why I Won’t Have Them and Neither Should You
One of the most important life lessons that we can all learn is to seriously listen to and consider the advice from those who have more experience than we do. When it comes to the end of our life, most…
The Best Financial Gifts You Can Give Your Kids
Whenever I read or post an article that suggests that someone cut down spending on their kids, I’m always amused (and amazed) by the outraged comments. If you dare to suggest to someone that is struggling that they cut down…
Money Lessons Learned from “The Firm”
If you’ve ever read the book by John Grisham or seen the movie, “The Firm,” then you are familiar with the tale of corporate and personal greed that leads one man to almost lose his life and all of the…
Retirement Planning: Consider Your Time as Well as Your Money
Retirement can be a scary thing. You wouldn’t think so, since so many people look forward to the day when they can stop working and take it easy. However, the financial and emotional adjustments can cause problems if you aren’t…
Good Bonus Plan or Bad Bonus Plan? Would You Be Upset?
A friend of mine (who has been unemployed for over a year) was recently offered a job in her field with a good company. She didn’t take it. I was floored that someone who has been out of work for…
Stop Robbing Your Future Wealth
One of the hardest things for many people to see in relation to their finances is how their actions today are robbing them of future wealth. It’s easy to focus on today and think that if you can make the…
How to Use a Retirement Calculator
You’ve probably seen retirement calculators scattered all over the Internet. Almost every bank and brokerage firm has their own. You can also find them at sites like CNN Money or MSN Money. With so many available, you’d think that everyone…
The Completely Tax Free Roth IRA: Strange Ways to Save
SavingAdvice is starting a new column that’s going to look at strange, offbeat ways to save and make money. Anything that’s a little odd, uncommon, or contrarian is fair game – as long as it’s legal. You probably already know…
Why No One Saves for Retirement
If you follow financial news, you see the statistics all the time. The average 401(k) balance is $10,000. Or less, depending on the report. Seventy percent of Boomers haven’t saved nearly enough for retirement. Only fifteen percent of people eligible…
What Happens If I Can’t Retire?
In financial circles the big push is to get people to save enough money so that they can retire in comfort. That’s a noble goal, but the fact is that more and more people aren’t going to be able to…
How I Retired Early
By Retire@50 It’s the dream of many to retire early. This is how I did it: I had a paradigm shift: It was the early 80s and I was in my early 20s. I was working an entry level job…
A Life Without Debt: Building the Retirement Nest Egg
Debt free living has one important benefit that many people don’t consider at first. Sure, it makes bill paying easier and it lets you save for vacations and other fun things, but it also lets you save big sums for…
How I Make Money Sitting Around
By Linda D. I’m able to sock away an average of $700 a month by sitting around. I wish I could say that I was bright enough to have come up with the way to sit and earn money, but…
A Life Without Debt: Whatever Will I Do In My Old Age?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our decision to remain child-free and how that decision (while not based on money) has made it easier for us to remain out of debt. Several respondents wondered who would take care…
A Life Without Debt: Building Wealth
If you are at all interested in finance, you’ve probably heard that it is necessary to be debt free in order to build substantial wealth. While a few gifted investors manage to build wealth while having a lot of real…