Getty There are a lot of ratios in personal finance. Most are used to determine your financial health and how financially ready you are for retirement. But one ratio has nothing to do with finances and is the key to determining whether you’ll have a successful retirement. Finances aren’t the most important element in determining
Retirement
Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin The broker wars continue, as big firms scramble to attract the next generation of young investors. ASSOCIATED PRESS Topline: After eliminating trading commissions earlier this month—which set off a rush among other brokers to do the same, Charles Schwab plans to offer clients the opportunity to
Investors have finally pitched a tent above the WeWork circus. Should we REIT (real estate investment trust) shareholders be concerned about a fallout? The stock was touted in some circles as a potential savior for the office REIT market. As fewer and fewer employees work in traditional workspaces, co-working spots have popped up all over
Sen. Bernie Sanders outlines a plan too eliminate $81 billion in past-due medical debt. Getty Eight million Americans file for bankruptcy annually due to medical expenses. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) wants to put an end to it. The idea, outlined by his campaign, centers around having the federal government “negotiate and pay off past-due medical
By Stacey Freeman, Next Avenue Contributor Getty Thanks to technology, we can buy groceries online. We can search online for a job, a pet, even a spouse. And if for whatever reason that spouse doesn’t work out, we can go through the divorce process online, too. But when you’re divorcing, can a website, or a
Impeachment to Index-Mania, and in between Stock.Adobe.com Retiring in the next few years? Feeling confident about how your portfolio will hold up? If you answered yes to the first question, and did not immediately answer yes to the second question, this is a good time for a little “stress test.” If timing is everything, then
(Photo by Thomas Eisenhuth/picture alliance via Getty Images) picture alliance via Getty Images Many people are happy to lend money to their loved ones, especially to children and grandchildren. But before stroking the check, review the tax rules. The tax consequences vary greatly depending on the terms of the loan. A small change in the
By Donna Pols Trump, Next Avenue Contributor Getty Recently, an 88-year-old member of my family underwent elective spinal surgery for disabling back pain. While the duration of hospitalization for anyone after surgery can be unpredictable, we were surprised to find out our family member would be discharged home after only two days. We were not
CNBC By Bob Blancato, Next Avenue Contributor With the next Democratic presidential candidates’ debate on television tonight (CNN at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT), it’s worth noting something missing from the earlier debates — questions and answers about aging in America. (There have been more than enough questions about the age of the candidates,
Juana Velosa (not pictured), made sure to pay off her credit cards before leaving for a work trip. She received a surprise when she learned she owed 3 months worth of late fees and penalties. Getty In April 2019, Juana Velosa was excited for her upcoming work assignment in Africa. As part of her job,
By Edd and Cynthia Staton, Next Avenue Contributors Getty If you’ve been contemplating the idea of retiring abroad, you may have done a little research. Maybe you’ve even jumped on the internet to look for the country that’s best for you. Big mistake. You probably know the old saying: “If you don’t know where you’re
No one wants to become a financial burden on their families as they age. In fact, every one of my clients who’ve made the decision to purchase long term care insurance cited this concern as a driving factor in their choice. They felt that with the purchase of a LTC policy, they’d ensure that their
Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Advisor advising Getty Most of the country’s 300,000 or so financial advisors get paid via sales commissions or else an annual percentage of the assets they oversee. The planners on this list are very different. They are paid the way lawyers are paid: by the hour
Getty In Jennifer Petriglieri’s new book, Couples That Work: How Dual Career Couples Can Thrive in Love and Work, the organizational behavior professor at the European graduate business school INSEAD puts things bluntly: Having two partners pursuing active careers “can create tension, conflicts, and sacrifice.” But, she adds, “it can also create mutual growth, fulfillment,
You’ve probably heard by now that investing just got a little bit cheaper. Now cheaper isn’t necessarily better, especially for those of us hunting for safe, meaningful yields to fund our retirements. We’ll get to our diversified 3-click, 7.4%-yielding portfolio (including a couple monthly payers) in a moment. But first, more on the no-commission craze.
Pension or lump-sum offer? Getty General Electric (GE) recently announced they had frozen their defined benefit plan and were offering lump-sum pension payouts to about 100,000 retirees. GE will also discontinue making pension contributions after 2021. This follows a similar action by Ford to freeze their defined benefit pension for their retirees. A Ford executive
Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Photocredit: ASSOCIATED PRESS The Morgan Stanley weekly cycle turns up this week. Five of the last six buy signals have been successful in the last year and the last two signals have been accurate. October has been the strongest month of the year, rising 74% of
View from writer’s office as he posts this article Chuck Bolotin Our views of living or even visiting different places are of course based largely on what we’re used to. That’s where we get our baseline from which we form our perspective. For example, if we live in the US and then move to Mexico, we would
Worried that potential impeachment trials are going to pressure your retirement portfolio? It’s a fair concern. So, let’s talk about ways to protect our stocks and bonds from political drama. First, let’s dispel the myth that the news drives the markets. Markets are smart, and they usually “sniff out” eventual outcomes before they become obvious
CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 01: Illinois gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker speaks during a round table discussion with high school students at a creative workspace for women on October 1, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Pritzker was joined by his Illinois Getty Images Yesterday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s task force released its report proposing consolidation of the