There was a time when I didn’t think I needed a financial advisor. For one thing, I’m not a stranger to investing. I’ve bought and sold plenty of stocks in my day, and…
Retirement represents a major transition in life. Not only does your day to day schedule change completely, but your financial circumstances might undergo a major shift. That’s why it’s so important to plan carefully…
Inflation has a tendency to erode retirees’ buying power over time. That’s why Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, are so important. Automatic Social Security COLAs were introduced back in 1975. Prior to that,…
There’s a reason some people aim to file for Social Security at age 70 despite being entitled to their monthly benefits without a reduction much sooner than that. For each year a Social Security…
I’m the type of person who likes to get paid to do nothing. This doesn’t mean I’m lazy and don’t work for my money. But I like to put the money I’m not using…
The company we keep has the potential to impact our financial situations. If you tend to spend time around people who are big spenders, you may be more likely to whittle down your paycheck…
A lot of people aim to retire at an earlier age than usual. But retiring in your 30s is a tough thing to pull off — namely, because it takes a lot of…
As parents, it’s natural to want to give our children everything. And I’d be lying if I said I was good at saying no to my kids. Often, I’ll say yes to things…
Social Security has been around for a really long time. And it’s also a program that’s filled with different rules. Because of this, it stands to reason that over time, misinformation has leaked out…
It’s a good idea to invest your money for future goals so it grows while you aren’t using it. And to that end, you can choose from a wide number of brokerages to…
A lot of people look forward to retirement only to find that it’s a more financially stressful period of life than expected. And a big part of the reason could boil down to…
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that Social Security is a key income source for millions of retired seniors today. But what may surprise you is that the program is at risk of…
Retiring on Social Security alone is not an easy thing to do. But the silver lining is that seniors who have only Social Security as income typically don’t pay taxes on their benefits. Once…
When you’re new to working, it’s not unusual to earn a minimal wage. That doesn’t mean you’re earning the minimum wage. Rather, your income may not be much to write home about. But…
In life, we have expenses we need to pay for, and we have expenses we choose to pay for. Food is a definite need, and there’s no getting around that. But within the…
An older relative of mine retired recently and asked for advice on managing his portfolio. I told him his best bet was to sit down with a financial advisor (which I am not) for…
There are certain jobs that tend to lend themselves to giant paychecks. Lawyers typically do quite well, as to people who work in the financial industry. But when we think of large salaries,…
You’re probably aware that Social Security has been around for a long time. But did you know that the program tends to undergo big changes each year? It’s true. Social Security’s rules get an…
One nice feature of Social Security is that it doesn’t lock all seniors into one specific filing age. You can claim benefits as early as age 62. But you’ll need to wait until your…
Each year, Social Security benefits are eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The purpose of COLAs is to make sure that benefits are able to keep up with inflation. But unfortunately, they often fall…
