The decision to buy life insurance is one of the most important that we can make in our financial lives. It requires careful consideration of our needs, concerns and priorities.
The one thing we of which we can all be certain is change. Life happens every day and, as a result, we are constantly assessing our situation and changing our course, usually by making small adjustments. A life insurance purchase is one of the few decisions we make with a more long term perspective.
When it comes to admitting that women are better at certain things, men have a difficult time conceding any degree of supremacy.
The saving versus paying off debt is an age-old quandary that has plagued people since the advent of consumer debt. Pose this question to a group of financial planners and the responses will be split, roughly down the middle. While there might be as many advocates for savings as there would be for paying down debt, the broad consensus will likely be that it really depends on the situation.
It should not take the filing of a tax return or a death in the family to finally create order out of paper chaos so you are not forced to scramble in those critical circumstances. The chances of making costly errors are too great not to take some very simple, albeit essential, measures to get and stay organized all year long.
The current economic environment has caused most everyone to reconsider their personal finances with many people having to drastically change their spending and savings habits. Out of this economic malaise may come an opportunity to finally instill the right habits in your teens that can carry them into adulthood on the right financial footing.
After several years of wallowing in financial upheaval caused by a severe recession and financial crisis, Americans are, once again, looking to the future. A renewed confidence has many people setting their sights on long term goals that, just a few years ago, may have seemed out of reach.
The challenge for most people today is finding the right financial advisor. The sheer number of financial professionals holding themselves out as “financial advisors,” makes it a daunting task at best. It is easier if you know what to look for, but that requires an acute sense of what exactly you want from an advisory relationship.
Most people are familiar with the basic concepts of life insurance and understand that some level of protection is a necessary part of modern financial life. The question of what life insurance can actually accomplish, when considered as part of an overall financial plan, is more involved and worth a closer look.
If given the choice, most people would choose financial freedom over financial servitude. Who doesn’t want to be financially independent where their money is working for them as opposed to them working for money?
Perhaps you’ve lost a job, faced an illness or have been delt a family crisis that emptied out your emergency fund. What are your next steps?
You’re eyeing center-hall colonials in your neighborhood and dreaming about the garden you want to plant in the backyard and all the holiday celebrations you’ll host. You’ve saved toward this goal and think you’re ready to pull the trigger. But the real question is: How much house can I afford?
Or is it?
Social Security’s financial cliff is coming closer into view. Experts project that the fund that pays for government retirement benefits through FICA taxes will be depleted within the next 15 years.
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