It may seem like an obvious truth that in order to retire you need to save enough money to afford to live the lifestyle to which you’ve become accustomed, but millions of households don’t save enough money. Whether it’s not saving enough each month, not starting to save early enough, or making bad investment decisions that fail to maximize...
Millions of Americans have dreams of retiring and living the life they’ve always wanted to. But many of their plans rely on everything to happen absolutely perfectly in order for those dreams to be fulfilled. If anything should go wrong, their dreams will end up dashed to pieces. Even the best-laid plans, those in which investors save more than necessary,...
Those of us who are parents want to do everything we can to give our children the best start to life possible. From the time they’re infants, through high school and college, and into early adulthood, parents always want to be there to support their children. But an increasing number of Americans are going too far, destroying their ability...
The past year has seen some really large and nearly record-breaking sums of money won in lotteries. From the $1.5 billion won in Mega Millions in October 2018 to the $768 million won in Powerball in March 2019, many Americans have gotten excited thinking about the things they could do with all that money. Yet despite all that wishful thinking,...
By now many investors are aware that stock markets aren’t going to continue rising above their all-time highs. The meteoric rise of the past few years is unsustainable, which is why markets continue to push towards but never break through their previous records. The only way from here is down, with a massive correction on the horizon before markets...
The stock market bull run of the last three years has resulted in the creation of more 401(k) millionaires than ever before. But while it can be tempting to look at your 401(k) balance and think that you’re going to do well in retirement, you can’t forget one important thing: taxes. One of the reasons 401(k) balances grow as large...
Stock market bulls in the financial media love to tout high stock prices as proof that the economy is doing well and that good times will continue indefinitely. But while high stock prices (and the amazing volatility of the past year) have benefited many traders on Wall Street, they haven’t benefited investors and retirees. After stocks reached all-time highs last...
The number of options available to Americans looking to save for retirement has probably never been higher. From stocks to bonds to mutual funds, precious metals to agricultural commodities to ETFs, there are thousands upon thousands of investment options available to investors. In fact, there are so many choices that it can be overwhelming to the investor just looking...
For decades many retirement planning guides have talked about the three-legged stool of retirement: Social Security, private savings, and pensions. But the three legs of that stool have become heavily degraded over time. Many Americans ask themselves “What stool?” when it comes to thinking about the three legs of retirement planning. Social Security is in dire straits and set to...