Navigating the Maze: Likely Personal Finance Issues in 2024
From inflation and interest rates to job market uncertainties and housing market fluctuations in 2024, learn how to navigate these issues.
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A Checklist for When a Spouse or Parent Passes
Learn how to navigate the financial and legal aspects of losing a spouse or parent with this comprehensive checklist.
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Financial Aid for Students 101
Preparing for college while still in high school can be difficult for even the most academically-minded student. These days, you need to excel in the classroom, make sure you're involved in extracurricular activities, and enroll in challenging classes to impress a college admissions board. On top of that, the financial cost of higher education may add to what is already a stressful time in an ambitious student's life. Luckily, with a little preparation, you may be able to make applying for financial aid painless and stress-free. Read on to learn more.
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Insured at Every Stage: Starting Out
Becoming an adult brings new responsibilities, and many decisions that can affect you for decades to come.
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The Pivotal Role of Positive Cash Flow in Personal Finance
In the exciting world of personal finance, understanding and managing your cash flow is akin to mastering the control panel of a high-performance sports car. A firm grasp on this element helps you steer your financial journey in the right direction, enabling you to live comfortably today while preparing for a secure future. In this blog, we'll dive into why positive cash flow plays a crucial role in your financial health.
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9 Investment Pitfalls
Investors need to remember that markets can be turbulent. Between February 12, 2020, and March 23, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average* lost 37% of its value due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, recovery was swift, and by November 2020, U.S. markets had returned to their pre-pandemic highs.1 Preparing for declines is essential. There can be a strong temptation to pull out of the markets when they tumble. Instead of retreating, you may need to adjust your investment approach. By remaining flexible, you could be able to take advantage of opportunities while managing risks.
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When Should You Retire?
The pandemic sparked some interesting retirement trends. First there was an unexpected decline in the share of workers in the United States who were 55 and older, prompting a study called “The Great Retirement Boom” by economists with the Federal Reserve. By early 2022, the trend was reversing. “Unretirements” were on the rise, with an estimated 1.5 million retirees returning to work in the U.S. labor market by March 2022. A study of Labor Department data by Nick Bunker, an economist with Indeed, revealed that as of March 2022, 3.2% of workers who had retired a year earlier had gone back to work, becoming unretired.
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How Will You Pay For College Tuition?
Remember when a college education was reasonably priced? In the past 20 years, the cost of college tuition for public universities has risen 165%. College students and their families have been taking on more and more debt, and they are taking longer to pay it off. Recent data bears this out. In 2021, 34% of adults aged 18 to 29 years have student loan debt, making them more than twice as likely as adults in any other age group to have student debt.1,2
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Your Emergency Fund: How Much Is Enough?
Bad things happen to the best of us, and sometimes it seems like they come in waves. That's when an emergency cash fund can come in handy.
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9 Facts About Social Security
Social Security's been a fact of retirement life ever since it was established in 1935. We all think we know how it works, but how much do you really know?
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