personal finance Archives – Page 4 of 20

Avoid This Major Money Mistake…

12/03/2019
personal finance, you need to know this

My Money Mistake: Not Buying Pet Insurance Full disclosure: I live in a zoo. My home is full of dogs and cats, and I love them all. What I don’t love is the vet bills, and we have a LOT of them. I’ve always ignored pet insurance – I’m not sure why – but now I see that is one of my biggest money mistakes. At first it seemed a little like a scam. Then it seemed too expensive, especially with multiple pets. But now I realize if I’d gotten it when each new fur baby came into my life,…

Is a Self-Directed IRA Right for Me?

11/30/2019
investing, personal finance, retirement

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, I may receive a commission. If you’ve ever felt trapped by the investment choices in your 401(k)… if you want to invest your retirement savings in something other than the standards (stocks and bonds)… a self-directed IRA might be right for you. But before you go that route, you need to know about all of the potential problems that come up with these accounts – and how to avoid them. Before we dive in there, though, let’s talk how self-directed IRAs are different than regular…

Recession-Proof Your Finances with This Action Plan

11/19/2019
personal finance

If you’re worried about a coming recession (and it will come at some point, I just have no idea when), there are things you can do to protect your finances. And even without a recession looming, they’re still smart things to do to improve your finances and keep you on the road to building wealth. Taking these steps now – before a recession hits – will help you and your finances better withstand the downturn when it comes. Plus, these steps will also make your overall financial situation more secure, giving you peace of mind and a more stable financial…

Don’t Aim for “Average” Retirement Savings

11/09/2019
personal finance, retirement

Measure Your Nest Egg Using the Right Yardstick Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, I may receive a commission. If you’ve been wondering whether you’re retirement savings are on track, you may have searched to see what other people your age have saved. It’s what most people do… in fact, “average retirement savings by generation” is a very popular Google search. And while that information seems like an important measure, that’s actually misleading. “Average” is NOT what you want to measure up against, because most people don’t have nearly enough retirement savings.…

How Much Money Do You Need to Retire?

10/05/2019
personal finance, retirement

A Quick, Simple Way to Figure It Out Figuring out how much money you need to retire can feel like the hardest math problem you’ve ever faced. But there are some simple ways to estimate how much to save to support your desired lifestyle. One of the easiest methods to give you a solid ballpark estimate is the guaranteed income difference: To come up with how much you’ll need to save, start with money that’s guaranteed to come in during your retirement. Subtract the expenses you realistically expect to have. The difference between those numbers is the amount your savings…