One of the biggest reasons for financial stress I’m seeing recently is the normalization of debt. This leads to many young adults being financially overstretched, and loaded down with student loans and consumer debt before they even start the real business of adulting. I’m also hearing the phrase ‘good debt’ a lot in the personal […]
Making a major purchase can be stressful or exciting. If most of yours feel stressful, it could be because you’re simply not at peace with the idea of spending that much money on that particular thing. Ask yourself these questions about any major purchase, to feel a lot more comfortable with your decision. Do I […]
If you’ve never been a saver, you might have no idea where to start when it comes to saving money rather than spending it. It sounds like it should be simple, but if it were, everyone would have savings, and according to Statista, almost half of Americans didn’t, even before the crisis year of 2020, […]
You can easily find reviews online to help you evaluate doctors and lawyers, but when it comes to choosing a financial advisor, you’re mostly out of luck. In fact, the US government has made it difficult for Americans to evaluate financial advisors based on reviews from their clients dating back to 1961. But a new […]
Actively managed ETFs were first launched in the U.S. in 2008 offering benefits previously unavailable to investors. But their popularity remained limited until 2019 due to portfolio disclosure requirements favoring mutual funds as the preferred vehicle for active management. However, an announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2019 permitting new types of […]
You can’t change how your employer matches your 401(k) contributions but you can strategize your contributions to avoid leaving any free money on the table.
A Confession – I’m Often a Money Contrarian I often offer contrarian opinions and ideas, especially in personal finance. This is because my personal experience proved to me that I got far more from following my own path for 11 years than from 18 prior years of following the herd (see more below). I’ve even […]
For most homeowners, the biggest financial obligation is their mortgage payments. It’s not only the largest payment, and the largest total amount, but it’s also the largest thing someone depends on. It represents your home. The place you and your family live. It might have also become your new office over the past year. It […]
There’s a phrase in the financial world that you may have heard it before: ‘the best time to start investing is when you’re young, the second best time is right now’. It refers to the power of compound interest, and the benefit of having time on your side. The earlier you start, the more benefit […]