Personal Finance News

5 Highest-Paying Careers

March 11, 2016 2 Comments

Glassdoor compiled a list of the highest-paying jobs in America based on job and company reviews from the beginning of 2015 until January of this year. They found that the most lucrative careers tend to cluster in healthcare, technology and finance. Indeed, the higher salaries requires more skills and responsibilities. “This report reinforces that high pay continues to be tied to in-demand skills, higher education and working in jobs that are protected from competition or automation. This is why we see several jobs within the technology and healthcare industries,” said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor Chief Economist. “There’s no doubt that pay is among the leading factors most job seekers weigh when determining where to work.” Here are the five highest-paying careers:

Physician: $180,000
Lawyer: $144,500
Research & development manager: $142,120
Software development manager: $132,000
Pharmacy manager: $130,000

(glassdoor.com)

Don’t Shame Millennials Living at Home

March 11, 2016 Leave a Comment

Michael Restiano writes on Huffington Post: “Why do we never assume that living at home means a person is saving for a house down payment, supporting one’s family, or curbing education costs, rather than ‘getting on their feet?’ How has something that is so clearly financially prudent become synonymous with failure and stagnation?” Michael urges to to stop shaming millennials living at home and that independence causing maturity is just a myth. “A 20-something living at home that goes out of his or her way to try new things is not much different than a 20-something living on her own in a big city. Except one probably relies far less on $1 pizza than the other, and perhaps has to try a bit harder to feel the necessary lack of comfort to change. Experience is attainable for either–the difference is in how hard the individual must work attain it.” (huffingtonpost.com)

10 Most Expensive Cities In The World To Live

March 11, 2016 Leave a Comment

While the U.S. dollar is getting stronger, the cost of living in U.S. also gets more expensive. New York City and Los Angeles both made into the Economist Intelligence Unit as one of the most expensive cities in the world to live. New York City comes in at No. 7 and Los Angeles tied for eighth on the list. Here are top 10 most expensive cities in the world to live:

Singapore
Hong Kong
Zurich
Geneva
Paris
London
New York
Los Angeles
Seoul
Copenhagen

(wsj.com)

How to Pay Down Your Student Loans

March 11, 2016 Leave a Comment

With over $1.3 trillion outstanding loans, the class of 2015 was the most indebted ever with the average of over $35,000 for 70% of graduates. In fact, more than 40 million Americans have at least one student loan. Part of Forbes’ 30 Day Money Challenge, Maggie McGrath compiled excellent guides on how to pay down your student loans. No matter your background, the guides have tip and information for high school senior, undergraduate, college senior, graduates and high earners. Whether you’re in school or out, it’s smart to consider paying off your student loans as early as you can. (forbes.com)

How to Start A Side Hustle

March 11, 2016 Leave a Comment

Starting a side business isn’t easy when you already have a job, but it could be a way to increase financial security with a deep sense of satisfaction. Personal finance blogger Lauren Bowling noted that “most millionaires have an average of seven income streams” and many personal finance bloggers also have a side business. She puts up the comprehensive guide on how to start a side business with details for these steps:

Determine your side business
Start small
Deliver great work
Get a website
Start networking
Get an LLC
Have the right tools
Set up an email list

(huffingtonpost.com)

Frugal Billionaire Who Founded Ikea Only Wears Used Clothes

March 10, 2016 Leave a Comment

Extreme frugality is the secret to early retirement, but to one billionaire frugality is the way of life. Frugal billionaire Ingvar Kamprad, founder of furniture chain Ikea, normally stocks up his wardrobe at flea markets to save money. “I don’t think I’m wearing anything that wasn’t bought at a flea market,” Kamprad says in an upcoming documentary for Swedish television. He also prefers cheap haircuts as he told a Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan: “Normally, I try to get my haircut when I’m in a developing country. Last time it was in Vietnam.” Kamprad, who turns 90 on March 30, said penny-pinching helped Ikea’s success. It probably also helped him to amass a net worth of more than $40 billion, according to a Bloomberg estimate. (afp.com)

Homeownership Is Not The American Dream

March 10, 2016 Leave a Comment

For some of us, homeownership is still the right move if the job and the living situation are stable. But in many scenarios, Jim Dahle at The White Coat Investor argues that homeownership is not the American Dream anymore. Many homeowners would be better off by renting instead owning, especially for people that expect to move within 5 years, loose jobs, or get divorced. Also, the argument for buying a house with a mortgage as a form of forced savings is weak. A lot of homeowners get foreclosed or take out home equity to spend on upgrading their lifestyles. Furthermore, the cost of owning does not go down over time due to the opportunity cost and the rise in taxes, insurance and maintenance. Dahle said: “The message is pretty clear- if you just owned your home you’d be rich and be spending way less of your income on housing. Of course, correlation is not causation. In reality, homeowners have more money and spend less of it on housing because they make and save more money, not because they own a home.”

4 High-Earner Tax Tips You May Use

March 10, 2016 Leave a Comment

Lower-income taxpayers can face high tax rates if most of their income come from wages, while billionaire like Warren Buffet paid only 17.4 percent of his taxable income in federal income taxes. Anyway, our tax code can be unfair toward the middle class but you can learn the tax strategy from high earners to minimize your taxes. Here are 4 high-earner tax tips that may help middle-class filers:

Itemize
Donate things in addition to cash
Take advantage of health saving accounts
Own real estate if you can afford it

(newsok.com)

5 Biggest Mistakes When Banking Online

March 10, 2016 Leave a Comment

Last year 13.1 million Americans had their identity compromised and the total financial loss stemming from identity theft amounted to $15 billion. With more online transactions there are more opportunity for criminals to steal from consumers. But you can learn to avoid critical mistakes to protect your financial information. Here are 5 biggest mistakes when banking online:

Ignoring your accounts
Having a standard password
Being careless with your phone
shunning security features
Assuming the worst about online banking

(newsok.com)

You Won’t Be A Millionaire If You Make These Mistakes

March 10, 2016 Leave a Comment

There are many posts recently explaining how to become a millionaire already. The Practical Saver details some of the mistakes about how to not become a millionaire. Learn from these common mistakes to improve your financial well-being. Here are ten mistakes:

Don’t understand money
Live beyond your means
Forget the value of compounding interest
Don’t value education
Avoid getting promotions or salary increases
Don’t take advantage of employer’s matching contribution
Buying products at full price
Give up even before starting
Keep up with the Joneses
Invest in wrong investments

(thepracticalsaver.com)

The More We Earn, The More Often We Drink

March 9, 2016 Leave a Comment

Not only moderate alcohol use can have important health benefits, but drinkers earn over 10 percent more money at their jobs than nondrinkers. A new survey shows that people that earns more tend to drink more often, perhaps to build relationship and contacts that result in bigger paychecks. In U.S. about 78% of those with an annual household income of $75,000 or more say they drink, compared to 45% of those with a household income of less than $30,000. Similarly, according to the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics, almost a quarter of Britons who earn over $57,000 are likely to drink at least five days a week, compare to 8% of whose who earn less than $14,200. In general, you are likely to have a drink in the past 24 hours if your household income top $75,000. Silvia Ascarelli writes: “In the U.S., richer drinkers also prefer wine over beer, but just barely. Beer is most popular with those earning between $30,000 and $74,999, according to Gallup. Wine is the preferred drink among college graduates, while those who have a high-school diploma or less prefer beer.” (marketwatch.com)

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities to Throw a Wedding

March 9, 2016 Leave a Comment

Budgeting is at the heart of personal finance and, when it comes to wedding, couple often asks “why do wedding cost so much?” Thumstack goes through 12 wedding essentials such as catering, photography, flowers, hair, makeup, cake and decoration to present the list of the most expensive cities to throw a wedding in 2016 based on thousands of price quotes provided by vendors. Here are the top 10 most expensive places you can throw a wedding in 2016 — and what you can expect to pay for essential services in those locations:

New York, NY at $16,077
Philadelphia, PA at $15,434
Pittsburgh, PA at $14,287
Baltimore, MD at $14,261
Providence, RI at $13,990
San Francisco, CA at $13,734
San Jose, CA at $13,418
Cleveland, OH at $13,416
Washington, D.C. at $13,303
Minneapolis, MN at $13,173

(thumbtack.com)

Just Married? 4 Major Ways Your Taxes Will Change

March 9, 2016 Leave a Comment

With marriage, comes new challenges that a newly married couple must face. Once the honeymoon is over it’s time to get your tax situation in order. Remember that your marital status is determined by your status on December 31. After consulting with fax professionals, Marisa Torrieri explains four major ways your taxes change once you go from single to married:

Your filing status will change
You’ll probably change tax brackets
Your standard deduction will go up
You might owe money on those months spent single

(learnvest.com)

Why Your Late Twenties Is the Worst Time of Your Life

March 8, 2016 Leave a Comment

With a low paying job, you are on your own after you graduated with a huge student loan while trying to catch up with your saving to pay off debts. Ever wonder why your stress sharply increases in your late twenties. Now two independent studies confirmed this finding that your late twenties is the worst time of your life. Ran Zilca, Chief Data Science Officer at Happify, writes: “Regardless of their professional or personal achievements, they are still considered by others to be ‘kids,’ especially before they marry and have children. This prolonged interim state results in a lot of pain… It starts with a feeling of being locked in to a commitment at work or at home: people take on jobs, rent apartments, and enter relationships, but then feel trapped in pretend adulthood.” The good news is that as we grow older we experience an increase in positive emotions and an improvement in satisfaction with life. (hbr.org)

How to Avoid Lifestyle Creep

March 8, 2016 Leave a Comment

Financial planner Sammy Azzouz writes: “Why aren’t more people rich? All too frequently, sufficiently high income earners prefer to emulate the rich’s spending habits, spending more as their income grows. You can call it ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ or ‘lifestyle creep’, but whatever you call it, you should avoid this pitfall.” Lifestyle creep prevent you to save early on in your career to compound it later in your investment. To avoid the trap, Mr. Azzouz explains that you should be “thoughtful about where you live” as housing is one of the main ingredient that let you falling into the lifestyle creep. Furthermore, you should control your spending and live below your means. (linkedin.com)