On CNBC Kelli Grant writes: “Getting divorced has a significant impact on your finances — and some missteps can make it even more costly.” There’s some advice to protect assets in divorce. To limit the monetary pain of a divorce, move through the process deliberately with help from a financial adviser, accountant and an attorney. Make sure to account for everything, not just current funds and non-cash assets. That includes income earned before the divorce that will be distributed later, like bonuses and retirement contributions. Have any property professionally appraised to take emotion out of the equation. Also take steps early to close any joint accounts and update beneficiary designations. If an ex-spouse remains designated as a beneficiary on a 401(k), it can trump what’s written in a will. Lastly, don’t cash out retirement accounts to pay off joint debt or legal bills. The tax penalty is too steep. (cnbc.com)
New Poll Says Millennials Pick Socialism Over Capitalism
According to a new survey from YouGov, millennials have more favorable views of socialism than of capitalism. On the other hand Seniors have the most favorable view of capitalism with sixty-three percent. It’s not a surprise that no other age or ethnic demographic preferred socialism over capitalism. But millennials aren’t swayed by the benefits of capitalism in the products and services that reduce the number of people living in poverty worldwide by half in the past 20 years. (breitbart.com)
13 Simple Money Rules
The Practical Saver writes: “Money is simple but a lot of people make it complicated. With these simple money rules, you’ll be able to understand more about your money and how to best handle it. By considering these rules, you’ll help yourself get the most value out of your money.” These tips include: Spend less than what you earn, don’t treat credit cards as free money, always budget, stop trying to impress other people, invest early on, and be contented and thankful with what you have and don’t have. (thepracticalsaver.com)
Stock Market Investors Have Lost $1.78 Trillion So Far This Year
Fortune reports that: “The S&P 500 Index has plunged 10.5% since the first trading day of 2016, erasing $1.78 trillion in value for investors, says S&P’s Richard Peterson, a senior director of Global Markets Intelligence. On average, investors have lost a collective $57 billion per trading day this year. Ouch. That’s roughly equal to the GDP of Canada in 2014.” For investors that stay the course or in accumulation stage, this is a happy news as stocks are now cheaper to buy. If you think long, stocks aren’t as risky as you think so stick with your investment policy statement. (fortune.com)
How to Create the Perfect Budget
Having a budget that works can make your life simpler and work wonder for your mental health. “But that’s easier said than done if you’re constantly grappling with debt and living paycheck to paycheck,” said Geoff Williams at US News. However, drawing tips from the experts, here’s how to create the perfect budget. First, start by writing down your take-home pay. Then, pay yourself first by subtracting savings for retirement, emergencies, and other goals. Next, deduct rent or mortgage payments, plus any other recurring expenses like utilities, food, and credit card payments. Keep in mind that most single Americans spend about 36 percent of their budget on housing, 12 percent on food, and another 16 percent on car payments, gas, and maintenance. If you’re overshooting in a category, look for opportunities to save. To keep your budget on track, consider that the money you’ve parceled out to different categories is already spent. (usnews.com)
Silicon Valley’s Leading Startup Launches an Experiment In Universal Basic Income
Silicon Valley’s leading startup incubator Y Combinator is going to give free money in an experiment to people and see what happens—as part of planning for a future where robots do most of the jobs. Up to 300 people will get free money as part of a Universal Basic Income. the plan is for hundreds of participants to get repeated cash payments unconditionally. Then, assessors will record life consequences like changes in work patterns, self-employment, artistic endeavors, or idleness. (fastcoexist.com)
4 Personal Finance Lessons From Former Presidents
On Presidents’ Day this year, we can apply the wisdom from former American leaders to our financial lives. Here are 4 personal finance lessons from former Presidents posted on Credit Union Insight:
- George Washington said: “To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones.” What we can learn from Washington’s wisdom: Refrain from frivolous spending until your personal finances are on solid ground.
- Thomas Jefferson inherited a significant amount of debt from his father-in-law, and despite his best efforts, his personal debt affected his legacy. What we can learn from Jefferson’s wisdom: No matter your income, never underestimate the value of living within your means.
- Abraham Lincoln often consulted with his advisers when making key decisions. What we can learn from Lincoln’s wisdom: There are many benefits to reaching out to others for financial advice, whether it’s consulting a professional or a loved one.
- Dwight Eisenhower once said: “The older I get, the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first.” What we can learn from Eisenhower’s wisdom: Organizing your finances is not always easy but if you accomplish things in manageable amounts, you can reach your financial goals.
5 Dumb IRA Mistakes Even Smart People Make
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are important retirement accounts that everyone must have. An article on Wise Bread shows that even smart people make mistakes when contributing to IRAs. Here are the common mistakes: Not contributing enough, not consider IRAs as part of the entire retirement plan, forgetting the required minimum distributions, not following rollover rule, and having the wrong beneficiary. (wisebread.com)
The Best Stock Over the Last 30 Years? You’ve Never Heard of It
The best-performing U.S. stock over the past 30 years isn’t a household name and you probably never heard. Balchem Corp. is the best stock over the last 30 years, making it the leader of the superstocks that include Apple and Nike. Balchem Corp. returns over 10,000 percent over the past three decades. The article’s aurthor Jason Zweig advises to not immediately jump in to buy Balchem or its superperforming peers. The lesson here is the value of index funds. These superstocks have gone through a “near-death experience.” For instance, Balchem and Apple both lost more than 50 percent of their value in the 1990s. Most professional stock pickers would unload their investments at that point, but index funds stay the course even in the worst downturn. So when a stock becomes a superstock, index investors are there for the upswing. (wsj.com)
Couple With 13 Kids on Pace to Retire Early
Rob shares his story on madFIentist about how he and his wife with 13 kids will be able to retire in 13 years. Rob is trying to achieve financial independence on a single income while raising all those kids. Rob is 49 and his wife is 46 with 13 kids ages 2 to 24. They have always been frugal and pay of all debts except the mortgage. Food is their biggest monthly expense, and they mainly shop at Aldi to minimize the expenses. Beside his main job, Rob also mows lawn during the summer to fill up their IRAs. Overall, he has been able to save 35% on a single income. Good luck to Rob and his family on their way toward financial independence. (madfientist.com)
What is a good credit score?
Here is Credit Karma’s take on what’s a good credit score: “A good credit score is crucial for financial success. A credit score is a three digit number calculated from your data-rich credit report and is one factor used by lenders to determine your creditworthiness for a mortgage, loan or credit card. Your score can affect whether or not you are approved as well as what interest rate you are charged. A good credit score is generally considered to be 720 or higher. Lenders, however, can each have different standards for what they consider to be a good credit score, so it‘s important to keep building your score to receive the most favorable interest rates and highest rates of credit approval.” (creditkarma.com)
Things You Didn’t Know About Aldi
If you’re serious about spending less on groceries like my wife does, Aldi is the place to shop for groceries with rock-bottom prices. Here are some things you might not know about shopping at Aldi.
- It’s one of the world’s biggest retailers, coming out ahead of Target, Publix and Home Depot.
- In an effort to cut cost, you have to bag your own groceries so it’s a good idea to bring in your own reusable shopping bags.
- To use a shopping cart you need a quarter to use. You will get the quarter back once you return the cart.
- Even though Aldi stores carries store brands, which are cheaper than name brands, but more than 90% of the products found at Aldi are private brands. So the quality and taste are comparable with name-brand products.
- Credit cards and checks aren’t accepted, so make sure you bring debit cards or cash.
- All of Aldi’s store-brand products have multiple barcodes on them to make checkout faster.
Elite School Aren’t Always Worth It
Eric R. Eide and Michael J. Hilmer in The Wall Street Journal caution that attending a prestigious school might not automatically translates into a higher salary after graduation. An analysis of the salaries of thousands of college graduates a decade after they got out of school found that prestigious diplomas boost earnings significantly for some professions with business and other liberal arts majors. However, in fields like science, technology, engineering, and math, the average starting salary differs by less than $1,000 for engineering graduates of the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania and those of Texas A&M, for instance, but the tuition difference is more than $167,000. That means STEM students could be ringing up unnecessary debt going for a brand-name degree instead of going to state’s flagship school like University of Alabama. (wsj.com)
Not every debtor asking for help is delinquent
Theda Muller writes: “Not everyone is dishonest, or avoiding creditor calls or even unwilling to repay their debt because there are many debtors with huge integrity, who need that chance to meet their commitments because surely nobody likes receiving these very rude calls.” Consideration should be ‘order of the day.’ (emirates247.com)
How Market Turmoil Alter Some Areas of Personal Finance
How market turmoil has changed all these areas of personal finance such as dividends, mortgages, savings and government bonds. The Telegraph details those scenarios that would affect your wealth, and what you can do to protect it. (telegraph.co.uk)
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