I realize thinking about your spouse or partner dying isn’t anyone’s idea of a fun time. But what should make you even more uncomfortable is not doing the advance planning today to make the transition for the surviving spouse as easy as possible. Ignoring this inevitability is sure to leave the surviving spouse with a…
For many of us, having a car is a necessity. For some families, two are needed. But I see far too many households spending way too much on this need. The big tell is that nearly 30% of the cars traded in to purchase a new car these days still have a large unpaid loan…
You know my approach to building financial security is to hope for the best and plan for the worst. That’s why I have always been concerned when people tell me their retirement plan is to keep working through their sixties, or to maybe never retire. As I have often explained, this is a dangerous strategy…
High inflation is nobody’s idea of good news, but it is a fact of life — and right now, it’s hitting especially hard. Energy prices have surged more than 40% over the past year, and the overall annual rate of inflation is above 4%. For retirees, Social Security is one of the most powerful tools…
If you are fortunate enough to have a workplace retirement plan that offers a matching contribution, the goal should always be to set your contribution rate so you qualify for the maximum employer match. But for married couples who both have a workplace plan, that goal is a bit trickier. There is no standard formula…
More than 40% of parents with kids between the ages of 18-35 report that a child has moved back home at some point. About half of those kids did it out of necessity, but for many, it was more of a strategy to save up money given the high cost of renting or a down…
We all know that caregiving for elderly parents typically falls more on daughters. New research shows just how draining that can be. In the three years surrounding the death of a parent with dementia, an adult daughter was 28% more likely to have a mental health care visit than a daughter whose parent died but…
New rules that went into effect on July 1 drastically change how parents can borrow to help pay for a child’s college education. The federal loan program for parents, PLUS loans, has been drastically reduced. Parents can “only” borrow $20,000 a year, and for each student there is a $65,000 limit for parent borrowing. I…
I totally understand that many of you near retirement are considering working longer to shore up your retirement plan. Working longer can make great sense. You can keep your retirement savings growing longer, tap into less earlier, and perhaps even continue to save more. But it is nonetheless a bit of a dangerous strategy. The…
