Advisors

JGI/Jamie Grill The Covid-19 pandemic really highlighted how financially troubled our society is. Debt levels are extremely high, bankruptcies are commonplace and many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Today’s adults are suffering and may be setting the next generation up for trouble, as well. Tackling the financial literacy crisis in America begins in the

Stacy Francis Source: Stacy Francis Stacy Francis never planned to become a financial advisor, especially one for women going through divorce. But a candid talk with her grandmother shifted her career trajectory.  Her grandmother, Myra, was a victim of spousal abuse and, before passing, she confessed to staying in her marriage because she felt “financially

William_potter | Istock | Getty Images With the stock market getting volatile but the housing market still hot, reverse mortgages have become a more attractive tool for older Americans who need cash for retirement but want to stay in their homes. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loan volume was up 26% in March, according to data

Tari Lee Sykes and her late husband, Charles Jeremy Sykes. She thought they’d have one more Christmas together. Yet a few days before the holiday, Tari Lee Sykes’s husband, Charles Jeremy Sykes, died after battling a rare lung disease for years. He’d never get to open the wrapped presents below their glistening tree. On top

Ariel Skelley | Digitalvision | Getty Images The double whammy of a declining stock market and rising interest rates has been pummeling homebuilder stocks this year, resulting in rock-bottom valuations. Those valuations make housing stocks look like the worst home in a bad neighborhood. But in reality, the industry is the cheapest house in an

Brittney Castro Source: Brittney Castro Brittney Castro began her career as a financial advisor at just 22. For her, being a young woman in an older, male-dominated profession, was an asset, so to speak, rather than a liability. Less than 33% of financial advisors are women, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even fewer

Many people have bought and sold cryptocurrencies as an investment, yet trying to live on a salary paid in crypto is tricky.  Alyssa Howell spent much of her career in the gold-mining industry before joining a crypto-wallet company last fall that pays all of its employees in bitcoin. The Denver-area resident said learning the ins

Hinterhaus Productions | Stone | Getty Images The “gap” between how much money men and women are paid has long been a feature of the U.S. economy. While that pay differential has narrowed since the 1960s, progress seems to have slowed in the past decade or more — a dynamic that has big implications for

Drakula & Co. | Moment | Getty Images When it comes to retirement planning, earlier is generally better, but several factors affect how much young women are saving, according to financial experts. For retirement planning purposes, the demographic termed “younger women” may include Gen Zers, millennials and some Gen Xers with 20 years or more

Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and co-founder of Ellevest and author of “Own It: The Power of Women at Work.” Slaven Vlasic | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Sallie Krawcheck knows what it is like to be one of the few women in the room. She led the wealth management business of a major Wall Street

fizkes | iStock | Getty Images For anyone getting started with adulthood, the financial stuff can be among the trickiest aspects to navigate. That can be the case even for those who go on to be financial advisors. For these professionals, some advice they regularly give clients now — after years of extra education and

Luminola | E+ | Getty Images Amid high inflation and rising interest rates, there are fears of a prolonged stock market downturn, and some retirees may be vulnerable without a cushion of cash, financial experts say. However, there’s also the risk of crumbling purchasing power, with annual inflation growing by 8.5% in March, the U.S.

In this article AMP Luis Alvarez | Digitalvision | Getty Images In my long career of recruiting experienced financial advisors, I’ve seen how different economic cycles have impacted retention and attrition. In times of uncertainty, advisors crave stability and want to work with a firm with the financial foundation to weather the storm. Alternatively, when

Getty Images I bonds are currently paying 9.62% annual interest through this October, presenting an opportunity for investors with a range of goals, according to financial experts. These assets, backed by the federal government, are nearly risk-free and inflation-protected, with rates changing every six months based on the consumer price index from the U.S. Bureau

Consumers are spending more to keep up with the surging cost of living and it may get worse before it gets better. “Even though wage growth has been the best in decades, it’s been outpaced by increased household costs,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “With inflation at a 40-year high, that has

GlobalStock | Getty Images Deciding at what point you will collect Social Security benefits may be one of the biggest decisions you make in retirement. Yet many people who are at or near the age when they face that choice may need to brush up on the program’s rules before they do. MassMutual recently gave

Westend61 Whether you got a refund or owed money this tax season, it’s never too soon to start thinking about next year’s bill.  Boosting your 401(k) contributions for 2022 may provide two benefits: reducing your adjusted gross income while also padding your retirement savings.   What’s more, there’s a higher 401(k) employee deferral limit for 2022,

Golibtolibov | Istock | Getty Images Taxing the wealthy is a big topic in Washington these days. President Joe Biden recently proposed in his 2023 annual budget a so-called billionaire minimum income tax that would increase levies on the country’s wealthiest households. Under the plan, people with a net worth of $100 million or more

miodrag ignjatovic | E+ | Getty Images If you have a Medicare supplement plan — aka, Medigap — there may be times when it’s worth making sure it’s still the best fit for you. Medigap policies are standardized — same-named plans offer identical benefits no matter which private insurance company sells it — but the

Newly minted graduates are in for a shock. Although the job market and starting salaries for the Class of 2022 look significantly better than last year, they may fall far short of graduates’ expectations. Employers plan to hire about 31% more new degree holders from this year’s graduating class than they hired from the Class

Tetra Images | Tetra images | Getty Images There’s a recent uptick in states swapping tiered income taxes for a flat tax, charging the same rate to all residents, regardless of earnings. Over the past 100 years, only four states have changed from graduated rates to flat taxes, according to the Tax Foundation. Another three

Israel Sebastian | Moment | Getty Images There are some financial goals more pressing for adults right now than bulking up their nest egg. For 2022, just 17% have made saving for retirement their top financial priority, according to First National Bank of Omaha‘s latest financial wellness survey. And nearly half of respondents — 46%

Sean Gladwell | Moment | Getty Images Inflation is at a 40-year high. That means consumers are losing buying power at a faster-than-usual pace. Just how quickly is inflation eating away at your savings? The so-called rule of 72 can help gauge its long-term impact. This rule of thumb is generally applied to investment returns.

Kali9 | E+ | Getty Images The loss of a spouse is up there with the most challenging experiences you might face in this lifetime. With the understandable barrage of emotions you might face, it is probably hard to imagine taking concrete steps to secure your financial future. But this is exactly the time to

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Fidelity Investments is offering bitcoin to 401(k) investors. But before retirement savers get access, employers must give the green light — and that’s often much more complicated than it sounds. Fidelity administered almost $2.9 trillion of 401(k) and other workplace retirement plan assets (representing over a quarter of the

At the country’s top colleges, the most recent application season was the most competitive on record, but getting accepted at several schools may have been the easy part for students. Now they now have less than one week to decide on which school they’ll attend ahead of National Decision Day on May 1, the deadline

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | Getty Images As midterm elections loom, advocates for voters ages 50 and up are hoping Congress will take up one issue that could help rein in rising costs — prescription drug prices. A proposal to let the government negotiate some prescription drug prices covered under Medicare was included in Democrats’

Ariel Skelley | Digitalvision | Getty Images How would it feel to give your children an enormous leg up on saving for retirement while also helping them form healthy money habits? The answer could be opening a Roth individual retirement account for them. To start, a Roth IRA is a special retirement account that allows

Liudmila Chernetska | Istock | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a number of massive changes to the federal student loan system, which it says could bring millions of borrowers closer to debt forgiveness. Federal student loan borrowers have long run into serious issues, including misinformation from their servicers, too many choices

Musketeer | Getty Images For anyone who’s nearing retirement and watching the stock market nervously, those jitters may mean it’s time to review your portfolio. While stocks over time offer the best opportunity for long-term growth despite periods of volatility, a persisting market downturn heading into retirement can be problematic if you’re tapping those assets