Credit Score and Bankruptcy: Recovering Creditworthiness after Financial Hardship

While you may work part-time or pick up the odd gig here or there, it probably won’t be enough to sustain your current lifestyle. That’s why it’s so important to have a viable plan that allows you to get the maximum amount of money when you retire. Your estate plan addresses what happens to your assets after you die. It should include a will that lays out your plans, but even before that, you should set up a trust or use some other strategy to keep as much of it as possible shielded from estate taxes. So when it comes … Read More

Budgeting for Retirement: Securing Your Financial Future

At the average retirement age of 65, most Americans will live 18 to 20 years longer because of healthier diets and fewer deaths from diseases. This, of course, means retirement planning should take careful consideration for this last quarter of your life. Waiting also gives you a few extra years to shore up your tax-advantaged investment accounts. Investors who are at least 50 years of age can make an annual catch-up contribution to their 401(k) or IRA. For 2023, those 50 or older can contribute $7,500 to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA, up from $7,000 in 2022. If you … Read More

Credit Score and Financial Planning: Incorporating Your Score into Your Strategy

After you’ve created your plan, remember to review it at least every five years or whenever you experience a life-changing event. If you need help building or vetting your plan, you can find a financial advisor to help. Before you can retire, you have to decide how you want to retire. Consider where you want to live, whether you’ll have a job (this may sound crazy, but some people like to work in retirement), and what your expenses will be. This can be difficult to predict, but you can always refine your estimate down the line. As you review, keep in mind … Read More

Budgeting 101: Essential Principles for Financial Success

One of the benefits of the traditional IRA, as it’s called, is that contributions are, generally, tax-deductible. So, for example, if you contribute $6,000, your taxable income will decrease by the same amount. This is a tool you can set up between your checking account and your retirement account so you don’t forget to save. Set it up so that on the same day every month — maybe it’s the day you get paid — funds you’re earmarking for the future go from your bank account into your investments.

Step 5: Determine when to start Social Security

Retirement planning

Distributions must be … Read More

Budgeting Apps and Tools: Harnessing Technology for Better Financial Management

Americans are eligible to enroll in Medicare at age 65—there can even be penalties for failing to enroll on time. Make a plan to sign up in the months leading up to your 65th birthday, giving coverage time to kick in. If you do feel overwhelmed, then that could be a sign that your risk tolerance is out of whack.

Getting Started

Retirement planning

After you’ve created your plan, remember to review it at least every five years or whenever you experience a life-changing event. If you need help building or vetting your plan, you can find a financial advisor to help. Before you … Read More

Social Impact Investment: Aligning Financial Returns with Positive Change

We rated its ground-up construction loan best because it has a combination of features that no other lender has been able to put together into one program for a single-family residential investment. An investor can buy the land, build the house, and finance the mortgage all with one closing process. During the construction period, investors enjoy enhanced liquidity because they don’t have to make any payments until the home is finished. Among the products offered are fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, jumbo loans, refinance loans, and cash-out loans. Loan rates range from 5.5% to 6.625% with APRs between 5.963% and 6.806% … Read More