One of the best ways to ensure that you have a good safety net during retirement is to maximize when you take Social Security benefits. The decision about when to take Social Security benefits depends on your financial situation, though. How much money you receive is based on how long you have been working (and [...]
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We could all use a little extra cash. But between working your full-time job, family time, and all your other commitments, who has time to work a traditional part-time job? Luckily, there are plenty of off-the-wall ways to make money that you can fit into your schedule. Here are some of the weirdest ways to [...]
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After my aunt—who took care of her elderly mother and disabled sister—passed away suddenly at 52, our entire family scrambled to try to find the paperwork and insurance information that specified what happened to her estate. A death in the family is a stressful time, which is compounded when you add in financial uncertainty. It [...]
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You may think that each small decision you make doesn’t matter. But our small day-to-day decisions can have a disproportionate affect on our lives. The Tyranny of Small Decisions In the late 1960s, economist Alfred Kahn described how a series of small decisions can sometimes trap well-meaning individuals into a large and terrible decision. He [...]
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After the economy took a nosedive in late 2008, Americans realized that it might not be a good idea to always rely on credit during emergencies and many people started stashing money away for a rainy day. This is a pretty natural reaction to a recession, and one might even argue that the bad news [...]
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Whether or not you achieve your own definition of financial success depends a great deal on what your goals are, and whether you use money in a constructive way that helps you achieve your goals. One of the decisions you have to make is whether you view money as a means to an end — [...]
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Do you wake up on January 1st every year with a hangover? No, not that kind. I mean a spending hangover. According to the National Retail Federation, the average American anticipates spending about $700 for all the associated costs of Christmas, including gifts, decorations and postage. If you have planned for the $700 in your [...]
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