How Your Credit May Affect Your Life Insurance Premiums August 6, 2018 You may be surprised to learn about the potential relationship. Does your credit history partly determine the cost of your life insurance? It may. The potential for such a relationship may surprise you – and the relationship is not without controversy. Insurers think a good credit history implies several things. It signals a consumer who [...]
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The Sequence of Returns August 6, 2018 A look at how variable rates of return do (and do not) impact investors over time. What exactly is the “sequence of returns”? The phrase simply describes the yearly variation in an investment portfolio’s rate of return. Across 20 or 30 years of saving and investing for the future, what kind of impact do these [...]
Financial Fraudsters Preying on Boomers & Elders August 6, 2018 If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you are in or near retirement, it is a safe bet that you would like more yield from your investments rather than less. That truth sometimes leads liars, scammers, and fraudsters to pitch any number of too-good-to-be-true “investment opportunities” to retirees. Given all [...]
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Guarding Against Identity Theft August 6, 2018 Take steps so criminals won’t take vital information from you. America is enduring a data breach epidemic. The latest annual study of the problem from Javelin Strategy & Research, a leading financial analytics research firm, says that 16.7 million people across the nation were impacted by I.D. theft in 2017 – an all-time high.1 The [...]
The Snowball Effect August 6, 2018 Save and invest, year after year, to put the full power of compounding on your side. Have you been saving for retirement for a decade or more? In the foreseeable future, something terrific is likely to happen with your IRA or your workplace retirement plan account. At some point, its yearly earnings should begin to [...]
Financial Elder Abuse: Perception vs. Reality August 6, 2018 Someday, you or your parents could be at risk. You may know victims of financial elder abuse. According to a new Wells Fargo Elder Needs Survey, almost half of Americans do.1 As you read or hear stories about seniors being financially exploited, you may think: not me, I would never fall prey to that in [...]
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Before You Claim Social Security August 6, 2018 A few things you may want to think about before filing for benefits. Whether you want to leave work at 62, 67, or 70, claiming the retirement benefits you are entitled to by federal law is no casual decision. You will want to consider a few key factors first. How long do you think you [...]
Tax Changes Around the Home August 6, 2018 How the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act impacted three popular deductions. Three recent tax law changes impact homeowners and home-based businesses. They may affect your federal income taxes this year. The SALT deduction now has a $10,000 yearly limit. You can now only deduct up to $10,000 of some combination of (a) state and local [...]
Should You Use 529 Plan Funds on K-12 Education? August 6, 2018 Federal law says you can, but you may want to think twice about it. When President Trump signed the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act into law late in 2017, new possibilities emerged for the tax-advantaged investment vehicles known as 529 college savings plans. Funds from these accounts may now be used to pay for qualified [...]
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Ways to Repair Your Credit Score August 6, 2018 Steps to get your credit rating back toward 720. We all know the value of a good credit score. We all try to maintain one. Sometimes, though, life throws us a financial curve and that score declines. What steps can we take to repair it? Reduce your credit utilization ratio (CUR). CUR is credit industry [...]