If you are worried about job security and do not have an adequate emergency fund (ideally eight months' worth of living expenses stashed away in a federally insured bank or credit union), you need to focus more on saving money than paying down the balance on your credit cards.
Grace is above praise and blame. I never read the bad stuff people write, but I never read the good stuff, either. Ever. I know who I am, and I know that God looks down on me and smiles. I know that - without a shadow of a doubt.
If you're going down the street and you're going the wrong way, remember - God permits U-turns.
Like your home's closets, your financial clutter needs an overhaul every now and again, and the payoff will go far beyond the psychic satisfaction of neatening up.
Cash - in savings accounts, short-term CDs or money market deposits - is great for an emergency fund. But to fulfill a long-term investment goal like funding your retirement, consider buying stocks. The more distant your financial target, the longer inflation will gnaw at the purchasing power of your money.
Everybody in America started to define themselves by all these things they had around them. And all of a sudden it came tumbling down. So the old American dream has died, and that is a good thing.
I have never been a fan of bond funds. Unlike a direct investment in an individual bond that you can hold to maturity and be assured you will get your principal back (assuming no default), a fund has no finite maturity date and most funds are actively traded.
If you can't afford the upkeep of your home, it makes no sense to do a reverse mortgage. You will just end up having to sell eventually when you realize you can't afford the home, and whether you have any equity left after the sale depends on the size of the reverse loan that must be settled.
When you give, give from the place of the heart because it is the right thing to do, not the easy thing to do.
The new American dream is one of responsibility. What is the bottom-line number that you're going to be able to pay back toward a student loan responsibly if you're doing it yourself after you have a job? That dictates the amount of money you can borrow. That dictates the school you can go to, if you can even go to a four-year college at all.
Take free money. No matter how in debt you are, if your employer offers a matching contribution on a 401(k) or other retirement vehicle, you must sign up and contribute enough to get the maximum company match each year. Think of it as a bonus.
Who would you want to be giving you advice? Somebody who doesn't have any money?
Structured settlements are a common way for people who have been injured to receive an insurance payout. The periodic payments provide ongoing income and reduce the risk of blowing a lump sum through poor financial choices.
Opt for a fixed-rate rather than an adjustable-rate mortgage.
A wise woman knows how to summon her courage and do what is right, rather than what is easy.
Pay off your mortgage before retirement, and that's one less bill you'll have to worry about when you're on a fixed income.
I am a big believer that orderliness begets wealth.
Remember: If the IRS suspects you haven't reported income, it can challenge returns from the past six years. So if you are self-employed or have multiple income sources, hold on to six years of files to be absolutely safe.
Never invest emergency savings in the stock market.
The less you have to think about how to spend every dollar, the more likely you are to spend wisely.