Ensuring that you have a solid retirement plan in place is crucial. Pensions are largely a thing of the past, and the future of Social Security is up in the air. So if you don’t save enough in your 401k over the course of your career, you may not get to have a retirement at all. Knowing this, I’m being conservative with my retirement planning.
5 Frugal Habits of Self-Made Millionaires
Some personal finance gurus suggest that you shouldn’t clip coupons and pinch pennies if you want to save money. Instead, you should focus on increasing your earning potential to maximize your savings. However, self-made millionaires would disagree that frugality isn’t important. Many of today’s millionaires built their wealth slowly over decades by investing regularly and living below their means. And even after becoming rich, they
3 Behavioral Tendencies That Could Hurt Your Finances
Behavior plays a big role in personal finance. In fact, there’s a whole field of study called behavioral finance that’s dedicated to figuring out how psychology affects our money decisions. Although we all have different personalities, there are some negative behavioral tendencies and biases humans share that influence how we approach personal finance. Here are 4 psychological principles that could be working against you if
5 Signs You’re Financially Stable
According to a recent survey, about 40% of Americans feel behind when it comes to meeting life and financial milestones. About 13% of people feel behind on retirement savings, 10% wish they were more financially stable, and 8% want to own a house. However, even if you haven’t achieved all your financial goals yet, you’re probably doing better than you think. The internet makes it
Should You Trust Financial Advice From TikTok?
Lack of financial education is a big problem in the US. According to a recent survey, only 57% of American adults are financially literate. Although more and more schools are offering personal finance classes, that doesn’t help older generations who have already graduated like millennials and Gen Z. Because young adults have a gap in their personal finance education, many of them are turning to
How Much Money Do You Need To Retire?
How much money do you need to retire? It’s a popular and hotly debated personal finance topic. Before the pandemic started and inflation ballooned the cost of housing, gas, groceries, and other necessities, a million dollar portfolio was seen as enough. But now some experts are saying millennials may need $3 million worth of assets to have a comfortable retirement in the future. I don’t
4 Signs You Need a Financial Advisor
Recently I’ve been thinking about making an appointment with a fee-only financial advisor. Although I know how to manage my money after years of writing about personal finance, it’s always nice to get an outside perspective. Having a CFP (like those available at https://www.thekelleyfinancialgroup.com/) tell me I’m on the right track would give me peace of mind. I’d also like to know what’s possible with my current
Why Women Invest Less And What To Do About It
Today I thought I’d discuss a topic I’m passionate about, but have never covered before—the gender investing gap. Although women tend to be more effective investors than men and earn higher returns, we don’t invest as often. Women keep up to 71% of our assets in cash, and some of us aren’t investing any of our money at all. About 66% of men currently invest
How To Protect Your Savings From Inflation
In May, inflation hit a 40-year high of 8.6%. The cost of essentials like gas and groceries has risen sharply, so we’re all losing purchasing power and feeling the pinch. This high-inflation environment is also eroding the value of our savings. Bank accounts don’t offer enough interest to outpace inflation, so we’re effectively losing money by parking our cash in savings accounts. With economists predicting
3 Smart Ways to Use Unexpected Money
My partner and I just got married in March. We decided to keep the event low-key and have a small ceremony in our backyard with close friends and family. Thanks to their generosity, we’ve received a couple thousand dollars in wedding gifts. Since we didn’t expect to receive this much money, we’ve been trying to figure out the best way to utilize it. If you’ve