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You’re eyeing center-hall colonials in your neighborhood and dreaming about the garden you want to plant in the backyard and all the holiday celebrations you’ll host. You’ve saved toward this goal and think you’re ready to pull the trigger. But the real question is: How much house can I afford? Or is it? Perhaps a better question really is: What else do I want to afford? In other words, do you want to get the most house possible, with little left for a new car — or that European getaway you’ve

Perhaps you’ve lost a job, faced an illness or have been dealt a family crisis that emptied out your emergency fund. What are your next steps? Take stock of your situation First of all, stay calm. It’s much harder to make difficult decisions when you’re upset. Try not to panic and seek the support of friends and family — and the advice of a financial advisor. Every situation is different, so there are no hard and fast rules that apply to everyone, but here are some general points to consider as

The prospect of a larger-than-expected tax bill is one common source of anxiety, but so is the possibility of making a mistake that runs the taxpayer afoul of the IRS.

Here are five ways to overcome those pesky, persistent loan balances.

Social Security’s financial cliff is coming closer into view. Experts project that the fund that pays for government retirement benefits through FICA taxes will be depleted within the next 15 years. The Trust Fund was set up to hold excess amounts of FICA taxes from when the Baby Boom generation dominated the workforce. But now that Boomers are retiring, the number of workers per Social Security beneficiary is dropping from 5.1 workers per beneficiary in 1960 to a projected 2.1 workers per bene

Let's say you've started your first job. Or, maybe, you've simply started to think about saving for retirement. Your employer offers a 401(k), but you don't know where to get started (or even what that is). Here's everything you need to know. What Is a 401(k)? To put it in really general terms, a 401(k) is a retirement savings account offered through your employer. (If you're self-employed, you can open a Solo 401k, but that's a whole separate topic). You set aside a certain amount of money eac

For those considered baby boomers, retirement has now become reality with 10,000 people retiring daily. Unfortunately, research shows that 54 percent of older Americans do not have enough savings to fund their retirement. If you’re on the pre-retirement end of this age group, it’s never too late to start setting money aside. Here are eight facts about 401(k)s that could help you prepare for your golden years. 1. Retirement Is Expensive: Although it can vary from one person to the next, the curr

Full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security benefits is currently between 66 and 67, depending on when you were born. Benefits are determined based on your 35 highest years of earning on record with the Social Security Administration, but will be higher or lower depending on when you file. If you file at FRA, you’ll get your full monthly benefit. For each year you delay past FRA, however, your benefit will be increased by 8% until the age of 70. The earliest you can currently file is age 62.

All investors – be they conservative, moderate or aggressive – need to understand that the level of returns they expect to generate is directly related to the amount of risk they are willing to assume – the higher the return, the higher the amount of risk one needs to take. It probably doesn’t dawn on most people that, regardless of where you put your money, you assume some element of risk. For instance, if you focus solely on keeping your money safe from the possibility of loss, you risk not a

Chances are good that if you turn on the prime-time news on any given day or pull up your favorite newspaper on your iPad one of the top stories will relate to emerging risks around the world. Whether it’s strife in the Middle East, tensions with Russia, or the ever-shifting balance of power between global powers, this much seems obvious: we live in a time of both unprecedented global complexity and the technological capability to watch events unfold in real time. Investing in a Time of Geopoli

Most people couldn’t bear the financial hardships resulting from unexpected events, such as a major house fire, a car accident, a disability or the premature death of a family breadwinner, which is why one of the most important component of a sound financial plan should be your personal risk management strategy. Fully protecting your and your family’s financial future against the unexpected will help you to move forward with greater confidence in your wealth management decisions. What exactly d

Everyone can learn some valuable lessons from Warren Buffet, arguably the most successful investor of all time. Buffet has two strict rules about investing that anyone would find, well, frustratingly simplistic. The first – “don’t lose money,” and the second – “don’t forget rule number one.” But for Buffet, winning can only happen in the stock market. Obviously, when your money sits in low yielding savings accounts it is impossible to win. In fact, if your money is earning below two percent int

Retirement is a whole new phase of life. You’ll experience many new things, and you’ll leave other things behind. One thing that won’t disappear, however, are taxes. If you’ve followed the advice of retirement plan consultants, you’re probably saving in tax-advantaged retirement accounts, like 401(k)s or IRAs. These types of accounts defer taxes until withdrawal, and you’ll probably be withdrawing funds from them in retirement. Also, you may have to pay taxes on other types of income, like Soci

Frequently, the news about retirement is pretty pessimistic. Pensions no longer exist for most workers, we aren’t saving enough, and Social Security is going to disappear. However, things may not be as bleak as they are often painted. If you’re a retirement plan sponsor, you may be wondering how you can help your employees prepare for retirement. Retirement plan consultants suggest three ways that anyone can use to help them retire: 1. Start saving now No matter what your age or financial circu

After several years of wallowing in financial upheaval caused by a severe recession and financial crisis, Americans are, once again, looking to the future. A renewed confidence has many people setting their sights on long term goals that, just a few years ago, may have seemed out of reach. However, as too many people have painfully learned, simply having a long-term goal, whether it’s an early retirement or a college education for your children, is not enough to realize your ambition. A financi