Category: personal finance

A Valuable Money Lesson for the Kids

Don’t assume your kids are going to learn in school how to manage money well. There is a growing recognition for the need, but few children are lucky enough to learn about money matters in school. If you have kids, teaching them about money rests squarely on your shoulders. So, how are you doing with…


Avoid Mistakes With Qualified Charitable Contributions

By Elliot Raphaelson From Tribune Content Agency If you have reached 70 1/2, have a traditional IRA, do not itemize your tax return and make charitable contributions, you should consider taking advantage of the Qualified Charitable Deduction (QCD) option to save on income taxes. For example, if you contribute $10,000 to a qualified charity, and…


Millennial Money: When Pinching Pennies Isn’t Enough

Scaling back streaming subscriptions is solid savings advice for some. But what if the choice you’re faced with is not whether to pay for Netflix or Hulu, but whether to pay for food or electricity? Millions of Americans face food, housing, and general financial insecurity every year, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau…


How to Change Medicare Plans, and Why You Might Want To

Medicare open enrollment starts soon, but 7 in 10 Medicare beneficiaries say they don’t compare Medicare plans during this period, according to a 2021 analysis by KFF, a health policy nonprofit. That’s not great, since Medicare Advantage plans—which operate much like the private insurance you may have had through an employer—change from year to year….


How to Prep Before Shopping for a College

By Steve Rosen From Tribune Content Agency The biggest traffic jam in my community occurs like clockwork every fall in late October. That’s when hundreds of high school students and parents descend upon a local high school for a college clinic night. It’s an opportunity to meet face to face with college admissions recruiters from…


6 Tips You Can Use to Help Improve Your Credit Score

Credit scores are complicated and because rating agencies consider many factors, the process of improving them can look different for everyone. When Willard Carpenter, 68, wanted a loan to open a new business, he realized that his credit score was not high enough to get approved. After checking his credit history, he found several issues…


12 Ways You Are Sabotaging Your Retirement

One of the most significant and confusing parts of being an adult is planning for retirement. Retirement savings and concerns are regularly-talked about issues in the news, and, frankly, the talk is not often brimming with encouraging updates. In truth, most Americans aren’t anywhere near as on track for retirement as they think they are….


American Express Sees ‘Mixed Signals’ in Economy but Consumer Spending Still Strong

The CFO of American Express said that consumer spending trends remain strong, despite acknowledging “mixed signals” in the economy. AmEx reported a 21 percent rise in cardmember spending in the previous quarter, as the goods and services and the travel and entertainment categories witnessed growth. The financial services company posted on Oct. 21 better-than-expected earnings…


You’re an Entrepreneur With a New Business. When Should You Start Paying Yourself a Salary?

By Kathleen Furore From Tribune Content Agency Several people I know have decided to turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality and have launched small companies—some alone, some with one or two business partners. Most aren’t taking a salary. What should entrepreneurs who are principal owners of a new business venture consider before they start paying…


How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Friday Oct. 21, 2022

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Friday, notching sizable weekly gains for major indexes. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 2.4 percent Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq also gained ground. Social media companies were broadly lower after Snapchat’s parent company issued a weak outlook and the Washington Post reported that Elon…