Search Results for: blog five reasons to begin planning for retirement now

Are You Considering a Reverse Mortgage?

Many people who are retired and own their own home may be thinking of using a reverse mortgage to pay for their living expenses. Reverse mortgages are fairly new. In a reverse mortgage you can cash out the equity in your house while you still live there. Some banks open this as a revolving line of credit that you can write checks on. Others will deliver an amount to you each month. In order to qualify for a reverse mortgage you must be at least 62 years old. It may seem like a good way to get a little bit … Continue reading →

Employee Retirement Funds

Let me start today’s blog with a few questions. Does your current employer offer a 401k or similar retirement program? Do they also offer an employer match? Many do. Now, are you taking full advantage of it? If your current employer offers you a retirement program, even if they don’t give you a portion as a match, you should be utilizing this wonderful opportunity to save money for the future. The following are the main benefits to employee sponsored retirement options: 1. Matching Money Not all companies can afford to offer matching monies to their employee’s retirement fund. But, if … Continue reading →

Are You Considering Borrowing From Your 401K?

Have you thought about borrowing from your 401K? You are allowed to borrow against your 401K for various reasons. You are charged interest for taking out the loan, but you pay the interest to yourself. For this reason many people feel that this is a good way to get extra money from time to time. However this can be a dangerous practice. In some ways you are stealing from your retirement, to finance your life now. Yes you do pay yourself back, but you run the risk of not being able to retire comfortably. Once your money is in your … Continue reading →

Financial Advisors

Even if you feel that you do not have enough money to talk to a financial advisor, you may want to take advantage of the services one could provide for you. A financial advisor can do more than simply help you with your investments; she can sit down and help you plan out your future. A good financial advisor will take the time to sit down and learn your goals and dreams, and then work with you to help you achieve those goals. Your financial advisor will likely look at your spending and saving habits. She may be able to … Continue reading →

Debt Free! Now What?

If you are close to paying your debts off completely or just recently have, you may be wondering what to do next. It is true that you can start to live a little more comfortably. However, it would not be wise to fritter away all of that extra money in your budget. Here are five suggestions on what to do with the extra money. 1) Begin saving for a great vacation. You have earned it. You worked hard to pay off your debt and made many sacrifices. It is time to reward yourself. It is important that you reward yourself … Continue reading →

Financial Preparedness Advice from Money Bloggers

One important part of preparing for the future is having your finances in order. The money blog here at families.com is a great resource for learning to budget your money, save, invest, and get out of debt. Here are some great articles to read that will help you be financially prepared for whatever life has to offer: Preparing for death: Writing Down Your Wishes Everyone should have a will, especially those with children or those married with children from a previous relationship. The Basics of Estate Planning For more information on starting a will or trust, read this article. Getting … Continue reading →

Financial Sacrifices for Your Children

When you become a parent you begin to make sacrifices for your children. You sacrifice your time to spend time doing things that your children want to do. You may sacrifice that new pair of jeans so that your child can have a few new pairs. You may sacrifice fancy dinners out, so that you child can take ballet lessons. All of these things are normal, but is there a time when you should put yourself ahead of your child—at least financially speaking? Most experts would say that there is. When it comes to saving for your child’s education or … Continue reading →

New Year’s Resolutions: Retirement Goals

Saving for retirement may be at the top of your New Year’s resolutions as far as money is concerned. You may have started saving a little bit, or you may be saving only what your employer forces you to. You may want to start becoming more aggressive, or looking for ways to up what you are putting in your retirement without really affecting your budget. Here are five options to easily increase your savings for retirement. 1) When you receive a pay increase this year, simply increase your retirement contribution by the same amount. Your paycheck should not change, since … Continue reading →

Saving for Your Retirement Versus Paying for Your Child’s College

As you sit down and plan your finances you may be wondering if your retirement or paying for your children’s college is more important. You feel that you want to help your children out as much as you can, and you want to make sure that they have the best start they can in life. At the same time you worry about your retirement. You want to be able to retire comfortably without too much worry about your finances in your later years. This difficult decision is one that many parents have to make. While it is important to help … Continue reading →

Does Your Current Phase in Life Affect Your Money Management Choices?

As you consider money management it is important to realize that life runs in phases. Your needs and planning will need to be adjusted according to the phase that you are currently in. Recognizing these phases and your responsibilities while in these phases will help you to plan for a more secure future. The first phase is that of a young professional or worker. In this phase you should work on getting out of debt. It is also a good idea to begin saving for retirement aggressively at this phase of life. The more you save now the less you … Continue reading →