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Big Week for Money

If you have been following the news, you will note that there have been many big changes to the economy this week. There are many signs that our country is heading for a recession and the government is trying to balance. These sorts of actions are very interesting as we head into the next election. They also affect our own pocketbooks. After months of gradual decline, the stock market had a large drop this week. Since October, the S&P has dropped 16%, the Dow dropped 15% and the Nasdaq is down 20%. All three of these indicators are not good … Continue reading →

Money Market Accounts

Okay, I have to admit that I am a savings dork. While I am quite willing to place my long term investments like retirement funds in riskier stock funds (balanced with bonds… of course), I am nervous about putting my shorter term savings accounts in them. Currently I utilize a standard savings account and CDs for my short term investments, although my customer service rep at my bank keeps subtly hinting I may be throwing some money away in this choice. The talk of the town for saving these days seems to be money market accounts. Therefore, my thought was … Continue reading →

Money Week in Review Oct. 7 – 13th

Ever wondered how the terms bear and bull work in relationship to the stock market? Maybe you are curious about how these animals came to represent an economic function? Check out the answers to these questions in Bear or Bull. You have been saving frantically for some financial goal, what should you do when you finally get there? While some may imagine Smashing Your Piggy Bank, Miriam has some more sound advice in this article. With all this money talk about saving, budgeting and getting out of debt, do you ever feel guilty when you want to simply splurge on … Continue reading →

Money Saving Trends

Like anything else, there are trends when it comes to saving money. Are you keeping up with the status quo? Check the list of current money saving trends to find out. Retirement Savings: In years past, most individuals didn’t think much about their retirement savings. Companies often offered nice pension plans and for those that didn’t have that, Social Security was a given. In today’s times, Social Security is uncertain and most businesses don’t offer any sort of large pension. This has opened the door for consumers to create their own retirement savings accounts – with 401k programs and IRAs … Continue reading →

Counting Money and Making Change

The other day, my eldest daughter and I went to the bank prior to walking through our downtown farmer’s market. My eldest daughter is marching on the way to eighteen-years-old I’ll have you know, but after making my deposit and withdrawal, I handed her the stack of bills to count what we had out of pure habit. She chuckled and confessed she’d always loved the “verifying” job and we got to reminiscing about the easy and stealthy parental ways I taught my kids about handling money, making change, and counting… When my kids were younger, every time we’d go to … Continue reading →

Teaching Teens to Save Money

It is important to teach your children to save money. This step can be easy to do, especially if you start at an early age. Saving money will teach your children discipline. It will also help them to see that as they save their money they will have more power to do the things that they want to do. Here are five tips for teaching teens to save money. 1) Have your teenagers save towards a goal. It may be a car. It may be a high school trip. If you discuss the goal with your child, and make a … Continue reading →

The Difference Between Saving and Investing: An Important Distinction for Kids to Learn

You can save or you can invest. It is a distinction that many adults struggle with as a concept. How then can kids understand the difference, and why is it so important? Most kids who are introduced to the concepts of money tend to be conservative. They like to hoard as much of their money as they can and save up for things. That is a great phase that can be utilized by parents, caregivers and teachers to teach the value and the responsibility of money. Unfortunately, most kids do not get any instruction past those initial lessons. Many experts … Continue reading →

Spending is Up, but Not Earning

Industry experts are reporting that Americans are tapping into their savings accounts and using credit cards in an increased account of spending in what they are calling a spring shopping spree. It is bringing a little boost to the economy, but these analysts warn that it might not last long, since earning is not keeping up with spending. People are buying everything from new cars to average consumer goods. This in spite of the fact that gasoline prices are way up and the job market is still very tight. In fact, it is predicted that gas prices will go up … Continue reading →

How Can I Protect My Family’s Finances?

Despite our best efforts to plan and budget, sometimes things happen that throw our families’ finances so far off track that we may wonder whether we will ever be able to meet some of the financial goals that we had set for ourselves. Things like retirement, college educations for the kids, and even home ownership can seem like distant fantasies when times get tough and you are living in survival mode. The good news is that as bleak as things may seem, all is not lost. You do not have to give up on your family’s financial goals. With some … Continue reading →

The A B C’s of Finance Part 4

Continuing on in our discussion of finance from A to Z, here are more words from the language of finance that I did not know and would like to share with you. A joint and survivor annuity is a type of annuity that two people open together. It makes payments for the entire lifetimes of both beneficiaries, even after one of them dies. Keogh plans are pension accounts in which taxes are deferred. This type of pension plan is available to people who are self-employed, which is great because self employed people often do not have the same type of … Continue reading →