The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday and signaled that it’s unlikely to either raise or cut rates in coming months amid signs of renewed economic health but unusually low inflation.
Source CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2DH75QA
الأربعاء، 1 مايو 2019
5 Reasons You Might Need to Visit the Social Security Office
Not all Social Security services are available online. And you don't have to be over 65 to visit the office either.
Source Business & Money | HowStuffWorks http://bit.ly/2LkcdAy
Source Business & Money | HowStuffWorks http://bit.ly/2LkcdAy
5 Reasons You Might Need to Visit the Social Security Office
Not all Social Security services are available online. And you don't have to be over 65 to visit the office either.
Source Business & Money | HowStuffWorks http://bit.ly/2LkcdAy
Source Business & Money | HowStuffWorks http://bit.ly/2LkcdAy
CONSUMER ALERT: Tomato prices expected to nearly double, study says
The U.S. Department of Commerce previously announced its plans to end its tomato trade agreement with Mexico last May. But, according to a new analysis, this move could lead to a price increase and reduced supply of tomatoes.The trade agreement from 1996 created a price floor for imported Mexican tomatoes, and the U.S. could reintroduce tariffs on Mexican tomatoes if [...]
Source Business - poconorecord.com http://bit.ly/2GQe76r
Source Business - poconorecord.com http://bit.ly/2GQe76r
Don’t Look Back in Anger
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C.S. Lewis
Whenever I look back at the life I led early in my adult years, I can’t help but feel a strong twinge of frustration. I see myself wasting tons of money, digging myself into a financial hole that took a very long time to dig out of. I see myself making several career missteps which led me to gradually becoming deeply unhappy with a field that I loved. I see myself not having the faintest idea of what it meant to be a good father or a good husband.
I look back and wonder what could have been had I been smarter with my money and smarter with my career. I have a good marriage and good relationships with my three children now, but what did I miss out on and mess up?
Frustration. Resentment. Shame. Anger. Those are the feelings I feel bubbling up inside of me when I reflect on that big pile of past mistakes. I look back and wish I could take it all back.
I know that I can’t.
It’s sometimes easy to get lost in a whirlpool of “could have beens” and “should have beens.” I could have made different career choices. I should have been smarter with my money. It goes on and on.
There are three key things that keep me from falling into that whirlpool.
First of all, I can’t change the past, only the present (and by changing the present, the future). There is nothing I can do to change the mistakes I’ve made. All I can do is make better decisions going forward.
My life right now is the starting point for the rest of my life. Where is the best place I can go from here? That’s really all that matters. I can reflect on those mistakes from the past, but there is absolutely no way to change those mistakes. It’s just wishful thinking, and wishful thinking doesn’t do anything to improve my direction forward.
I can’t make my twentysomething self not dig a financial hole. I can’t make my twentysomething self not damage a few friendships. I can’t make my twentysomething self not stumble through the early years of my career. There is nothing I can do, so there’s no reason to wonder about it and feel badly about what could have been. It doesn’t gain me anything.
Second, those missteps taught me a number of lessons that are now foundations for how I live my life. All of those financial missteps taught me some hard lessons about personal finance, and it was based on those missteps that I was able to turn my financial life around and put my family on a great financial path.
Let’s say I didn’t make those mistakes. Let’s say instead that I just kept my head above water, bubbling along for years and years with enough debt that I could handle it but not really saving any money. Where would I be now?
Not only would I be in a worse situation than I am right now, I wouldn’t have the knowledge of how to succeed financially nor the motivation to do so. The idea of financial independence or retiring early wouldn’t be on my plate at all.
The same is true for my career path. Over the last decade, I’ve been able to work from home and write for a living, something I never thought was possible. However, it was the career mistakes I made that nudged me toward investing so much time and energy into side gigs. I had put myself into a career position I was unhappy with, so I started spending a lot of my free time on side gigs, trying to figure out something different going forward.
Those mistakes seem devastating from the vantage point of today, but they paved the road for making better moves after those mistakes and they set up the values and opportunities I have today.
Third, if I had done those things “better,” what would I have missed out on in my life? I have a great relationship with my kids, one that I probably wouldn’t have if I didn’t choose to start working from home when they were very young. I have a great job, one that I almost assuredly wouldn’t have if I had made “better” career decisions early on, and this job helped me to have that great relationship with my kids.
The thing is, our earlier missteps sometimes open doors we would have never found without those missteps. Sure, there might have been better opportunities had we moved along a better path, but there’s no guarantee of that.
I’m not willing to throw away something pretty great in the slim hopes of having something just a little better when it’s more likely I just lose that great thing I already have.
So, when I look back and feel that twinge of frustration and guilt about all of the stupid moves that I made back then, I just remember that the place I’m at now was borne out of that. I wouldn’t have the values I have now, the values that put me on a better path. I wouldn’t have some of the great things in my life if I hadn’t made those mistakes early on.
I can’t change the past, but why would I want to?
I don’t look back that often, but when I do, I’m not looking back to wonder what could have been. Rather, I look back to see if there are any more lessons in the past that I missed. Are there any things in those old experiences that can inform my life now?
As the years pass, I look back less and less in anger and more and more with the realization that I was a young man who was bound to make some mistakes, and what really mattered was that I learned from those mistakes. On my best days, I’m still learning from those mistakes and still becoming a better person.
I can’t change the mistakes I made back then, but I can certainly be proud of the values that those mistakes taught me and what I have built with those values.
That quote from C.S. Lewis at the start of the article rings true. “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” Indeed.
Good luck.
The post Don’t Look Back in Anger appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
Source The Simple Dollar http://bit.ly/2GV9lG7
A Loan Won’t Solve Your Money Woes If You Don’t Fix These 10 Issues First
Sometimes even the best-prepared households get knocked sideways, financially speaking. Illness, unemployment, divorce, a car accident that triggers a lawsuit – these and other situations can quickly put a hurt on the budget. In such times a personal loan or one of several types of home equity loans can provide a little breathing room until you rebuild your finances.
As noted, money woes are sometimes the result of plain old bad luck (illness, job loss). However, sometimes we’re our own worst enemies: We buy too much, we save too little, we plan not at all.
You can’t get ahead that way. And you can’t keep borrowing your way out of trouble. A loan won’t help you unless you fix the following issues.
1. Not having a budget
The simplest way to wind up in debt is to spend without thinking. Stop, then, and think for a moment about what you would like to have happen five years from now: buying a home, starting a business, getting married, traveling?
When you create a budget, you’re not just allocating your dollars – you’re enabling your dreams. An easy way to do it is the 50/30/20 budget: Spend no more than 50% of your take-home pay on essentials, 30% on wants, and 20% on saving (including retirement planning and an emergency fund). Plenty of budgeting apps exist as well (some are even free).
2. Not tracking spending
You can’t plug budget leaks unless you know where they are. Track your spending for a month, using pen and paper or a budgeting app. The cumulative effect could be eye-opening.
For example, a relative’s ex-husband was shocked – shocked! – to realize that spending $8 a day on fast food added up to $240 a month. His wife had made more money than he did, and their commingled finances made it easy for him to swipe a card and think no more of it.
Here’s hoping that your own habits aren’t quite that clueless. But even those of us who think we’re doing pretty well could be surprised by the cumulative impact of certain habits: beef jerky and a soda every time we pay for gasoline, daily iTunes downloads, $20 a week on scratch tickets.
Add up the opportunity cost of those non-essentials, and ask yourself if you could do better. (Spoiler alert: You probably can.)
3. Keeping up with the Joneses
Just because next-door neighbor bought the priciest riding mower on the market doesn’t mean you have to ditch your trusty Snapper. When your coworker talks about all the activities her kid participates in, you don’t have to sign your own tots up for horseback riding and soccer camp.
You should not let other people determine your clothing, décor, automobile, or anything else. It’s no one’s business that you bought a fixer-upper, that you drive your car until the wheels fall off, that your idea of nightlife is to read a new library book once the kids are in bed.
Remember: The Joneses may be up to their hairlines in debt. They might be focused on keeping up, too – with the minimum payments, that is.
4. Wanting your kids to have things you didn’t
There’s nothing wrong with this! Except when there is.
Obviously you want your children to be well-fed, reasonably well-dressed, and housed comfortably. You might also want to give them treats and opportunities you never had, such as vacation trips, a big allowance, loads of extracurricular activities, and fully funded education plans.
But don’t let this noble impulse bust your budget. Just because your kid wants snowboarding lessons, a new smartphone every year, and a car of their own at age 16 doesn’t mean you have to give these things. Staying out of debt and funding your retirement should take precedence over granting every whim.
At the very least they should have some skin in the game: doing additional chores to help save up for a big-ticket item, say, or mowing lawns or babysitting for extra pocket money.
Besides, we aren’t doing our kids any favors when we give them everything they want. Setting the bar too high now could mean setting them up for problems later on. Specifically, when they move out on their own they’ll want to keep living in the style to which we have accustomed them – and if their salaries don’t allow for that, they’ll wind up in debt.
5. Automatic upgrades
What’s wrong with your old smartphone or car or whatever? If you bought it relatively recently and it still works, what’s with the rush to replace?
If you get the newest phone as soon as it comes out, or trade in your vehicle every few years, or replace anything else before it really needs replacing, ask yourself why. Because your co-workers do? Because some commercial made you want a new car? Because you don’t know why, but you really, really want to anyway?
Think about the opportunity cost of that cash. Then think about the way you want to live, and whether or not you want other people making decisions about your money.
- Read more: Why You Should Worship Your Paid-Off Car
6. Shopping mindlessly
If you don’t need anything, stay out of the mall. Going shopping with friends puts you in a position to find something you suddenly can’t live without, or something that looks so cute on you or would be so cool in your house or so useful in the garage.
Except that you were doing just fine without that item until you saw it.
Ditto online shopping: Don’t cruise your favorite retailers’ websites unless you have a specific reason to do so. Better yet, undo the “one-click” function and remove stored credit card info from all sites where you’ve shopped in the past.
Bonus frugal points if you change your online passwords to something that has personal significance, such as “WeDDingDAy8192020,” or “19YEarsLEftonMORTgage,” or “EARLYretire2028” – these little reminders of where your dollars could be going instead might help you from overbuying.
7. Always buying retail
Why automatically pay full price? Instead of heading straight to the shopping center when you need (or want) something, consider these options instead:
- Thrift shops: Some are junky, but others are great. It’s like a treasure hunt. (Pro tip: Find out if there are senior discounts or other special deals. For example, a secondhand store my daughter likes offers 50 percent off every Monday.)
- Consignment stores: Like thrift shops, except they’re more discriminating about what’s accepted.
- Flash sales: While online shopping should be approached with caution, sometimes a sale really is too good to pass up. Hold yourself to limits, though: Just because those slacks are a great deal doesn’t mean you need to buy a pair in every color.
- OfferUp, LetGo, Craigslist: Sometimes people want (or need) to get rid of furniture, tools, bikes or automobiles without the hassle of a yard sale. Caution is required, but you can get some darned good deals this way.
- Newspaper classified ads: Yes, really. A guy I know recently bought a pickup truck (necessary for his job) from a newspaper ad, spending many thousands less than he would have paid at a dealership.
- Freecyle: You might be surprised at what’s being given away, no strings attached. I’ve seen beautiful furniture, clothing, bicycles, toys, books, and other useful stuff offered up.
- Yard sales: Another treasure hunt. I’ve seen items still in the shrink-wrap at these sales. It’s a great place to buy baby stuff, including newborn-sized clothing that seems never to have been worn.
- Buy Nothing Facebook groups: Last month my partner and I just picked up an almost-new Weber grill. Some of the other things I’ve seen lately: baby stuff, solid wood table, sewing machine, board games, computer desk, cookware, and tons of children’s clothes. All of it is free.
8. Overdoing it on special occasions
Are holidays and birthdays completely over the top? Maybe it’s time to tone it down. When they become extravaganzas of gift-giving, we cheapen the meaning and also set the bar higher and higher. A kid who gets tons of presents is unlikely to appreciate each one fully – and more to the point, he develops a sense of entitlement.
As for birthday parties, when did they start resembling mini-coronations? Even one-year-olds are having party rooms reserved, decorations put up, and gift registries established. Really?
Think of all the money that’s spent and quickly forgotten. Now think what those dollars could have done for a child’s education fund – or your own retirement.
Celebrate joyously, but celebrate sensibly.
9. Overbuying for grandchildren
While waiting in line at a crafts store, I met a woman who developed the bad habit of having small gifts waiting for her granddaughters whenever they visited – and they visited a lot. The woman was fretting visibly as she looked over the items in the store’s dollar section.
“What do you buy for someone who already has everything?” she asked me.
After hearing her story, I felt very sad not just for her but also for the kids. A visit to grandma’s house had become an exercise in acquisition. The first thing they do upon crossing the threshold is to ask what they’re getting. (Does anyone else find that quite sad?)
Expectations are made, not born. If you’ve gotten into the habit of treats and more treats, scale back. Replace them with activities and gifts of time. The kids who are used to getting stuff will gradually become used to not getting stuff – and when occasionally you do treat them, it will mean a lot more.
Again, the money you save could go toward their education funds or toward shoring up your own budget. You can’t finance retirement.
10. Giving more than you can afford
Charity is a noble impulse. But giving to the American Red Cross or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should be done after you’ve taken care of business. Specifically, after you’ve built an emergency fund, started saving for retirement, and taken care of any consumer debt.
Put on your own oxygen mask first, financially speaking.
Award-winning journalist and veteran personal finance writer Donna Freedman is the author of “Your Playbook for Tough Times: Living Large on Small Change, for the Short Term or the Long Haul” and “Your Playbook for Tough Times, Vol. 2: Needs AND Wants Edition.”
Read more:
- What a Financial Trainwreck Can Teach Us: Six Mistakes to Learn From
- When You Should – and Shouldn’t – Use a Personal Loan
- Should You Use a Personal Loan to Pay Off Credit Card Debt?
The post A Loan Won’t Solve Your Money Woes If You Don’t Fix These 10 Issues First appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
Source The Simple Dollar http://bit.ly/2URXf4f
How This Single Mom Blogged Her Way to Seven Figures
Sarah Titus is a single mom who gets to stay-at-home with her kids, by making a generous living working online. In her work, she's also able to encourage millions of other women. Her heart for women is that if they desire to be at home with their kids, they should absolutely be able to do […]
The post How This Single Mom Blogged Her Way to Seven Figures appeared first on The Work at Home Woman.
Source The Work at Home Woman http://bit.ly/2UOE5fL
How to Get Car Insurance as Low as $15/Month (in Just 2 Minutes)
So you’re shopping for car insurance, and you quickly realize every provider has the best rates in town.
Or so they claim.
Who do you trust? The green lizard or the duck? The chirpy saleswoman or the serious military general? It’s hard to know, really.
That’s why it’s important to shop around.
You don’t need to spend hours getting individual quotes from companies with the most memorable commercials. You’d be missing out.
Instead, use Insurify. The free online search engine aggregates new quotes for you in less than two minutes. You’ll find rates as low as $15 a month.
How to Compare Car Insurance Rates in Less Than 2 Minutes
Whether you need car insurance or are paying through your nose for your current policy, Insurify is about to become your best friend.
Here’s how to quickly compare rates from some of the country’s top providers:
- Enter information about your vehicle, yourself and your current insurance provider (if applicable).
- When you’re done, Insurify gets to work. In seconds, it presents you with a list of personalized quotes from auto insurance companies. Click through each one for more information.
- Eye one you like? Sign up online.
Remember: Rates you’ll find through Insurify can be as low as $15 a month. For context, the average American pays $80.58 a month, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Instead of settling for what every company calls the “best” rate, you can compare car insurance rates and decide for yourself in just a few minutes.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
source The Penny Hoarder http://bit.ly/2PHth1Z
"I’m 45 with NO pension – is it too late to start one?"
One reader asks whether, at 45, he should start a pension or focus on Isa saving
I am 45 years old and haven’t planned for my retirement. I don’t have a pension – apart from £1,000 in a frozen policy going back 20 years – and savings of just £6,000 after divorcing my wife. I have since remarried, have three children under 18 and owe £120,000 on an interest-only mortgage. Is it too late to start a pension or should I focus on opening an Isa?
WG/via email
Initial diagnosis
The good news is that it is never too late to start saving for retirement, according to Martin Bamford, managing director of financial planner Informed Choice.
“Whether that’s contributing to a pension, investing in an Isa or saving money elsewhere, it’s all about building capital you can draw on in later life,” he says.
A good starting point is knowing what your future state pension will be and you can ask the Department for Work and Pensions for a free forecast.
“Your age is also an important factor in your retirement planning,” he adds. “A 45-year-old can currently expect to receive the state pension at age 67.”
As you have three children, savings are important.
“The £6,000 is a good start, and I’d also suggest holding three to six months of income in cash for emergencies,” Mr Bamford adds.
The next task is to plan how you’ll repay your £120,000 mortgage, as you must repay it at the end of the term.
Mr Bamford suggests Isas are a good place to start building up the money required – with the added bonus that they can be accessed if needed.
“Another option is converting it into a repayment mortgage to reduce the interest you’ll pay over the term,” he says.
“However, this will increase your monthly payments.”
Treatment plan
Your priority should be to start saving as much as you can now, advises Patrick Connolly, a chartered financial planner at Chase de Vere.
“Even if you can’t afford to save very much, doing something is still better than doing nothing,” he says. “You can always increase your contributions over time.”
Mr Connolly believes the best approach to long-term savings for most people is a combination of pension and Isas.
“Pensions provide initial tax relief, which makes them especially attractive for higher and additional rate taxpayers,” he adds.
Most modern-day pension and Isa products allow investors to vary regular payments, start and stop payments and to add ad hoc lump sums without any penalties.
In terms of an investment strategy, he suggests keeping it simple with diversified global equity funds or multi-asset portfolios in order to spread your risk.
“It’s all about building capital you can draw on in later life”
Alternative treatment
As well as your retirement planning, it is important to help safeguard your family’s future, points out Scott Gallacher, director of wealth management firm Rowley Turton.
“As you’re married with three minor children, you also need to consider what would happen in the event of death or serious ill-health,” he says.
This should lead you to life insurance.
“Normally you would want a protection policy that at least repaid the mortgage should the worst happen,” he explains.
Overall, Mr Gallacher doesn’t believe you should worry too much about not having planned ahead for your retirement as you still have time to turn things around.
“It’s not so much about where you are today but it’s where you can get to that is important,” he says. “In that respect, it’s good that you’re looking at this situation now.”
Do you have a question for the Investment Doctor?
Email editor@moneywise.co.uk
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