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Income inequality is bad enough, but wealth inequality is way worse

“The richest 1 percent now owns more of the country’s wealth than at any time in the past 50 years.” Writing for The Washington Post, Christopher Ingraham explains:  “Today, the top 1 percent of households own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined. That gap, between the ultrawealthy and everyone else, has only become wider…

Getting to Retirement: Common Sense from The Humble Dollar

“HOW DO WE GET from here to retirement? Amid the financial markets’ daily turmoil, it might seem like one big crapshoot.” “But in truth, navigating this journey is pretty straightforward, because there are just five key variables—our time horizon, current nest egg, savings rate, target nest egg and investment return.” Jonathan Clements (https://humbledollar.com/)provides solid, easy…

How to avoid dementia and How dementia affects finances

Dementia may cause major financial problems long before diagnosis, making early detection critical “Deteriorating financial capabilities have long been considered one of the earliest signs of cognitive decline.” New research published Monday “suggests that adverse financial events associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, or ADRD, can start happening years before people are clinically diagnosed.”…

2021 Medicare Premiums

 In 2021, Higher Medicare premiums will apply for individuals with modified adjusted gross income above $88,000; for married couples who file a joint tax return, that amount is $176,000. These higher premiums affect only about 8% of beneficiaries.  Most Medicare participants will pay $148.50 per month per person. Source: Financial Planning for Women

Can you trust the Certified Financial Planner designation?

An investigation by The Wall Street Journal revealed that “thousands of advisers with the coveted Certified Financial Planner designation listed in the group’s public directory as having clean records had histories of customer complaints, bankruptcies, regulatory problems or criminal records.” “The CFP Board had been relying solely on planners to self-report red flags in their…

High Mutual Fund Fees Tied to Fund Complexity

 “The larger the fee the less that it performs. It’s kind of a straight line.” financial adviser David Marotta charted the fees and 10-year returns for dozens of S&P 500 index funds. “Since these funds all track the same index and their performance is roughly the same, the fees will largely determine how much of…

The PowerPay Online Money Mastery Course

 Want to improve your financial literacy and your economic situation? Check out The PowerPay Online Money Mastery Course: https://extension.usu.edu/powerpay/ “The PowerPay Money Mastery Online Course is designed to teach real-life money smarts regarding your personal financial vision, money personality, tracking expenses, budgeting, managing debt, understanding credit, and saving money. Bonus module topics include insurance, investing,…

Why Americans Have Been Deceived About Canada’s Health Care System

“For decades, the health insurance industry has been scaring Americans about Canada’s health care system. We hear from a whistleblower about his role in the disinformation campaign.”  Why is this relevant today?  The same types of disinformation are being used to smear the Affordable Care Act. AMANDA ARONCZYK, BYLINE: When I first moved to the…