College grads expect to pay off student debt in 6 years—this is how long it will actually take “Educational services company Cengage surveyed 2,500 recent and upcoming graduates for the Cengage Student Opportunity Index and found that respondents, on average, believe it will take six years to pay off their student loans.”“In reality, it will…
Author: Unknown
Who pays for Trump’s tariffs? You do of course!
Here is one example from Planet Money that illustrates the point: “In early 2018, after the American company Whirlpool complained about foreign competition, the Trump administration implemented tariffs on washing machines imported from all over the world. It’s a 20% tariff on the first 1.2 million washing machines sold a year and a 50% tariff on every one…
Investing $5,000 a year results in $1.2 million in 40 years so start now!
Wait… $5,000 x 40 $200,000. How did you get $1.2 million? The extra $1million is due to compounding.Writing for MarketWatch, Mitch Tuchman explains compound interest. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary has some simple advice for anyone who finds investing scary: Just do it. Now. “When you’re 21 years old, or 20 or 18 or 19…
Wealth inequality is bad and getting worse
Writing May 5, 2019 in The Washington Post, economist Robert J. Samuelson explains how the gap between rich and poor is getting worse in America. It’s not about income… it’s about the incredible growing wealth disparity. The $100 trillion question: What to do about wealth? and… what is the current administration doing about the problem?…
Impact of student loans on women
Women are at a crucial disadvantage when it comes to student loans “Researchers surveyed 1,000 college-educated adults across America and found that 37% of women did not understand the basics of student loans — which are things like timelines, monthly payments, interest rates, tax implications, refinancing and evaluating lenders, before they borrowed — versus only…
Trump’s tariffs cost US consumers $106 billion per year. Your cost: $831/year
“US tariffs recently imposed on goods from China will cost American households $106 billion annually, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. These tariffs likely will reduce overall tariff revenue collected by the US and will “create large economic distortions,” the report said.” Tariffs are a hidden tax on consumer purchasing…
Hundreds of financial professionals pose a risk to their clients!
“A proposed rule from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that would impose restrictions on firms employing high-risk registered representatives and financial advisers may apply to 61 financial-services companies, said FINRA CEO Robert Cook. John Salerno, who manages the high-risk representative program, said hundreds of individuals have been identified as presenting risk to clients.“https://www.investmentnews.com/article/20190517/FREE/190519929/finra-makes-its-list-to-target-hundreds-of-rogue-individuals ALWAYS ask a…
So you thinkk your mortgage is saving you on income taxes… think again
From my favorite financial guru, Jonathan Clements: “Mortgage interest is tax deductible, but the tax savings are often less than we imagine—and there may be no tax savings at all. Suppose we’re married and our itemized deductions—including $13,000 in mortgage interest—total $26,000 in 2019. Sound impressive? Remember, we could always claim the $24,400 standard deduction for…
Hybrid Long Term Care Insurance
Actuaries miscalculated when insurance companies first started selling Long term care insurance (LTCI). As insurance company losses mounted many purchasers faced unaffordable increases in their annual premiums. Rather quickly the number of companies offering LTCI shrunk from about 100 to a dozen as it became clear that the product was not properly priced.Now a variation…
Retirees Regret Claiming Social Security Early
Many Retirees Wish They Had Delayed Taking Social Security Benefits “MassMutual says a married couple that lives into their 90s but decides to begin their Social Security benefits at age 62 as opposed to age 70 could be leaving as much as half a million dollars on the table, or forfeiting $2,000 to $4,000 a…