Nearly one-half of the oldest Baby Boomers (those ages 56-62) are at risk of not having enough income to pay for basic needs and uninsured healthcare costs during retirement. That’s the central finding of a new Employee Benefit Research Institute report. The solutions are obvious and have been repeated many times before. First, run a […]
Author Archive | Matt Bell
Kids Ask The Darndest Things About Money
Have your kids ever asked you a real stumper of a question about money? Consider this one, culled from a great series of blog posts from Ron Lieber at The New York Times: “You tell me all the time that the reason we have nice things and can go to a nice school is that […]
Is Mint.com Safe?
The online budget space is going through something of a shakeout. It wasn’t long ago that new players seemed to emerge every month, most with strange-sounding names like Wesabe, Yodlee, Geezeo (which now seems to be focusing on working with financial institutions rather than individuals), moneyStrands, and Mint. However, Intuit’s purchase of Mint seemed to […]
The Recession That Won’t Go Away
According to news reports, the recession is over. However, new research by the Pew Research Center says that only 3 percent of Americans buy that. A little over half (55 percent) say we’re still in the thick of it; 41 percent say we’re beginning to come out of it. The survey highlighted several ways we’ve […]
The Price of Getting to Work
While plenty of people would like to get back to work, many of those who are working may be damaging their health just getting to and from their jobs. According to a new IBM global commuter study, over half of all commuters says roadway traffic has negatively impacted their health. A Mainstreet.com story about the […]
Learning How to Save for College
For anyone trying to figure out the best ways to save for a child’s future college costs, SavingForCollege.com used to be the go-to source of information. However, as reported by Mainstreet.com, Morningstar has become a valuable added source. I can’t say one site is better than the other; both have their advantages. Both offer helpful […]
Building Walls of Protection
A fierce storm blew through our town recently. Because a tornado had been spotted nearby, we took shelter in the basement. News reports said the storm was moving quickly, so I figured we’d be back upstairs soon enough. But then I heard a disturbing sound coming from our basement bathroom, the sound of water gurgling. […]
Where Could Your Vacation Budget Take You?
In good times, people often choose where they want to go on vacation and then look into the cost. These days, assuming there’s still money in the budget for a vacation, the dollars come first. And just in time, there’s a helpful new resource from one of my favorite travel sites, Kayak.com. As reported on […]
The Case for Index Funds
A new study by professors at the University of Chicago and Dartmouth reinforces the wisdom of the small print in mutual fund advertisements: “Past performance does not guarantee future results.” The research found that “virtually all actively managed funds” fail to outperform the indexes against which they are compared, and that any success achieved by […]
Help for Home Buyers
If you’re in the market to buy a house, there are two resources I came across recently that I recommend. First, the book Mind Your Own Mortgage has a lot of helpful advice, especially author Robert Bernabé’s recommended process for finding the lowest-cost mortgage. By that, he isn’t talking about interest rates or monthly payments. […]