There was an interesting and surprising piece on Forbes.com about women’s greatest financial fears. Reportedly (the article didn’t actually say how it came up with its list), women’s top ten financial fears include finding themselves suddenly destitute (“the bag lady syndrome” – the article noted that even Katie Couric suffers from this fear), being unable […]
Archive | Saving
Getting Started With Savings
I recommend maintaining three distinct types of savings accounts: an emergency fund (with 3-6 months’ worth of essential living expenses), a big-ticket item replacement fund (where you save for your next vehicle or to pay for a new furnace), and a periodic bills and expenses fund (where you save each month for bills and expenses that you’ll have to pay sometime in the year, such as an annual life insurance premium or Christmas gifts). You could open 3 separate accounts. Or, I use Capital One 360, where one account can be set up with numerous sub-accounts.
Why Saving More is Good News and Bad News
Has the recession turned you into a saver? You’re not alone. According to government statistics, the average American is now saving about five percent of his or her income—quite an improvement from the negative savings rate of just five years ago. However, as was noted on CNBC recently, an increase in the personal savings rate […]
Five New Financial Normals
Writing about the “new normals” brought on by the Great Recession has become, well, a new normal for many media outlets. Adding to the conversation, Fortune magazine has come up with five new normals that it believes really will stick. Here they are, along with my thoughts. 1. Long-term unemployment. For those who have jobs, […]
How Much Would It Take To Feel Rich?
CNNMoney.com recently posed that question among a random sample of people and financial advisors. Most people based their answer on an overarching objective of having enough money so that they would not have to work. Individuals said that would require anywhere from a couple thousand dollars a month to a billion dollars. Advisors put the […]
Superstar Savers Share Their Secrets
Do you find it tough to save money? Money Magazine and CNN recently profiled some super savers, and they offer great lessons for all of us. Ed Haskell and Debbie Chasteen save a whopping 50 percent of their after-tax income. How do they do it? They have a clear, compelling goal of retiring before age […]
The Lawn Mowing Millionaire
If your child plans to work a summer job, encourage him or her to open a Roth IRA. According to a Mainstreet.com article, money you pay your child for chores won’t qualify, but money the child earns mowing other people’s lawns, babysitting, working a paper route, and many other jobs probably will. A Roth IRA […]
Youth is Entrusted to the Young
There’s an old joke that youth is wasted on the young. Financially, it’s easy to back that up. According to tax information service CCH, for example, just 28 percent of workers younger than 25 are contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Of course, the best way to take advantage of the power of compound interest […]
Why You Need Two Savings Accounts
A very common New Year’s resolution is to save more money. That’s a worthy goal, but I recommend that you maintain two savings accounts—an “If” savings account and a near-term “When” savings account. “If” savings is your emergency fund. It’s for all of life’s if’s—if you incur significant medical or house repair expenses that are […]
Becoming a Nation of Savers
After many years of declines in our household savings rate, the recession seems to have sparked a savings revival. The rate even hit a high of 6.4 percent of disposable income in May, the highest since 1993. It was 4.4 percent in the most recently reported month of October, whereas it had been hovering around […]
What I Believe
By Matt Bell on November 18, 2009 in Faith & Finances, Budgeting/Planning, Generosity, Saving, Credit/Debt, Spending Smart, Money & Marriage
I am very excited about the launch of this new web site and blog. Switching from the eNewsletters I’ve been writing for the past three years to a blog will allow for more of a two-way dialogue with readers and will free me to write about more money-related topics. Since this marks the beginning of […]