Real estate investments in recent months have hit the skids amid rampant inflation, soaring interest rates and fears of recession. The total return of the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs index slumped 16...
Tag: Personal finance
Here’s why a Roth IRA conversion may pay off in a down market
Morsa Images | E+ | Getty Images Soaring inflation, interest rate hikes and the war in Ukraine have sparked ongoing stock market volatility. But there may be a bright spot: the chance to save money on...
We have $5 million in savings and earn nearly $7,000 a month. Should we spend over $2.1 million to build our dream home?
We are thinking about building a modern home on 26 acres in the Texas Hill Country. We would pay cash; the estimated costs to build excluding the land is $2.1 million. Including land, it would be clos...
Why the UK economy is one of the most vulnerable right now
George Clerk | E+ | Getty Images There’s an economic idiosyncrasy in the U.K. that makes it “one of the most vulnerable countries in the world right now,” according to an investment ...
How do higher mortgage rates help shrink inflation? Here’s an explainer.
The Federal Reserve yanked a short-term interest rate higher this week, making it more expensive to borrow money to buy a home or fix it up. The central bank raised the federal funds rate last week by...
Fed issued biggest rate hike in 22 years. 4 things to do with your money now
Amid rising interest rate, here’s how to handle savings, investments and debt. Getty Images/iStockphoto For the first time in 22 years, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by more than one-quart...
Your new ‘retirement’ home could be a cruise ship
Jeff Farschman, 72, is a serial cruiser from Delaware who spends months at sea in retirement. Jeff Farschman For nearly two decades, Jeff Farschman, 72, has spent his golden years like many other adve...
Most Americans were feeling gloomy even before last week’s dramatic dive in stocks — and now they fear a prolonged bear market
In a matter of hours, promising signs of a stock market rally turned into pessimism, even panic. For retail investors trying to get their legs during a volatile moment, Thursday’s deep downward lurch ...
I’m 69 and ‘never got a job that paid well.’ How can I tackle student loan debt?
How to get out of student loan debt Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I went back to college to get my degree after my children had grown up and my mother passed away. I left my job as a corporate ch...
Your cash savings may get a higher return but only at certain banks
Guido Mieth | DigitalVision | Getty Images Banks are starting to pay a higher return on your cash — good news for savers who’ve seen their stockpiles languishing from a gruesome combination of l...
Proposed IRS Rule Could Penalize Some Heirs of Retirement Accounts
Proposed new regulations from the Internal Revenue Service for inherited retirement accounts would require many heirs to make minimum annual withdrawals from the accounts—leaving less room for the sav...
Worried about a recession? Here’s how to prepare your portfolio
FG Trade | iStock | Getty Images More from FA Playbook: Here’s a look at other stories impacting the financial advisor business. “We all understand that markets go through cycles and reces...
What Bitcoin Could Be Worth to Fidelity. You’ll Be Surprised.
Text size Fidelity’s push into Bitcoin is raising controversy but could be lucrative for the company. Dreamstime.com Fidelity Investments shocked the retirement industry last month with a move t...
This little-known Vanguard fund has been crushing it — yes, even in this market
What would Jack Bogle think? The legendary Vanguard founder, who died three years ago at 89, famously advised investors to avoid anything fancy in their retirement portfolios, 401(k) plans and IRAs. B...
It’s the Worst Bond Market Since 1842. That’s the Good News.
So far in 2022, with inflation raging, bonds have lost 10%—among the worst returns in U.S. history. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.5 percentage point, the sharpest increa...
The Fed raised interest rates – what to do now with your retirement portfolio
Inflation is rising, the stock market is volatile and now the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates – but investors, as always, should steer clear of any major changes, financial advisers said. T...
Over 60 million tax returns could be completed automatically, study says
Tom Werner | DigitalVision | Getty Images The IRS may have the ability to automate nearly half of tax returns, according to a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The agency co...
The only two stock funds you’ll ever need
Let’s face it: You’re probably reading this article because you want to make more money from your investments. That’s the No. 1 motivation of investors. So I’m going to tell you how to achieve one of ...
Why did the Dow plunge more than 1,000 points? Should I wait for stocks to sink lower? Here’s what some pros think.
What a difference a day makes. Fresh off the best percentage gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -3.12% since Nov. 9, 2020, the blue-chip index got clobbered, along with the rest of the st...
6 things to know before you jump into retirement
I’m six months into my retirement from the corporate world. How are things going? Any regrets? Any big surprises? No regrets, for sure. I knew that leaving the workplace at age 61 would be a trade off...
Rising interest rates mean higher borrowing costs to buy a car
Newsday Llc | Newsday | Getty Images On top of elevated prices for new and used cars, financing the purchase of one is about to get more expensive. With the Federal Reserve boosting a key interest rat...
What the Fed’s Interest-Rate Increase Means for Your Mortgage, Loans, Savings
The Federal Reserve raised its short-term benchmark rate by a half-percentage point on Wednesday, the sharpest increase since 2000, to a range between 0.75% and 1%. Though widely expected, the move wi...
‘My aim is to have a net worth of at least $100,000’: I’m 29 and live with my mom in a rented mobile home. I have a $25K emergency fund and $26K in a Roth IRA. What do I save for next?
I am doing OK financially as a single 29-year-old who unfortunately is still roommates with my mom. We split everything down the middle and I mainly stay with her since it is very expensive to live on...
TurboTax owner Intuit to pay $141 million to customers
Kimberly White | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Intuit, the owner of popular tax filing software TurboTax, will pay $141 million in restitution to millions of low-income Americans who were ...
How to get free Nike sneakers, save money at Apple & other life hacks
Reading the fine print or understanding available offers means you could be saving money or taking advantage of refunds or freebies that you might not have otherwise known about, like a brand-new pair...
Here’s how much cash retirees need to weather a stock market downturn
Luminola | E+ | Getty Images Amid high inflation and rising interest rates, there are fears of a prolonged stock market downturn, and some retirees may be vulnerable without a cushion of cash, financi...
If we’re long-term investors, what should we be buying?
Ten times. That’s how often I’ve seen these market slumps, tumbles and crashes during the 25 years I’ve been writing about this stuff. At least. This includes slumps in 2010 and 2011 that were as bad ...