journey
Opening a Savings Account for a Newborn Baby: What You Need to Know First
Opening a savings account for a baby can seem like a good way to start a child off on a successful financial path. You begin to build a little nest egg for Junior and hopefully, as the little one grows, can teach good savings habits. Itâs certainly not the only option available to begin building […]
The post Opening a Savings Account for a Newborn Baby: What You Need to Know First appeared first on SoFi.
Long-Term Financial Goals: How To Plan Your Financial Future at Any Age
Long-term financial goals take five or more years to accomplish and generally apply to major life events. Some of the most important long term financial goals people have include saving for retirement and paying off their mortgage. Itâs natural to…
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The post Long-Term Financial Goals: How To Plan Your Financial Future at Any Age appeared first on MintLife Blog.
Why the Sandwich Generation Just Got Worse for Women
As we celebrate national Womenâs History Month this March, itâs a great moment to take a look at all of the pressures and pulls on womenâs time and energy. The pandemic has exacerbated the âtypicalâ issues facing the sandwich generation by creating even more challenges for women, in particular. This should no longer be called the sandwich generation for women, but instead, the club sandwich generation.
The Sandwich Generation
This clever term refers to the generation (consisting of women, in most cases) being caught, or sandwiched, between kids who are struggling financially and need help and elderly parents who are also struggling and need help. These simultaneous burdens on women during the pandemic have heightened their financial and emotional stress.
- SEE MORE 5 Ways COVID-19 Has Affected Womenâs Financial Planning
Women, in greater numbers than men, have had to take off work to care for kids who couldnât go to school; take off time from work to care for their adult children returning to the nest because they may have lost their jobs or became ill; and also, take time off to care for and take parents to doctors.
Why the Big Deal?
Itâs because the real âmeat in the sandwichâ (women) are worried about not having enough âbreadâ to support all the generations relying upon them for financial help. The pressures mount as life shifts. People are living longer, which is great, but that also means that elderly parents may need more help for a longer period of time. That translates into the sandwich generation often having to give up their work to care for their parents. The sandwiched women may be raising their own younger kids, and then couple that with their older kids moving back home, and we have a recipe for real financial burden.
- SEE MORE A Womanâs Guide to Long-Term Care
The big deal is that women are still the caregivers, in most cases. They are pulled in too many directions. As discussed, the pandemic forced many to leave the workplace to handle all of these circumstances. Many moms are single and are under even more pressure.Â
What Can Be Done?
Take a Deep Breath
The first thing to consider is to try to balance all of your obligations and try not to be stretched so thin that you burn out because so many people depend upon you. Although it may sound impossible, you need to even schedule a daily âtime-outâ for yourself to take a walk or to meet or Zoom with a friend. Once you do, youâll be more âpresentâ to help the others in your life.
Have the Talks
Talk to your kids and parents about sharing all the household responsibilities. Older kids may have to pitch in with caring for their grandparents. Maybe older kids could help with cleaning the house and taking Grandma or Grandpa to the doctor.  Younger kids can even help by spending time with their grandparents. They could play cards or Scrabble or a watch TV with them. Also, grandparents may be healthy enough to be in charge of the younger kidsâ homework, or babysitting for them. This will not only free up some time for you, but may save you some money, as well.
Craft a Family Budget
Design a family budget with the whole family, all of the generations, in mind. The adult kids may have to take jobs that donât meet their expectations. Be honest about what you can and canât afford. Ask each member what they are willing to sacrifice. Give them each a goal to reduce their expenditures. Maybe they each have to figure out how to save, say, $50 a week to contribute back into the family budget. Let them come up with ways to save. If your parents shouldnât be driving, it is a perfect time to get rid of their car and insurance costs.Â
Your younger kids can think about cutting down on family discretionary spending on entertainment; everything from designer coffee to streaming services. Set up a family challenge to rotate the making of meals, including the freezing of an extra meal. This will help you to save time and money. Shop in bulk. You get the point.
Donât Touch Your Retirement Savings
Itâs tempting to start to liquidate or borrow from your retirement savings, but there are consequences. Try not to touch that money, because itâs so hard to build that back up again. Think about the consequences of you just kicking the can down the road for your kids, who could then become the next sandwich generation financially caring for you.
Seek Help
There are lots of professionals to help you to navigate these choppy financial waters and to design a plan forward. Also, many communities are offering support groups; you are not alone. You may learn of new resources and coping skills. You may have thought somewhere in your mind that this could happen, but you canât understand it until you are knee-deep in the situation.
We know that you are capable of doing everything â work, family, friends, volunteering, all of it. Letâs face it, as we look at celebrating Womenâs History Month, you need to also celebrate yourself. You are the lynchpin of the family.
- SEE MORE Women Who Bring Home the Bacon Are STILL the Ones Frying It Up in a Pan
What Are Financial Wellness Programs?
Among the many reasons Americans can lose sleep at night, money stress is a major concern. But many employers are alleviating financial worries with the creation of financial wellness programs, which both attract and retain quality candidates. Financial wellness programs aim to help … Continue reading →
The post What Are Financial Wellness Programs? appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
Money Management and Setting Your Financial Goals
Thereâs no doubt about it: Thinking about money can be a bit nerve-wracking. In fact, one recent study found that 90% of Americans say money impacts their stress level. If youâve ever swiped your debit card and seen âtransaction deniedâ or looked at your credit cardâs interest rate, you can probably relate to that. But […]
The post Money Management and Setting Your Financial Goals appeared first on SoFi.
Rent.com Announces Annual College Scholarship Contest
The Rent.com scholarship provides $2,500 for two full-time students to offset educational expenses.
The post Rent.com Announces Annual College Scholarship Contest appeared first on The Rent.com Blog : A Renterâs Guide for Tips & Advice.
10 of the Best Target-Date Fund Families
Target-date funds are a core component of many investors’ retirement strategies. And for good reason: These funds provide a one-stop shop for retirement investors.
Every target-date fund adjusts its asset allocation from more aggressive and growth-oriented holdings in the early savings years to more conservative capital-preservation strategies as investors near and enter retirement. All investors need to do is choose the fund that most closely aligns with their target retirement date, and the portfolio managers will take care of the rest.
- SEE MORE 2022’s Best Mutual Funds in 401(k) Retirement Plans
However, choosing is easier said than done.
Target-date funds vary in their cost, structure and methodology. While one 2050 target-date fund may use 90% stocks, another could hold only 60% stocks. These differences can result in widely different investment experiences for participants.
In general, when evaluating target-date funds, keep the following in mind:
- Cost: All target-date funds require some degree of active management, as someone has to make the rebalancing decisions for you. But costs will vary depending on what these funds invest in. Some target-date funds hold lower-cost index funds while others use active funds that are pricier, but might provide the potential for higher returns or a less volatile investment journey.
- “To” versus “through” glidepaths: A target-date fund’s glidepath is how it manages the level of risk, or equity (more risky)Â versus fixed-income (less risky) exposure, throughout an investor’s lifetime. Some funds reach their lowest equity allocation at the target retirement date and then maintain that exposure throughout retirement, known as a “to” glidepath, because they manage to retirement. Other funds manage through retirement by continuing to de-risk after (or through) the target retirement date. The “to” glidepath strategy argues that the riskiest day of an investor’s financial life is the day she retires. Managers of “through” portfolios would argue that because investors are living for 30-plus years in retirement, they need a higher allocation to growth investments at their retirement date.
- Aggressiveness: Target-date funds offer varying degrees of aggressiveness. The fund families on our list range from 99% equities in the early years to 82% equities; in retirement, they range from 55% equities to only 8%. Funds heavier in stocks have higher growth potential, in theory, but they’re riskier and have the potential for more volatile returns.
Read on as we look at the distinguishing features of 10 of the industry’s best target-date fund providers.
- SEE MORE The 25 Best Low-Fee Mutual Funds You Can Buy
Fund families listed in alphabetical order.
Was the Pandemic Really a Good Thing for Some (Financially Speaking)?
Itâs hard to think that there is a bright spot when you look at the death and destruction that the pandemic brought to so many. But if we step back, letâs see if there has been a silver lining for some.
We canât forget the backdrop of the pandemic. We were petrified as we went into 2020, as people got sick and businesses started to shutter. We had no defenses from the disease or from losing our loved ones and livelihoods. Unemployment surged to levels not since the Depression. But help was on the way. The government poured trillions of dollars into the economy; people received real money via two rounds of stimulus payments; the government also paused mortgage and student debt payments for millions of people; the Fed kept liquidity flowing into our economy; inflation and interest rates were negligible.Â
What Were the Results?
According to the Census Bureau, stimulus payments lifted 11.7 million people out of poverty. In other words, almost 12 million more people would have been considered impoverished if Congress had not acted to alleviate the situation.
The stimulus checks were delivered to people both above and below the poverty line.  We know that not everyone benefited equally, and many people are still in a tenuous position. But if you were working and Zooming from home in your PJs, you didnât need to buy work clothes or spend money commuting to the office. You werenât traveling or going out to eat. So, for those who were lucky enough to keep their jobs and were not trying to just survive, the stimulus checks were a bonus. Working from home allowed many to reduce their expenses. Their mortgages and student loans were on pause, and they diligently increased their savings. These people amassed $2.7 trillion in extra savings.
Savings Were Up
The personal savings rate, which is a measure of how much money people have left over after their expenses and taxes, soared to almost 33% in April 2020, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. For the two years before the pandemic, it had averaged just under 8%.
According to a report from NerdWallet and Goldman Sachs, families in the top 20% of income put more than a third of their extra savings into investment accounts or down payments on homes, and lower-income families mostly kept their extra savings in banks or used it to pay down debt. Whatâs interesting, as noted in the report, is that, âThe majority of Americans (78%) report that the pandemic has spurred them to take some sort of financial action.â
Debt Was Down
Americans also paid down some of their credit card debt during the pandemic. Over $100 billion in credit card debt has been paid off by consumers due to the influx of stimulus money. People also had fewer places to spend money, but still they could have been clicking away online, and didnât. Before you jump for joy, the average cardholder still has more than $5,000 of credit card debt.
Thatâs Changing: People Are Spending Again
I wish I could see the trends of spending less, saving more and paying down credit cards continue ⦠but no. We noted a great holiday shopping boom, even the midst of rising prices due to supply chain issues and inflation. Holiday spending increased by 11% for online sales and over 8% for in-store sales.
Millennials and Gen Zers Are So-Over-Covid
Optimism about improved finances in 2022 is highest among Generation Z, those born from 1997 to 2012, and diminishes with each successive older generation, based on Bankrateâs survey findings.
Gen Zers and millennials who said they felt optimistic about 2022âs finances most often attributed it to making more money at work, while baby boomers who felt positive cited having less debt.
Some of this optimism is based upon the fact that the younger generations are expected to enjoy higher wage increases in 2022. Pundits say that the expected 4% wage increase is due to the current soaring  7.48% inflation rate, as food, housing and gas prices are spiking. I think it also has to do with the fear of losing good employees. Last year the job market lost over 38 million workers during the Great Resignation, to seek fame and fortune elsewhere. The raise many will receive may not be a reflection of a job well done, but more of a plea not to leave.
What Can You Do to Remain Financially Healthy in 2022?
- Create a real budget that you will stick to. List all of your expenses based upon your real spending habits, not the pie-in-the-sky ones you want. Then re-create the budget you want. Make sure that paying off debt is one of your line-items for your new budget.
- Set up an emergency fund. You should make sure that you have three to six months of money put aside. It is not only to buy those tires you may need, but it is also for money to carry you over in case of a lost job.
- Cut down spending. You know that this makes sense, but it is hard to do. As a rule of thumb, if you canât pay the full balance on your credit card each month, donât charge anymore. If you are carrying balances, pay more than the minimum each month. The average rate on credit cards today is 16%, and those rates will rise as general rates rise this year.
- Review your credit card statements each month. Cancel all of the memberships and things you no longer want or use.
- Spend less on food and entertainment. Itâs expensive to go out. Your friends will want to save money, as well. Decide to get together for potluck dinners. Enjoy each other, and enjoy not getting the credit card bill at the end of the month.
The pandemic can be seen as a really tough wake-up call. It stills looms over our nationâs health. Financial health is part of your overall health. Itâs not about how much you earn, itâs about how much you save and spend to create a stress-free life for you and your loved ones.
How to Pay off Credit Card Debt in 2022
When youâre clueless about where to start with paying off credit card debt, youâre highly susceptible to scams. Here are your legit options.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.