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Why cutting the cord might not work
Time was when you had a home phone and you watched TV with a rabbit-ear antenna. Life was cheap then. Well, almost: I remember paying $3.95 a minute to make a phone call from Orange County to New York. Life may have been cheaper then, but not easier: When you and your significant other got separated in a grocery store, you had to find each other the old-fashioned way.
Then cable television and cell phones were invented. Both were expensive at first, making them the status symbols of the era. Remember how cool that squiggly little antenna was on a car’s rear window? Going to the car wash, you had to unscrew it, and the haves kept them visible on their laps while they waited for their cars. (“Yeah, Sparky, eat your heart out, I have one and you don’t!”)
Retirement saving: Size isn’t the only consideration
I recently read one of those articles debating whether a million dollars was enough to retire on these days. Mostly, the focus of the article was on the fact that a million dollars isn’t as significant as it used to be due to the impact of inflation. That’s a good point, but it also got me thinking that the size of your nest egg is just one side of the retirement equation.
The Picasso Effect: A Secret to Career Success?
This post comes from Anna Williams at our partner site LearnVest.com.
The secret to climbing the career ladder just might be knitting, taking a ceramics class or refurbishing old cars.
That’s right: According to new research from San Francisco State University, embracing your creative after-work hobbies—even if it’s just trying your hand at a new dessert recipe—could be a major boost to your day job.
Wills that leave values, not valuables
You’re accustomed to seeing personal-finance articles on this site, and a quick scan of the archives will reveal every imaginable personal-finance subject.
You’ll find blogs about the best zero-percent-APR credit cards and how to track down the best high-yield savings accounts. You’ll spot posts on financial plans and funding home purchases and college educations. And you’ll see deep dives into estate-planning tools like powers of attorney, living trusts and wills.
But this week, it’s high time FiveCentNickel looked at a different kind of will, one that allows you to pass to your heirs values rather than valuables. I’m talking about a document called the ethical will, sometimes referred to as a legacy letter.
Anatomy of a credit-based insurance score
If you drive a motor vehicle in the United States, it is compulsory in most states to carry insurance. Auto insurance is one of the “big wins,” where a little effort provides a big payoff, not just once, but again and again. There are several well-known ways to save on auto insurance ranging from keeping a clean driving record to shopping around. One way that doesn’t get enough attention but has a big influence on how much premium you pay is the credit-based insurance score. Ninety-five percent of auto insurers now use a credit-based insurance score as part of their underwriting process (where permitted by law). Hence, in order to get the best rates, it is essential to know what this score is, how it is used, and how to maintain a good score.
The Myth of the Post-Retirement Worker
This post comes from Libby Kane at our partner site LearnVest.com.
By now, you’re probably aware that the average American is woefully underprepared when it comes to saving for retirement.
“That’s okay,” you might think. “I can always just work for a few more years, or take on a part-time job to cover my expenses.”
Have you considered these low-cost healthcare options?
We have a nephew who lives in Switzerland whose wife recently gave birth to their second son. She stayed in hospital for an entire week and the blessed event cost them … nothing. Contrast that with this report from the New York Times, detailing the high cost of childbirth in the States. Obamacare is an attempt by the Government to “do something” about the problem. Whether you’re a fan or hater of Obamacare, there can be no doubt that the real problem isn’t the political party on either side of the argument — it’s the high cost of healthcare in America. That’s why I started to look beyond Obamacare to find other solutions.
The Problem
Learning to live with risk
The stock market has had some rocky sessions lately, but we should be used to that. The 21st century has already dished out two major bear markets in stocks, not to mention what has happened to real estate, oil futures, and gold at various times in the 2000s. We are having to learn to live with risk.
That is not natural for me. I am not a risk-taker by nature. People who study economic decision-making talk in terms of risk-averse and risk-seeking behaviors; my instinct is almost always to come down on the risk-averse side of the decision. And yet, I’ve learned to live with risk. A substantial part of my net worth is in the stock market, meaning that on a typical day I make or lose far more due to the whims of Wall Street than I earn by working that day. For the most part, I am comfortable with that.
Frequent Flier Miles Will Soon Favor the Rich
This post comes from Libby Kane at our partner site LearnVest.com.
We don’t need to tell you that air travel is expensive.
That’s even with airline loyalty programs, which generally grant frequent-flier miles to travelers based on the distance traveled. These are later redeemed for a free trip (or part of a trip).
But rewarding customers this way is slowly being abandoned by the industry. MarketWatch reports that, following the example of JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America, Delta will change the structure of its loyalty program starting in 2015.
Enter a new chapter in personal finance success
One of the telltale signs you’re rapidly becoming an annoying elder statesman is an increasing tendency to buttonhole much younger people and dispense advice they haven’t sought, don’t want and are unlikely to take to heart.
You know the kind of guidance I’m talking about. Always eat your green vegetables. Exercise regularly. Look both ways before crossing the street. Never attempt to domesticate a bobcat.
I’ve caught myself serving up a not-dissimilar course of counsel lately. Just about any conversation I have with a decades-younger adult, whether about recent weather or the fates of local sports teams, is likely to be punctuated at some point by a sermon from me about the wisdom of starting to save early.
Little wonder. As I’ve grown older and increasingly witnessed the amazing results of depositing money early and often into tax-advantaged-investment accounts, I’ve taken on the bent of one who’s got that old-time religion.
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