FiGuide, Author at FIGuide

Where to Invest Your Cash Now!

Oct 25 2011

Thanks to a really illuminating answer given by our advisor, Kimberly J. Howard, we can tell you about the best place to park your emergency dollars.

As she says, “the best place for those dollars is in a CD (certificate of deposit), savings account or a money market account.”

This is because any investments need to be safe and risk free, while also allowing easy and quick access.

CDs are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for banks and by the National Credit Union Administration for credit unions, which means that they are “money in the bank” – they …

The 4 Biggest Social Security Myths

Oct 24 2011

Some quick Mythbusters of our own today, courtesy of Jonnelle Marte:

1.) “Social Security is a terrible deal”

In fact, the truth is that the earliest people in the system got a good return on their payments into the system. Those working today pay more in Social Security taxes than previous generations but are going to get smaller benefits when it’s their turn to retire. Taxes are also set to increase with time so it’ll be even worse for future generations.

2.) “You’re not allowed to be unemployed and retired at the same time”

This simply isn’t true. It’s …

How to Retire Early Without Having to Earn Millions

Oct 21 2011

Meet Robert and Robin Charlton. Two normal people who decided to retire early, stuck to their plan – and did it.

As Robert said himself, “Really, we’re very average people. We never had power jobs. We just both took intelligent steps.”

Thanks to Susan Johnston, here are some of them:

1.) Agree on your priorities

The couple stopped grocery shopping on impulse and started sticking to shopping lists. They also chose not to upgrade their cars, saving all that extra money for their long-term investments.

2.) Cut housing costs

They felt they didn’t have room to cut costs with …

The Easiest Way to Protect Yourself From a Bear Market

Oct 20 2011

1.) Have a long-term plan

Your investments should be diversified among stocks, bonds, and cash. Stocks in the hope of maximizing long-term returns. Bonds as a safe bet. And a stash of cash in case of emergencies.

One useful rule of thumb is that the percentage of your portfolio allocated to bonds and cash should equal your age.

2.) Don’t sabotage your plan

Try not to follow the herd if doomsday seems just round the corner. It isn’t.

You have to stay in the market, as stocks usually do incredibly well when things look bleak.
3.) Rebalance methodically

It might …

Want to Save Enough For Retirement? Then Do This One Thing

Oct 19 2011

OK, it seems obvious, but a recent study in the Journal of Marketing Research has shown that being confronted with “future reality” can help motivate people to significantly improve their retirement savings.

They got the results by taking a group of students and having some of them look in the mirror while the rest looked at an image of their 65-year-old self. The students were then asked to allocate a $1,000 windfall.

Unsurprisingly, those that had seen their older selves staring them in the face allocated more than twice as much money to retirement as the others.

While it might …

Author - FiGuide