Advisors

Tari Lee Sykes and her late husband, Charles Jeremy Sykes. She thought they’d have one more Christmas together. Yet a few days before the holiday, Tari Lee Sykes’s husband, Charles Jeremy Sykes, died after battling a rare lung disease for years. He’d never get to open the wrapped presents below their glistening tree. On top

Ariel Skelley | Digitalvision | Getty Images The double whammy of a declining stock market and rising interest rates has been pummeling homebuilder stocks this year, resulting in rock-bottom valuations. Those valuations make housing stocks look like the worst home in a bad neighborhood. But in reality, the industry is the cheapest house in an

Brittney Castro Source: Brittney Castro Brittney Castro began her career as a financial advisor at just 22. For her, being a young woman in an older, male-dominated profession, was an asset, so to speak, rather than a liability. Less than 33% of financial advisors are women, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even fewer

Yagi Studio | Digitalvision | Getty Images Special needs trusts are essential for the well-being of a person with special needs, experts say. “The most important reason for a special needs trust is that individuals with special needs often are unable to make appropriate financial decisions for themselves and/or are at risk for financial exploitation

Hinterhaus Productions | Stone | Getty Images The “gap” between how much money men and women are paid has long been a feature of the U.S. economy. While that pay differential has narrowed since the 1960s, progress seems to have slowed in the past decade or more — a dynamic that has big implications for

NicolasMcComber | E+ | Getty Images Whether you’re new to investing or have been in the market for years, you may feel a little bit like you are lost at sea looking for a safe harbor. Investors are contending with a confluence of market forces such as inflation, interest rates increasing, and the Russia/Ukraine conflict. 

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, financial experts say. However, there’s also the risk of crumbling purchasing power, with annual inflation growing by 8.5% in March, the U.S.

In this article AMP Luis Alvarez | Digitalvision | Getty Images In my long career of recruiting experienced financial advisors, I’ve seen how different economic cycles have impacted retention and attrition. In times of uncertainty, advisors crave stability and want to work with a firm with the financial foundation to weather the storm. Alternatively, when

D-keine | E+ | Getty Images Money, for all the opportunities it affords, can be a major source of stress and anxiety if you’re not used to having it. Coming into sudden wealth, whether via inheritance, a career windfall or luck in the lottery, can create serious emotional and financial challenges for people who have

Marko Geber | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re eyeing ways to fight swelling prices, I bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset, may now be even more appealing. I bonds are paying a 9.62% annual rate through October 2022, the highest yield since being introduced in 1998, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced

Consumers are spending more to keep up with the surging cost of living and it may get worse before it gets better. “Even though wage growth has been the best in decades, it’s been outpaced by increased household costs,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “With inflation at a 40-year high, that has

miodrag ignjatovic | E+ | Getty Images If you have a Medicare supplement plan — aka, Medigap — there may be times when it’s worth making sure it’s still the best fit for you. Medigap policies are standardized — same-named plans offer identical benefits no matter which private insurance company sells it — but the

Newly minted graduates are in for a shock. Although the job market and starting salaries for the Class of 2022 look significantly better than last year, they may fall far short of graduates’ expectations. Employers plan to hire about 31% more new degree holders from this year’s graduating class than they hired from the Class

Building wealth is cool. That’s a mantra of Modern Blk Girl, a community aimed at teaching Black women the importance of investing and wealth creation that was founded by Tiffany James when she was just 25. Like most newly minted college graduates, James had student loan debt and was living just barely within her means

Tetra Images | Tetra images | Getty Images There’s a recent uptick in states swapping tiered income taxes for a flat tax, charging the same rate to all residents, regardless of earnings. Over the past 100 years, only four states have changed from graduated rates to flat taxes, according to the Tax Foundation. Another three

Israel Sebastian | Moment | Getty Images There are some financial goals more pressing for adults right now than bulking up their nest egg. For 2022, just 17% have made saving for retirement their top financial priority, according to First National Bank of Omaha‘s latest financial wellness survey. And nearly half of respondents — 46%

kate_sept2004 Summer vacations plans could be in flux this year. This time, it’s not because of Covid-19. Instead, high prices due to inflation may prompt prospective travel goers to switch up their plans. In fact, 69% of adults who say they will take a vacation this summer anticipate changing their travel plans as prices have

GlobalStock | Getty Images Deciding at what point you will collect Social Security benefits may be one of the biggest decisions you make in retirement. Yet many people who are at or near the age when they face that choice may need to brush up on the program’s rules before they do. MassMutual recently gave

Westend61 Whether you got a refund or owed money this tax season, it’s never too soon to start thinking about next year’s bill.  Boosting your 401(k) contributions for 2022 may provide two benefits: reducing your adjusted gross income while also padding your retirement savings.   What’s more, there’s a higher 401(k) employee deferral limit for 2022,

At the country’s top colleges, the most recent application season was the most competitive on record, but getting accepted at several schools may have been the easy part for students. Now they have less than one week to decide on which school they’ll attend ahead of National Decision Day on May 1, the deadline for