A friend of mine was visiting the other day – we’ll call this friend Donnie – and I offered Donnie a cup of coffee. He said he wanted one, so I asked whether he wanted it cold or hot. He wanted hot, so I pulled a pitcher of cold brew coffee from the fridge, filled
Losing a spouse is one of life’s most emotionally devastating events, and many financial advisers recommend not making major financial decisions during that first year of grieving. But after a period of time, financial decisions will need to be made. Seventy percent of widows retain a new financial adviser within the first year of their
Update your home inventory. This is one of the most important ways to make a homeowners claim go smoothly. Smartphones make it easy to gather the information (many insurers have home inventory apps, or go to KnowYourStuff.org). “Take pictures of your rooms, closets, attic, and your backyard,” says John Doak, Oklahoma insurance commissioner. Open
Personal success often translates into a time for celebration. You just got a promotion at work. You just got a great new job. You just got engaged. You found out you’re expecting a child. You paid off your car. You paid off your house. You sold your house. There are lots of reasons that life
There’s no direct path to retirement. Everyone has a different idea of the perfect age to stop working. Everyone has a different amount of money they think they’ll need to live comfortably. And everyone has a different plan for what they want to do when they don’t have to go to work anymore. Some want
I’m going to let you in on a couple of dark secrets about financial improvement. First of all, it’s a slow road. Once you get past that initial burst of changing things around, automating your savings and some of your bills, selling off a bunch of stuff to eliminate a few debts quickly, and taking