Wealth & Investing Experts

The holidays are around the corner, the time of year when things get a little crazy and, unless you’re careful, all that hard work you’ve done on cutting back spending can go out the window. But don’t worry! With a well-laid plan for spending these holidays, you can save yourself some moolah—and some anxiety!
Why not start now? It won’t take more than 15 minutes here or there to come up with your holiday spending plan. The below section will calculate your target "spend rate”—the amount that you can reasonably afford this holiday season—and teach you how to adjust as you go along so tha…

Deflation is a term we typically do not hear much about. Most of us are familiar with inflation, which happens when too much money chases too few goods.

“In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services,” states Wikipedia. Typically this is because there’s no demand in place. In other words, deflation is defined by periods of low-level growth generally associated with recessions.

While the consumer has slowed down here in the U.S., they are still spending on necessary items like medical and educational. On the other hand, many have debated whet…

If you’ve been keeping abreast of news on the financial front you’ll have probably heard the term “QE 2” mentioned. (And no, it does not refer to the Queen Mary 2!!)

QE 2 stands for “Quantitative Easing” and is The Federal Reserve’s second attempt at a more unconventional tool to try and lower interest rates and jump start our slow economic recovery.

Broadly speaking QE 2 means that The Federal Reserve will pump $600 billion more into the US economy and keep interest rates at historical low levels. In a November 3 article CNNMoney.com explains more specifically: " The central bank will …

CAIM’s latest in depth report: “What Women Want: Understanding the Modern Female Investor” [caimllc.com] examines how demographic trends are shaping women’s role in the work place and family and how that in turn affects their spending and investment habits. This report gets to the heart of women’s concerns i.e. financial security, and is a guide to achieving that.

Whether they have …

A recent article; “Income Investors Should be Buying Equities” by Paul Price on seekingalpha.com (a free provider of stock market opinion and analysis) notes: “It’s a topsy-turvy world right now, with short term interest rates near zero and even the 5 and 10-year treasuries paying peanuts.”

The picture is even grimmer when you take away 30% for combined federal and state taxes – the 5-year then comes down to 1.23% and the 10-year to 2.10%. Take away even 2.5% for inflation (after all, as the article points out, nobody believes their own cost of living has been flat to down as the govern…

Across the nation colleges are feeling the financial crunch. As a result most are drastically raising tuition, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled: ‘Financial Aid 101: How to Get More.’ This year, for example, Harvard University announced its tuition, fees and board would increase by 3.8% for the 2010-2011 year, exceeding $50,000 for the first time. Even many state schools, traditionally far cheaper than private schools, are imposing significantly steeper hikes in percentage terms.

All of which makes a tough situation tougher for families who are too affluent to q…

Deflation is a term we typically do not hear much about. Most of us are familiar with inflation, which happens when too much money chases too few goods.

“In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services,” states Wikipedia. Typically this is because there’s no demand in place. In other words, deflation is defined by periods of low-level growth generally associated with recessions.

While the consumer has slowed down here in the U.S., they are still spending on necessary items like medical and educational. On the other hand, many have debated whe…

We all know that money is an important part of life. It gives people opportunities, independence, confidence, feelings of security, and ways to improve the lives of others. The question is… how do you help your children understand the importance of—and more importantly—become excited and committed to— healthy money habits for their lifetimes?

Everyone’s talking about the disturbing trends like the research showing that today’s college students are graduating with more credit card debt than ever before, meaning that many of them are starting their adult years by making unwise decisions …