Retirement is one of the most important goals in anyone’s life. It’s the time when all your hard work has paid off and you can now relax and do everything you’ve ever wanted. Preparing for retirement can be difficult and sometimes stressful, but there are many different paths that all lead to the end goal of saving for retirement. Today, there are many accounts from traditional 401k’s where your company may match your contributions up to a certain dollar amount, to traditional and Roth IRA’s. A common question is which better and provides greater returns. Comparing the three common retirement saving vessels, we’ll look at each of their benefits.
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The mortgage crisis of 2008 was a period of time that will forever be remembered. It affected thousands upon thousands of people and threw not only the United States, but the whole world into a sever recession. Behind the great depression, this is arguably the worst financial disaster to happen in modern times. More recently, the subprime auto lending industry has been noted as having the same ingredients as the subprime mortgage and that a so-called bubble is due to pop.
Lenders are lending to people with below average credit and the effects of this have elevated the number of delinquent loans. Although the subprime lending industry has hit an alarming number, it is only about 1/10th of the mortgage crises in dollar size. It won’t be slowing the world economy but it’s large enough to make waves and turn peoples heads. There are three major reasons why the auto industry is headed for trouble. The promotion of lending to unqualified applicants, the push to sell cars, and the lack of knowledge by the consumer to know they are unable to afford the purchase.
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Everyone knows by now to look for a coupon code online before you ring up the register, but when was the last time you actually took the time to look for one? An internet coupon code can save you a great deal of money on back-to-school clothes, cleaning supplies, and almost anything else you can buy on the internet. There are even toolbars you can install in your browser to ensure you’re getting the best deal during checkout. Are you really doing everything you can to save? Maybe it’s time to look at what else we can use an internet coupon code for.
Most people assume their internet provider can be lumped in with the gas and the electric bills. “Sure, they’re high, but they’re the only provider in our area.” That’s just not the case. Don’t settle on your cable company, since there are now many technologies that can feed data into your home. Look for satellite, DSL, and even wireless offerings from competing companies. And since you are a new customer to these other companies, you will be able to grab the new customer deals that almost every provider advertises on the internet.
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Whole Foods is commonly joked as the “Whole Paycheck Store,” and if you’ve ever shopped there, it’s easy to see why. The cost is so high that some people don’t even bother stepping into the store since Whole Foods seems to have higher prices than regular grocery stores.
Still, there are many different ways to stack coupons at Whole Foods to get popular and organic food items inexpensively, or even for free. Here are my tricks to save the most at Whole Foods.
Download the Whole Food’s Coupon App
Two months in a row I have gotten a $5 off of $20 produce coupon. I’ve used that coupon to stock up on whatever produce was the cheapest at the time. One time I only bought the two cheapest deals I could find – corn and mandarin oranges. My kids were a little sick of both after two weeks though!
Along with the Whole Food’s app, don’t forget to print coupons from their site and to grab their coupon books near the register.
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It’s always startling to get those bank letters in the mail that say “important information enclosed.” I got one last week notifying me that my account “may have been” compromised. As a precaution, my bank was sending me an entirely new debit card and number (my first chip card — a sign of how long I’ve had the old one). My old card was de-activated within a few days, and I had to call to activate the new card. As usual, the new pin number will be sent separately, which meant I couldn’t use an ATM if I needed to.
If you’ve ever had this happen before, it elicits all sorts of questions. Was there fraudulent activity on my account? Who ‘may have’ compromised my card, and when? Am I liable financially?
Although I haven’t had this happen frequently (if it does, it’s a good sign you need to re-examine your habits), I’ve learned a few things to keep in mind, going forward.
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The internet is allowing information to be spread at unheard of rates and this has helped the retail investor gain vast amounts of knowledge.
Could the internet eventually replace our reliance on investment bankers and representatives? With so many websites out there to learn from, anyone who care about saving money can educate themselves enough to not require a reliance on investment professionals if they so choose.
And these savings can add up big. With a typical advisory fee of just 1%, you are basically paying $2,500 each year if you have $250,000 invested. Add in any fees they may have for meetings, advice, etc. and the numbers add up quick. We’ll go through the three websites out there and expand on what information they deliver and what can be utilized in replacing your financial advisor.
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