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I read an article recently that centered around statistics that indicate Millennials (the generation born between roughly 1980 and 2000) are waiting longer to have children.
One of the main reasons they give for waiting is their financial situation. Or more specifically, how much debt they’re in or how much money they want to save.
More than any previous generation, Millennials are ladened with thousands of dollars in student loan debt and less initial wealth when they become independent.
The plan to wait at least a few years after graduating college to pay off loans, and settle into a career before having children makes sense financially. But does it really make a difference?
Before making the decision to wait to have kids until you can afford them, make sure you understand the entire situation. Here are a few pros and cons.
You may be tempted to believe that all your problems would go away if only you’ve saved a ton for retirement, but those fortunate enough to have more will tell you that money doesn’t solve all their problems. Still, having money is better than not having enough, if simply for the fact that there’s now one less problem to worry about.
Recently, I had a reader asked me what she could do because she’s saved too much for retirement. She’s in her mid 50s and she and her husband amassed a $3.5 million dollar nest egg through diligent saving and consistent investing. She doesn’t feel like she’s deprived herself through the years, but one of her good friends recently made her question life a little bit when the friend told her that she’s just saving too much and not living enough.
Ignore the retirement figures for a second because you can feel this way no matter how much you’ve saved. If you are in a similar boat – saving too much and not enjoying life at all, then these 11 things I told her she could do will help you too.
1. Figure out if you are miserable because you save so much or you are saving simply because you are already comfortable and you just happen to have a ton of cash left over every month. This is key. Are you depriving yourself because you are putting everything toward a lifestyle in the future? Or are you living the life exactly as you want it now but simply have a high income? It’s almost impossible to save too much for retirement because you can always blow through any amount if you really choose to, but you should be making changes if you are saving every penny and feeling miserable. [ continue reading… ]
Few of us get married thinking it will end in divorce. In fact, most of us expect to remain married for life. Unfortunately, though, there are times when it doesn’t work out and divorce becomes the most viable option.
The emotional aspects of divorce are well-known, and there are a number of relationship issues that need to be worked through, especially if children are involved. What isn’t planned for, in many cases, is the financial toll a legal separation can take.
When you’re going through a divorce, there are a few things that seem self-evident. You know you might have to divide your assets and debt, and you should look into getting rid of your joint accounts. You may even have thought about the cost related to hiring lawyers to help represent you.
However, there are some other financial issues you could be forgetting about. It seems unfair to need to think of these money issues when your life is already turned upside down, but they are important issues to consider.
Here are seven financial issues that you might be neglecting as you go through the divorce process. [ continue reading… ]
You can’t always control how much money you make, or how big of a year end bonus you’ll get. But when it comes to your everyday finances, there’s actually a lot you can do to save more.
One of the most frequent questions we hear is, “How much should I be saving every month?” And while there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, you know that you’re saving enough when it hurts a little bit. Maybe you have to skip out on that end-of-the-year trip with your friends, or maybe you decide you’re not going to buy drinks for strangers every weekend at the bars like you used to.
Whatever solution you come up with, keep in mind that the little things will eventually start to add up. Saving money is tough — and when you have established spending routines, it’s hard to break those cycles. But know that while you can’t always control how much money you make, you can control how much money you spend.
Most people tend to think of millionaires as people that spend a ton of money, live lavishly, and drive nice cars. But more often than not, the true millionaires — the ones with assets greater than a million dollars — are the guys living next door to you who drive 15-year-old cars. Or the small business owner down the street, who’s lived in the same house for 20 years.
If your goal is to become a “true millionaire” someday, then you should make it a priority to emulate the spending habits of these people.
With that as our goal, we’ve come up with 50 ways to save money on things you thought you could never save money on. [ continue reading… ]
The deadline for filing estimated tax payments passed a month ago, but one of my readers still doesn’t know if she made the correct payment yet. Why? The government.
Oh the government… When I made my estimated payment online through their system, it says that the submission went through just fine. As it’s my first time doing it electronically, I even called their hotline and spoke to a representative who told me not to worry as everything looked good.
A week later, I got a letter saying the payment was dishonored with no reason why. It even said that there may be penalties accessed. It did give me a way to rectify the problem by sending another check though. I called the hotline again, but the person on the other line wasn’t able to tell me why the payment did not go through. She just told me “to send a check”.
I sent payment according to instructions on the letter and called again after I saw the check cashed. All the representative told me was that it takes up to 45 days for the payment to be processed and recorded and for me to sit tight. When I asked her what happens if it was someone else who cashed the check instead, she asked me not to stop payment and to sit tight. Her final advice was to “keep checking back”.
One month later, I’m still waiting. I hope I don’t get penalties for what’s not my fault.
It may be hard to believe but she is actually LUCKY because she managed to get someone on the phone. I’ve heard countless tearful stories of those who couldn’t get ahold of anybody on the other line because everything is shutdown.
The number 1 reason why you shouldn’t file taxes last minute – you just cannot trust the government’s efficiency.
It wasn’t long ago when the nearby plaza’s parking lot spent most days of the last few months being empty. That’s why I was so surprised to see people and cars everywhere when I went there last Sunday. Aside from the obvious potential problem of people getting sick, I’m not sure if I want this to become a trend for people’s finances.
Our economy probably needs us to shop irresponsibly again, but the thought that we might be back to “living beyond our means” is scary. I never understood why, but America is one of the only developed countries where the average resident consumes more than his/her income.
Some people blame the educational system for not having personal finance classes, but there are ways to learn outside of school too. It’s not like my teacher taught me how to use the toilet. I don’t know about you, but I learned because:
I had to (out of necessity) and was told about this fact.
It never occurred to me that there was an alternative.
I did it enough times so I could do it without thinking.
Maybe the reason why I save while most people don’t is simple. I thought I had to save, I didn’t think borrowing was a lasting alternative and once I got used to saving, I just didn’t think about it anymore. [ continue reading… ]
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