Life insurance has come a long way since the days when it was known as burial insurance and used mainly to pay for funeral expenses. Today, life insurance is a crucial part of many estate plans. You can use it to leave much-needed income to your survivors, provide for your children’s education, pay off your...Continue Reading

Making decisions about your retirement account can seem overwhelming, especially if you feel unsure about your knowledge of investments. However, the following basic rules can help you make smarter choices regardless of whether you have some investing experience or are just getting started. 1. Don’t lose ground to inflation It’s easy to see how inflation...Continue Reading

            What does homeowner’s insurance cover?  Or maybe just as importantly, what does it not cover?  Whether you are a homeowner wondering if you should file a claim on recent property damage or a new home buyer looking for a homeowner’s insurance policy for the first time, these questions will no doubt come up from time to time.  One...Continue Reading

A successful investor maximizes gain and minimizes loss. Though there can be no guarantee that any investment strategy will be successful and all investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, here are six basic principles that may help you invest more successfully. Long-term compounding can help your nest egg grow It’s the “rolling...Continue Reading

Self-employment is the opportunity to be your own boss, to come and go as you please, and oh yes, to establish a lifelong bond with your accountant. If you’re self-employed, you’ll need to pay your own FICA taxes and take charge of your own retirement plan, among other things. Here are some planning tips. Understand self-employment tax and how...Continue Reading

When your child first started school, you doled out the change for milk and a snack on a daily basis. But now that your kindergartner has grown up, it’s time for you to make sure that your child has enough financial knowledge to manage money at college. Lesson 1: Budgeting 101 Perhaps your child already...Continue Reading

Few terms in personal finance are as important, or used as frequently, as “risk.” Nevertheless, few terms are as imprecisely defined. Generally, when financial advisors or the media talk about investment risk, their focus is on the historical price volatility of the asset or investment under discussion. Advisors label as aggressive or risky an investment...Continue Reading

Medicare won’t cover all of your health-care costs during retirement, so you may want to buy a supplemental medical insurance policy known as Medigap. Offered by private insurance companies, Medigap policies are designed to cover costs not paid by Original Medicare, helping you fill the gaps in your Medicare coverage. When’s the best time to...Continue Reading

Risk management is a key component in any successful business plan. In today’s world — where data breaches are common occurrences — it’s especially important for business owners to understand the digital risks they face. Are you doing all you can to mitigate the risk of a cyberattack? The importance of cybersecurity Many small-business owners...Continue Reading

Ever since a legal secretary named Ida May Fuller received the first retirement benefit check in 1940, women have been counting on Social Security to provide much-needed retirement income. Social Security provides other important benefits too, including disability and survivor benefits that can help you and your family members. 1. How does Social Security protect...Continue Reading