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It’s a pricey question.It’s a pricey question. College Board estimated the average cost for full-time, in-state students who live on campus at four-year public colleges or universities during the 2017-18 school year is $25,290.1 Out-of-state students can expect to pay $40,940. Students who choose four-year, private, non-profit colleges and universities will spend about $50,900 a year.1 If pricing increases continue to follow the trend of the last five years, tuition and fees may increase by [...]

If trick-or-treating in your neighborhood requires a trick to get a treat, your little ghosts and goblins will need some short and easy-to-remember options. Here are a few that were recommended by Reader’s Digest:1 • What has hundreds of ears but can’t hear? (A cornfield) • Which fruit is a vampire’s favorite? (Neck-tarine) • How do you fix a damaged jack-o-lantern? (With a pumpkin patch) • What do ghosts wear when their eyesight gets [...]

Remember the television classic, Green Acres? Eddie Albert, who portrayed a New York City lawyer, and Eva Gabor, who portrayed his sophisticated spouse, move from the big city to the country – and it’s not quite what they expected.1 Recent retirement migration patterns appear to be producing a real-life version of the show. The search for warm weather and affordability has driven some people out of Florida and into Appalachia. In May, Cameron McWhirter of The [...]

Here’s a number that will knock your socks off: $400 trillion.1 By 2050, the retirement savings shortfall in eight of the world’s largest economies is expected to reach $400 trillion, according to estimates from the World Economic Forum (WEF). The shortfall is the difference between the amounts of money retirees may receive from government and/or employer pensions and individual savings. The amount they need to replace 70 percent of their pre-retirement income is also factored [...]

Labor Day is set aside to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. It was proposed as a holiday by Matthew Maguire in 1882 while he served as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York, NY. The labor movement grew out of the need to protect the common interest of workers in the areas of better wages, reasonable hours, and safer working conditions. It also led efforts to stop child [...]

How long will you live? How long will you live? It’s not a question anyone can answer with any certainty, and that creates a significant risk when planning for retirement. Your retirement may last for a long time, and you will need to have enough income to live comfortably without running out of money. In 2018, Gallup surveyed retirees about their retirement income. The top income sources for Americans were:1 57 percent - Social Security benefits 37 [...]

In recent years, investors have largely ignored geopolitical risks. Russia’s invasion of the Crimean Peninsula, the Brits’ vote to leave the European Union (EU), unrest in the Middle East, and other global events have not affected financial markets’ upward progress. When tariffs came between the United States and its allies, financial markets blithely breached new highs. However, the possibility of a trade war between the United States and China took the spring out of [...]

Living month-to-month financially can become a tedious task. It would seem there is a higher purpose than just trying to provide, but still we can strive to make ends meet and miss out on a key understanding behind all we own. Discovering the purpose behind our finances can help us to rise above a mentality of merely surviving financially. Finances play a key role in our provision, mission, and vision. Provision It goes without saying (though [...]

In the olden days, the word ‘subscription’ typically was applied to just magazines and newspapers. Today, that’s not the case. Americans are buying everything from meal kits to baby products to vitamins by subscription. A McKinsey & Company survey found:1 “Although streaming-media subscriptions have been popular for some time – 46 percent of consumers in our survey subscribed to an online streaming-media service…shoppers are now also turning to subscriptions for consumer goods…Male shoppers are more likely [...]

On July 4, 1776, the American colonies banded together and declared independence from Great Britain. The countries had been at war for more than a year due to a number of issues, particularly in regards to harsh taxation and a lack of representation which violated the rights of the colonists. The conflict continued for five more years.1 Here are a few other facts to share as you celebrate America’s independence this year: • The United [...]