Your employer’s 401(k) match is a guaranteed instant return that no investment can replicate, and not contributing enough to capture it fully is leaving free money on the table. Find out the minimum contribution needed to get the full match and hit it every pay period. If you don’t know your match formula, check your benefits portal or ask HR right away.
Americans are increasingly responsible for planning their own retirements as pensions gradually go extinct. Combine that with longer life expectancies and weaker Social Security benefits, and many Americans worry they’ll run out of money in retirement. Although retirement has changed…
Not everyone is content with the same old stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds in their retirement accounts. Those of us who like to color outside the lines can create a self-directed IRA to invest in, well, almost anything. At…
Financial professionals have been sounding the alarm for a long time, warning that a retirement crisis is coming. The National Council on Aging says more than 25 million Americans age 60 or over are economically insecure. And still, much of…
If the FIRE movement (financial independence, retire early) teaches us nothing else, it proves that it’s possible to retire within five to 10 years of getting serious about it. But “possible” doesn’t mean “easy.” As you explore what it takes…
Once upon a time, when you reached 65 or so, your colleagues threw a party for you, you ate a slice of store-bought cake, and then you retired and never worked another day. When the average life expectancy was 65,…
Retiring early is not a new concept. But in the 2010s, a wave of financial bloggers popularized the notion of financial independence: being able to cover your living expenses with passive income, at a young age. Thus the FIRE movement…
A million dollars ain’t what it used to be. Especially as a retirement nest egg. Sure, some of that decline in value can be chalked up to inflation. But inflation is far from the only culprit. It turns out that…
The only constant in life is change. But it’s shocking how quickly the notion of retirement has changed in recent memory. A century ago, there was no Social Security, Medicare, or health insurance. Pensions didn’t take off in the private…
Who says you have to work until you’re 65? By merely questioning that one assumption, you crack open the door to new possibilities. The question raises others, such as: The FIRE movement attempts to address these questions by encouraging followers…
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