A new series of consumer surveys from Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP®Board) reveals four distinct groups of Americans based on their saving patterns, including one segment that exhibits optimism about their financial futures even while wrestling with the sharp competing interests of saving monthly, paying down debt and meeting retirement goals. The…

Your retirement may seem near at hand or far away, but one thing is certain: your future will differ from your present. Financially, that fact is worth remembering. Some of the costs you have paid regularly all these years may suddenly decrease or fade away. Others may increase. Will your insurance costs rise with age?…

Should you own your home free and clear before you retire? At first glance, the answer would seem to be “absolutely, if at all possible.” Retiring with less debt … isn’t that a good thing? Why not make a few extra mortgage payments to get the job done? In reality, things are not so cut…

FED WAITS TO RAISE INTEREST RATES Federal Reserve officials decided against a rate hike last week, but two details in the central bank’s latest policy statement suggested an upward move was near. One, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 7-3 against raising the federal funds rate – an unusually close margin. Two, the Fed’s new…

Robert Pagliarini and his latest book, The Sudden Wealth Solution: 12 Principles to Transform Sudden Wealth Into Lasting Wealth, were recently featured on the Goldstein on Gelt Show. In the episode, Robert discusses how you can find proper financial help and guidance if you receive a sudden windfall — either from an inheritance, lawsuit, lottery win, or any…

$6,876. That is the average amount of credit card debt owed by an American household headed up by an individual aged 65-69. If you are newly retired or close to retiring, that figure may alarm you. It is more than twice the amount of Social Security’s maximum monthly income payment. Credit card use is surging,…

Just how many millionaires does America have? By the latest estimation of Spectrem Group, a research firm studying affluent and high net worth investors, it has more than ever before. In 2015, the U.S. had 10.4 million households with assets of $1 million or greater, aside from their homes. That represents a 3% increase from…

SERVICE SECTOR SEES WEAKEST GROWTH SINCE 2010 The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing purchasing manager index came in at a disappointing 51.4 in August, 4.1 points below its July level. While American service industries expanded for a 79th consecutive month, the pace of expansion was the slowest since February 2010, and the monthly drop in…

September is National Life Insurance Awareness Month – a good time to think about the value and importance of insuring yourself. According to a recent Bankrate survey, 42% of Americans have no life insurance at all. They may not know that life insurance coverage has become much more affordable than it once was. Many people…

YELLEN HINTS AT A RATE HIKE Speaking Friday at the Federal Reserve’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed chair Janet Yellen commented that “the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months.” That statement was interpreted by some economists as a sign that the central bank could adjust…