Terry Savage’s Archives
Below you will find the columns terry has written by date.
Below you will find the columns terry has written by date.
Giving Tuesday — All Year Long
No matter how much you shop on Black Friday or Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday, be sure to save some of your money for Giving Tuesday — December 3 this year. Giving will soothe your conscience and help needy people and good causes — even if you no longer itemize your charitable giving on..
2019 Children’s Holiday Gifts
It’s time for my annual suggestions for holiday gifts for your children and grandchildren. You might prefer to give them the latest toys or fashions, but where will those presents be a year from now? If instead, you make at least part of your gift a teaching opportunity about money, your gift will last a..
College Counselors Can Help — Legally!
The headlines about college admissions and the parents who cheated have caused concern among college admissions counselors — including those who work for high schools and those who work as private consultants. Private college counseling a surprisingly large and diverse profession. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), founded in 1937, has more than..
Medicare Open Enrollment
For the more than 53 million Americans age 65 and older who are covered by Medicare, there are some important decisions to be made right now. Medicare’s open enrollment period is underway and runs through December 7. And even if you are completely satisfied with your current Medicare coverage, there are a two things to..
Open Enrollment
Now is the time to select your health insurance for 2020. It’s open enrollment season, and no matter what your income or job situation, you must make some important – and expensive – choices about your insurance for the year ahead. There are basically six ways most Americans can get health insurance coverage. Health insurance..
New Edition of The Savage Truth on Money!
I'm excited to announce that a completely new edition of The Savage Truth on Money has just been published by Wiley. It's available on Amazon, or you can get an autographed copy by clicking on the link for a personalized copy on my home page at TerrySavage.com. (Think holiday gifts for your children -- or..
Fighting Elder Fraud
One of the saddest statistics of aging is the growing amount of elder financial abuse. It’s estimated that seniors lose $37 billion a year to fraud. Even worse, seniors are often the victims of their own adult children or caregivers. As the huge baby boom generation ages, and lives longer, the opportunities for elder fraud..
Boosting Retirement Income
If retirement is on the nearby horizon, it’s time to reorganize your thinking about managing your money. Until now, you were focused on how much money you would need to retire comfortably. Now it’s time to figure out how to make your money last your lifetime. Here are some of the key factors you should..
FAFSA Time, Again
It’s FAFSA time again. On October 1st, students and their families who are hoping for Federal student aid for the 2020-2021 college year, can file this essential form. Procrastinators lose out, because many schools offer their pool of merit-based aid on a first-come, first-served basis. And they look at FAFSA to get the entire financial..
Reverse Mortgage Rules
If you’re a senior looking for more income, you may have to look no farther than your own home. A reverse mortgage could be the perfect solution to the need for more income — if you plan to stay in your home for at least 10 years. You can withdraw either a lump sum or..
The Fed and Interest Rates
The entire world is holding its collective breath, waiting to see what the Federal Reserve will do about possibly cutting interest rates at its next meeting on September 17 and 18. But as of this writing, the global bond markets are pricing in a cut of 50 “basis points” — or one-half of a percentage..
Social Security Decision
The decision about exactly when to claim your Social Security benefits is roiling households of baby boomers across the nation, as they are faced with making a choice that will have lifetime implications. Ever since the full retirement age (FRA) has gradually increased from the traditional 65 to the current 66 years and 2 months..
Small Biz Health Insurance Deal
If you work for a small business that does not offer health insurance, this column is for you. It falls under the “amazing but true” category: You can have a health insurance plan equal to the best offered in your state, at no cost to your boss, and on a pre-tax basis (meaning premiums are..
Measuring Up
You’d think that, in a world where so much information is readily accessible, people wouldn’t need much help gaining perspective on all their financial activities. Yet I’ve noticed a surge in financial press releases offering surveys designed to serve as a benchmark for ranking your own situation. Here are just a few headlines and key..
Sell Down to the Sleeping Point
My recent column on investors seeking safety resulted in many questions on my Ask Terry blog at TerrySavage.com. Obviously, many of my readers are not sleeping well, thinking about the stock market. The questions were more revealing than any answers I could give. After all, a good answer would require knowing a broad range of..
Stock Market Panic
Worried about the stock market yet? Perhaps you should be. The price of stocks always reflects both the current business economy – and the outlook for future growth. Now that outlook has changed. The possibilities of a global economic slowdown – recession – just increased dramatically as the trade wars took a more dangerous turn...
Earnings Season
It’s “earnings season” again – the quarterly period when public companies report their profits, and more. Both anticipation and results impact stock prices. Some companies “disappoint and some “beat” expectations. Unless you’re a seasoned investing pro, the frenzy over corporate earnings reports may leave you a bit confused. Here are the basics, and some definitions:..
Beware of Bonds
Bonds are traditionally viewed as the safest of investments. But that myth may be shattered in the months ahead, whether interest rates rise or fall. So, if you’re looking to hide out from the stock market by buying bonds or bond funds or ETFs, you should have a good idea of the risks involved. A..
The Search for Yield
The stock market cheered signals that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this month. There was no complaint from politicians, who see low interest rates as encouraging economic growth. But what about savers? A decision to cut interest rates will send them on a search for higher yields, and encourage some to take risks..
Time for Risk Management
Whether you’re trying to decide how to invest or considering the prospects for a better job, the economic outlook has never been more confusing. Yes, the economy is doing well right now, despite the disruptions of tariffs and uncertainty over global growth. And certainly the stock market, hovering at record highs, encourages optimism. But both..
