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.
Balance Transfer Cards: Denting Debt
One steep recession and 10 years later, Americans are once again buried in credit card debt. The latest Federal Reserve figures show that there is now nearly $1.3 trillion in credit card debt outstanding — surpassing the peak reached in 2008. According to CreditCards.com, the average balance owed is $5,839 per cardholder. (This is one..
Chicken Money Now!
“Chicken money” is money you can’t afford to lose. It’s that simple. The amount of chicken money you need depends on your overall financial situation, stage in life, and risk tolerance. Just about everyone needs some money that is not intended for ordinary spending and not part of your investment program. Chicken money should be..
Year-End Tax Tips under New Tax Law
Thinking about income taxes is different this year because of the new tax laws. For some people, tax time will be easier and less costly. They will get a $12,000 standard deduction for an individual return or a $24,000 standard deduction on a joint return. If their charitable contributions and state income taxes and property..
Holiday Gifts for Kids – 2018
Every year at this time I write a column suggesting money smart holiday gifts for children. The goal is to find entertaining and educational gifts that won’t be broken or forgotten in a few weeks but will generate a life-long interest in and competence about the subject of money. This year’s gifts range from allowance..
Give Generously — and Wisely
Did this year fly by faster than ever? The holidays are here again. And now that we have expressed our thankfulness, we enter into the season of generosity. Despite changes in the tax code that make it less beneficial to donate to charities, this is the year to give more, not less. Almost every charitable..
Fix Your IRA and 40l(k) Now
Here are three things you must do now to make sure your IRA or 40l(k) accounts don’t get caught in the year-end crunch — and that you’re well prepared for 2019. A few weeks ago, you received your third quarter statement of performance for the year. Or you can go online to check not only..
Bright Start is “Golden”
Morningstar has assigned its top Gold rating to the Illinois Bright Start 529 College Savings plan, for the second year in a row. Only four 529 plans were given the gold designation, out of 62 plans rated by the Morningstar analysts. It is truly a high honor – and represents a dramatic change in fortune..
TIPS Tackle Inflation
We shouldn’t be surprised when inflation returns to impact our lives — both in our spending decisions and in our investment decisions. After all, the conditions are ripe. First the Federal Reserve created an unprecedented surge in liquidity to stave off financial collapse in 2008-2009. That money sat quietly until a massive corporate tax cut..
Time to Take Stock
If your retirement funds are invested in the stock market, you simply can’t afford to ignore the signals the market is sending. Any decisions about selling, or buying the dips, must depend on your own risk tolerance, time horizon and overall financial situation. But the time to consider those things is now — at what..
Open Enrollment for Medicare & Part D
Medicare now has about 60 million enrollees, split roughly two-thirds in traditional Medicare Parts A and B (plus Part D and supplements) and one-third enrolled in the more comprehensive Medicare Advantage plans. Every Medicare participant should be reviewing his or her options right now during Medicare open enrollment period, which began October 15 and runs..
Small Biz Health Insurance Deal Won’t Last Long
Do you own – or work for -- a small business that doesn’t provide health insurance? Fewer than half of all small businesses – with from two to fifty employees – offer a health plan. But in the next few weeks there’s a unique opportunity to get the best group insurance available – at no..
Market Meltdown
One trillion dollars went to Money Heaven on Wednesday. That's the dollar value of the 966 point decline in the Wilshire 5000 total market index. There was no place to hide -- especially in tech. The popular Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 836 points to close at 25, 598 -- and the Nasdaq lost nearly..
Consider a Career in Financial Planning
There’s one college major that practically guarantees a great job and future financial success. Sadly, far too few colleges and universities offer a degree in financial planning. But students who do graduate and take the certified financial planner (CFP) exam can easily start earning $50,000 a year or more. That point was well-made at the..
Outliving Your Life Insurance
Will you live to be 100? Will your life insurance live to be 100? Those are not idle questions. Many people who have paid for whole life and universal life policies for many years are finding that even if they are current on all their payments, the policies will “end” or “endow” at age 95..
FAFSA Time, Again!
Ready, set, borrow! The annual race to score money to pay for college starts October 1, when the new FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) becomes available for the 2019-2020 school year. And since much of the money is given out on a first-come, first-served basis, it pays to get going right away. After..
Free Credit Freeze for All
More than a year has passed since the massive data breach at Equifax that put highly sensitive information about 148 million Americans at risk. It sent many people scrambling to “freeze” their credit reports or place fraud alerts and subscribe to credit monitoring services. No major criminal use of that data has been reported in..
Financial Match-making Service
Could I match you up with a financial adviser you could trust — one who would give good investment and planning advice — and who would put your interests first and fully reveal all incentives, fees, costs and commissions? In other words, could I hook you up with a true fiduciary who has a long..
How to Save for College
Last week I wrote about the importance of having a family discussion about the realities of college costs. The time to do that is when your child starts high school. That’s when you can set realistic expectations about the costs of college, the impact on the family’s finances, and what children can reasonably expect in..
Re-Thinking College Costs
Now that students are back in school, it’s time for parents (and grandparents) to take a breath and gain some perspective on the costs and benefits of a college education. Yes, college will pay off in the long run. But you may be doing yourselves and your children a disservice with magical thinking about how..
Is Your Estate Planned?
If only we could stretch out summer — and our lives. But while the approach of autumn is fairly predictable — heralded by back-to-school signs in every store — our life expectancy is subject to the whims of fate or a higher power. That’s why it’s important to be prepared for the unexpected. And in..
