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.
Fed & Election Year Politics
Here's a short special column intended to deal with the question of whether the Fed has any particular political inclination to cut -- or not cut -- rates this close to a Presidential election. The Fed ALWAYS says it is NOT political -- and history bears this out! In this excellent piece of research (linked..
Living Longer
How long do you think you’ll live? That’s not an idle question, since so much of your financial planning depends on your likely longevity. Of course, no one knows the future for sure. But at least you can put the odds on your side. The entire art of financial planning is to make your money..
Scholarship Time
Announcing free money! Did that get your attention? If you have a high school child or grandchild, don’t let them miss out on free money for college – not based on need – that is being handed out starting now! Instead of heading back for senior year in high school hoping to coast for the..
No Place to Hide
The world is awash in geo-political confusion. In England, a new Labor government was just elected by a landslide, after 14 years of Conservative rule, which included Brexit. But the new Labor prime minister is said to have an authoritarian bent. In Canada, the existing 8-year reign of Liberal Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, faces losing..
Statute of Limitations on Clawbacks
Most people would agree that for horrendous crimes there should be no statute of limitations for prosecution. For example, the Federal government and most states impose no statute of limitations on murder charges. But in the case of sexual assault, state laws vary from requiring charges to be filed within only two years of the..
Dangerous Stock Market Complacency?
The stock market keeps reaching new highs on the major indices – The Dow Jones Industrial Average, The S&P 500, and the NASDAQ. A casual glance at the evening news headlines gives the sense that all is well in the financial markets. Last week’s column discussed a Harris poll showing that 56% of American’s think..
What Recession?
More than half of Americans – 56% to be exact – believe the United States is in a recession, according to a new Harris Poll. And all of those people are wrong. The classic definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth – measured by GDP – gross domestic product. We haven’t..
Stealing Your Secrets
Identity thieves have a new way of gaining access to your finances. Even if you’ve frozen your credit report, they can grab your money by taking over your phone number. It’s called ‘sim swapping.” It’s all done electronically – and it defeats the authentication controls that most banks have in place. You may have been..
Homeowner’s Insurance — Or Not?
If you own your own home, it’s no surprise that your homeowner’s insurance premium has soared. Opening that bill, you might find a 25% increase, or more – even though you’ve had no claims. If your premium is included in your monthly mortgage payment, you’ll get notice of a jump in your monthly payment. Insurance..
Long Term Care Insurance — A Creative Way to Pay
The most unexpected and costly expense of retirement is the need to pay for long term custodial care – a burden that is not covered by Medicare or supplements. No one wants to think about needing help to eat or shower or do the basic activities of daily living. But you ignore the possibility at..
News on Student Loans and Credit Card Rules
Consumers just got some good news about a student loan forgiveness extension and about protections on credit card late payment charges, resulting from a Supreme Court ruling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Here’s what you need to know: Student Loan Forgiveness Extended The deadline for applications for student loan forgiveness has been extended to..
Changing Work World
The unemployment numbers are encouraging. The unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 27 months, the longest streak since the 1960s. Average hourly wages are up 4.1% over the last year – slightly beating inflation. The economy has added around 200,000 new jobs every month. Those financial headlines go beyond economic statistics and political maneuvering...
Rollover Advice Rule
Have you noticed how much your 40l(k) plan has grown over the years? There’s now nearly $11 trillion in these retirement plans – boosted by years of continuous investing in a bull market, and by employer matching contributions. And now as boomer retire, more than $1 trillion every year is “up for grabs” as 40l(k)..
Where’s My Refund?
What do you do if your IRS tax refund still hasn’t arrived? Now that the IRS has received most 2023 tax filings and should have sent your refund, it’s worth investigating. How you should proceed depends on how you filed, who filed for you (an accounting firm, online tax prep service, or tax preparer) and..
Warning on Credit Repair and Chasing Rewards
In my recent column about credit card warnings, I explained the dangers of zero-interest cards, particularly those offered by retail stores. If you fail to pay the FULL balance off within the specified zero-rate time period, you can be charged a 30%+ rate for the entire amount, retroactively from the original date of purchase! Even..
Credit Card Warnings — and Trusted Help
Some of my best column ideas come from you, my readers. The example below was posted on my AskTerry blog at TerrySavage.com. It inspired me to do some digging, not only into this situation, but other credit card tricks that can be truly shocking if you’re unaware. Terry, I purchased furniture at the room place..
Reverse Mortgages Explained
For seniors who own their own home (fully paid off or with a small remaining mortgage), but need more income, a Reverse Mortgage can be the perfect solution. Or it can be a costly mistake. And you won’t know until you consider all the costs as well as your likely future housing needs. How Reverse..
Social Security Commissioner Steps Up!
New Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley has just taken a major step to offer immediate relief to those facing clawbacks. In a message to Social Security employees, he announced the first of several initiatives to make the system work more fairly. His words speak volumes: “Effective today, instead of initially withholding 100% of a Social..
Dangers of Debt
Let’s stop ignoring $1.3 trillion in credit card debt owed by millions of Americans. Perhaps by you. Even if you stop buying, balances grow like a cancer, because the average interest rate on credit cards is 20.75% according to Bankrate, but many now charge 29% or higher. In most states, credit card rates are not..
T-Bills (still) beat most CDs
U.S. Treasury Bill interest rates are still mostly higher than the comparable bank CDs. As of March 23, 2025, the yield on a 26 week (6-month) Treasury bill is 4.23%. That's what you received if you participated in the weekly T-bill auction described below. It's easy (see links below) and SAFE! And you can start with..
