Looking for somewhere good to eat for Thanksgiving? In Charleston, there really is no need to cook. All the best restaurants are open for Turkey Day serving traditional and nontraditional food. We blogged about the delicious fine dining restaurant options in downtown Charleston for Thanksgiving already (see that post here), but we wanted to gather […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
We are becoming more focused on a reasonable and perhaps even frugal lifestyle that will give us a better chance of being able to afford to live another day with the freedom to make our own choices. People are living longer and are doing so under greater economic duress than ever in recent memory.
According to new government and private reports, personal income rose for the third straight month. After adjusting for inflation, income was up 1.7% over the three-month span. This is excellent news considering the 10% plunge in income in late 2009.
January offers the perfect opportunity to do so. Year-end financial statements are on their way, and they’ll provide a bird’s eye view of how investment strategies performed during the stock market’s decline and sharp rebound.
If you’re nearing retirement and unsure if you’re ready, or able, to retire in this economy, there is help. Numerous financial companies are developing retirement plans that can assist you with these ever-important decisions. Fidelity, Vanguard, Nationwide, and Schwab are the leading companies offering these retirement plans.
The once-guaranteed investment rules have changed remarkably during the recent economic downturn. It was often common practice to assume that stocks would always rise over the long run, that bonds are for retirees and investors with little desire for risk, and that companies rarely cut their dividends.
Personal savings has been boosted to an all-time high this decade. Due to the financial crisis, more people are moving their money into savings. Government data shows that we have reduced our debt and cut our spending.
So where do you go from here? How do you start rebuilding? Financial advisers suggest putting 10% to 20% of your income into savings and retirement.
This arrangement, although not as good as arrangements in the past, still promised many a comparable retirement lifestyle. But with the recent economic downturn, many people are forced to delay retirement, lower their standard of living, or in many situations, both. Recent dips in the stock market have translated to significant drops in 401(k) investments for most people.
For those of you who are looking to retire soon, the recent plunge in the economy may have changed your plans. However, the outlook for your savings probably isn’t as bad as you think.
A recent study by Financial Engines, a company that provides advice to retirement-plan participants, found that investors with as few as five years until retirement can recover their 2008 losses by making modest increases in savings and working two or three more years.
Beginning January 1, 2010, all U.S. citizens will be eligible to roll traditional individual Retirement Accounts into Roth individual Retirement Accounts. Converting to Roth IRAs is currently only available to taxpayers with modified gross-adjusted incomes under $100,000.
