For Mark Roberts' Use: When you envision your retirement, do you picture yourself playing golf on a tropical island, playing cards in a retirement home, or simply enjoying your own backyard? A 2012 poll by the National Council on Aging found that 9 out of 10 Americans aged 60 and older plan to spend the [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Bonds are a common investment vehicle, but you may be unfamiliar with the ratings system you often see associated with them. Since a bond's rating tells you a lot about the potential return of your investment, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with the three main ratings systems. These ratings are [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: At the end of each month, do you ever find yourself wondering where all your money has gone? If you're like most people, you sometimes let your spending get out of control. But the good news is that you can easily take back control of your budget, and you will probably discover [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Every election year, one of the most popular subjects debated by candidates involves Social Security. Of course, we all need to pay attention to the problems concerning Social Security in non-elections years as well! You may have heard that Social Security is “running out of money”. While this isn't precisely true, it [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: When we think of estate planning, we tend to think of it as, “what I want to happen after I pass away”. You may be thinking of your finances, your burial wishes, and other final considerations. However, there's another key aspect of estate planning that we all need to consider: What [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: When you're standing in the checkout lane, the option to pay with a credit or debit card may seem like a completely random decision. In other cases, your budget may dictate which card you choose. But even though these cards look identical next to one another in your wallet, they each [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Are you completely free of debt, with all of your money stashed in a single bank account? If you're like the vast majority of people, the answer is, No, of course not. It almost sounds ridiculous to suggest such an idea. Most of us have more than one bank account, investment [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: It's a scenario made for dark comedy films and financial nightmares: That envelope arrives in the mail from the IRS, and you discover the news that your tax return is being audited. If this is a worry that plagues you, try to remain calm as you file your taxes this April. [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Now that tax season is in full swing, you're probably reading a lot of advice on how to put your tax refund to work for your future. The other side of the coin, of course, is that there are plenty of ways to waste your windfall. Before you let that money [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Think of your money as water, and your budget as the bucket that contains it. Wouldn't it be distressing to discover your bucket has several small leaks, and your “water” has been slowly dripping out undetected? Unfortunately, that could be exactly what's happening to your budget. Check for these five common, [...]