4 Common Money Misconceptions About Women

In a decade-long Prudential survey that studied the financial experiences of women, research data showed that since the 2008 financial crisis, women have made significant improvements in their financial behavior. Still, many continue to admit a lack of knowledge and understanding of sophisticated financial products.

That lack of knowledge causes more than 50% of women to rely on someone else to make financial decisions regarding their future. On the other hand, the study dispels several myths about female financial behavior, casting a more positive light on women’s money habits.

Here are four common money misconceptions about women.

1. Women Are Impulse Shoppers

One of the most common misconceptions is that women are impulse shoppers. Data from the survey showed that often, the last-minute purchases referred to as impulse buys are made using funds already set aside within a budget. And the majority of respondents (70%) claimed to spend based on need, not wants.

2. Women Don’t Know How to Manage Money

Most people don’t fully understand money management — but that’s a problem for both sexes, and not unique to women. However, a majority of women distrust the process of

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Should Young People See a Financial Planner

Most young people who are just starting out don’t have a lot of money to save or invest – much less pay a professional to advise them. But some experts say financial guidance at a young age is worth the cost. Yuval Bar-Or, founder of The Light Brigade, an Ellicott City, Md.-based company that offers financial literacy consulting, says financial planners are a good resource because they can examine your complete financial picture. “A planner can help by using their knowledge … to come up with a game plan. For all investors – certainly young ones – it’s a very good idea unless you feel that you can do it on your own,” he says.

First, a word about financial planners and advisors. An investment advisor recommends products to clients, such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds and often manages their portfolios. Planners take a broader look at your finances – they also consider things like savings, debt, and taxes and often offer suggestions concerning budgeting, estate planning and education savings. Most planners are investment advisors as well, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but don’t assume that an investment advisor

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How Much Financial Advice Do You Need

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How much financial advice do we need? It’s a question we all ask ourselves, whether we pay a certified financial planner handsomely or go it alone.

But with a troubling national shortfall in retirement savings and the lingering effects of a foreclosure crisis, policymakers and researchers are asking the same question in the hope of coming up with low-cost ways to keep people on the right track.

The answer, to judge from a rash of recent studies, is not much.

The credit-rating agency Experian recently conducted a study with Neighborworks, a nonprofit that helps lower-income families buy homes, measuring the effectiveness of Neighborworks’ weekend workshops. It showed that as little as eight hours of counseling on real estate basics reduced mortgage delinquencies by more than a third.

(Read More: Are Stock-Shy Americans Risking Their Retirements?)

The study included experienced homeowners as well as first-time buyers, and Experian was careful to control for those who required remedial advice.

“The study looked at pre-home ownership credit behavior, so you didn’t only have people who already had bad credit,” said Douglas Robinson, a Neighborworks spokesman. He added that middle- and even high-income buyers could also benefit from a brief acquaintance with what

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Easy loans for your dazzling car

Now, transportation needs is being one of the requirement that must be have. With some conditions, such as family member, mileage traveled and other conditions, make probably most people would consider a car as one of the best means of personal transportation. Especially for those of you who are concerned with erratic weather condition during activity and better safety guarantees. However, buying a car is not a thing that can done before consideration. You will need a more mature calculation and in according with the budget you have. This certainly can not be done in hurry. You must consider many thing, especially you budget. If your budget still not enough to buy a car, bad credit loans reviews is ready to help you.

Buying a new car is going to make a commitment and need finance arrangement in long term. When buying a car try not to be too trusting with sweet promises by car’s sales. You must thoroughly before and when buying a car, so as not burden you at the future. Therefore, here are some tips that you can consider before decided to buy a car.

– Calculate your monthly finance capabilities.

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New to Forex: how to start?

Currency Forex courses are in constant dynamics, clock change, which gives you the ability to “turn on” in the trades virtually any time.

This makes the Forex market is a very interesting investment option, which allows you to earn additional income, without losing much time.

Uninitiated person the Forex market may seem obscure flow rate Forex quotes. And the novice trader, a number of legitimate questions.

Answers to these questions can be obtained in the framework of Forex training.

Depending on your preferences, available time, and the most usual way to get information to you, you can choose one of these Forex training options.

The first way of learning Forex is self education.

This article can help you on the Forex market, a detailed description of trading strategies, forex tutorial, glossary, etc.

As part of self-study, you can use the library of articles and video tutorials .

Advantages of this version of Forex training – you plan on being who intend to spend on your training, you can skip that for you is not of interest (for example, you are not going to work with such trading instrument as precious metals, respectively, do not spend time learning the features of this instrument) and, on the contrary, a more

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What You Need to Know Before Leasing a Car

Leasing is now more popular than ever. In fact, Millennial car buyers are leasing 46% more over the past five years because they are able to afford their dream car at a much lower cost. If you’ve thought about leasing a vehicle, then we’ve provided what you need to know before visiting the dealer.

Benefits of Leasing

You will pay for the car while you need it, and at the end of your lease, you’ll simply return it.

There are a number of other benefits associated with leasing a vehicle, such as:
Lower repair costs, because the warranty will cover most of them.

Lower sales tax, since you’ll only be responsible for paying sales tax on the portion of the car you finance.
Lower monthly payments compared to buying.
Typically, there is no down payment, or a very low down payment, required.
Fewer obligations — at the end of your contract, you simply turn in the keys and walk away.
New vehicles every few years. Once your lease term is up, you can choose a new lease and enjoy all the benefits and features of a new car. This also means that you can drive a better car

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7 Investment Accounts All 30-Somethings Should Have

You’re in your 30s now. If you’re finally looking to get settled in your financial life, you may want to consider ways to build wealth over the long term. But that checking account alone isn’t gonna cut it. It’s time to examine the options out there for someone in their 30s who finally has a little bit of money to invest.

Here are seven essential investment accounts all 30-somethings should have.

1. 401K, If Available to You

If you’re employed full-time, your company may offer a retirement plan that gives you access to a number of mutual funds and other investments, plus the great tax advantages that come with it. Under a 401K, 403B, or similar plan, contributions are deducted from your pre-tax income, and most employers will match a certain percentage of what you put in. Now that fewer employers are offering pensions, the 401K has become the primary vehicle for saving for retirement. Pumping cash into this account while you’re still relatively young gives your investments plenty of time to rise in value and give you a sizable nest egg. Even better, your investment is tax-deferred until you begin making withdrawals.

2.

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Seven Unusual Tax Deductions

We have all heard cases of strange failed tax deductions, such as writing off a personal racehorse as a business entertainment expense, a toothless actor being unable to write off his dentures, and our personal favorite – a business owner who had his store burned by an arsonist, claimed the insurance as income, and tried to deduct the arsonist’s $10,000 fee as a business expense. Some people just don’t know when to stop.

However, there are more than a few odd tax write-offs that do manage to pass IRS scrutiny, or are later approved by the Tax Court. They probably will not apply in your case, but who knows….

1. Addiction Treatment – Certain types of addiction treatments may be written off under Medical and Dental expenses. Examples include smoking cessation programs (but not nicotine gum or patches), weight loss expenses that are related to specifically diagnosed diseases such as obesity and high blood pressure, and inpatient treatment for alcohol and drug addiction.

For the majority of taxpayers, addiction treatment expenses (along with other medical and dental expenses) may be deducted beyond the threshold value of 10% of your adjusted gross income (AGI).

2. Breast Implants – While cosmetic procedures

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The Real Life Secrets of Millionaires

Several years ago, New York Times Wealth Matters columnist Paul Sullivan opened up his finances to a group of high-powered, high-net worth investors known as Tiger 21. Members gather regularly to discuss investing strategies and at one meeting, Sullivan asked them to critique his own – relatively meager by their standards – financial life.

Given what I do, I thought [my wife and I] had a handle on it, but what I learned from that meeting is that we hadn’t thought enough about the risks in life,” Sullivan says. Those risks include declining incomes and the unexpected death or disability of a household wage earner. As a result of that meeting, Sullivan and his wife took out life and disability insurance policies and sold off a condo in Florida that had been a vacation home for the family.

“They were so direct and harsh about that being a possible drain, if we weren’t able to sell it if something bad happened. That was a wake-up call,” Sullivan says.

The lessons he absorbed from that wealthy, exclusive group of over 300 members across the U.S. and Canada led Sullivan to write his new book, “The Thin Green

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10 Money Moves to Make After a Promotion

Congratulations on your promotion! You’ve just made another step toward a successful future.

Still, this isn’t the time to become complacent. A promotion comes along with new challenges and tasks. To help you make the very best out of your new job, here are the 10 money moves to make after a promotion.

1. Revisit Your Tax Withholding

Most promotions don’t come with just a title upgrade, they come with a well-deserved raise. If that’s your case, calculate whether or not you need to adjust your W-4 form and submit it to your HR department.

Let’s assume that you file a joint return with your spouse and your combined taxable income was $90,000. Your tax due would be $18,293.75 ($5,156.25 + 25% of the amount over $37,450). After your promotion, your new combined taxable income is now $100,000. Your new tax bill is $21,071.25 ($18,481.25 + 28% of the amount over $90,750). Assuming no offsets to your salary bump and no changes to your W-4, you would be $2,777.50 short of your tax bill! (See also: Top Three Tax Facts to Know for 2016)

Use the IRS Withholding Calculator and determine if you need to update your W-4.

2. Calculate

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10 Ways to Reduce Your Housing Costs in Retirement

1. Affordable housing

Housing is often your biggest retirement expense. But there are a variety of ways to cut your housing costs in retirement. Here are some ways to pay less for housing after you retire.

2. Pay off your mortgage.

When you pay off your mortgage, you eliminate one of your most significant monthly bills. While you will still have to pay for insurance, maintenance and taxes, those costs are likely to be a fraction of your mortgage costs. Your retirement savings will stretch much further if you no longer need to make a large housing payment every month.

3. Downsize.

There’s no need for a large house with several stories and a spacious yard once your children grow up. Downsizing to a smaller home that costs significantly less can give a quick boost to your nest egg and eliminate many of the responsibilities of maintaining a large or aging home.

4. Relocate.

Once you retire, you don’t have to live in a high-cost city because it’s close to your job. You can choose to live anywhere in the world that has the amenities, weather and entertainment options you desire. Start dreaming about the beach, a golf community or a college

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Avoid bad financial advice and see better returns

If you want to make money with your own money, be wary of those who want to take over the effort. After all, personal money managers and financial advisers receive their compensation based on how much you have invested with them — not on the performance of those investments.

Which, if you think about it, is real-time crazy. Do normal working stiffs get promotions every year for doing below-average work? Of course not — and neither should your financial adviser.

There are many areas to consider when investing that hard-earned money: how diversified your money is, how long you have until retirement (your “horizon”), how much money you actually have invested and your penchant for taking — or not taking — risks.

Always be wary about outside parties that give different advice for investing your money. After all, do they want to generate fees for themselves or put your interests and needs first, even if it does not mean immediate income for them? Ask yourself these questions, and don’t let someone put other questions ahead of these:

Why should I put my money into this investment, based on how far away I am from my retirement age?
How much risk should I take to see

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Why Africa Is Becoming More Accessible for Investors

When it comes to investing in markets outside of the U.S., Africa is often overlooked. But investing interest in the continent is starting to grow, particularly with investors who have a long-term focus.

In April, The Wall Street Journal reported that the New York State Common Retirement Fund, a U.S. pension fund, planned to invest as much as 3 percent of its assets in the region. And in November, private-equity firm The Carlyle Group bought an 18 percent stake in the Nigerian-based Diamond Bank. Multinational firms are also entering the region.

Like a lot of emerging and frontier markets, Africa’s positives are a young demographic, a growing consumer class and vast opportunities to build infrastructure, including roads, seaports and airports. Inflation is also low, and a few recent elections have occurred without incident, such as when Muhammadu Buhari won the Nigerian presidential election over incumbent Goodluck Jonathan. Buhari was the first opposition candidate to win a Nigerian presidential election, and the peaceful handover was seen as a big step for democracy there.

Africa offers promise of long-term growth, but investors need to remember that just as with other emerging and frontier markets, it’s a risky place to put money. Growth can falter,

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5 Things Your Broker or Financial Adviser Isnt Telling You

I spent nearly 15 years in financial services, with close to half of that time in online brokerage. During that time, I spoke with everyone from retail investors to CEOs dealing with the Great Recession in 2007 and 2008.

My biggest takeaway was how many people are financially unprepared. I expected a lack of financial literacy and a lack of funds. I didn’t expect the subtly predatory practices by some brokers and advisers. This isn’t an indictment on the industry (there are some great advisers out there who put their clients’ needs first), but rather some background before I let you know the five most important things your broker isn’t telling you.

1. They’re There to Sell to You

This really shouldn’t be much of a shocker, but sadly, it is. Many brokers exist to do one thing -– sell to you. Whether they’re the person answering the phone when you call your online broker or someone higher up the food chain, they’re compensated to sell to you. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it can cause a conflict of interest or put you in a product that doesn’t fit your needs.

That said, good advisers or brokers can put you in investments that

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3 Ways to Make Money Faster Than Fast

Twice a week, Karin Slyker, 40, a married working mother of three in Lubbock, Texas, donates her plasma for extra money. She began in the summer of 2010, receiving a check for her services, and then in March 2011, the plasma center began compensating her with prepaid cards, making it easy for her to track her earnings. Since March 2011, she has made $6,690 – which has gone toward paying off debt accrued from a failed business, says Slyker, who works in the marketing department at a university.

“Even if I was debt-free, I might continue doing it. It’s easy money, and I’d love to save it up and invest it perhaps,” Slyker says.

Donating plasma is one of those go-to strategies for anyone who needs extra money and especially anyone in a cash crunch. So in honor of those who need to put money in their bank account, pronto, here’s more information about Slyker’s strategy and others that will help you boost your income quickly.

[Read: 10 Ways to Cut Your Spending This Week.]

1. Donate plasma. For those who barely made it through science class, plasma is the liquid part of the

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Financial Plans for the Young Rich and Famous

Actors, athletes and tech superstars with substantial incomes and the limelight cast upon them at a very young age (20s and early 30s) are often prone to lavish spending when those first big paychecks come rolling in. It’s hard to blame them, especially when many of us look back at our younger selves and concede that we were, perhaps, mildly irresponsible with how we spent our money. With time, we hope, comes maturity, perspective and the guidance of a sound financial plan.

There are countless stories of celebrity millionaires who earned enough in one year to be financially set for life, yet today find themselves with nothing. To avoid becoming a cautionary tale for the young, rich and famous, we often implement a simple “three-bucket financial plan.” We identify three periods of time, or three buckets in the newly-minted millionaire’s life, and divide their income/assets into thirds to be allocated to each bucket. This strategy allows our clients to enjoy the spoils of wealth responsibly.

Bucket 1: Luxury purchases. The first bucket allows for the fun and flashy items we associate with the rich. This usually leads to a fancy house purchase, an exotic sports car, a glitzy vacation (with the family/friends

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How to Help Your Teenager Build Credit Responsibly

Lack of credit history can be a hindrance to young adults as they apply for auto loans, shop for interest rates on an auto insurance or go to lease their first apartment. As such, it’s important to start building credit as early as possible.

Consider these tips from financial advisers on how to help your teen build credit, while encouraging financial responsibility.

Co-sign for a debit card – but always review the statement. Jay Freeberg, a financial adviser in Garden City, N.Y., said parents who want to help their child build credit should first consider co-signing for a debit card linked to the teenager’s bank account. “This will limit the purchases to the amount in the bank account, and it will also give the child some independence on how they are spending their money,” Freeberg says. “I suggest that parents review each monthly statement – at least in the beginning – with the child to discuss the charges, reinforce the link between the actual spending and payment and outline a budget.”

Get your child in the habit of checking their own credit score. This simple step may be more effective than the financial

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Your Financial Adviser May Be Killing Your Returns

It has long been my view that investment advisers who don’t recommend investing in a globally diversified portfolio of index funds with low management fees, exchange-traded funds or passively managed funds are doing a great disservice to their clients.

When I initially asserted this view more than a decade ago, it was derided as representative of a fringe position. Over time, the trend toward passive investing (which I prefer to call “evidence-based investing”) has markedly accelerated.

Nevertheless, most financial advisers don’t follow basic principles of evidence-based investing when making recommendations to their clients. Until now, it was difficult to evaluate the quality of the counsel such advisers do provide. However, thanks to a study co-authored in March 2012 by professors at Harvard, the MIT Sloan School of Management and the University of Hamburg, we now have some insight on the competence of financial advisers. It is not a pretty picture.

This Study Was a Sting

You consult with a physician when you are sick, and expect that the advice you receive will be legitimate, science-based medical information. According to the study, the vast majority of individuals consult with financial advisers before purchasing shares of stock or mutual funds. Presumably, they believe the advice

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How Much to Save for an Emergency

A sound financial plan begins with stashing a pile of cash that you can tap in case of an emergency. Experts differ on how much you need to set aside, from as little as three months’ worth to as much as a year’s worth of living expenses. How much you need may depend on your personal profile.

Now, HelloWallet, a developer of personal finance software, has created a tool that can help you nail down the amount that’s right for you. At www.hellowallet.com/emergencysavings, you’ll enter information including your take-home pay, regular monthly expenses, whether you rent or own your home, and your health insurance policy’s annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. The tool then estimates the amount of easily accessible savings you should have in the event of a minor emergency, a major emergency or a layoff from work. Starting from the ground up? You can use each figure as an incremental goal toward building your emergency fund. To track your regular monthly expenses, use a budgeting site such as Mint.com so you can link your bank, credit card and other financial accounts.

The best place to keep your emergency fund is in a savings or money market deposit account with a

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The Best Money Lessons Your Parents Ever Taught You

When it comes to managing money, we learn a lot from our parents — both good and bad. We want to pass that wisdom on to our children. Will they listen? Did we? Everyone adapts to their particular situation. As part of our Chase-sponsored Smart Spending series, we conducted video interviews and asked people the best money lessons they’ve learned from their parents and the best financial advice they’ve shared with their children. Here are their words of wisdom:

Carlos Lozada gets his advice from an early Motown hit: “My mama told me, you better shop around.” In that case, the singer was looking for a spouse, but what Carlos tells his son Xavier also rings true: “Try to conserve as much as possible, shop around, search for the best deals,” he says.
“[I] keep some kind of journal or a written track of my expenses,” said Scott Lavin. “That really impacted me. It sort of forces you to think about where you’re spending and how you’re spending.”
Arlene Lassin will be the first to admit that she hasn’t taken the best financial path: “My advice to my children is save, don’t spend, because I’ve set a terrible example for you. Don’t

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Why No One Knows How to Write a Check Anymore

Check writing has become a lost art. There used to be something official about writing a personal check that made even the most minor transactions feel more important when you had to physically write out the recipient’s name, dollar amount and sign your name in the bottom right corner.

In 2015, the personal check isn’t what it used to be: Newer and more convenient payment methods have taken its place. According to a 2013 Federal Reserve study, payments by check have dropped more than 50 percent from 2000 to 2012, while electronic and card payments tripled. In a GOBankingRates poll last year, nearly 38 percent of 1,500 respondents admitted leaving their checkbooks completely unused.

At the same time, there’s been a fivefold increase in the Google search term “how to write a check” over the last decade, according to an April article in The Washington Post. The Fed also reports that over 18 billion checks are written per year, which is proof they still have a place in this world.

So why have checks been on the decline? Here are a few reasons:

Mobile apps do the job faster and better. Checks are rendered

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