.How A Single Pivotal Person Taught Me What Real Wealth Looks Like

Mad Money Monster May 13, 2019

Pivotal moments come around only so many times in life. The same can be said for pivotal people. It wasn’t until I was 18 years old that I met one such pivotal person. When I was 18 I thought real wealth meant a big house and flashy car. After meeting that person, I quickly realized that I was wrong. Over the course of a few months, my thoughts about money were completely reshaped and my financial outlook changed forever.

Up until that point in my short life, I had a very limited and distorted view of money and wealth. I was the youngest of four children in a poor family. Ironically, our trailer home was on the right side of the tracks which meant I was fortunate enough to attend a good school from kindergarten all the way up through high school.

.What Should You Do With a Life Insurance Benefit?

By Melanie Lockert The Fabric Blog

We’ve all dreamed of coming into a large sum of money. You imagine all the ways you’d spend a million dollars and think how much better your life would be. But what if you did get a large sum of money but it came at a great cost? This is what life insurance is all about.

But what is it like getting a life insurance death benefit and how does it actually work? What should you actually do with a life insurance benefit? We chatted with personal finance experts to find some answers.

Receiving a Life Insurance Benefit

Life insurance death benefit amounts can vary depending on the policy. Generally, life insurance payouts aren’t taxable unless you earn interest.

.5 Things Your Millionaire Neighbor Isn’t Telling You

Updated: November 11, 2020 By Robert Farrington

At The College Investor, we want to help you navigate your finances. To do this, many or all of the products featured here may be from our partners. This doesn’t influence our evaluations or reviews. Our opinions are our own. Learn more here.

It's currently estimated that there are about 3,000,000 millionaires in the United States today. And given that there are about 300,000,000 Americans according to the latest Census data, that means about 1 in 100 are millionaires. Even more startling is that means that you probably know someone who is a millionaire, and you probably live within a stone's throw of other millionaires that you don't know.

The truth is that a lot of millionaires have very specific habits. Traits that make them successful. One of the most interesting aspects of my Better Know a Young Millionaire Investor series is what makes some of these millionaires tick.

What a Financial Trainwreck Can Teach Us

Six Mistakes to Learn From

Donna Freedman,

A married couple recently confessed to some horrifying money blunders in an interview on the WealthSimple website. In their mid-40s and the parents of three kids, the pseudonymous Kate and Tom bring in $160,000 a year through their day jobs in insurance, with additional funds whenever Tom moonlights as a bartender for private parties.

Yet they have always spent more than they earned, and cannot seem to learn from previous mistakes. A few examples:

After wiping out their credit card balances a decade ago, they charged them back up even higher.

They have postponed paying back Kate’s law-school loans, which are now up to either $120,000 or $140,000 (she isn’t sure – and incidentally, she has never practiced law).

They spend “insane amounts” of money on groceries at places like Whole Foods (where one of their kids likes to snack on $15 sushi).

.Good Investment Habits

By: Sophie Johnson

Unless you hit the lottery, chances are you’ll be working for your money. You can make that money grow by investing it, which, in effect, makes your money work for you. Though some people see investment as a sort of lottery — you pick a good bet on the stock market and get rich — the truth is that successful investing comes down to practicing good habits. The earlier you start using these habits, the more successful you’re likely to be.

Be a Wise Guy

The more information you have, the better your investment decisions will be. Get smart by learning about bank accounts, interest and debit and credit cards, then move on to studying investments. This education should never end. Develop the habit of expanding your investment knowledge regularly.

.10 Habits That Financially Successful People Have

By: Beverly Bird

Can You Get Ahead Just By Changing Your Habits?

We’ve all done it: ogling massive homes and estates while we’re driving, wondering how the owners achieved all that success and wishing for a little of it ourselves. Or maybe your neighbor just bought a brand new Ferrari. How did he become so financially successful?

Here’s a hint: He might not be. He might just appear to be successful. In fact, the world’s most successful people generally don’t spend wildly. They’ve developed good fiscal habits and they’re exactly that – habits. They’re consistent.

A Penny Saved…

Successful people routinely save. This doesn’t necessarily mean dropping their change into a jar every night before bed, although this is certainly beneficial, too. It means never spending more than they have to.

.Future Shock

Jonathan Clements November 7, 2020

WHY DO WE MAKE spending decisions that we later regret? Yes, we tend to live for today and give scant thought to tomorrow. But it’s more complicated than that—which brings me to four insights from psychology.

I find the insights below fascinating, in part because they describe how I behave with uncanny accuracy. Many readers, I suspect, will also catch a glimpse of their own behavior:

Moral licensing. If we do something good—exercise, give to charity, work late, purchase an eco-friendly product—we often give ourselves permission to do something that’s not so good, such as rewarding ourselves with junk food or a new pair of shoes. In fact, research has found that simply thinking about doing something good, even if we don’t follow through, can prompt not-so-good behavior.

.What Not To Do While Trying To Get Out of Debt

Jaime Catmull, GOBankingRates November 6, 2020

If worrying about how to pay off debt keeps you awake some nights, late-night television abounds with alleged solutions. Some ads even promise to get rid of your debt for pennies on the dollar.

Fall victim to these deals and you might be left with worse financial troubles than before. But these aren’t the only foolish ways of paying off debt. Financial experts shared some common mistakes people make while trying to get out of debt avoid making these same missteps.

1. Not Having a Reasonable Debt Repayment Strategy

When sitting down to tackle your debt, the first step should be to see how much total debt you actually have. Add up any debt you have accrued from student loans, car loans, credit cards, medical debt, home equity loans, payday loans, personal loans and IRS and government debt. If you’ve been dealing with debt for a while, this might add up to a scary number that could leave you feeling overwhelmed, and you might feel like you don’t know how to even begin paying it back.

.8 Ways To Defend Your Family Finances From Whatever Comes Next

Ethan Rotberg Sat, November 7, 2020

A family budget is a delicate thing to balance, even without a pandemic crashing through and jumbling your finances. In a chaotic year like this, with the country dealing with a recession, ugly unemployment rates, political tensions and new waves of the coronavirus, you’ll need to arm yourself with extra financial tools to protect your household from potential money troubles.

Here are eight ways you can defend your family’s finances, starting today.

1. Clear as much debt as you can

Paying down debt may be the most impactful way to protect your family’s finances — especially if high-interest debts like credit cards are draining more of your cash each month.

How to Invest Your 401(K) in Causes You Care About

My Two Cents Oct. 16, 2020 By Charlotte Cowles@charlottecowles

The Cut’s financial advice columnist Charlotte Cowles answers readers’ personal questions about personal finance. Email your money conundrums to mytwocents@nymag.com

Sustainable investing: One more thing to feel guilty about not doing? A luxury for rich people who want to justify the piles of money they’re making in the stock market while the rest of us fret about our jobs? Or a relatively painless action you can take with your retirement savings and then sleep better at night?

Technically, it’s all three. But let’s not overcomplicate things. The good news is that if you have a retirement account, it’s easier than ever to invest it in a way that reflects your values. I think of it as kind of like voting with your money, which is to say, it’s more effective than screaming into the void.

.Dave Ramsey Warns: Don't Do These 10 Things With Your Money

Sarah Cunnane, MoneyWise November 3, 2020

Dave Ramsey says you have to stop causing your money troubles before you can solve them.

The money management guru has doled out his signature blend of tough-love financial advice and Biblical wisdom since 1992. He learned it all the hard way: In his 20s, Ramsey built a fortune as a house flipper but lost it all when banks started calling in his debts. He had to buckle down to build back up from bankruptcy.

Now his radio show is syndicated on more than 600 stations, and he’s authored several books. He teaches Americans how to avoid wallowing in debt — even during the current financial crisis.