.Advice for Giving Advice

January 3, 2021 by Michael Batnick

What do you say when somebody asks you what they should do with their portfolio?

Here’s what you say, “Sorry, I can’t help you.”

I know that sounds oddly robotic, especially if you work in the financial services industry.

In general, people who don’t work in finance expect those who do to have an opinion on Apple, Tesla, Bitcoin, or whatever they’re asking about. So they’ll probably look at you like you have two heads if you come to them with that response. A way to soften this is to joke, “If I could see the future then I’d be happy to tell you what to do, but I cannot, so I will not.”

What’s the big deal, you might be wondering? Why not just answer somebody’s honest question? Nothing good can come from giving casual investing advice. Nothing. Especially when it comes to the future direction of an individual security. They won’t remember what you said. They’ll only remember what happens.

.What Should I Do With a $50k Inheritance?

Mark Henricks Wed, December 30, 2020

It’s not uncommon for people to receive sizable inheritances, but it’s less common for them to make the most financially advantageous decisions about what to do with their newly acquired assets. If you inherit a significant amount, such as $50,000, a strategy for wisely handling a windfall is likely to include making a long-term plan that considers your age and goals, starts with a well-stocked emergency fund and employs tax-advantaged investments if available. Consulting with a financial advisor is a great way to develop a realistic long-term plan and lay out some strategies for reaching your goals.

Over an eight-year period, one in five American households, including older workers, got an inheritance averaging $67,000, according to a 2006 research report. But most spend the money in a few years and have little left to show. A decade after getting an inheritance, the typical heir still has just a third of the windfall, according to a Swedish study from 2016. Here’s how to make an inheritance last.

.10 Survival Tips for Lottery Winners

No wonder some lottery players are dreaming big. Behemouth jackpots are being awarded, including prizes over $300 million each in the multi-state Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries. With payouts like these, winning the money is only half the game. Winners need to have — or quickly assemble — a strategy for staying sane, anonymous and in the black for the rest of their lives. Keep reading to learn what every new millionaire lottery winner should know. It’s not the usual blah, blah, blah.

.5 Factors Are What Actually Matters When It Comes to Your Credit

by Robin Hartill, CFP® Senior Editor Updated December 20, 2020

Five factors determine your credit score: pay history for loans and lines of credit; credit utilization; credit history length; credit mix; new credit and hard inquiries. Tina Russell/The Penny Hoarder

It’s impossible to overstate the impact your credit score has on your life. It determines everything from whether you can buy a home or rent an apartment to your credit card interest rates and how much you’ll pay for insurance.

Your credit score is basically just a three-digit number that measures how likely you are to repay your debt. Credit scores range from 300 to 850 and are based on information the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — have on file for you.

.3 Financial Mistakes I Made

By MONKWEALTH

Personal Finance mistakes are not just consequences of insufficient knowledge or experience, they’re also part of human nature. We continuously miss out on opportunities or remain ignorant to factors that may improve our financial situation, but also overspend led by emotions, compulsions, or subscriptions.

This post is about the missed opportunities and potential gains due to lack of knowledge or inexperience. Many people, especially those who are not on a path to FIRE, will find themselves doing these mistakes and not being aware of it, as some of them are not intuitive or obvious right away. However, acknowledging their existence can set you years ahead, not only on your FIRE journey, but also in life. So, let’s start!

.How to Write a Will and Why You Need One (Even if You’re Young and Broke)

by Lisa Rowan

It’s the question we usually ask our parents late one night while sitting around the kitchen table. Or we ask our siblings when they become parents for the first time.

“Do you have a will?” Of course, if you’re facing an illness, coming up on retirement age, or have a partner or children, you should have a will. But even if you’re young and feel invincible, you should probably have a will, tool. Life can come at you fast. So can death. Before you go online and print a will from the same website where you got ordained to preside over weddings, check out this primer of all the estate planning-type documents you might want — and their true costs.

What Is a Will, Anyway? This short list will orient you with some of the terms you’ll see bandied about by estate lawyers, websites, and likely your family and friends, too.

.To Exchange It All or Not?​

By Muhammad Ali CurrencyExchangePlanner.com

I was asked this question recently from one of my Currency Exchange Planner customers; his name is Robert from California. “Will you exchange all IQD or some and hold and wait if it comes out low? “

Now I see 2 sides to this question, I’ll tackle the easy side first, if the value comes out low, for example $1 to 1 Dinar, I would only change a few notes and wait for the value to go higher before changing the bulk of my notes. How much YOU would change would depend upon how many notes you hold?​

Now, let’s say the value comes out to $4 right away, would I still change all? Again, I would still only change a few and wait for the rate to rise higher and then change more. I already have my personal target in mind.​

.7 Mistakes Many of Us Are Making With Our Money During the Pandemic

by The Penny Hoarder Staff

One way or another, we all make mistakes. It’s the human condition. But right now, in the midst of a pandemic, one thing you don’t want to make mistakes with is with your money. Sure, we’ve all let bad financial habits creep up on us. But in these uncertain times, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re not your own bank account’s worst enemy.

Here are seven mistakes people are making with their money during the pandemic, and what you can do instead.

.10 Questions From a Beginner Investor

By MONKWEALTH

If you’re researching investing, you’re most probably having some uncertainties that need to be addressed.

By no means a complete list can be compiled to answer every question a beginner might have, but here are a few I’ve heard lately. So, if you overcome investing fear but still aren’t ready to take the leap, let’s see if this post can help with some of your concerns. Isn’t investing risky? Compared to what?

The best way to resolve this concern is by distinguishing between:

Investing and trading - Investing and gambling - Investing and betting

.Treat Your Life Like a Business

By MONKWEALTH

Some people got lucky and made millions. Some people were disciplined and got rich slowly. However, adopting certain principles can make us eliminate the factor of luck in business and in life. Maybe not completely but enough to feel sufficient control over our project. In this post I want to point out a few non-exclusive factors that may significantly improve our lives. The idea is in the title: Treating our lives as a business. And if we’d do a good job in achieving what’s considered success in life, applying the same principles in a corporate environment would be a joke. Winning at life is much more rare than career success.

Don’t overspend - It always starts here. Know your budget. Allocate it properly. Don’t borrow without a plan. Have a fund that can cover your expenses for a few months. Regardless of whether we talk about business or life, going into high interest debt is extremely risky, especially when certain levels of cash-flows are not already established. Although debt can be used as a leverage given a proper strategy, it can also be a fast track to a bankruptcy. So use with caution – or don’t if you have the slightest doubt in what you’re doing.