Congress Has Just 11 Days To Fund The Government

Congress Has Just 11 Days To Fund The Government

Ken Tran, USA TODAY   Mon, September 11, 2023

Here’s How A Government Shutdown Could Impact The US

WASHINGTON — The country faces a potential government shutdown when the House returns from a weeks-long summer break on Tuesday.

The Senate has already returned from its recess, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has praised his colleagues from both sides of the aisle for working together on spending compromises without much heartburn. The lower chamber is a different story: Most of what is expected to be a fierce fight over government spending will take place in the House.

While government funding technically expires on Sept. 30, the House has just 11 working days to pass a short-term funding extension – called a continuing resolution – to buy lawmakers more time to hash out the details of a spending package.

A group of ultra-right lawmakers from the House Freedom Caucus have drawn hard lines even before the House comes back into session, openly threatening to leverage a shutdown if a continuing resolution does not include deep spending cuts or other demands, such as more security on the southern border.

Here’s what to know about the upcoming showdown and how it could affect you.

Hard-Right Lawmakers Threaten Shutdown For Deep Spending Cuts

The demands of House Freedom Caucus members have next to no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. Schumer, warned lawmakers last week that negotiations should be held in good faith and with bipartisanship in mind.

“I implore, I beg my House Republican colleagues to follow the Senate’s lead, to recognize that time is short, and the only way to avoid a shutdown is through bipartisanship in both the House and Senate,” Schumer said at a weekly press conference.

While the House is gearing up for what could be a drawn-out fight, the Senate has already teed up three out of the 12 appropriation bills needed to fund the government for a vote this week.

But in the House, hard-right lawmakers, which includes conservatives not part of the Freedom Caucus, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., are making heavy asks of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. In exchange for the requests, they'll hypothetically help avert a shutdown.

Greene said at a town hall she would not vote to fund the government if the House does not hold a vote on an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, a prospect that some moderate Republicans have balked at.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., downplayed the effects of a shutdown in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, last week, saying “If a temporary shutdown is more concerning to you than our $2 trillion deficit and $33 trillion national debt,  I'd politely suggest you're part of the problem.”

May 30, 2023; Washington, DC, USA; Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), center, and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), right, before the start of a House Freedom Caucus press conference outside of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 opposing the current debt ceiling agreement negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden.

May 30, 2023; Washington, DC, USA; Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), center, and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), right, before the start of a House Freedom Caucus press conference outside of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 opposing the current debt ceiling agreement negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden

How A Government Shutdown Could Affect You

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https://news.yahoo.com/congress-just-11-days-fund-091450546.html

Time is Money, Quiet Wealth: An Asset Protection Strategy

Time is Money, Quiet Wealth: An Asset Protection Strategy

By The Sovereign Investor  Updated on Nov 12, 2021

I’ve never worn a watch. I flatter myself that’s because of a high school Latin teacher/lacrosse coach named Thurber who, when asked why he didn’t, responded that “a man who wears a watch worries too much about time.”

That quote has always stuck with me. Its philosophical brevity is almost Hellenic.

My real reason for going watch-less is simpler, however. I have a hard enough time keeping track of my keys, wallet, eyeglasses and anything else I need during my daily journey to worry about a watch as well.

In fact, I’m pretty sure the only watch I ever owned was one that had belonged to my grandfather, that my Dad gave me when I was about 5 — what was he thinking? — that I promptly dropped and broke.

My relationship with timepieces, in other words, is Thurberesque in another way entirely.

But there are people for whom watches are an asset protection strategy …

Watching the Big Money on Lake Geneva

Last week in Lausanne, Switzerland, auction house Phillips sold 164 watches by makers such as Rolex, Patek Phillippe, Longines and Piaget. All were from the 20th century, the oldest from the ‘20s, but many made as recently as the 1990s.

The sale prices impressed me for two reasons. First, who knew that someone would deem a simple wristwatch to be worth almost $5 million? Apparently someone does. A 1927 Patek Philippe Stainless Steel Model 130 fetched that much. There were several $1 million-plus items as well, and dozens made it into six figures.

The second thing that struck me about the auction results was that in almost every case, the sale price significantly exceeded the pre-auction estimate, sometimes significantly. The lucky seller of the 1927 Patek Philippe doubled his or her hoped-for gains, whilst the prior owner of a 1969 Piaget Montre-Manchette 9850 in 18-carat yellow gold got five times what Phillips thought he or she would.

I’m no expert on watches, but clearly, there’s more to these things than telling the time. The values reflected in the Phillips auction derive from a combination of outstanding craftsmanship, rarity, and an artistic je ne sais quoi that watch aficionados must surely understand. The 1931 Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle in silver, to the right, is clearly a gorgeous example of human creativity.

Quiet Wealth: An Asset Protection Strategy

My colleagues and I often refer to items like these watches as “quiet wealth” — an asset protection strategy quite unlike conventional stocks, bonds, metals and other financial instruments.

Quiet wealth is largely synonymous with collectibles, such as stamps, coins, fine wines, historical artifacts and similar rarities. But they can also include such little-known items as comic books (a Jeff Opdyke favorite) and vintage guitars (my personal weakness).

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.valuewalk.com/quiet-wealth/ 

Building Wealth

Building Wealth

By Dennis Friedman    HumbleDollar

 I’VE BEEN READING about how people aren’t saving enough money, and how almost half of all Americans carry a balance on their credit cards. Looking to be more financially prudent? Here are 10 pointers on how to build wealth and gain financial security over your lifetime:

 1. Save—for a reason. Saving money is the key to building a substantial portfolio. One secret to being a good saver: Have something worthwhile to save for. It might be homeownership or early financial independence.

Whatever it is, write it down and post it where you can see it every day. That constant reminder will keep you on the right track—and help you get in the habit of saving money.

2. Invest in stocks. This is another crucial component of building wealth. My advice: Buy broad-based U.S. and international stock index funds. You’ll capture the stock market’s results at low cost, and that’s proven to be a winning strategy over the long haul.

 3. Attend an affordable college. Education debt is a problem for many young Americans. You need to find a quality college that won’t leave you in too big a financial hole.

According to research from the College Board, it takes an average 12 years to recoup the cost of a bachelor’s degree.

n other words, by then, you typically have earned enough to recover the cost of the college degree, plus the lost income from the time you were out of the workforce while studying.

Use that 12 years as a guideline in choosing a college. Will it take you far longer to recoup your costs? You may want to find a less expensive college.

 4. Invest early. Take advantage of compounding by investing as much as possible at a young age. If you do this, you won’t have to save as much to meet your financial goals.

What about the need to build up an emergency fund that’ll cover six months of living expenses? You might fund a Roth IRA—and have it do double duty, both acting as an emergency fund and starting you on long-term investing.

You can withdraw your contributions from a Roth at any time for any reason, with no taxes or penalties owed, provided you don’t touch the account’s investment earnings.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://humbledollar.com/2019/06/how-to-build-wealth/

How to Successfully Live Within Your Means

How to Successfully Live Within Your Means

SmartAsset Team   Sat, September 9, 2023

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to effortlessly manage their money despite earning a modest income? The answer probably lies in a financial strategy called “living within your means.” An essential part of personal finance, when mastered, can lead to long-term financial stability. This strategy essentially involves understanding your income, creating a budget and implementing strategic financial practices to spend less than you make. If you're struggling to save for retirement or invest in the right assets, consider working with a financial advisor.

What It Means to Live Within Your Means

Living within your means is a basic financial principle that involves creating a balance between your income and expenses so that you meet your financial responsibilities without resorting to taking on debt. Essentially your "means" is your income and living within that income puts you in the best financial position to handle the unexpected.

An individual’s ability to live within his or her means can be influenced by various factors, including income level, family size, cost of living and personal spending habits. For example, a high-income individual with no dependents living in a low-cost area may find it more comfortable to balance his or her budget than a low-income individual with a large family living in an expensive city.

Reasons You Should Live Within Your Means

Living within your means offers several compelling benefits. First, it can help reduce stress and anxiety. Numerous studies show that the majority of Americans feel stressed about money for at least some of the time. By living within your means, you can alleviate this anxiety, fostering better mental health and overall well-being.

Additionally, such a lifestyle ensures financial security. Many people struggle to deal with even the slightest emergency expense. Living within our means allows savings for emergencies and ultimately leads to freedom from fiscal worries. Having robust financial safeguards in place, like an emergency fund, are vital for unpredictable times.

Overall, living within your means gives the peace of mind and wherewithal to be protected no matter what may come your way.

Signs You Are Living Beyond Your Means

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/successfully-live-within-means-145043428.html 

The Middle Class Money Trap That’s Keeping You From Being Rich

The Middle Class Money Trap That’s Keeping You From Being Rich

Sean Fisher  Wed, September 6, 2023

Navigating the labyrinth of financial decision-making can be an intimidating endeavor. The middle-class, in particular, find themselves embroiled in distinct challenges that can disrupt their journey towards wealth accumulation.

From pursuing potentially unrewarding academic endeavors to succumbing to societal pressure to live extravagantly, various money traps can pose significant setbacks to their financial progress.

High-Cost Degrees with Limited Returns

Education is often equated with brighter career prospects and a sound financial future. Yet, not all educational investments yield returns that validate the considerable debt acquired via student loans. In an era where certain degrees no longer guarantee high-paying jobs, individuals find themselves crippled by enormous student loan debts with meager incomes barely enough to cover monthly repayments.

Consider a student who pursues an art degree with a passion for painting, and incurs a student loan debt of over $100,000. Upon graduation, if the best available jobs only offer a yearly salary of around $30,000, the burden of debt can quickly become a long-lasting financial chokehold. It is therefore crucial to carefully scrutinize the potential return on investment when considering a degree.

The Financial Quagmire of New Car Loans

The allure of owning a brand-new vehicle can be irresistible, but it often represents a financial pitfall that many middle-class individuals succumb to. New cars depreciate rapidly, frequently losing up to 30% of their value in just the first year. Coupled with financing through a loan, individuals might find themselves owing more than the depreciated value of the car – a situation known as being “upside down” on the loan.

Overextending with Unaffordable Mortgages

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/middle-class-money-trap-keeping-133009247.html

Dave Ramsey Says ‘Money Is Not Just Math, It’s Behavior’

Dave Ramsey Says ‘Money Is Not Just Math, It’s Behavior’ — 5 Bad Habits to Break Today

David Nadelle   Tue, September 5, 2023

Although it’s easy to blame our money woes on outside economic forces, healthy personal finances are governed by motivation and mindset. Fixing your current situation means taking responsibility about your financial decisions and making conscious choices because, as financial advisor and popular radio show and podcast host Dave Ramsey says, “Money is not just about math; it’s about behavior.”

“Personal finance is only 20 percent head knowledge,” Ramsey tweeted yesterday. “The other 80 percent — the bulk of the issue — is behavior. And it’s our behaviors with money that can get us into the biggest trouble or lead us into the biggest successes.”

Backing up her father’s viewpoint, Ramsey Show co-host Rachel Cruze stated, “If you want to get to the root of why you behave the way you do — why you spend, save, use debt, put off investing and more — you’ve got to learn about how the psychology of money affects you.”

Of course, every personal financial situation depends on a number of factors — what you earn and owe, your cost of living and your financial goals — but bad spending and saving behaviors are common to all and can be broken by practicing better self-discipline with your money.

Here are five bad saving and spending habits that you can start to break today:

1. Curbing Discretionary Spending

The gap between living and living well is narrowing all the time. With life’s essentials costing more than ever and savings and paying off debt more important than ever, non-essentials, or wants, need to take the hit.

Even in the best of economic times, you should be focusing on trimming your discretionary spending on things like entertainment, hobbies and leisure and travel expenses. Resisting impulse buys and discounts and getting rid of any unused streaming platforms and meal delivery services will leave you with more money to save, pay off debt and invest. Pause before buying anything non-essential and you will find that most discretionary expenses can wait.

2. Bad Budgeting

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dave-ramsey-says-money-not-181940442.html

5 Things Warren Buffett Says To Do Before a Recession Hits

5 Things Warren Buffett Says To Do Before a Recession Hits

Vance Cariaga  Wed, September 6, 2023

Whispers of a looming recession have been making the rounds for well over a year now, and don’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Despite the resilient economy and low unemployment, a recent column in Forbes still predicted a “mild recession” in late 2023 or 2024.

If that’s the case, get ready to invest in the stock market – but only if you want to follow the lead of Warren Buffett, the mega-billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As Buffett famously wrote in a 2008 op-ed for The New York Times: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”

 This essentially means that when others are fearful of investing money — like ahead of or during a recession — you should take advantage by scooping up stocks and other assets at discount prices.

“In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend,” Buffett wrote in the op-ed. “It lets you buy a slice of America’s future at a marked-down price.”

That rule is still as relevant now as it was 15 years ago, during the height of the Great Recession. What you don’t want to do is sit around trying to predict when the economy and stock market will recover because even experts like Buffett can’t do that.

“I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month or a year from now,” Buffett wrote. “What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So, if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.”

Before a recession hits, here are five things Buffett recommends doing.

Build Liquidity

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-things-warren-buffett-says-193334180.html

The Sneaky (But Smart) Place Millionaires Keep Their Money

The Sneaky (But Smart) Place Millionaires Keep Their Money

Rosemary Carlson  Wed, September 6, 2023

Where do millionaires keep their money? High net worth individuals put money into different classifications of financial and real assets, including stocks, mutual funds, retirement accounts and real estate. Most of the 20.27 million millionaires in the U.S. did not inherit their money; only about 20% inherited their money. More than two-thirds of all millionaires are entrepreneurs. Here are some of the places the genuinely rich keep their money.

Whether you’re a millionaire or not, a financial advisor can help you take significant steps toward achieving your goals.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Many, and perhaps most, millionaires are frugal. If they spent their money, they would not have any to increase wealth. They spend on necessities and some luxuries, but they save and expect their entire families to do the same. Many millionaires keep a lot of their money in cash or highly liquid cash equivalents. They establish an emergency account before ever starting to invest. Millionaires bank differently than the rest of us. Any bank accounts they have are handled by a private banker who probably also manages their wealth. There is no standing in line at the teller’s window.

Studies indicate that millionaires may have, on average, as much as 25% of their money in cash. This is to offset any market downturns and to have cash available as insurance for their portfolio. Cash equivalents, financial instruments that are almost as liquid as cash. are popular investments for millionaires. Examples of cash equivalents are money market mutual funds, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and Treasury bills.

Some millionaires keep their cash in Treasury bills that they keep rolling over and reinvesting. They liquidate them when they need the cash. Treasury bills are short-term notes issued by the U.S government to raise money. Treasury bills are usually purchased at a discount. When you sell them, the difference between the face value and selling price is your profit. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has a portfolio full of money market accounts and Treasury bills.

Millionaires also have zero-balance accounts with private banks. They leave their money in cash and cash equivalents and they write checks on their zero-balance account. At the end of the business day, the private bank, as custodian of their various accounts, sells off enough liquid assets to settle up for that day. Millionaires don’t worry about FDIC insurance. Their money is held in their name and not the name of the custodial private bank.

Other millionaires have safe deposit boxes full of cash denominated in many different currencies. These safe deposit boxes are located all over the world and each currency is held in a country where transactions are conducted using that currency.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/where-millionaires-keep-money-070638027.html

Frugal People Need Spenders Like Money Needs a Wallet

Frugal People Need Spenders Like Money Needs a Wallet

by Annie Schutte

I’d like to say that there’s some wonderful and mysterious origin story that that explains who I am today, but it came about due to the most common and banal reason around: I was born and bred by two thrifty parents.

Having two cheap parents is the worst. New clothes shopping involved a trip to the fabric store to get materials for the three identical jumpers my mother would make me before school started; vacation every year was a drive to New Jersey to hang out at the pool in my grandmother’s retirement community; and the big splurge of the week happened on Friday when my mother would give me 35 cents to get an ice cream sandwich in the cafeteria at lunch.

Now, my mother would claim that all this was because we were poor, not cheap, but this is the woman who to this day thinks it’s normal to drive an hour and a half to buy a comforter from the JCPenny Outlet instead of going to the regular JCPenny five minutes from her house. And my father pretty much doesn’t give a gift unless its something he’s gotten free in the mail.

I came to this conclusion early on: two cheap people should never be in a relationship together. It goes against the laws of nature. Yin and yang, fire and ice, sweet and salty, and all that stuff. People need balance. When two cheap people get together, they’re never able to embrace the joys of capitalism, and their lives are the more boring for it. But the situation is even worse in relationships where neither person has any spending control.

Take, for example, this annoyingly popular girl that I went to high school with. She was super rich and pretty. Her parents drove BMWs; she looked like she got regular manicures and some kind of skin treatment; and I’m fairly certain that every article of clothing she owned and wore only once was from a designer I’d never heard of. Our senior year we had this conversation:

Me: God, I’m so tired of trying to figure out how in the world I’m going to afford going to college. I should probably just stay in state.

Rich girl: Ugh, I know!

Me: Don’t even! Isn’t your dad, like, a doctor or something?

Rich girl: Well, yeah, but they don’t have any money saved up for college.

Me: Um, what?

Rich girl: Yeah. My parents were having my work on the FAFSA last night, and it turns out that they, like, don’t even have any savings accounts. They just spend everything.

All the happiest people I know are in relationships with someone who is their spending opposite. The thrifty person helps keep the finances grounded and ensures that there’s always a comfortable cushion when the stuff of life happens; the non-thrifty person remembers that life is about more than just working and hoarding all your money.

Take, for example, a conversation I had at brunch a few weeks ago with a couple friends that have been happily paired off for more than a decade:

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.thebillfold.com/2012/04/frugal-people-need-spenders-like-money-needs-a-wallet/

Your Money Problems: Why They're All Your Fault

Your Money Problems: Why They're All Your Fault 

By Tara Struyk

I love writing about money — not because I’m obsessed with wealth (or my relative lack thereof), but because I think the way we spend our money reflects who we are, good or bad. That’s probably why I bought the very first condo I saw. I’m known to be impatient, impulsive even, in just about all things.

Was it a mistake? So far so good, but I left a lot more to fate than is probably wise in a six-figure purchase. And let’s just say that I hope to exercise a little more self control next time. Of course, whether it’ll actually work out that way is another story altogether.

  But that’s really what issues that surround money are all about, isn’t it? The way we behave with our money is a lot like many other things in life — we know what we should do, but that hardly means we actually do it.

We know we should exercise, avoid fast food, and eat more vegetables just like we know we should spend less, avoid debt, and save more of our money. Most of us struggle with both, at least sometimes.

The key to solving money problems, then, often isn’t about outside factors (like making more money). Instead, it’s about our own habits and behaviors. (See also: Party Like It's $19.99: The Psychology of Pricing)

So how can we make better choices when it comes to money? First, I think, we need to accept that our money problems are (usually) all our own fault. Then, it’s time to stop relying on self discipline and develop habits that put bad choices out of reach.

What’s the Problem?

I think the key to unraveling any money problem is to first accept that the problem is probably an emotional one.

Just think about some of the money problems people tend to get into. Debt is one of the most obvious, and if you’ve ever watched Suze Orman or Dave Ramsay or Oprah address this, it’s pretty clear that debt goes much deeper than just a frivolous desire to acquire more.

For some people, a desire to give their kids all the things they never had growing up makes it impossible for them to say “no.” For others, a financial setback has them feeling too ashamed to admit they can no longer afford the lifestyle they’re used to.

And far too many people feel important, triumphant — even happy — when they come home from the mall with an armload of new purchases — whether they can afford them or not.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.wisebread.com/your-money-problems-why-theyre-all-your-fault

5 Best Ways To Stay Safer From Identity Theft When You’re Online

5 Best Ways To Stay Safer From Identity Theft When You’re Online

August 22, 2023  By Greg Garrison

Unfortunately, scammers trying to steal your information and identity online aren’t going away. The Federal Trade Commission received more than 1.1 million reports of identity theft from consumers in 2022, and that number has steadily increased as scammers get more advanced.

Having your identity stolen can have serious financial consequences and sometimes takes hours of work over months to sort out and repair. So while scammers get more advanced, you need to as well.

Here are our five best ways to keep your identity safer when you’re online:

Be Proactive

While many people wait until after their identity is compromised to act, one effective way to stay safer online is to be proactive. In addition to the other tips in this article, getting a comprehensive identity protection service now, before you suffer from identity theft, is one of the best ways to help protect your identity.

LifeLock is a leader in identity theft protection services for good reason. With Standard, Advantage and Ultimate Plus, there’s a LifeLock option for everyone. The products are designed to help protect your identity and sensitive personal information by continuously monitoring online activity, then providing assistance in case your identity is stolen.

For more comprehensive protection, the Ultimate Plus package stands alone. In addition to offering dark web monitoring, alerts of suspicious activity, data breach notifications and more, this service also provides reimbursement for stolen funds and other personal expenses if you become an identity theft victim.

The best part? If you’re concerned about a data breach you can start a free 30-day LifeLock trial (*terms apply) and get protection now.

Keep Your Sensitive Information Private

This starts with your Social Security number. Guard it closely, and if someone requests it, make sure to ask why. Then only share if it’s absolutely necessary. LINK

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/finance/best-ways-to-stay-safer-from-identity-theft-when-youre-online/?utm_term=incontent_link_7&utm_campaign=1242821&utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_content=10&utm_medium=rss