5 Financial Tips That Will Help You Make It to the Upper Class
5 Financial Tips That Will Help You Make It to the Upper Class
Heather Taylor Mon, Mar 18, 2024
If you are in the middle class and attempting to make the leap into the upper class, what steps can you take to realistically reach your financial goals?
Making the following choices can help you reach your goal of being a member of the upper class.
Change Your Money Mindset
Progressing through each level of financial freedom, starting at self-sufficiency and ending with abundant wealth, requires making a shift in your money mindset.
In an interview with Grow (CNBC + Acorns), self-made millionaire Grant Sabatier said money should not be viewed as something you use to buy things. Reaching financial goals, including joining the upper class, requires making good choices with your money. Practicing good saving and investing habits allows your money to work for you.
4 Money Behaviors You Need To Change Now To Build Your Wealth
I Became a Millionaire by 30: 4 Money Behaviors You Need To Change Now To Build Your Wealth
Adam Palasciano Mon, Mar 18, 2024
Amid what seems like out-of-control inflation, becoming a millionaire seems like a dream. However, as of 2024, there are about 22 million millionaires in the U.S., according to Millennial Money. It’s even possible to become a millionaire in your 20s.
CNBC spoke with Vivian Tu, a former Wall Street trader-turned expert, educator, podcast host, and founder of the financial equity phenomenon Your Rich BFF. Amazingly, she made her first million by age 27
Tu grew up in an immigrant household that focused on frugality. Then, she started her career on Wall Street and realized the wealthy focus less on saving and more on earning and finding ways to grow their wealth.
All Eyes on the Federal Reserve - What to know this week
All Eyes on the Federal Reserve: What to know this week
Josh Schafer·Reporter Sun, March 17, 2024
The major US stock indexes have backed off record highs ahead of the Federal Reserve's all-important March meeting.
On Wednesday, that tension will finally be resolved.
The US central bank is set to release its latest monetary policy decision and updated economic projections at 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon, with investors looking for an answer to one key question: Does the Fed still think it will cut rates three times in 2024?
Recent data showing inflation hasn't dropped as fast as expected has pushed out market forecasts for Fed rate cuts this year to three from six. The question, then, is whether a few months of stubborn inflation data will be enough to prompt a further tweak from the Fed.
What the Fed rate decision means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
Hal Bundrick Updated Thu, Feb 1, 2024
Fed watchers are still holding their breath for an interest rate cut.
How Much Should You Keep in Different Banks and Investment Accounts?
How Much Should You Keep in Different Banks and Investment Accounts?
Americans’ 4 Favorite Wealth ‘Hiding Places’
Karen Doyle Sun, Mar 10, 2024, GoBankingRates
Once you’ve amassed some savings, you’ll want to decide where to keep it. Deciding how much to keep in what type of account is a good problem to have, certainly, but there are some things you should keep in mind. Here’s what to know about how much money you should keep in different places.
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Cash in the Bank
Most Americans have at least one bank account, typically a checking or savings account. Some people have different bank accounts for different purposes — a checking account for monthly bills, a savings account for long-term savings for big expenses and maybe even a money market account for medium-term purchases.
5 Things You Should Discuss During Your First Meeting With a Financial Advisor
5 Things You Should Discuss During Your First Meeting With a Financial Advisor
Gabrielle Olya Mon, March 20, 2023
A financial advisor can be an excellent resource to help you make a plan for your money both now and in the future. But if you’re new to this world, you might not know how to make the most of your time during an initial meeting. In today’s “Financially Savvy Female” column, we’re chatting with Jane Voorhees, CFP, director of financial planning at ALINE Wealth, about how to prepare for a first meeting with a financial advisor and what topics you should be discussing.
What To Do Before Your Meeting
Before an initial meeting with a financial advisor, do some research into who they are and how they work. “Go to the advisor’s website and read through it,” Voorhees said.
She recommends looking for the answers to the following questions:
What are the advisor’s credentials (education, professional designations and licenses)?
What is the overall wealth management philosophy that is coming through or being portrayed?
Does the advisor have a team and if so, what role does each team member play?
Does the advisor work as a registered investment advisor (RIA) or do they work under the umbrella of a brokerage firm?
“Understand that RIAs operate under a higher fiduciary standard than broker-dealer firms,” Voorhees said.
6 Smart Hiding Spots for Your Emergency Cash
6 Smart Hiding Spots for Your Emergency Cash
Life savings ready to to be buried in the back yard.
Those who keep extra money, like an emergency fund, in their homes may be curious about some of the best spaces to store it. Since traditional savings vehicles like high-yield savings accounts are not applicable in this situation, those in possession of excess funds need to get creative with where they keep this money.
Consider stashing your emergency cash into some of these clever spots.
Fake Personal Items
This is a helpful tip for those traveling overseas as well as those seeking hacks for keeping their money safe at home. Consider fake personal items, like the following, to discreetly store any emergency funds:
A hairbrush. Use a round hairbrush with a hollowed-out middle and store cash inside the brush.
The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger
The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger
I never thought I was the kind of person to fall for a scam.
By Charlotte Cowles
On a Tuesday evening this past October, I put $50,000 in cash in a shoe box, taped it shut as instructed, and carried it to the sidewalk in front of my apartment, my phone clasped to my ear. “Don’t let anyone hurt me,” I told the man on the line, feeling pathetic.
“You won’t be hurt,” he answered. “Just keep doing exactly as I say.”
Three minutes later, a white Mercedes SUV pulled up to the curb. “The back window will open,” said the man on the phone. “Do not look at the driver or talk to him. Put the box through the window, say ‘thank you,’ and go back inside.”
The man on the phone knew my home address, my Social Security number, the names of my family members, and that my 2-year-old son was playing in our living room. He told me my home was being watched, my laptop had been hacked, and we were in imminent danger. “I can help you, but only if you cooperate,” he said. His first orders: I could not tell anyone about our conversation, not even my spouse, or talk to the police or a lawyer.
Now I know this was all a scam — a cruel and violating one but painfully obvious in retrospect. Here’s what I can’t figure out: Why didn’t I just hang up and call 911? Why didn’t I text my husband, or my brother (a lawyer), or my best friend (also a lawyer), or my parents, or one of the many other people who would have helped me? Why did I hand over all that money — the contents of my savings account, strictly for emergencies — without a bigger fight?
I Lost $11,300 to Identity Fraud
I lost $11,300 to identity fraud
What I learned: Usual safeguards don’t work.
Janna Herron·Senior Columnist Sat, Mar 2, 2024,
"Looks like someone is trying to take more than $10,000 from us."
That's the message my husband typed to me on a Monday morning in October. By the time I wrote back, he was on the phone with our bank. The weekend before, someone walked into a bank branch, pretended to be one of us, and took thousands of dollars from our checking account.
We joined the tens of millions of Americans who each year are victims of identity fraud, where criminals steal a bank or credit card number and use the personal information to achieve illegal financial gain.
We were lucky in so many ways, most notably that our bank reimbursed our losses within 36 hours.
What we learned is this: The many steps we take to safeguard our personal data don’t always work.
Experts suggest creating strong passwords with extra layers of authentication, changing them often, and not using the same one on multiple accounts.
Having text alerts on your credit and debit cards for all transactions can also thwart illegal activity in real time, as can email alerts when someone tries to change an email or address associated with your account.
What Lies Beneath Monday Afternoon 3-4-24
What Lies Beneath Monday Afternoon 3-4-24
Jonathan Clements | Feb 24, 2024 Humble Dollar
MONEY IS A TOOL. But a tool for what? We might imagine it’s simply a way to purchase the goods and services we need or want. But in truth, there are all kinds of things that money can do for us—some worthy, some not so much.
Want to use your wealth more wisely? I think all of us should spend time pondering what money represents to us, how we use it and why we like to have it. Here are just nine of the reasons that folks look to amass money:
1. More options. I’ve heard folks describe their savings as “-— you” money, offering the chance to give the middle finger to the boss whenever work becomes unbearable. Less crassly, others have said money represents “stored energy” or “financial freedom.”
The notion: Even if we aren’t currently putting our money to use, we know we could—and that potential is one of money’s most appealing qualities. I agree, though I’m also aware that the seemingly endless options offered by money come with a catch: As soon as we take advantage of them, our pool of money dwindles, and with it our financial options.
Yesterday’s Influence Sunday Afternoon 3-3-24
Yesterday’s Influence Sunday Afternoon 3-3-24
Adam M. Grossman | Humble Dollar
MY FIRST DAY IN the investment industry was—unfortunately—not so great. On the morning of Sept. 15, 2008, the investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, sending the stock market into a free fall. The rest of 2008 was equally ugly, with the S&P 500 losing 37% for the year. But that experience provided investors with a valuable lesson—about the power of recency bias.
Recency bias is the mind’s tendency to extrapolate. When things are terrible, as they were on that day in 2008, it’s hard to imagine how or when things might ever get better. On the other hand, when markets are rising, it’s hard to imagine what might cause that positive momentum to slow.
Recency bias causes us to look backward—to assume that what happened yesterday will happen again tomorrow. That can lead investors to do the opposite of what would be best. Consider what we’ve experienced in just the past two years.
Even The FDIC Doesn’t Want To Pay Its Tax Bill…
Even The FDIC Doesn’t Want To Pay Its Tax Bill…
Hotes From the Field By Simon Black/James Hickman February 28, 2024
[Important Reminder: In case you missed our announcement from January 24, Sovereign Man has merged with Peter Schiff's media group. We are now called Schiff Sovereign, and our founder (Simon Black) has dropped the pen name and is now writing under his real name, James Hickman.]
Almost one year ago to the day-- on February 24, 2023-- Silicon Valley Bank released its 2022 annual report. And senior executives must have been pretty nervous since the report showed that the bank was nearly insolvent.
The bank had acquired a massive portfolio of more than $100 billion of US government bonds-- supposedly the ‘safest’ asset class in the world-- during 2020 and 2021 back when interest rates were at historic lows.
But then the Fed started hiking rates very quickly in 2022. And higher rates cause bond prices to fall-- even the ‘safest’ ones like US Treasury bonds.