Tag Archives: financial

Money Matters: Saving for Retirement

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retirement

By Nathaniel Sillin

The picture of retirement that many of us have is a post-work period filled with travel and plenty of relaxation. It’s a time when you can finally take up a new hobby, sink into the pile of books and enjoy more time with family and friends.

The reality is that many haven’t been able to save enough money to enjoy this idealized retirement. What might their retirement look like?

You may be working for longer than you expected. Many people undergo a period of “phased retirement” and either reduce their hours or start a new part-time job after retiring from a full-time schedule. Even those who don’t have a financial need may find that they value the activity and connections work brings to their lives. Without savings, continuing to work might not be a choice, but you can still look for fulfilling opportunities.

Continuing within the same profession part-time or taking on related consulting work could be the most financially rewarding route, if it’s an option. Alternatives such as customer service positions with a retailer are popular among some retirees. There are also Internet-based jobs that allow you to work from home.

Social Security could be your sole source of income. Retirees who don’t have a pension or savings and stop working may find that Social Security is their only income.

Your Social Security benefit depends on when you were born, how much you’ve paid into the program, when you start to take benefits and whether or not you’re eligible for a government pension.

Once you start receiving benefits, you’ll lock in your monthly amount, although it will adjust to account for inflation. Therefore, deciding when to start taking Social Security benefits is important, as it can impact your income for the rest of your life.

Claiming benefits once you reach your full or normal retirement age, 65 to 67 depending on when you were born, is when you’ll receive 100 percent of your monthly Social Security benefit. Taking benefits early can lock in a lower rate, while waiting can increase the monthly benefit.

In 2017, if you’re eligible for the maximum benefit and start claiming at 62, you’ll receive about $2,153 per month. If you waited until you were 70 this year, you’ll receive about $3,538 per month.

You can use the SSA’s Retirement Age Calculator to see how taking Social Security early, or waiting, can affect your benefit.

You might have to downsize and make lifestyle changes. Moving to an area that has a significantly lower cost of living could mean the difference between living with financial challenges and having a comfortable retirement. Some people look for less expensive areas close to family members or even an expat community in a different country.

If you decide to stay in the same area, a smaller home can lower your property taxes and maintenance costs. You can also take any profits from the sale of a larger home and pay off debts or build an investment portfolio.

Housing aside, there are many ways to downsize your lifestyle, such as selling a vehicle, shopping at secondhand stores and cutting back on monthly entertainment expenses.

One helpful part of aging is you’ll be eligible for all sorts of new discounts and benefits. Look online for lists of stores or organizations that offer senior discounts. You can use the National Council on Aging BenefitsCheckUp to see which benefits you might be eligible for based on your ZIP code and personal information.

Bottom line: Many aging Americans don’t have enough savings to fund their lifestyle through retirement. Deciding when to take Social Security benefits and where to live are two of the most pressing questions on the horizon. No matter what you choose, you may need to supplement your income with part-time work and look for ways to significantly lower your cost of living to enjoy retirement.

 

Money Matters: 10 Tips for Becoming a Knowledgeable Renter

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renting-2-300x300By Nathaniel Sillin

On the hunt for a new apartment? A move can be an exciting opportunity to explore a new area or meet new people. However, competitive rental markets can make it difficult to find a desirable place on a budget.

Keep these 10 tips in mind to manage the process like a pro. They’ll help you stand out from the crowd, get a good deal, enjoy the neighborhood and manage your rights and responsibilities as a renter.

  1. Talk to Other Tenants. Speak with current or past renters to get a sense for the building and landlord. Ask about the neighborhood, noise, timeliness with repairs and any other pressing questions. Consider looking for online reviews of the landlord as well, and research the neighborhood.
  2. Upgrade Your Application. Go beyond the basic application requirements and include pictures, references, credit reports and a short bio about yourself and whoever else may be moving in. Try to catch the landlord’s eye and show that you’ll take care of the property. You can order a free credit report from each bureau (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) once every 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com.
  3. Understand Your Lease. The lease may list the rent amount, terms of the security deposit, guest polices and other crucial details. Read it carefully and ask questions if you don’t understand something. State laws regarding rent control or other regulations can impact your situation as well. If you can afford one, you could hire a lawyer to review and explain the lease.
  4. Negotiate the Terms. You can’t always negotiate lower rent (it’s worth trying), but there may be flexibility when it comes to the security deposit, parking spaces, administrative fees, or the lease’s length.
  5. Learn Your Rights. Protect yourself by learning about your rights as a renter. They can vary by state, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a directory with links to tenants’ rights websites for each state.
  6. Do a Walkthrough. Walk through the apartment with the landlord, look for damages and document anything you find. You’ll thank yourself later when you move out and ask for your full security deposit back.
  7. Consider Renters Insurance. Renters insurance costs about $15 to $30 a month for a policy that covers $50,000 worth of losses. It reimburses you if your belongings are stolen, damaged or destroyed by a covered cause, such as a fire. The insurance also helps pay for legal fees if, for instance, someone sues after getting injured at your home.
  8. Make Your Own Repairs. Prior to signing the lease, ask if you can take on some of the maintenance responsibilities in exchange for reduced rent. You could offer to handle and pay for basic upkeep, such as replacing lights or smoke detectors, and making minor repairs.
  9. Pay Attention to Bills. Evaluate which bills you’ll pay in addition to the rent, such as gas, heat, water, electricity, trash, Wi-Fi or parking. A more expensive apartment that includes these can save you money overall.
  10. Talk to Your Landlord. Hiding financial trouble helps no one. Talk to your landlord and ask for an extension if you can’t make rent. Good tenants can be hard to come by, and your landlord will likely prefer open communication and a late check to being left in the dark.

Bottom Line: Being an informed renter is especially important in a competitive rental market. Take simple steps to improve your rental and money management skills and you’ll benefit for years to come.

 

Money Matters: Refinancing Your Debt

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5-Not-So-Smart-Debt-SolutionsBy Nathaniel Sillin

Have you ever considered how lenders compare applicants? Typically, the lowest rate goes to those who have the highest likelihood of repaying the loan on time.

A lot of data goes into determining that probability, including the person’s credit, income and outstanding debt.

As these factors improve, your terms on new loans might improve as well. You could also refinance debts you took on earlier in life to take advantage of the changes. As a result, you might be able to decrease your interest rate, lower your monthly payment and save a lot of money.

Refinancing, which is often done by taking out a new loan to pay off existing debt, can be surprisingly simple. In some cases, you can submit all the information online, and the entire process will only take a few days. However, refinancing more complex debts, such as a mortgage, can take considerably longer.

While refinancing doesn’t always make sense, it’s worth considering if you’re in one of the following situations.

Interest rates dropped. Some loans’ interest rates depend on a benchmark interest rate, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Even if your financial profile stays the same, when the benchmark rate rises or falls, your interest rate on a new loan could rise or fall as well.

You want to change the terms of your loan. Because you’re taking out a new loan to pay off existing debt, you might have the opportunity to change the terms of the loan. For example, you could have a variable-rate student loan whose interest rate rises or falls with a benchmark. You might be able to refinance with a fixed-rate student loan and have certainty that your monthly payments won’t change in the future.

If you have a lower interest rate after refinancing and have the same amount, or less, time to repay the loan, you can save money over the lifetime of the loan.

You want to lower your monthly payments. Say you have a 30-year mortgage that you’ve been paying off for five years. If you refinance with another 30-year mortgage, you have an extra five years to pay off approximately the same amount of money. As a result, your monthly payments could be lower, but be sure to take into consideration the fact that you will likely wind up paying more in interest.

Your loan has a cosigner. Perhaps you asked someone to cosign your auto loan to improve your chances of getting approved or getting a lower interest rate. If you’re eligible for refinancing on your own, you might be able to release your cosigner and take full responsibility for the new loan.

Proceed carefully because applying for refinancing could hurt your credit. Applying for refinancing often results in a hard inquiry, when a potential lender reviews your credit. Generally, a single hard inquiry won’t have a large negative impact on credit, but multiple hard inquiries might.

When you’re refinancing a mortgage, auto loan or student loans you can still shop around and try to find the best rate without worrying about your credit too much. As long as the hard inquiries happen within a 14- to 45-day period (depending on the credit-scoring model) the credit-scoring model will consider them a single inquiry.

Consider the fees and find your break-even point before refinancing. Depending on the type of debt and the lender, there could be costs associated with refinancing debt. For example, some loans have an origination fee, either a flat fee or a percentage of the loan amount, which could be significant.

The break-even point is how long it’ll take you to recoup the costs associated with refinancing. For example, it could cost you $3,000 to refinance your mortgage, but you’ll save $150 each month. You’ll break even after 20 months because that’s when you’ll have saved $3,000 in monthly payments. If you plan on selling the home before the break-even point, it likely doesn’t make sense to refinance.

Use the same sort of calculations to weigh the pros and cons of refinancing other types of debts. When it looks like refinancing could be beneficial, shop around to try and find the terms that best fit your needs.