Finance

When it comes to getting into financial trouble and going bankrupt, many people think the reason is poor finances. While this does play a role, there are other reasons why people go bankrupt. In fact, in some cases, the cause of bankruptcy is out of the control of the person involved. Someone who is doing the right things financially and saving money can still find themselves staring in the face of filing for bankruptcy so what are the major reasons why people go bankrupt and what can you do to protect yourself? In this post, I’ll answer these questions. Let’s get started!

You may have little to no control over whether or not a disabling illness or injury will impact your life, but you can prepare for the what-if. If you don't, you could find yourself — and your loved ones — facing financial ruin should the what-if become reality. We all need to ask ourselves: "Could we make ends meet if we were suddenly disabled?"

If you've had your heart set on moving to Europe there are still history-steeped places there where you can experience old-world charm on a limited budget. Here are some of the cheapest cities you can settle down in across various European countries.

The Sustainable Withdrawal Rate (SWR) strategy is based on the work of William Bengen whose research revealed that the order of market losses is more important than the average return sequence of returns risk. With all due respect to Bengen, though, I consider this strategy irrational and believe that it probably makes sense only for households with so much savings that they don’t need it. This article substantiates my conclusion.

If you have debt or have had debt in the past, you know how it controls your life - stress, embarrassment, uncertainty. Debt causes all these feelings. It’s not fun being in debt. Instead of worrying about how you will get out of debt, let’s focus on the benefits of being debt free. Below are 9 reasons to imagine a debt free life.

Many Americans have taken it upon themselves to do the vast majority of retirement planning without the help of a financial advisor. While that is perfectly fine and legal, it is not entirely wise considering the long-term margin for error. Plenty of things can go wrong, and they do, often leaving investors lost and confused about what they can do to better their circumstances. There are 5 major errors committed by solo investors that can greatly impact their ability to maintain wealth throughout their retirement. Here they are!

Your insurance needs don't remain constant throughout your life. You need different insurance coverage when you're single and in your 20s than you do when you're raising a family in your 40s. When you retire, your insurance needs will evolve once again...Here is a primer on the kinds of insurance that every retiree should consider.

...The Bureau of Labor Statistics has been collecting data on this workforce cohort since 1964. The government numbers provide some excellent insights on the income history of what we might think of as the private middle-class wage earner.

If you started making twice the amount of money that you do today, how would your spending habits change? Consider if the tables were turned, and you instead were reduced to half of your current income. Where would you likely make cuts to spending? The reality is that the money you have coming in has big implications on how expenses get prioritized – and so it’s interesting to see how people in different income brackets allocate what they have.

In the old days, if you wanted to figure out how you were doing financially, you had to sit down with a pen, paper, and a calculator and do some math but, as technology has advanced and more people took an interest in their finances, more and more financial calculators began to pop up. Today, there are hundreds, if not thousands of financial calculators for you to choose. As great as this sounds, though, not all financial calculators are created equal. Many have shortcomings that could lead you down the wrong path. Today I am going to show you what to look for in financial calculators so that you can choose the one that best fits your needs.