Retirement Archives - Page 4 of 10 - Making Sense Of Cents

Do You Know Your Net Worth?

September 12, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 40 Comments

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Do you know your net worth?

If you don't, you should.

According to the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, only 5% of people know their net worth. That number just seems crazy to me!

However, I believe it.

There have been many times when someone has told me that they have no idea how much debt they have, how much money they have saved, what their assets are worth, and so on.

Even more shocking, some can’t even give me an estimate and have no clue whatsoever about what the amount would be. Or, when they do give me a number, their significant other chimes in about how they are extremely wrong. [Read more…]

Why You Should Spend Like A Millionaire- The Frugal and Smart Money Habits of Millionaires

August 29, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 59 Comments

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You may have shook your head when you first read this title. However, hear me out and continue reading to learn more about the habits of millionaires! The rich are rich for a reason- most of them know how to manage their money correctly.

Sure, there are stories about rich people who spend their money like crazy and end up in bankruptcy.

But, surprisingly, the average millionaire is frugal, and they know how to manage their money well.

Related posts:

Here are some examples of millionaires and billionaires who are frugal:

Warren Buffett lives in a house that he bought in 1958 for around $30,000.
Mark Zuckerberg drives an Acura.
John Caudwell (worth $2.7 billion) rides his bike 14 miles to work every day and even cuts his own hair.
Jim C. Walton (son of Walmart founder) drives an old truck with no air conditioning.

[Read more…]

FinMason Review – Do you understand your investment choices?

August 2, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I recently heard about a new company called FinMason. They understand that there is a retirement crisis going on, and that the majority of people do not save anywhere near the amount of money that they need to save.

Kendrick Wakeman, founder and CEO of FinMason, understands this. In his article on CNBC, Risk tolerance is a blind spot for ‘accidental’ investors, he says:

Whether investors are saving for retirement, a college education for their kids or their first home, it's never been more important for them to have a strategic understanding of risk tolerance in order to meet their goals.
This is magnified when you consider that many households have become investors by “accident” or are saving for retirement via their employer's 401(k) plan, with little or no financial training.
For those with retirement in mind and a far shorter runway from which to build wealth — or rebuild it, in the event of an unexpected downturn — it's only that much more critical to have a view into the different scenarios that could alter both their near- and intermediate-term plans.

[Read more…]

How To Come Up With A Financial Plan Without Visiting A Professional

July 1, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 33 Comments

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Today I have a great blog post about how to create a financial plan from my blogging friend Jim Wang. Enjoy!

Ever walk out of a restaurant and see a fishbowl at the entrance, filled with business cards? The sign next to it would say “Want a free dinner? Meet with a financial planner!”

When I was younger, I put my business card in one of those fishbowls because who doesn't want a free dinner?

It turns out that I would have to pay for my dinner with an hour+ meeting with a “financial planner,” who was more sales person than actual financial planner, and I didn't have a financial plan. I did have a better understanding of how those fishbowls worked though!

A financial plan is important, we all know this, but very few of us have one. It's because we think that we need to meet with a financial planner to get one and who has the time or the money to pay someone for a “plan?” [Read more…]

How I Became A Successful Dividend Growth Investor

May 20, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 31 Comments

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Hello! Dividend investing is a very interesting topic. Today, I have an expert who has appeared on Forbes, Motley Fool, MSN Money, TheStreet, and more, and he is going to share tons of great information on this subject. This is a post from Ben Reynolds at Sure Dividend, a dividend growth investor. Sure Dividend uses The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing to systematically build high quality dividend growth portfolios.

There are a seemingly endless amount of ways to invest. There are mutual funds, ETFs, growth stocks, value stocks, dividend stocks, preferred shares, options, bonds, currencies, commodities… This list goes on.

All of the options can be a bit overwhelming. Saving and investing is important, whether you are saving $100 a month, or pulling down $300,000+ a year and saving larger amounts.

As you might have guessed, I believe dividend growth investing is an excellent investment strategy for those looking to compound their wealth through time. [Read more…]

Early Retirement Myths Busted

January 18, 2016 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 82 Comments

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“Early retirement is just for lazy people.”

“I don't want to save money and retire early, because I'll be bored.”

Early Retirement Myths Busted - Ignore These & Retire Early! There are many early retirement myths out there. Before you decide to believe them, read this post so that you can retire early. The two myths above, along with many, many others, are things I often hear people say when they talk about retiring early.

I'm not sure why there are so many negative feelings about early retirement, because I personally love the idea of people striving to retire early and not be “normal.”

I mean, just think about it: Don't you want to retire early, so that you can have the financial freedom to do whatever you want to do?

What's bad about that?

Whether you want to travel, continue working, spend more time with family, or whatever else, retiring early gives you the ability to choose.

Plus, early retirement can be whatever age you want it to be, it doesn't have to be that you retire early at age 30. If you are able to retire at age 60, that's awesome! The point is just to beat the “norm.” [Read more…]

Pay Yourself First – How This Simple Trick Can Help You Save More

December 14, 2015 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 68 Comments

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Pay Yourself First - How This Simple Trick Can Help You Save More (1) How much money are you currently saving each month? What if I told you that you may be able to save even more and all you have to do is pay yourself first?

Seems simple enough, yet not many do this. Many families just save whatever amount they have left over at the end of each month.

Yes, many bills and expenses are necessary each month, but there may also be a lot of unnecessary spending going on in your life as well.

Spending money isn’t a bad thing, but if you aren’t saving for your future as much as you should then you need to reevaluate what you are doing.

Paying yourself first before you pay for your monthly expenses may be a scary thought. No one wants to over withdraw from their checking account or be unable to pay their monthly bills.

However, your future is just as important too, so it is much better to think about saving money as a need as well instead of something that can be pushed aside.

Sadly, there are many out there who do not save enough money when preparing for retirement. According to Zacks Investment Research, 72% do not save enough for retirement each month.

Also, according to a different survey done by Bankrate.com, 36% of people in the United States have absolutely NOTHING saved for retirement.

These numbers are very alarming.

I believe that if more paid themselves first, that retirement and other financial goals wouldn't seem so impossible.

Below are some of the things you may want to think about when it comes to paying yourself first. [Read more…]

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