Finance

What does it mean to be wealthy to you? For many Americans, it can mean being able to leading a life that is stress free, while having “peace of mind”. Sounds pretty good, right? On the surface, that doesn’t sound too much like money is the focus. However, it could also be said that that same money, or perhaps, a lack of it, can lead to a certain stress factor.

The Financial Independence/Retire Early (FIRE) movement is hot right now. People working toward FIRE are hoping to retire in their 40s and, in some cases, even their 30s and, while the focus of FIRE is to produce financial freedom and not ascribe to a strict definition of the term "retired," it is a tantalizing goal many find worth chasing. However, if not properly planned, early retirement can be more of a burden than freedom. The earlier you retire, the longer your money has to last. Your life mitigation plan also has to be more solid and thorough than those who retire at the standard age. Below are 5 things that could derail your finances if you retire early.

Today's chart looks at financial trends at the household level, such as savings, debt, spending, and income. The result is an interesting picture of how the average U.S. household is changing over time.

If you are disciplined with saving and investing when you are young, you are almost guaranteed to become a stock market millionaire! This article outlines 3 of the 7 steps necessary to help you build your wealth in the stock market.

Becoming a stock market millionaire is much easier than you think because if you take about an hour or two of your time now to create an investment strategy, you are 95% of the way to becoming a stock market millionaire. So what exactly do you need to know to become a stock market millionaire? I’ve outlined all the steps below to help you build your wealth in the stock market.

One of the things that really frosts me is the financial planning industry that insists on using rules of thumb such as the “set and forget” tools - specifically the 4% and 60-40 rules.

There's a lot of pressure to buy a home instead of paying rent. While there are some very valid financial arguments for homeownership buying a home isn't the best choice for everyone so, in response to all those friends/acquaintances who say, "Why are you renting a home? You should be buying! Don't you know you're just throwing your money away?" here are 8 retorts for those house-shamers in your life.

FICO scores are the most widely used credit scores in the U.S. According to myFICO.com, 90% of the top U.S. lenders access these scores to make important credit decisions. This article presents the 5 factors used to determine your FICO score and where (and at what cost) to get such information.

Claims about guaranteed returns or “can’t miss” opportunities but opportunities that are too good to be true must pass the smell test and, most of the time, if you do your homework, they fail with flying colors. There are many different varieties of stock fraud to recognize, and they all have distinct characteristics that make them unique.

There are a number of things you can do to put armor around your finances that won't cost you a lot and there are some simple things that you can do to bolster your job security and boost your potential income. Check out these ways to safeguard your financial future for $200 or less.