Your Annual Financial To-Do List Things you can do before & for 2017. What financial, business, or life priorities do you need to address for 2017? Now is a good time to think about the investing, saving, or budgeting methods you could employ toward specific objectives. Some year-end financial moves may help you pursue those goals as well. What can you do to lower your 2017 taxes? Before the year fades away, you have plenty of options. Here are a [...]
Managing Drug Costs How can households meet the challenge? Are prescription drug costs burdening your finances? This problem is far too common today. Consider the price tag of some of the drugs used to treat arthritis, hepatitis C, cancer, and multiple sclerosis. A Kaiser Family Foundation study notes that the cost of medications such as Zytiga, Humira, Gleevec, and Revlimid may run anywhere from $4,000-12,000 a year. For the record, Medicare Part Ds catastrophic coverage threshold for prescription medications is [...]
Characteristics of the Millionaires Next Door The habits and values of wealthy Americans. Just how many millionaires does America have? By the latest estimation of Spectrem Group, a research firm studying affluent and high net worth investors, it has more than ever before. In 2015, the U.S. had 10.4 million households with assets of $1 million or greater, aside from their homes. That represents a 3% increase from 2014. Impressively, 1.2 million of those households were worth between $5 million [...]
What Expenses Could Change When You Retire? Some costs could rise, fall or even disappear. Your retirement may seem near at hand or far away, but one thing is certain: your future will differ from your present. Financially, that fact is worth remembering. Some of the costs you have paid regularly all these years may suddenly decrease or fade away. Others may increase. Will your insurance costs rise with age? Maybe not. You may find that your overall insurance expenses decline. [...]
How Much Home Can You Afford? That depends on a number of factors. Check on them to see if you are ready to buy. Does buying a home make sense for you financially? It may or may not, depending on some financial, career, and lifestyle factors. Your savings, your credit, your salary, your level of disposable income, and your housing preferences all count. If you are serious about becoming a homeowner, you should have three priorities: keeping your credit score [...]