Savings and Investing - North Light Financial Services

Why Are We Saving More and Spending Less?

Why Are We Saving More and Spending Less? Have our memories of the Great Recession altered our habits? Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity in the United States. Lately, that spending has moderated. Across the 12 month sending in March, personal spending advanced 3.4%. That matched the gain seen in 2015.1,2 Is a 3.4% annualized gain in personal spending adequate? Not in historical terms. During 2014, consumer spending accelerated 4.2%. The average monthly gain in consumer [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:15-04:00June 9th, 2016|Financial Fitness, Saving & Budgeting, Savings and Investing|Comments Off

How Millennials Can Get a Good Start on Retirement Planning

How Millennials Can Get a Good Start on Retirement Planning Some simple steps may make a major financial difference over time. If you are younger than 35, saving for retirement may not feel like a priority. After all, retirement may be 30 years away; if your employer does not sponsor a retirement plan, there may be less incentive for you to start. Even so, you must save and invest for retirement as soon as you can. Time is your greatest [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:15-04:00May 26th, 2016|401(k)/403(b), Financial Fitness, Savings and Investing|Comments Off

College Funding Options

College Funding Options You can plan to meet the costs through a variety of methods. How can you cover your child’s future college costs? Saving early (and often) may be the key for most families. Here are some college savings vehicles to consider. 529 plans. Offered by states and some educational institutions, these plans let you save up to $14,000 per year for your child’s college costs without having to file an IRS gift tax return. A married couple can [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:16-04:00April 8th, 2016|College Savings, Personal Finance, Savings and Investing|Comments Off

Reducing the Risk of Outliving Your Money

Reducing the Risk of Outliving Your Money What steps might help you sustain and grow your retirement savings? “What is your greatest retirement fear?” If you ask retirees that question, “outliving my money” may likely be one of the top answers. Retirees and pre-retirees alike share this anxiety. In a 2014 Wells Fargo/Gallup survey of more than 1,000 investors, 46% of respondents cited that very fear; 42% of the respondents to that poll were making $90,000 a year or more.1 [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:16-04:00March 10th, 2016|Retirement, Saving & Budgeting, Savings and Investing, Social Sercurity Planning|Comments Off

Dollar Cost Averaging in a Down Market

Dollar Cost Averaging in a Down Market This investment technique may help you take advantage of the downturn. Buying low and selling high is the oldest stock market adage. How does one put it into practice? Dollar cost averaging may give you a method to capture lower prices today and come out ahead tomorrow. How it works. Dollar cost averaging is a long-term investment strategy. It means investing in small increments. Through scheduled investments of as little as $50 or [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:16-04:00February 25th, 2016|Investing, Personal Finance, Savings and Investing|Comments Off