What is it? When your spouse or a family member dies, you’ll need to handle numerous financial and legal matters. Even if you’ve always handled your family’s finances, you may be overwhelmed by the number of matters you have to settle in the weeks and months following your loved one’s death. While you can put
Congratulations! You’ve just landed a new job. Here are some important things to be aware of before you receive your first paycheck. When will I receive my paycheck? How often will you be paid? Typically, your payday will depend on the company you work for and which state you work in. You might be paid
Answer: Start by carefully reading the advertisement or application you’ve seen or received. It may seem like a lot of jargon, but that fine print contains important information about terms and costs. Here are three points to consider when comparing credit card offers: Annual percentage rate (APR): What interest rate will apply to outstanding balances?
Answer: Generally, you should leave the construction of an investment portfolio to your professional investment advisor, especially if you are investing a significant percentage of your total wealth, or if you’re relying solely on the success of your portfolio to meet your future financial goals. However, whether you or your advisor designs your portfolio, consider
Answer: It’s often wise to purchase health insurance to supplement your Original Medicare coverage, because Medicare generally won’t cover all of your medical expenses. Usually, you’ll have to satisfy a deductible before Medicare pays anything, and you’ll also pay a co-payment when you visit a physician or are admitted to the hospital. Fortunately, you can
When investing, particularly for long-term goals, there is one concept you will likely hear about over and over again — diversification. Why is diversification so important? The simple reason is that it helps ensure that your risk of loss is spread among a number of different investments. The theory is that if some of the
Imagine having to remember and describe every item in your home, especially after you’ve been the victim of a fire, theft, or natural disaster. Rather than relying on your memory, you may want to prepare a home inventory — a detailed record of all your personal property. This record can help substantiate an insurance claim,
How can cash value life insurance be used to fund your child’s college education? The purpose of life insurance is to provide a sum of money (the death benefit) at the death of the insured. When you use life insurance as part of your college-funding plan, you can provide funding for your child’s college education
What are the different types of annuities? There are literally hundreds of different annuity types–enough to boggle the mind of anyone at first glance. Furthermore, the companies that issue annuities are busy creating new types of annuities every day to meet the changing needs of consumers. However, when all the different types of annuities are
Bonds may not be as glamorous as stocks or commodities, but they are a significant component of most investment portfolios. Bonds are traded in huge volumes every day, but their full usefulness is often underappreciated and underestimated. Why invest in bonds? Bonds can help diversify your investment portfolio. Interest payments from bonds can act as
